“The theory that the Neolithic inhabitants of the British Isles are represented by the Basques and small, dark Iberic population of Europe generally, has stood the test of twenty-five years’ criticism, and still holds the field. From the side of philology it is supported by the fact pointed out by Inchauspé that the Basque word _aitz_ for stone is the root from which the present names of pick, knife, and scissors made of iron are derived. This of itself shows that the ancestors of the Basques were in the Neolithic stage of culture. The name of Ireland, according to Rhys,[39] is derived from Iber-land (Hibernia), the land of the Iberians, or sons of Iber. The evidence seems to be clear: 1. That the Iberians were the original inhabitants of France and Spain in the Neolithic age, and the only inhabitants of the British Isles; 2. That they were driven out of the south-eastern parts of France and Spain in the Neolithic age; (3) That they are now amply represented by the small dark peoples in the Iberian Peninsula, and in the island which bears their name, and in various other places in Western Europe, where they constitute, as Broca happily phrases it, ‘ethnological islands.’ The small, dark, long-headed Yorkshiremen form one of these islands.” [39] _Celtic Britain_, p. 262. Let us pause for a moment to consider the stage of culture attained by the Neolithic aborigines of Britain whom the Celts found here on their first arrival. The houses in which Neolithic man lived are of two kinds: (1) pit dwellings dug to a depth of from seven to ten feet deep in the chalk, like those at Highfield,[40] near Salisbury, explored by Mr. Adlam in 1866; and (2) hut-circles like those at Carn Brê near Camborne,[41] in Cornwall, excavated by Mr. Thurstan C. Peter, and on Dartmoor,[42] excavated by the Rev. S. Baring-Gould and Mr. R. Burnard. In many cases the villages are fortified by a wall of rubble stone, as at Grimspound, on Dartmoor. Neolithic dwellings have also been explored by Mr. George Clinch, at Keston, in Kent.[43] Neolithic man supported himself by the chase and by fishing, and also was a farmer in a small way, growing wheat and cultivating flax. He had domesticated the sheep, goat, ox, hog, and dog. He could spin, weave, mine flint, chip and polish stone implements and make rude pottery. [40] W. Boyd Dawkins’ _Early Man in Britain_, p. 267; and E. T. Stevens’ _Flint Chips_, p. 57. [41] R. Burnard in _Trans. of Plymouth Inst._, 1895-6; and T. C. Peter in _Jour. R. Inst. of Cornwall_, No. 42. [42] Reports of Dartmoor Exploration Committee in the _Trans. of Devonshire Assoc. for Advancement of Science_. [43] _Proc. Soc. Ant. Lond._, ser 2, vol. xii., p. 258, and vol. xvii., p. 216.