In the art of working metals the Babylonians showed no small degree of proficiency: evidence has already been given of the way in which metal was made to contribute her share to the perfected work of the architect, as also of its employment as a material whereon the scribe might engrave his comparatively imperishable memorials, but the part which it played in the history of the country’s art, as well as in the growth of her civilization, remains to be considered. The metals which appear to have been most in use among the dwellers in Mesopotamia are copper and bronze. As in every other country, before metal became known and utilized in the Euphrates valley, stone was employed as the material for making knives, axes, and implements of every kind. Various flints were found by Taylor at Abû Shahrein (Eridu).[104] At Fâra (Shuruppak) also, numerous flint knives and saws, together with some hatchets and tools made of the same material, were discovered by the German excavators, and tools made of bone were further found on the same site. But the copper age commenced at a very early period in the history of Babylonian civilization, at a time previous to the appearance of cuneiform, and while even the earlier picture-signs were still untrammelled by the stereotyped formalism of later days, copper had already been adapted to the needs and requirements of humanity.[105] [Illustration: FIG. 37.—A (Cat., p. 367; _Déc. en Chald._, Pl. 5 tert. Musée du Louvre.) B (Heuzey, _Une Villa Royale_, Fig. 19.)]