Solution Manual for BCOM 5th

Edition by Lehman

Full download link at: https://testbankpack.com/p/solution-manual-

for-bcom-5th-edition-by-lehman-isbn-1285094247-9781285094243/

7. Delivering Bad-News Messages

In this chapter, you will find:

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
KEY CONCEPTS
KEY TERMS
CHAPTER OUTLINE
POWERPOINT SLIDES
TEACHING SUGGESTIONS
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
REVIEW QUESTIONS & SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS
FEATURED ASSIGNMENTS
ADDITIONAL ASSIGNMENTS
CASE ASSIGNMENT

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LEARNING Objectives

Explain the steps in the inductive outline and understand its use for
specific situations.
Discuss strategies for developing the five components of a bad-news
message.
Prepare messages refusing requests and claims.
Prepare messages handling problems with customers’ orders and
denying credit.
1 Prepare messages providing constructive criticism,
communicating negative organizational news, and responding to
crises.

KEY CONCEPTS

Bad-news messages typically require an inductive strategy. Situations covered include sharing bad
news, refusing a request, denying a claim, refusing an order, denying credit, delivering constructive
criticism, and communicating negative organizational news. The construction of bad-news messages
involves more delicate human relations issues than good- and neutral-news messages.

KEY TERMS

TERM PAGE TERM PAGE

Counterproposal 114 Fair Credit Reporting Act 122

CHAPTER OUTLINE

7-1 Choosing an Appropriate Channel and Organizational Pattern 109

7-1a Channel Choice and Commitment to Tact 109
7-1b Use of the Inductive Approach to Build Goodwill 109
7-1c Exceptions to the Inductive Approach 111
7-2 Developing a Bad-News Message 111
7-2a Writing the Introductory Paragraph 111
7-2b Presenting the Facts, Analysis, and Reasons 112
7-2c Writing the Bad-News Statement 113
7-2d Offering a Counterproposal or “Silver Lining” Idea 114
7-2e Closing Positively 115
7-3 Refusing a Request 115
7-4 Denying a Claim 116

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7-5 Denying Credit 120
7-6 Delivering Constructive Criticism 122
7-7 Communicating Negative Organizational News 122
7-7a Breaking Bad News 124
7-7b Responding to Crisis Situations 126

LECTURE SLIDES

1. Delivering Bad-News Messages

2. Learning Objectives
3. Indirect Outline for Bad-News Messages
4. Using the Inductive Approach to Build Goodwill
5. Types of Bad-News Messages
6. Advantages of Inductive Outline
7. Exceptions to Inductive Approach for Bad News
8. Developing the Opening
9. Effective Openings for Bad-News Message
10. Perfecting Buffer Statements
11. Guidelines for Composing Reasons
12. Wording the Bad-News Statement
13. Examples of De-Emphasis Techniques
14. Examples of De-Emphasis Techniques (cont)
15. Offering a Counterproposal or “Silver Lining”
16. Perfecting Refusal Statement
17. Techniques for Closing Positively
18. To Close Positively, Avoid . . .
19. Closing Positively: What Would You Do
20. Closing Positively: What Not to Do
21. Refusal of Employee Request: What Does Not Work
22. Refusal of Employee Request: Why It Works
23. Refusal of Employee Request: Why It Works(cont.)
24. Refusal of a Favor: Why It Works
25. Denying a Claim: What Doesn’t Work
26. Denying a Claim: Why It Works
27. Credit Denial: Why It Works
28. Adhering to the Fair Credit Reporting Act
29. Delivering Constructive Criticism
30. Constructive Criticism: What Does Not Work
31. Constructive Criticism: Why It Works
32. Sharing Negative Organizational News
33. Negative Organizational News: What Does Not Work
34. Negative Organizational News: Why It Works
35. Negative Organizational News (cont.)

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TEACHING SUGGESTIONS
LEARNING OBJECTIVE 1
Explain the steps in the inductive outline, and understand its use for specific situations.

Using the Inductive Approach to Build Goodwill

• Reasons are easier to understand if given before bad news
• Reasons might be ignored when bad news is given first
• Disappointment in bad news might interfere with ability to understand reasons
.

Choosing an Appropriate Channel and Organizational Pattern

• Emphasize the close tie between customer loyalty and an organization’s ability to handle
difficult situations with tact and empathy.
• Encourage students to share examples based on their own experience.

Channel Choice and Commitment to Tact

• Discuss channel choices for negative communication with this question: “Have you ever been
fired from an employment position? How did your supervisor handle firing you or laying you off
— in person, over the phone, via a letter, or via email?”
• Show a video clip from the “The Apprentice” and discuss Donald Trump’s use of “you’re fired.”
Remind students that his directness is not the usually the best choice of organizational pattern
and word use when letting an employee go.
• Discuss face-to-face communication as an ideal channel for negative messages because of the
rich nonverbal messages and opportunity for feedback to minimize the misinterpretation of
highly sensitive messages.
• Discuss the increase in email to deliver bad-news messages because of honesty, accuracy, and
lessened discomfort. However, stress the importance of considering the impersonal nature of
email for bad-news messages.

Use of the Inductive Approach to Build Goodwill

• Discuss assessing the reader’s likely reaction to the bad-news message.
• Discuss the sequence of the bad-news messages. Stress the possible negative reactions to bad
news positioned before the explanations as you show the visual.

Exceptions to the Inductive Approach

• Lead a class discussion of occasions when the deductive approach for a negative message may
better serve the writer’s purpose.
 The message is a second response to a repeated request.
 The matter is insignificant in its resolution.
 The request is ridiculous, immoral, unethical, illegal, or dangerous.
 Cultural issues dictate the message be delivered differently.
 The sender wants to demonstrate authority.

LEARNING OBJECTIVE 2
Discuss strategies for developing the five components of a bad-news message.

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Developing a Bad-News Message
• Point out that a bad-news outline has five sections with specific principles involved in writing
each: (a) introductory paragraph, (b) explanation, (c) bad-news statement, (d) counterproposal
or “silver lining idea,” and (d) closing paragraph.
• Have students study the ineffective and effective applications of the inductive outline illustrated
in the textbook or from examples they find on their own.

Writing the Introductory Paragraph

• Discuss techniques about techniques for developing the introductory paragraph.
• Review possible opening with the following examples:
o Imply bad news if possible. Use subjunctive mood.
Example: Had you selected a variable rate, you could have taken advantage of the
recent drop in interest rates.
o Use positive language that accents the good.
Example: NOT: We cannot ship your order until . . . .
INSTEAD: Your order will be shipped when. . . .
o Offer counterproposal that shows writer wants to help.
o Example: Although our current personnel shortage prevents us . . ., we can
(alternative).
o Use stylistic techniques:
Complex sentence—bad news in the dependent clause
General terms and abstract nouns
Passive voice
Example: NOT: You failed to verify the payroll figures.
INSTEAD: The payroll figures must be verified. (passive)
Please verify the payroll figures.
(Focuses on the solution rather than the problem)

Writing the Bad-News Statement

• Discuss ways to minimize the impact of bad news and techniques for writing the bad-news
statement.
• Reinforce principles of writing the bad-news statement.
• Discuss de-emphasis techniques.

