(3) The ornamental reniform rings (Schwurring) from Morges and Thonon ([Fig. 17], Nos. 2 and 3), could not have been used as bracelets, and Dr. Forel suggests that they are analogous to the armilla sacra on which the ancient Germans were wont to place their hands when about to swear a solemn oath. (B. 286, p. 46.)
Fig. 195.—Objects suggestive of Religious Ideas. Nos. 4, 9 to 13, 15 and 16 = 1⁄2; 1 to 3, 5 to 8, 14 and 19 = 1⁄4; and 17 and 18 = 1⁄8 real size.
In the Museum at Brunswick, in Germany, I noticed three of these rings, one of which is almost identical with the one from Morges, differing from it only in the details of the ornamentation; but of their history and origin nothing seems to have been known. Another is in the Museo Civico, at Turin, as well as a large circular ring like that from the lacustrine station at Wollishofen ([Fig. 188], No. 2), both of which have been figured by Gastaldi. (B. 294, Pl. xii.) I believe it more probable that these large circular rings, though generally considered to be bracelets, were used for the same purpose as the reniform rings. Among the objects in the prehistoric and Roman collection of antiquities in St. Ulric, at Regensberg (Ratisbon), there is a large hollow ring of bronze, ornamented with three lines of concentric circles, which measures six inches in external and three inches in internal diameter, thus leaving one and a half inch for the thickness of the ring. It was found, along with several other things, in a pre-Roman grave (Hügel-grab) near Velburg.
(4) The clay images of animals found on several stations in different parts of the lake-dwelling area, as well as those of the terremare ([Fig. 84], Nos. 23 and 24), and more especially the human images from Laibach, are probably idols. On [Fig. 195], along with four clay figures from the lakes of Neuchâtel and Bourget (Nos. 9, 10, 13, and 14), I represent two of bronze (Nos. 15 and 16), which I noticed in a collection from Bodmann, in the Steinhaus Museum, at Überlingen. One of these was evidently used as a pendant, and the other appears to have been intended for a human being. The clay figures from Laibach (Nos. 5 to 8), though fragmentary, are undoubtedly representations of the human body. Nos. 5 and 6 represent the back and front view of the trunk of a female, while No. 7 shows a human body with a prominent nose. These two figures are hollow in the interior, and richly ornamented exteriorly with designs which are supposed to be imitations of embroidered garments. Another of these human figures from Laibach, as well as the image of a small animal, is represented on [Fig. 42], Nos. 11, 23 and 24.
The extraordinary number of implements and chips of nephrite found at Maurach, and the equal predominance of flint refuse and implements in all stages of manufacture at some of the other stations, as Wallhausen, Nussdorf, etc., suggest the idea that the various industries prosecuted by the inhabitants of the lake-villages had already developed to such an extent as to become localised in certain centres. Again, the localisation of certain industries, as comestibles in one place, flax in its various preparatory stages in another, the complete kit of foundry tools in a third, etc., all point to the knowledge and practice of the principles of the division of labour.
That the lake-dwellers kept up commercial relations with foreign countries is proved by their possessing materials, not only peculiar to distant or limited areas, such as amber, jade, flint, etc., but also certain objects having such peculiarities in form or style of ornamentation as have enabled experienced archæologists to trace them to their original areas of evolution. Thus at Corcelettes were found an ornamental bronze dish, and portion of a fibula ([Fig. 189], Nos. 19 and 20), which, when seen by Montelius in the Museum at Lausanne, were at once recognised by him as of northern origin. (B. 348.) Dr. Keller has also shown, as already stated, that certain bronze objects found in the Lake of Neuchâtel, which for a long time remained a puzzle to archæologists, belonged to an Etruscan carriage or biga. The few fibulæ found in the Swiss lake-dwellings have also been traced to their native habitats in Northern Italy.[141] The half-moon-shaped flint knives, so characteristic of Scandinavia and Northern Germany, have been found as far south as the Mondsee, and one solitary representative ([Fig. 34], No. 20), now in the Museum of Natural History at Stuttgart, is said to have come from Schussenried station.
One notable fact about the distribution of lake-dwellings is that their relics conform in style, ornamentation, and general characteristics, to contemporary antiquities in the surrounding districts; and I find no special characters in their industrial remains that bind the lake-dwellers together as one clannish people. The relics from the lake-dwellings of the Stone Age in Northern Germany are readily seen to be closely related with those of the Scandinavian archæological area. Whatever the original resemblances and points of agreement of the founders may have been, they were soon modified and adapted to the physical conditions and requirements of their environments.
That continued attention was paid to the rearing and breeding of domesticated animals during the Bronze Age is attested by their osseous remains, which have been critically examined by such competent authorities as Rütimeyer (B. 42), Studer (B. 404), Uhlmann (B. 336), and others. While the lake-dwellers of the earlier Stone Age had only as domestic animals one small species of dog, a small ox, a horned sheep, and the goat, we find that towards the end of this period and during the succeeding Bronze Age not only new and large breeds were developed, but another was added to the list, viz. the horse. From the remains of the domestic horse found at Moeringen and elsewhere it appears to have been a small and slender-limbed animal with small hoofs, and altogether much inferior to the wild horse as hunted and eaten by the cave men of palæolithic times, from which it is supposed to have been a direct descendant. When the Aar canal was being excavated the bones of the smaller or domestic horse were found associated with bronze objects in no less than nine different localities, all of which agree with the above characteristics. (B. 404.) The horse of the terremare, according to Professor Strobel, presents the same characters as that of the Swiss lake-dwellings, and as we have already seen from the bridle-bits and other horse trappings, there can be no doubt it was also in a state of domestication. I may also mention that a skull found at Auvernier was believed by Rütimeyer, after most careful deliberation, to be that of the ass. Professor Strobel has also recognised the osseous remains of the ass in the terremare. (B. 389b.) The sheep diverged considerably from its earlier form, and lost much of its goat-like appearance, being now larger, and developed into various breeds. Still more varied were the breeds of cattle, especially in the vicinity of the lakes of Bienne and Neuchâtel. The Bos primigenius appears to have been tamed and crossed with the earlier type, giving rise to a variety of breeds, such as trococeros and frontosus, one of which had wide branching horns, as is proved from its remains found at Concise, Chevroux, Locras, etc. The small dog of the Stone Age (Canis domesticus palustris, Rüt.) gave place to a much larger kind, somewhat resembling our modern greyhound. The domestic pig also appears to have passed through various evolutionary phases; but the wild boar still retained its individuality intact. Dr. Uhlmann in his report on the osseous remains from the Grosser Hafner, at Zürich (B. 336), describes three varieties of the pig, as well as three of cattle.