Natal Advertiser (17 April 1931)

Natal Advertiser (17 April 1931)

Newspaper Clippings

clipping of newspaper article

17 April 1931

Dorothea Bleek (loose clippings ), acceptance of digging-stick stone hypothesis, clippings (D. Bleek's loose ), digging-stick stone ("prehistoric fire-drill" hypothesis ), ancient race/antiquity hypothesis (applied to age), use of digging-stick stone (of Rev. Schwellnus )

"Strange Purpose of the Bushman Stone. 'Prehistoric Man's Fire-Drill.' Pretoria Explanation of a World-Wide Mystery." Discussion of the enigma of the "Bushman Stone" and hypotheses about their uses and age in a "Natal Advertiser" article. Dorothea Bleek is named as an authority on the Bushmen who supports the accepted "digging-stick" hypothesis; however, others believe that they were not created by the Bushmen for digging but by a foreign, ancient race (see also "antiquity" hypotheses of Frobenius, Impey et al). In Pretoria, there is a large collection - the Vaderland collection of stones. Study of these stones has led to a new hypothesis by Berlin missionary Rev. Schwellnus: their use as "fire-drills" for the making of fire. The author is of the opinion that this technique and use for making fire was lost because the ancient race who used it vanished from S.A long before habitation by more recent native cultures. Slip of paper pasted underneath clipping reads: "International Press-Cutting Bureau, 110, Fleet Street, London, E.C.4. Extract from Natal Advertiser Durban, S.A. Date 17 Apr. 1931 [stamped]"