Offering a Counterproposal or “Silver Lining” Idea

• Emphasize that offering an alternative instead of a flat “no” keeps communication open and
avoids damage to egos.
• Discuss possible analogies to help students understand the effect of the counterproposal: The
counterproposal is to the “no” response as a highway detour is to the desired route.
• Remind students that effective counterproposals (states what you can do or offer) or the “silver
lining” (provides a thought that turns the discussion back in a positive direction) approach are
the best approach to continuing customer loyalty. Customers satisfied with the handling of a
bad-news situation and with the offered counterproposal will be the customers who return to a
business.

Closing Positively
• Discuss techniques for writing the closing paragraph.
o De-emphasize the negative
o Unify the message

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 o
Include a positive, forward-looking idea
▪ Reference pleasant idea from discussion
▪ Use resale or sales promotion
▪ Express willingness to help in another way
• Have students work in pairs or small groups of 3 to study the approaches used in the closing
paragraphs in the model documents in the chapter.
• Summarize the discussion of techniques for developing the sections of a bad-news message by
asking students to recall an incident when they received or communicated a disappointing
message. Did the sender apply the principles presented in the chapter? Lead them in a discussion
of ways the message could have been improved.
 Because each of the five sections of a bad-news message poses unique challenges,
the class can benefit from concentrating on certain portions of messages. For
example, after a writing problem is defined, students in certain parts of the
classroom could write the first sentence; others, the explanation; others, the refusal
sentence; and others, the final sentence. Sentences could be collected and some
selected for reading aloud or displayed.
 As a writing assignment, students write individual sentences or paragraphs instead
of an entire bad-news message.

LEARNING OBJECTIVE 3
Prepare messages refusing requests and claims.

Types of Bad News Messages

• Introduce all the types of bad news messages.
• Remind students that determining whether a message is bad news focuses on perceived reaction
to the message.

Refusing a Request
• Discuss successful refusals for requests/favors.
• Point out that refusing employee requests is just as important as refusal letters that must build
customer goodwill. The same type of sensitivity and honest explanations are needed.

LEARNING OBJECTIVE 4
Prepare messages handling problems with customers’ orders and denying credit.

Maintaining Goodwill and Customer Loyalty

• Discuss the challenge of refusing customer claims while maintaining goodwill and developing
customer loyalty. Ask students why the inductive approach is helpful in this situation. The
inductive approach softens the bad-news by explaining the refusal and increasing customer
understanding.
• Emphasize the importance of tone in customer in customer refusals.

Denying a Claim
• Discuss the general sequence of ideas in an adjustment refusal.
• Ask students to critique and/or revise the poorly written claim denials from examples in the book
or one the instructor provides.

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Resale Material while Building Goodwill and Loyalty
• Lead a discussion of possible reasons for not being able to send merchandise that has been
ordered.
• Discuss the need to include sales promotion or resale information in the refusal to promote
future sales or the image of the company.
• Stress that the inductive outline is recommended to minimize the customer’s disappointment and
including resale is important to build customer loyalty and retain goodwill.

Denying Credit
• Emphasize the legal implications involved in refusing credit and the importance of having legal
counsel review credit refusal letters.
• Review the requirements of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA).
• Emphasize the value of resale in a credit refusal letter.

LEARNING OBJECTIVE 5
Prepare messages providing constructive criticism, communicating negative organizational news,
and responding to crises.

Delivering Constructive Criticism

• Emphasize that writing messages that point out negatives is a part of civic responsibility.
However, the motive should be to help; vindication is not a legitimate motive.
• Discuss the content and style of constructive criticisms. Emphasize the legal and ethical
implications in a good example. Ask students to respond to the following questions:
 What is the sender’s motive in preparing the letter? Is it to vent anger or help the
customer?
 What writing techniques were used to ensure that your motives are genuine?
 What is gained from positive and negative points?
 Why were details of specific behaviors and incidents necessary? Explain the
guidelines you will use for selecting information to include in constructive
criticisms that you deliver.

Communicating Negative Organizational News

• Discuss the importance of internal communication as contributing to employee morale and
overall customer service—if employees are happy, customers will tend to be happy.
• Consider the company that does not keep employees informed of upcoming meetings, changes
in policies, etc. How can these employees communicate effectively with clients or vendors
without enough information?
• Compare employee morale to customer goodwill in terms of their importance and their fragile
nature.
• Remind students that regular communication with employees via staff meetings, an
organizational newsletter, or chat opportunities with company management will aid during times
where management must convey negative messages about an organization.
• Lead students in a discussion of occasions when memorandums and email messages are
appropriate and inappropriate means of communicating bad news.

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 CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES

1. Appropriateness of the Inductive Outline: In pairs, describe either a personal or business-

related situation you faced in which you had to share bad news with someone. How did you
structure your message? What channel did you use for sharing the news? Was your strategy
effective?

Responses will vary. Students should focus on the need for inductive outline except in the special
circumstances. They should also consider the points regarding channel choice. If time permits
following the small-group discussion, ask a spokesperson from each group to summarize the results
of the discussion. This topic could also lead to the presentation of an oral report.

2. De-emphasizing Negative Ideas: Prepare a list of techniques for de-emphasizing a refusal.

Provide an example of your own for each technique.

Students should list the techniques for de-emphasizing bad news shown on the lecture slide. The
exercise will be an excellent review of these techniques before students prepare an assignment for a
grade.

3. Determining Appropriate Sequence of Ideas: Deductive or Inductive: Identify whether each of

the following messages should be written deductively or inductively based on the receiver’s
likely reaction to the message.
Message Answer
a. A message from a customer service manager saying no to a customer’s third request
Deductive
for a refund that was previously denied.
b. A message from a company president to reject a contract proposal offered by an
Inductive
international business partner whose cultural style is direct and forthright.
c. A message refusing a customer’s request to reduce his monthly payment for Internet
Inductive
services. He contends busy signals prevented him from connecting most of the time
d. A message from an automobile dealer informing a customer that the delivery of a
Inductive
custom-order vehicle will be delayed two months.
e. A message from an appliance manufacturer authorizing the replacement of an under-
Deductive
the-counter ice machine that is still under warranty.
f. A message from a human resources manager refusing an employee’s request that the
manager “fudge” to a lender about his reported income to help him qualify for a home Inductive
loan.
g. A message from a financial planner apologizing for not placing an order to buy mutual
Deductive
funds for a customer.
h. A message from the chief financial officer of a local business agreeing to serve on a
Deductive
fund-raising committee for a community service organization.
i. A message extending appreciation for the outstanding work of a consulting firm that
Deductive
spearheaded your successful effort to obtain ISO 9000 certification.

