. Annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. Smithsonian Institution; Smithsonian Institution. Archives; Discoveries in science. 364 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. tlie atmosphere or tbo eartli, or with the water which has percolated tlirougli the earths iu the neigliborhood, generally those containing- iron, and these have changed the chemical combination of the flint on its surface. This change sometimes extends deep into the stone, and in small specimens under favorable conditions may pass entirely through it.^ In the United States all this might be called weath
. Annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. Smithsonian Institution; Smithsonian Institution. Archives; Discoveries in science. 364 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. tlie atmosphere or tbo eartli, or with the water which has percolated tlirougli the earths iu the neigliborhood, generally those containing- iron, and these have changed the chemical combination of the flint on its surface. This change sometimes extends deep into the stone, and in small specimens under favorable conditions may pass entirely through it.^ In the United States all this might be called weathering; in France it is called patine. The objection to the former word is that it conveys, possibly involuntarily, some relation to the weather, while the patine may be formed on specimens deep in the earth. Dendrites are also formed on the speci- mens. These changes are evi- dences of antiquity of the specimens, and to the experi- enced eye become testi- monials of its genuineness. Fig. 5 (Cat. No. 99457, ) represents a slightly different form. It is longer, narrower, thicker, and is more pointed. Its length is 6i inches, width 2| inches, and thickness 1^ inches, or 71 i)er cent. It comes from the forest of Othe, department of Aube or Yonne, eastern central France, and is one of the many surface finds of France. It has been strongly objected to similar specimens found in the United States that, being found practically on the sur- face, they are not evidence of a Paleolithic period; and the force of this objection is ad- mitted. However, many such implements have been found on the surface of the high plateaus of western Europe, and they have always been considered as true paleoliths. This question is not to be argued here; those interested in it are referred to the handbook^ pre- viously cited, where some of the instances are stated and authorities quoted. It has already been remarked that most of the Paleolithic imple- ments from western Europe are of flint, but all a
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