Calcined bones of animals
lie about on the ground, the relics of a funeral repast laid in the
tomb by the friends of the dead. Amidst these bones we no longer find
those of the reindeer, a fact which proves that these monuments were
constructed after the disappearance of this animal from western
Europe, and therefore at a time subsequent to that of the lake
villages.
THE AGE OF BRONZE
=Bronze Age.=--As soon as men learned to smelt metals, they preferred
these to stone in the manufacture of weapons. The metal first to be
used was copper, easier to extract because found free, and easier to
manipulate since it is malleable without the application of heat. Pure
copper, however, was not employed, as weapons made of it were too
fragile; but a little tin was mixed with it to give it more
resistance. It is this alloy of copper and tin that we call bronze.
=Bronze Utensils.=--Bronze was used in the manufacture of ordinary
tools--knives, hammers, saws, needles, fish-hooks; in the fabrication
of ornaments--bracelets, brooches, ear-rings; and especially in the
making of arms--daggers, lance-points, axes, and swords.
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