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 4. Choosing an Effective Channel: For each of the situations in the previous activity, decide
which communication channel would be most appropriate. Explain your reasoning.
Situation Channel
a. A message from a customer service manager saying no to a Mailed Letter because of the
customer’s third request for a refund that was previously denied. amount of requests the customer
has sent. You made need written
proof of refusal.
b. A message from a company president to reject a contract proposal Mailed Letter or email. Foreign
offered by an international business partner whose cultural style is business partners receive email
direct and forthright. more quickly, but the situation may
call for a more formal refusal.
c. A message refusing a customer’s request to reduce his monthly Reply with the same format in
payment for Internet services. He contends busy signals prevented which the message was received for
him from connecting most of the time the customer’s convenience.
d. A message from an automobile dealer informing a customer that Phone call or email. The customer
the delivery of a custom-order vehicle will be delayed two expects the vehicle soon and
months. expects a phone call upon arrival,
making this the most appropriate
channel.
e. A message from an appliance manufacturer authorizing the
Email or mailed letter. Response to
replacement of an under-the-counter ice machine that is still under
a routine request is fairly informal.
warranty.
f. A message from a human resources manager refusing an Mailed letter. Sensitive situation
employee’s request that the manager “fudge” to a lender about his involving management and an
reported income to help him qualify for a home loan. employee requires written evidence.
g. A message from a financial planner apologizing for not placing an Mailed letter to imply sincerity and
order to buy mutual funds for a customer. repair customer relations.
h. A message from the chief financial officer of a local business Mailed letter. Provides written
agreeing to serve on a fund-raising committee for a community message as a reminder of his
service organization. engagement.
i. A message extending appreciation for the outstanding work of a
Mailed letter to imply sincerity and
consulting firm that spearheaded your successful effort to obtain
provide a written copy of gratitude.
ISO 9000 certification.
j. A message acknowledging shipment of an order and extending Email or mailed letter. Form letter
credit to a first-time customer. would be most appropriate for this
routine message.

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5. Writing Inductive Openings: Revise the following openings so that they are inductive.
a. Because your all-in-one printer did not show any defects in workmanship until three
months after the warranty expired, we cannot honor your claim.
b. We received many applications for this position, but an internal candidate was selected.
c. Dampier Enterprises cannot participate in the Magnolia Charity Benefit this year.
d. This letter is in response to your complaint of April 9.
e. Company policy does not allow me to approve the proposed transaction.

a. We’re pleased that you’re an owner of the new all-in-one printer. . . . (from positive
beginning, discuss the warranty and how it is good for a certain amount of time. Then
deliver the bad news.
b. Thank you for your interest in working for our company. We had many internal as well
as external candidates. . . . . (After establishing rapport, indicate reasons for hiring an
internal candidate and qualifications of hired candidate.)
c. We want to commend you for the work of the Magnolia Charity in helping the
community. In past years, Dampier Enterprises has been a proud supporter of the
charity benefit. . . . (Provide justification of why the company can’t support this year
but hope it can in the future.)
d. Thank you for taking the time to write to us. Your letter of April 9 provides us with
valuable feedback. . . . (Go on to discuss specific feedback of the letter.)
e. Thank you for your request to approve the proposed transaction. . . . (Discuss the
importance of the transaction and the place of company policy.)

6. Revising for Positive Tone: Revise the following refusal sentences to ensure positive tone.
a. We cannot accept an application sent after May 9.
We gladly accept all applications submitted through May 9.

b. Employees cannot smoke in the building.

Employees may smoke in any designated smoking areas outside of the building.

c. I am sorry, but we cannot be responsible for the service charges on your car; the
damage occurred at the dealership, not our factory.
Any service charges can be handled best at the specific dealership where damage
occurred.

d. Your request for transfer to the London office has been denied.
We feel your skills are needed and best used in your current assignment.

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7. Denying an Employee’s Request: Analyze the following email. Pinpoint its strengths and
weaknesses and then revise the email as directed by your instructor.

Your desire to participate in this fund-raising activity is admirable, but we must refuse to support
your relay team. Ashland Industries does not have any specific rules in place to handle this
particular situation, but as the president it is my responsibility to safeguard expenditures of this
type. Six hundred dollars is a lot of money. Perhaps you should consider raising the money
yourself. If you have questions about this decision, please contact your data control manager for a
copy of our corporate policy on charitable contributions.

A summary of organization, content, and style errors follows:

Organization
• States the bad news before presenting the reasons for the refusal (deductive rather than
recommended inductive approach for bad-news messages).

Content
• Uses negative and condescending tone throughout.
• Refers reader to policy on charitable contributions but previously states the company has no
rules for this request.
• Gives no alternative suggestions Gives no indication of desire to continue to work with the
reader.
Style
• Uses overly informal language and also misspells the word (“a lot”).

8. Denying a Request: Analyze the following letter. Pinpoint its strengths and weaknesses and then
revise the letter as directed by your instructor.

Dear Kyle:
I am pleased and honored to have been asked to serve as treasurer of the United Way campaign
for the coming year.
However, I regret to inform you that I cannot accept this position. Don’t take this personally as it
is my personal policy to refuse all nominations. The demands of my accounting practice keep me
on the road an enormous amount of time, and you must understand that sleep is a luxury during
the notorious “busy season” for accountants.
Once again, I appreciate the confidence you have placed in me but am sorry that my plate is
much too full to accept this outstanding service opportunity. Please contact me in the future if I
can help in any way.

A summary of organization, content, and style errors follows:

Organization
• States the bad news before presenting the reasons for the refusal (deductive rather than
recommended inductive approach for bad-news messages).
• Repeats bad news in closing paragraph.

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Content
• Uses “however” as first word in second paragraph which may alert reader to coming bad-news
before explanation is offered.
• States that his sleep is more important than serving the organization.
• Chooses strong language in refusal (“I regret to inform” “I cannot accept” ).
• Offers alternative that seems less than sincere (“contact me in the future if I can help in any
way”).
Style
• Begins with “I.”
• Uses redundancy is with “pleased and honored.”
• Uses cliché (“my plate is much too full”).
• Misspells word (“notorious”).

9. Denying a Claim: Analyze the following letter. Pinpoint its strengths and weaknesses and then
revise the letter as directed by your instructor.

