“This work was not done entirely5 with the hammer-stone” he reflected bitterly. “Some other means was used to strike off these tiny chips. What it was, I would give my life to know.”
He was about to lay the flint down with its fellows when his eyes fell upon the piece of bone lying upon the rock where he had placed it. Strange, that such a trifling6 object should intrude7 itself upon him at this moment. He picked it up and examined it.
[239]
The bone was polished and notched8 on one end. It was strangely hard and heavy. The notched end in particular seemed most peculiar9. Pic regarded it curiously10.
“That mark was not made by a lion’s tooth,” he reasoned. “The bone has been neither roughly scratched nor chewed, nor would the brute’s tongue have smoothed it down so nicely.”
His thoughts were now centered upon the bone fragment. He had forgotten the flints entirely.
The bone was in his right hand; the blade which he had been examining, still remained in his left. More by accident than design, he set the notched end of the bone against one edge of the flint and pressed strongly downward. A tiny chip flew off. More astounding11 things may have happened in the world but not to the Ape Boy of Moustier. A look of bewilderment spread over his face. He pressed again with the same result.
[240]
Pic Discovers the Use of the Bone Tool
A dim ray rapidly growing broader and brighter, diffused12 its light through the Ape Boy’s brain. The significance of his discovery cannot be overestimated13, simple though it seems. The secret of the Terrace Men was revealed—the art of retouching hammered flints. Pic had reached his goal at last simply because of a piece of bone found buried with the treasure. The treasure was in reality the bone itself—the finishing tool of the Terrace flint-worker[241] wherewith the final chipping operation was accomplished14. With it, he pressed—not hammered—off the smaller chips and finished the edges straight and keen. No danger of fracturing even the longest and thinnest blade by this method. The tiny flakes flew as readily under pressure of the bone tool as did the larger ones beneath the blows of the hammer-stone.
It was simple enough when one knew how to do it. Pic wondered why he had not thought of it before. The bone tool was the key to the whole art. His cup of joy so nearly empty, was now filled to overflowing15. He beamed; he smiled until his mouth threatened to split from ear to ear. Never was a man or woman’s happiness more complete. In his ecstasy16, the hard rock beneath him felt like a seat among the clouds.
And now with his discovery of the lost art, came a desire to put that art to a practical test. Knowledge meant power if used to good purpose. Pic determined17 to adapt the much he had learned to his own ends.
His first need was raw material on which to work. This meant a trip to the valley in search of flint. Before venturing forth18, he gathered up the treasure and replaced it within the cavity where he had found it—all but the bone tool and a single blade. He then set the stone back in place and covered it[242] with loose dirt so that it was effectually concealed19. The one flint he retained, was intended to replace the blade of Ach Eul so recently broken over the hyena’s head. He recovered his discarded ax-haft and in a jiffy, it was fitted with a new head as large and keen as the one it had originally borne.
Thus re-armed, he descended20 into the valley and sought the river gravels21 for raw flint-lumps—essentials in implement22 manufacture. After securing all that he could conveniently carry, he crossed the meadows and chose a secluded23 spot among the loose boulders24 which lay thickly strewn along the base of the towering cliff-walls. Here, without danger of being interrupted he devoted25 himself to the practical application of his newly discovered flint-working art.
First he broke up the lumps he had gathered with a hammer-stone in the usual way. This in itself was an operation which called for a considerable degree of skill. When struck in the right place and with just the proper force, the wax-like sheets or blanks were detached from the flint-mass with remarkable26 smoothness and precision. In the performance of this operation, Pic displayed an adeptness27 born of long experience. Once the blanks were hewn, then came the second step in flint-making when the blanks were roughed out to the desired shapes and partly edged. This work[243] was accomplished by light taps of the hammer-stone. Up to this point the work was done according to the ordinary method of the skilled Mousterian artisan.
Pic drew a long deep breath. All was ready for the third and final stage—retouching—such as no Mousterian had ever attempted. His fingers trembled as he put aside his hammer-stone and essayed his first trial of the new art.
The bone tool now came into play. With it, Pic pressed off the last tiny chips along the point and edges of the flint-flake3. By this time he had become so engrossed28 in his work that he was entirely oblivious29 to everything else. A clammy snake-like object suddenly glided30 over his left shoulder and as he sprang to his feet and faced about with an astonished yell, there stood the Mammoth31 and Rhinoceros32 so close that either one could have trod upon him with a single forward step.
“Ugh!” he muttered weakly as he recognized his friends. “Why did you so startle me? You should have given warning.”
To this, the Mammoth paid scant33 attention. “What were you doing there?” he asked. “Not the rock-cracking part but that which you do with the little stick. I never saw you do the like before.”
“Stick? Agh, you mean the bone tool.” Pic held[244] it up so that both could see. “This is the Terrace Man’s secret, his method of retouching hammered flakes. I found it high upon a mountain, in a cave, beneath a stone in the floor——”
“The treasure!” echoed both animals.
“Aye, the treasure. I found it only this morning in my cave upon the Rock.”
The Mammoth who was with difficulty restraining his rising excitement at this unexpected news, looked quickly this way and that. “What? Where?” he eagerly demanded.
“Here right in front of your nose,” said Pic. “This piece of bone. There were flints too; but this bone is the treasure.”
Hairi seized it between the two lips of his trunk-tip and held it before his eyes for examination. “A bone?” he repeated in tones of overwhelming disappointment. His jaw34 dropped. His ears hung limp.
