Atlantis: The Antedeluvian WorldDonnelly, Ignatius
History
Atlantis: The Antedeluvian World
Donnelly, Ignatius
Atlantis (Legendary place); Deluge; Ethnology
"Not among the least interesting and remarkable relics," continues the
same author, "obtained from the mounds are the stone tubes. They are all
carved from fine-grained materials, capable of receiving a polish, and
being made ornamental as well as useful. The finest specimen yet
discovered, and which can scarcely be surpassed in the delicacy of its
workmanship, was found in a mound in the immediate vicinity of
Chillicothe. It is composed of a compact variety of slate. This stone
cuts with great clearness, and receives a fine though not glaring
polish. The tube under notice is thirteen inches long by one and
one-tenth in diameter; one end swells slightly, and the other terminates
in a broad, flattened, triangular mouth-piece of fine proportions, which
is carved with mathematical precision. It is drilled throughout; the
bore is seven-tenths of an inch in diameter at the cylindrical end of
the tube, and retains that calibre until it reaches the point where the
cylinder subsides into the mouth-piece, when it contracts gradually to
one-tenth of an inch. The inner surface of the tube is perfectly smooth
till within a short distance of the point of contraction. For the
remaining distance the circular striæ, formed by the drill in boring,
are distinctly marked. The carving upon it is very fine."
That they possessed saws is proved by the fact that on some fossil teeth
found in one of the mounds the striæ of the teeth of the saw could be
distinctly perceived.
When we consider that some of their porphyry carvings will turn the edge
of the best-tempered knife, we are forced to conclude that they
possessed that singular process, known to the Mexicans and Peruvians of
tempering copper to the hardness of steel.
We find in the mounds adzes similar in shape to our own, with the edges
bevelled from the inside.
Drills and gravers of copper have also been found, with chisel-shaped
edges or sharp points.
"It is not impossible," says Squier, "but, on the contrary, very
probable, from a close inspection of the mound pottery, that the ancient
people possessed the simple approximation toward the potter's wheel; and
the polish which some of the finer vessels possess is due to other
causes than vitrification."
Their sculptures show a considerable degree of progress. They consist of
figures of birds, animals, reptiles, and the faces of men, carved from
various kinds of stones, upon the bowls of pipes, upon toys, upon rings,
and in distinct and separate figures. We give the opinions of those who
have examined them.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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