I am sorry you were dissatisfied with the sports celebrity we subbed for your dedication
ceremony. Although you obviously feel your claim has merit, refusing to pay us is just not going
to work for us. Ms. Vonetta Flowers’ injury and hospitalization was out of our control—just not
our fault. We felt sure you would be overjoyed we came through with someone at the last minute.
Our contract states specifically that we would provide you a substitute; we did our part and we
expect you to do your part and pay us for our services.
We appreciate your business and hope that you will consider us the next time you need a sports
celebrity for a function.

A summary of organization, content, and style errors follows:

Organization
• States the bad news before presenting the reasons for the refusal (deductive rather than
recommended inductive approach for bad-news messages).
• Does not give convincing details for the refusal.
Content
• Begins with “I” and an apology.
• Closes with an insincere sales promotion that does not offer any positive alternative.
• Expresses certainty when cannot be certain.
• Assumes no responsibility for outcome (“out of our control” “just not our fault”).
Style
• Seems accusatory (“obviously you feel”)
• Comes across as superior (“we did our part and we expect you to do your part”)
• Uses slang (“subbed” and “just not going to work for us”).
• Uses cliché (“We appreciate your business”).

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10. Constructive Criticism: Analyze the following email. Pinpoint its strengths and weaknesses and
then revise the email to the director of the Pink Ridge Golf Academy as directed by your
instructor.

As an avid golfer, I am always looking for anything that will help me improve my game. After
talking with your staff and reading your advertisements, I was convinced that attending your two-
day golf school would allow me to take my game to the next level. The instruction I received the
first day was acceptable; however, I regret to say that the second day I spent at your exclusive
golf school was a total waste of my time and $1,000.
On the second day I was assigned to Stan Campbell, the “remarkable” putting instructor you’ve
plugged in every ad I’ve seen, to receive a private lesson. Words can’t describe my disgust at his
incompetency and the total lack of common courtesy he displayed during the 18 holes of golf I
played. He rarely made comments or suggestions, even when I hit poor shots. In fact, he didn’t
watch several of my shots as he was too busy taking calls on his cell phone or gazing into space.
If you wish to stay in business, you should take immediate action to correct these shortcomings.

A summary of organization, content, and style errors follows:

Organization
• Uses inductive outline; begins with a neutral idea.
• Repeats bad news in closing paragraph.
Content
• Uses “however” in third sentence, which may alert reader to coming bad-news before
explanation is offered.
• Uses strong language in message (“I regret to say,” “a waste of my time”)
• Ends with a negative idea that might seem like a slap in the face.
Style
• Begins with “I”
• Uses cliché (“waste of my time,” “words can’t describe”)

REVIEW QUESTIONS & SUGGESTED ANSWERS

1. Explain the appropriate channel and outline for a message that conveys bad news. Under
what conditions would a writer be justified in choosing an alternate outline or channel?

The outline for bad-news messages is as follows: (a) begin with the neutral idea that leads to the
reason for the refusal; (b) present the facts, analysis, and reasons for the refusal; (c) state the refusal
using positive tone and de-emphasis techniques; and (d) close with an idea that shifts emphasis away
from the refusal. Using an alternate outline and placing a refusal in the first sentence may be justified
when (a) the message is the second response to a repeated request; (b) a very small, insignificant
matter is involved; (c) a request is obviously ridiculous, unethical, illegal, or dangerous; (d) a
writer’s intent is to “shake” the reader; (e) a writer-reader relationship is so close that satisfactory
human relations can be taken for granted; or (f) the writer wants to demonstrate authority.
When possible, bad news should be conveyed face-to-face because this channel allows for
better feedback and nonverbal cues. However, using a face-to-face communication for bad news also
provides the opportunity for the interaction to become about personalities instead of issues. Bad

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news can be conveyed electronically or through snail mail when geographic location prevents face-
to-face interaction or when the sender is trying to disperse the personal implications for the
interaction.

2. What three functions does the first paragraph of a bad-news message serve? Does “i am
responding to your letter of the 25th” accomplish both of these functions? Explain.

The first paragraph (a) lets the receiver know what the letter is about (without stating the obvious)
and (b) serves as a transition into the discussion of the reasons (without revealing the bad news or
leading the receiver to expect good news). The stated sentence does not accomplish either purpose; it
is an empty acknowledgment.

3. Discuss how a counterproposal and implication can be used to de-emphasize the bad-news
statement to assist a communicator in achieving the human relations goal of business
communication.

A counterproposal is an alternative to the action requested. It is an expression of empathy and

goodwill for the customer that seeks to strengthen and maintain positive, long-term relationships.

4. What objectives should the final paragraph accomplish? Should the closing sentence
apologize for action taken? Should it refer to the statement of refusal to achieve unity?
Explain.

The final paragraph (a) de-emphasizes the unpleasant part of the message, (b) conveys some useful
information that should logically follow bad news, (c) shows that the writer has a positive attitude,
and (d) adds a unifying quality to the message. The closing sentence should not apologize for action
taken. Because valid reasons for the refusal have been provided, an apology is inconsistent. Why
apologize for doing what is right? The apology weakens confidence in the decision. The last
paragraph should bring a unifying quality to the whole message; however, restatement of the refusal
would only serve to emphasize it.

5. In which part of a refusal message would resale and sales promotional material be most
appropriate? Explain.

A refusal may begin with a resale statement about the product. Sales promotional material would be
most appropriate in the final paragraph (or even in a postscript). In earlier paragraphs, it would be
confusing.

6. Discuss the legal implications involved in writing credit refusals.

The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) requires that the credit applicant be notified of the credit
decision within 30 calendar days. Applicants who are denied credit must be informed of the reasons
for the refusal and be reminded that the Fair Credit Reporting Act provides them the right to know
the nature of the information in their credit file. The ECOA also prohibits creditors from
discriminating against credit applicants on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, gender,
and marital status.

7. What elements make criticism “constructive”?

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14
Constructive criticism should (1) present facts, not opinions, (2) provide evidence to support claims
made, (3) use positive language when possible, and (4) provide possible solutions for the problems.

8. Why is the effective handling of negative information of such importance to a company?

Employees are seeking honest answers from management about critical matters related to the
organization. Morale is fragile, easily damaged, and difficult to repair. Managers who can
communicate negative information in a sensitive, honest, and timely way are successful in calming
employees’ fears and doubts and in building positive employee relations.

9. Saying “no” is not difficult; the challenge is to do so while protecting goodwill. Explain the
rationale and signficance of this statement.

Giving a receiver bad news is generally easy when the sender does not care about the receiver’s
reaction or whether the receiver takes time to consider the reasons and explanations for the negative
response. The difficulty arises when a sender takes the time to consider the receiver’s reaction and to
convey the bad news as gently and positively as possible.

10. Frequent channels for delivering business messages include written, electronic, and face-
to-face means. What criteria would you use in selecting the appropriate channel for
delivering bad news?