“I said it was probably a bone,” the Rhinoceros now broke in with an I-told-you-so air. “Did it have any meat on it?”
“No it was just as you see it,” Pic replied. “Remarkable is it not?”
Hairi regarded it with a look of intense disgust. Even Wulli began to share his lack of enthusiasm.
“Treasure, indeed,” the Mammoth sniffed35.
[245]
“It might as well have been a piece of rotten wood,” the Rhinoceros added.
“You do not understand,” said Pic. “This bone is a tool. A man buried it. He used it to retouch his flints. See; he pressed off the tiny chips instead of hammering them.” He illustrated36 his remarks by applying one end of the bone to a flake; a most interesting explanation to all present except his two friends. Wulli stared with his blankest expression while the Mammoth stretched his neck and yawned:
“Warm day, this. Soon we will all have to be off for the cool country.”
But Pic made no reply, for by this time, he was back, squatting37 among his flint-flakes and again absorbed in his work. For a time his two friends looked wonderingly on; then becoming impatient, they fidgeted and stamped and grumbled38 and made all sorts of disagreeable remarks, none of which did Pic have eyes or ears for. Finally they went off in a huff leaving Pic squatting alone and unmindful of their departure.
All day he toiled39 and it was only when the shades of night began to settle over him that he rose to his feet and kicked the knots out of his cramped40 limbs. His night was spent in the grotto41 of Moustier but with the first morning light, he was up and ready to resume his work. The Mammoth and Rhinoceros[246] and the Cave-men of Ferrassie were temporarily set aside.
“Flints first; my friends second,” he determined for the moment and therewith sought a secluded nook among the loftiest and most inaccessible42 crags where he could perform his self-allotted task without interference from friend or foe43.
It was not long before his efforts began to produce results. Although at first, his use of the bone tool was slow and laborious44, he was patient and eager to learn and his technique quickly improved. He spoiled some pieces and only half-succeeded with others but practice makes perfect and gradually he attained45 proficiency46 in the master craft, perhaps even excelled the Terrace flint-worker in one particular at least—diversity of form. He did not confine his efforts to producing ax-blades alone but made each flake into whatever tool its shape suggested. Thin elongate47 pieces he fashioned into points for darts48; irregular flakes of no particular form with curved edges, made excellent tools for scraping and dressing49 hides; large fragments with one long keen edge served for skinning-blades, and so on.
For a week or more, he pursued his vocation50 in total solitude51 until at last it seemed to him that the time was near at hand to prove the value of his discovery in the eyes of men and at the same time[247] determine the measure of his success in putting it to a practical test.
“The men of the Rock-shelter shall judge its merits,” he determined. “Unless their eyes are opened, I will renounce52 the new art of flint-making forever.”
And so one morning, he selected three of his newly made flints—his best and no two alike—and wrapped them in a packet of rabbit skin. This done, he concealed his remaining flints together with the bone finishing tool, swept away all traces of his work and was soon on his way down the valley towards the Rock-shelter of Ferrassie.
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1
pertained
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| 关于( pertain的过去式和过去分词 )； 有关； 存在； 适用 | |
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2
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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3
flake
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| v.使成薄片；雪片般落下；n.薄片 | |
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4
flakes
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| 小薄片( flake的名词复数 )； （尤指）碎片； 雪花； 古怪的人 | |
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5
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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trifling
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| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
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7
intrude
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| vi.闯入；侵入；打扰，侵扰 | |
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8
notched
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| a.有凹口的，有缺口的 | |
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9
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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10
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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11
astounding
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| adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词) | |
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12
diffused
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| 散布的，普及的，扩散的 | |
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13
overestimated
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| 对（数量）估计过高，对…作过高的评价( overestimate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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14
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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15
overflowing
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| n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的，充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式 | |
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16
ecstasy
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| n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷 | |
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17
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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18
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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19
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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20
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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21
gravels
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| 沙砾( gravel的名词复数 )； 砾石； 石子； 结石 | |
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22
implement
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| n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行 | |
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23
secluded
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| adj.与世隔绝的；隐退的；偏僻的v.使隔开，使隐退( seclude的过去式和过去分词) | |
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24
boulders
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| n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾 | |
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25
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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26
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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27
adeptness
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| n.熟练，老练 | |
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engrossed
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| adj.全神贯注的 | |
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oblivious
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| adj.易忘的，遗忘的，忘却的，健忘的 | |
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30
glided
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| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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31
mammoth
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| n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的 | |
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32
rhinoceros
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| n.犀牛 | |
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33
scant
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| adj.不充分的，不足的；v.减缩，限制，忽略 | |
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34
jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
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35
sniffed
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| v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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36
illustrated
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| adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词 | |
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37
squatting
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的现在分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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38
grumbled
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| 抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声 | |
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39
toiled
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的过去式和过去分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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40
cramped
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| a.狭窄的 | |
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41
grotto
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| n.洞穴 | |
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42
inaccessible
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| adj.达不到的，难接近的 | |
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43
foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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44
laborious
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| adj.吃力的，努力的，不流畅 | |
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45
attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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46
proficiency
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| n.精通，熟练，精练 | |
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47
elongate
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| v.拉长，伸长，延长 | |
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48
darts
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| n.掷飞镖游戏；飞镖( dart的名词复数 )；急驰，飞奔v.投掷，投射( dart的第三人称单数 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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49
dressing
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| n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料 | |
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50
vocation
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| n.职业，行业 | |
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51
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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52
renounce
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| v.放弃；拒绝承认，宣布与…断绝关系 | |
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