In selecting a channel for delivering any message, the sender should consider (1) the receiver’s
reaction to the message, (2) the need for the “personal touch,” (3) the need for a written record, and
(4) and the channel for the original message (for example, with customer orders).

FEATURED ASSIGNMENTS

1. Communication Success Stories: Conduct an electronic search to locate an article that deals
with successful negative communication in a company or organization. Prepare an abstract of
the article that includes the following parts: (1) article citation, (2) name of
organization/company, (3) brief description of communication technique/situation, and (4)
outcome(s) of the successful communication. As an alternative to locating an article, you could
write about a successful communication situation in the organization/company for which you
work. Be prepared to present your abstract in a memo and give a short presentation in class.

Daniel Pelling, a driver for Atwood Corp., sent the following email to the firm’s suggestion box:
***
Our manager informed us that you were looking for inexpensive ways of rewarding people who
receive the employee-of-the-month award. I believe you should give that person the week off with
pay. You’re going to pay the person anyway and the rest of us will work just a little harder to cover
for that person.

Discuss Internet search strategies for the assignment. For instance, talk about full-text databases
available online through your library. Discuss key words for searching; for instance,
“communications” will produce many hits, but narrowing it by using words such as “public

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15
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
fourth and last glaciation, the Würm period, as the implements
discovered prove. Gradually, although irregularly and with three
minor advances and recessions, always diminishing in rigor,
however, this last predominance of the ice died away; until, by the
time its effects had wholly disappeared, and the geologically
“Recent” era was inaugurated, human civilization had evolved to a
point where it began to enter the New Stone Age.
The animals whose fossils are found in the same deposits with
human skeletons and artifacts have been of the greatest assistance
in the determination of the periods of such remains. The fossils are
partly of extinct species until toward the very end of the Pleistocene,
when exclusively living types of animals begin wholly to supersede
the earlier ones. While the identification of the various species, and
the fixation of the age of each, is the work of the specialist in
palæontology, the results of such studies are all-important to the
historian of man’s beginnings, because they help to determine
chronology. If artifacts are found in association with fossil remains of
an extinct animal such as the mammoth or the woolly rhinoceros,
they are obviously older than artifacts that are accompanied only by
the bones of the reindeer, the dog, or other living species. For this
reason, although the history of mammalian life in the past is a
science in itself, it also has close relations with human prehistory.
Some of the most characteristic animals of the later Pleistocene, and
the successive stages of human cultural development with which
they were associated, are listed on the following page.

70. Subdivisions of the Palæolithic

The places at which the men of the Stone Age lived and where
their debris accumulated are known as “stations.” The word was first
employed in this sense in French, but has been taken over into other
languages. A “station” then is simply a spot at which prehistoric
remains of human occupation are found. At least a thousand of these
have been discovered in western Europe. In general they divide into
two classes. One kind is in the open, mostly in the gravels laid down
by streams. These are therefore known as “River Drift” or simply
“Drift” stations. The other kind is found in caves or under sheltering
rocks. The majority of Drift stations have proved to be from the
earlier or Lower Palæolithic, whereas the Cave stations date mostly
from the later or Upper Palæolithic. The Drift and the Cave periods
are therefore often distinguished within the Old Stone Age,
especially by English archæologists. French, German, and American
students generally use the terms “Lower Palæolithic” and “Upper
Palæolithic,” whose reference is to periods of cultural development
rather than type of locality inhabited, and which carry more
significance. French archæologists also speak of the Upper
Palæolithic as the Reindeer Age.
The Later Glacial Fauna of Western Europe
(Read upward)

Postglacial and Recent:

Bison, Bison priscus.
Wild cattle, Bos primigenius.
Red deer or stag, Cervus elaphus.
Roe-deer, Capreolus.
Reindeer, Rangifer tarandus.
Wild boar, Sus scrofa.

Fourth Glacial and Postglacial fauna: typically Mousterian to

Magdalenian:
Woolly mammoth, Elephas primigenius.
Woolly or Siberian rhinoceros, Rhinoceros antiquitatis.
Cave lion, Felis leo spelaea.
Cave hyaena, Hyaena crocuta spelaea.
Cave bear, Ursus spelaeus.
Horse, Equus caballus.
Ibex.
Banded lemming, Myodes torquatus.

Third Interglacial fauna: typically Chellean and Acheulean:

 Straight-tusked elephant, Elephas antiquus.
Broad-nosed rhinoceros, Rhinoceros Merckii.
Lion, Felis leo antiqua.
Spotted hyaena, Hyaena crocuta.
Brown bear, Ursus arctos.
Horses, probably several varieties.

Second Interglacial Fauna: typically Pre-Palæolithic, but in part

surviving into the Chellean in favored localities:
Southern mammoth, Elephas meridionalis.
Etruscan rhinoceros, Rhinoceros etruscus.
Hippopotamus major.
Saber-tooth tigers, Machaerodus.
Striped hyaena, Hyaena striata.
Steno’s horse, Equus stenonis.
Bison antiquus.
Mastodon, tapir, anthropoids, and all primates but man and
the macaque monkey already extinct in Western
Europe.

The student who perhaps contributed most to the foundation of

knowledge of the Palæolithic period was Gabriel de Mortillet. He first
recognized four distinct sub-periods of the Palæolithic, each
possessing its distinctive kinds of implements. These four periods,
each named after one particular “station,” are the Chellean or
earliest; the Mousterian; the Solutrean; and the Magdalenian or
latest. These derived their designations from the four stations of
Chelles in northern France, and of Le Moustier, Solutré, and La
Madeleine in southern France (Fig. 16). De Mortillet did not
endeavor to relate the culture of each of these four periods wholly to
the particular locality for which he named it. He chose the stations as
typical and included others as belonging to the same eras.
Fig. 16. Type stations of the Palæolithic periods. (After Osborn.)

As more implements were found and studied, it was recognized, in

part by de Mortillet himself, that while his original classification was
sound, it was also incomplete. Two other periods had to be admitted.
One of these, the Acheulean, falls before the Mousterian, and the
second, the Aurignacian, after it. This makes six periods within the
Old Stone Age; and these have been adopted by all students of the
prehistory of man in Europe. The first three, the Chellean,
Acheulean, and Mousterian, make up the Lower Palæolithic; the last
three, the Aurignacian, Solutrean, and Magdalenian, constitute the
Upper Palæolithic or Reindeer Age. These six divisions of the Old
Stone Age are so essential to an understanding of the prehistory of
man, that the serious student finds it necessary to know their names
and sequence automatically.
 71. Human Racial Types in the Palæolithic
When it comes to defining the types of fossil man in the
Palæolithic, a curious situation develops. Long before there was
even a true Stone Age, in the early and middle Pleistocene, there
lived the half-human Pithecanthropus and the primitively human
Heidelberg race (§ 11, 12). But for the whole first part of the
Palæolithic, throughout the Chellean and Acheulean, no undisputed
find of any skeletal remains has yet been made, although thousands
of implements have been discovered which are undoubtedly human
products.[9]
In the present state of knowledge the strongest case is that for the
skull found at Piltdown in southern England. This is said to have
been associated with “Pre-Chellean” tools, which would seem to
establish the Piltdown type as the race that lived about the beginning
of the Palæolithic (§ 13). But the deposit at Piltdown had been more
or less rolled or shifted by natural agencies before its discovery, so
that its age is not so certain as it might be; and there is no unanimity
of opinion as to whether the highly developed skull and the
excessively ape-like jaw that were found in the deposit really belong
together. With this doubt about the fossil itself, it seems most
reasonable not to press too strongly its identification as the type of
man that lived in Europe at the commencement of the Old Stone
Age.
For the end of the Lower Palæolithic, in the Mousterian, conditions
change, and skeletal remains become authentic and comparatively
numerous. From this period date the skeletons of the Neandertal
species of man: a short, thickset race, powerful in bones and
musculature, slightly stooping at the knee and at the shoulder, with a
thick neck and a large head (§ 14). The brain was about as large as
that of modern man, but the retreating aspect of the forehead was
accentuated by heavy brow ridges.
In the Upper Palæolithic the Neandertal species has disappeared.
The first precursors of Homo sapiens, or modern man, have come
on the scene. A sort of transition from Neandertal man may be
presented by the Brünn type, but the prevailing race in western
Europe during the Upper Palæolithic period is that of Cro-Magnon, a
tall, lithe, well-formed people, as agile and swift as Neandertal man
was stocky and strong. The head and features were well
proportioned, the skull and brain remarkably large, the general type
not inferior to modern man, and probably already proto-Caucasian (§
16).
Grimaldi man, so far known only from one spot on the
Mediterranean shore of Europe, was proto-Negroid, Aurignacian in
period, and therefore partly contemporaneous with the Cro-Magnon
race (§ 18).
In summary, the types of man in Europe during the Old Stone Age
have been as follows:

Magdalenian Cro-Magnon
Solutrean Cro-Magnon; Brünn
Aurignacian Cro-Magnon (Caucasian); also, locally Grimaldi
(Negroid)
Mousterian Neandertal (possibly without living descendants)
Acheulean Unknown
Chellean Unknown; Piltdown perhaps Pre-Chellean

The interrelations of geology, glaciation, human types, periods of

the Stone Age, and estimated time in years are brought together in
the tables “Antiquity of Man” and “Prehistory” (Figs. 5 and 17.)[10]
Fig. 17. Earliest Prehistory of Europe. This table is an elaboration of the upper
portion of Figure 5. Equal lapses of time are indicated by equal vertical
distances. The general acceleration of development is evident.

72. Palæolithic Flint Implements

 The most important line of evidence as to the gradual
development of civilization through the six periods of the Old Stone
Age is the series of flint tools. Hundreds of thousands of these tools
have been discovered in western, central, and southern Europe—
perhaps millions. At St. Acheul were found 20,000 Chellean coups-
de-poing; at Solutré, below the Solutrean layer, 35,000 Mousterian-
Aurignacian worked flints besides the remains of 100,000 horses; at
Grimaldi in Italy, in the Grotte du Prince, 20,000 Mousterian pieces;
at Schweizersbild in Switzerland, 14,000 late Magdalenian
implements, and at Kesslerloch, near by, 30,000 from the late
Solutrean and Magdalenian; at Hundsteig in Austria, 20,000
Aurignacian flints; at Predmost in Czecho-Slovakia, 25,000 probably
of Solutrean age. Stations of such richness are not particularly rare,
and the stations are numerous. In France alone 500 Magdalenian
stations have been determined.
Clear stratigraphic relations have also been observed again and
again. A few examples are:

Castillo Cave, Santander, Spain, implement bearing layers separated by

strata of sterile natural debris: 1, Acheulean; 2, 3, 4, early, middle, and late
Mousterian; 5, early Aurignacian; 6, 7, 8, late Aurignacian; 9, Solutrean;
10, 11, early and late Magdalenian; 12, Azilian; 13, Copper.
At St. Acheul: 1, limestone; 2, gravel, early Chellean; 3, sand, late
Chellean; 4, loam, early Acheulean; 5, flood sand; 6, loess; 7, late
Acheulean; 8, pebbles, Mousterian; 9, loess; 10, Upper Palæolithic.
At Mas d’Azil, at the foot of the Pyrenees: 1, gravelly soil; 2, middle
Magdalenian; 3, flood loam; 4, upper Magdalenian; 5, flood loam; 6,
Azilian; 7, early Neolithic; 8, full Neolithic and Bronze; 9, Iron.
At Ofnet cave, Bavaria: 1, rocks; 2, sand, 65 cm. deep; 3, 4,
Aurignacian, 20 cm.; 5, Solutrean, 20 cm.; 6, Magdalenian, 15-20 cm.; 7,
Azilian, with two nests of skulls, 5 cm.; 8, Neolithic, 53 cm.; 9, Bronze and
Iron, 32 cm.
At La Ferrassie cave: 1, rocks and sand, 40 cm. deep; 2, Acheulean, 50
cm.; 3, Mousterian, with skeleton, 50 cm.; 4, early Aurignacian, 20 cm.; 5,
middle Aurignacian, 50 cm.; 6, rock fragments, 35 cm.; 7, late
Aurignacian, 35 cm.; rock and soil, 120 cm.
 At first inspection Palæolithic relics seem scarcely distinguishable.
They are all of flint, chert, or similar stone; are all chipped and
therefore more or less rough, and consist of forms meant for cutting,
scraping, and piercing. But a closer examination reveals differences
in their shapes and fundamental differences in the method of their
manufacture. The technique employed in the fashioning of artifacts is
more significant than their appearance, and it is by directing attention
to the process that one can classify these “fossils of civilization” with
accuracy.
Chellean.—In the Chellean period there was made substantially
one type of implement, a sort of rude pick, almond or wedge shaped.
It is often somewhat pointed, although rarely very sharp. The butt
end may be rounded, some of the original surface of the cobble or
nodule of flint being left for convenience of the hand in grasping the
implement (Fig. 18, a). This tool is known as the “Chellean pick.” The
Germans often call it faust-keil or “fist wedge” and the French have
coined the expressive epithet coup-de-poing or “blow of the fist.” The
Chellean pick averages from four to six inches in length, somewhat
less in breadth, and weighs perhaps from a quarter to a full pound. It
would have made an effective rude weapon. When firmly grasped
and well directed, it could easily crush a skull. It might serve to split
wood, hack limbs from trees, butcher large game, and perhaps
roughly dress hides. It would not do any one of these things with
neatness and accuracy, but neatness and accuracy were qualities to
which early Palæolithic men paid little attention. This universal
Chellean tool may be described as a combined knife, saw, ax,
scraper, and pick, performing the various functions of these
implements with notable crudities but efficiently enough when
wielded with muscular strength.
The Chellean pick was made by striking a round or oval nodule of
flint with another stone and knocking off pieces. Most of the
detached flakes were large, as shown by the surfaces from which
they came off; perhaps most of the chips averaged a square inch.
Anything like fine work or evenness of outline was therefore out of
question. One can imagine that many tools were spoiled, or broken
in two, by the knocks to which they were subjected in their
manufacture. The flakes struck off fell to the ground and were
discarded. If the workman was sufficiently skilful, and luck stayed
with him, he would before long be holding the sort of implement that
has been described. Not more than a few dozen strokes of the
hammer stone would be required to produce it.

Fig. 18. Stone implements illustrating the principal types of Palæolithic chipping. a,
Chellean pick, a roughly flaked core; b, Mousterian scraper, a flake with
retouched edge; c, Solutrean blade, evened by retouching over its entire
surface; d, Magdalenian knife, a flake detached at one blow. For comparison,
e, an obsidian knife or razor from Mexico, made by the same process as d.

Some attempt has been made to distinguish variant forms of

Chellean tools, such as scrapers, planers, and knives. But some of
these identifications of particular types are uncertain, and at best, the
differences between the types are slight. It may be said with
approximate accuracy that the long Chellean period possessed only
the one tool; that this is the first definitely shaped tool known to have
been made by human hands; and that it is therefore the concrete
evidence of the first stage of that long development which we call
civilization.[11]
 Acheulean.—The Acheulean period brings to light a growing
specialization of forms and some new types. Rude scrapers, knives,
borers, can be distinguished. The flakes struck off are finer than in
the Chellean and the general workmanship averages higher; but
through the whole of the Acheulean there is no new process. The
Chellean methods of manufacture are improved without an invention
being added to them.
Mousterian.—In the Mousterian period a retrogression would at
first sight seem to have occurred. Tools become smaller, less regular
in outline, and are worked on one side only. The whole Mousterian
period scarcely presents a single new type of implement of such all-
around serviceability as the Chellean pick. Nevertheless the
degeneration is only in the appearance of the implements. Actually
they are made by a new process, which is more advanced than that
followed in the Chellean and Acheulean. In these earlier periods
flakes were struck off until the kernel of stone that remained was of
the shape desired for the tool. The Mousterian technique is
distinguished by using the flake instead of the core. This is the cause
of Mousterian tools being generally smaller and lighter.
Secondly, when the flake dulled by use, its edge was renewed by
fine chipping. The pieces detached in this secondary chipping are so
small that it would have been difficult to knock them off and maintain
any regularity of edge, for to detach a chip by a blow means violent
contact. If the blow is a bit feeble, the chip that comes off is too
small. If the artifact is struck too hard, too large a chip flies off and
the implement is ruined. Fine chips are better worked off by pressure
than by impact. A point is laid upon the surface near the edge. When
this point is pressed down at the proper angle and with proper
firmness, a scale flies off. With some practice the scales can be
detached almost equal in size. The point may be of softer material
than the stone. It is in the nature of flint, and of all stones that
approach glass in their structure, that they break easily under
pressure in definite planes or surfaces. Modern tribes that still work
flint generally employ as a pressing tool a piece of bone or horn
which comes to a somewhat rounded point. This is usually attached
to the end of a stick, to enable a better grip of the working tool, the
butt end being clamped under the elbow. A tool of the same sort may
have been employed in the Palæolithic. The process of detaching
the scales or secondary flakes by pressure is known as “retouching.”
Retouching allows finer control than strokes delivered with a stone.
The result is that Mousterian implements, when at their best,
possess truer edges, and also greater variety of forms adapted to
particular uses, than those of preceding ages (Fig. 18, b).
In spite of their insignificant appearance, Mousterian tools
accordingly show advance in two points. First, the flake is used.
Secondly, two processes instead of one are followed; the knocking
off of the flake followed by its retouching.
Aurignacian.—With the Mousterian the Lower Palæolithic has
ended. In several activities of life, such as art and religion, the Upper
Palæolithic represents a great advance over the Lower Palæolithic.
Yet it seems that the mental energies of the Aurignacian people must
have been pretty well absorbed by their new occupations and
inventions, for their tools are largely the same retouched flakes as
those the Mousterian had already employed. The Aurignacian
carried on the stone technique of the Mousterian much as the
Acheulean previously had carried on that of the Chellean.
Solutrean.—The Solutrean seems to have been a relatively brief
period, and to have remained localized, for implements dating from it
are the scarcest of any from the six divisions of the Old Stone Age.
There was a distinct advance of interest in stone work during the
Solutrean. The process of retouching, without being fundamentally
altered, was evidently much better controlled than before. The best
Solutrean workers were retouching both sides of their tools instead
of one side only, as in the past, and working over not only the edge
or point but the entire surface of their artifacts. One of the
characteristic implements of their time was a laurel-leaf-shaped
blade which has often been considered a spear point, but would also
have been an effective knife and may often have been used as such.
This has the surface of both sides, from tip to butt, finished in even
retouching, and is equaled in excellence of workmanship only by the
best of the spear points chipped by modern savages (Fig. 18, c).
 Of course this was not the only stone implement which the
Solutrean people knew. They made points with a single shoulder at
the butt, as if for mounting, and had crude forms which represented
the types of earlier periods. This partial conservatism is in accord
with the general observation already stated, that lower types tend to
persist even after higher ones have been invented; and that because
a period is determined by its best products it by no means follows
that simpler ones are lacking.
Magdalenian.—The sixth period of the Old Stone Age, the
Magdalenian, resembles the Mousterian in seeming at first glance to
show a retrograde development. The retouching process was carried
out with less skill, perhaps because the Magdalenians were devoting
themselves with more interest to bone than to stone. Magdalenian
retouched implements are less completely worked out and less
beautifully regular than those of Solutrean times. One reason for this
decline was that another technique was coming to prevail. This
technique had begun to come into use earlier, but its typical
development was Magdalenian. It was a process which, on account
of its simplicity, once it was mastered, was tending to make the art of
retouching unnecessary. This new method was the trick of detaching,
from a suitable block of flint, long straight-edged flakes, by a single
blow, somewhat on the principle by which a cake of ice can be split
evenly by a well guided stroke of the pick. The typical Magdalenian
implement of stone is a thin flake several inches long, triangular or
polygonal in cross section; in other words, a long narrow prism (Fig.
18, d).
To detach such a flake, flint of rather even grain is necessary, and
the blow that does the work must be delivered on a precise spot, at a
precise angle, and within rather narrow limits of force. This means
that the hammer or striking tool cannot well come in direct contact
with the flint. A short pointed piece, something like a nail or a
carpenter’s punch, and probably made in the prehistoric days of horn
or bone, is set on a suitable spot near the edge of the block of flint,
and is then tapped smartly with the hammer stone. A single stroke
slices off the desired flake. The sharp edges left on the block where
the flake has flown off can be used to start adjacent flakes, and thus
all the way round the block, the workman progressing farther and
farther in, until nearly the whole of his core has been split off into
strips.

Fig. 19. Flakes struck from a core and reassembled. Modern

workmanship in Magdalenian technique.

This Magdalenian process, which was in use ten, fifteen, and

perhaps twenty thousand years ago, survived, or was reinvented, in
modern times. It is only a few years ago that flints were being struck
off by English workmen for use on flintlock muskets exported to
Africa. The modern Englishman worked with a steel hammer instead
of a bone rod and cobblestone, but his technique was the same.
Figure 19 shows the complete lot of flakes into which a block has
been split, and which were subsequently laid together so as to
reform the stone in its original shape. Similar flakes made of
obsidian, a volcanic glass similar to flint in its properties, are still
being produced in the Indian districts of interior Mexico for use as
razors (Fig. 18, e).
The Magdalenian method of flint working gives the smoothest and
sharpest edge. It is not adapted for making heavy instruments, but it
yields an admirable knife. The process is also expeditious.
Summary.—The successive steps in the art of stone working in the
Palæolithic may be summarized thus:
 Chellean: Coarse flakes detached by blows from the core, which becomes
the implement.
Acheulean: Same process applied to more varied forms.
Mousterian: Flake detached by a blow is sharpened into a tool by
retouching by pressure on one side only.
Aurignacian: Same with improved retouching applied.
Solutrean: Both surfaces of implement wholly retouched.
Magdalenian: Prismatic flake, detached by a blow transmitted through a
point.

73. Other Materials: Bone and Horn

Stone implements must perhaps always remain in the foreground
of our understanding of the Old Stone Age because they were made
so much more numerously than other objects, or at any rate have
been preserved so much more abundantly, that they will supply us
with the bulk of our evidence. At the same time it would be an error
to believe that the life of these men of long ago was filled with the
making and using of stone tools to the exclusion of everything else.
Gradually during the last fifty years, through unremittingly patient
explorations and the piecing of one small discovery to another, there
has accumulated a fair body of knowledge of other sides of the life of
Palæolithic men. There is every reason to believe that as time goes
on we shall learn more and more about them, and thus be able to
reconstruct a reasonably complete and vivid picture of their behavior.
Implements of bone and horn are next most abundant after those
of stone, but it is significant that the Lower Palæolithic still dispensed
with these materials. In the Chellean and Acheulean stations,
although broken bones of devoured animals occur, bone was not
shaped. In the Mousterian this material first came into use, but as yet
only as so-called “anvils” on which to chip flint or cut, and not as true
tools.
One of the changes that most prominently mark the passage from
the Lower to the Upper Palæolithic is the sudden development in the
use of bone at the beginning of the Aurignacian, and then of reindeer
horn. These materials came more and more into favor as time went
on. The Aurignacians had bone awls or pins, polishers, paint tubes
of hollowed reindeer leg bone, and points with a grooved base for
hafting, generally construed as javelin heads. In the Solutrean, eyed
needles were added. The greatest development was attained in the
Magdalenian. Bone javelin and spear heads were now made in a
variety of forms, with bases pointed, beveled, or grooved. Hammers,
chisels or wedges, and perforators were added to the list of bone
tools. Whistles and perhaps flutes were blown. Reindeer antler was
employed for carved and perforated lengths of horn, “rods of
command” or magic, they are usually called; as well as for harpoons
and throwers, to be discussed below.
By the close of the Palæolithic, objects of organic substances
began to approach in frequency those of flint. This may well have
been a sort of preparation for the grinding and polishing of stone
which is the distinctive technique of the New Stone Age. Bone
cannot well be chipped or retouched. It must be cut, ground, or
rubbed into shape. The Neolithic people therefore may be said to
have extended to stone a process which their predecessors of the
Upper Palæolithic were familiar with but had failed to apply to the
harder substance.

74. Dress
The slender bone needle provided with an eye which the
Solutrean and Magdalenian added to the primitive awl implies thread
and sewing. It may be concluded therefore that, at least from the
middle of the Upper Palæolithic on, the people of Europe went
clothed in some sort of fitted garments. It would be going too far to
assert that the Neandertal men ran about naked as the lower
animals. Several inventions which they had made compel us to
attribute to them enough intelligence to lead them to cover
themselves with skins when they felt cold. But they may have been
too improvident, or habituated to discomfort, to trouble even to dress
hides. At any rate there is no positive indication that they regularly
clothed themselves. By contrast, the sewing of the Upper Palæolithic
Cro-Magnons marked a considerable advance.
Ornament may have been earlier than clothing. The paint of the
Aurignacians decorated their own bodies and those of their dead.
About their necks and waists they hung rows of perforated shells and
teeth. More of these have been found on the skeletons of males than
of females. By the Magdalenian, there was sophistication enough to
lead to the carving of artificial shells and teeth out of ivory; and
amber was beginning to be transported from the German coast to
Southern France.

75. Harpoons and Weapons

Towards the end of the Upper Palæolithic, in the Magdalenian, the
harpoon came into extensive use. The shafts have of course long
since decayed, but many of the reindeer antler heads have remained
intact. At first these were notched with barbs along one edge only. In
the later Magdalenian the barbs were cut on both sides. The
harpoon differs from the simple spear or javelin in having its head
detachable from the shaft. The two are fitted together by a socket. If
the prey, be it fish or mammal, is not killed by the first throw, its
struggles to escape shake the shaft loose, while the barbs hold the
head firmly imbedded in its body. A line is attached to the head and
tied to the shaft or held in the hand of the hunter. The animal is thus
kept from escaping. During the Magdalenian the line was kept from
slipping off the head by one or two knobs near the butt. In the
subsequent Azilian period the head was perforated, as is the modern
Eskimo practice. The harpoon is really a rather complicated
instrument: it consists of at least three pieces—head, shaft, and line.
Another device which the Magdalenians shared with the Aztecs,
the Eskimo, and some other modern peoples, is the spear thrower or
atlatl. This is a sort of rod or handle, one end of which is grasped by
the fingers while the other engages the butt end of the harpoon or
dart. The hand only steers the shaft at the beginning of its flight: the
propulsion comes from the thrower. The instrument may therefore be
described as a device for artificially lengthening the human arm and
thus imparting greater velocity and length of flight to the weapon.
There is without doubt considerable ingenuity involved in this
apparatus, both in its invention and in its successful use. A person
unskilled in bodily movements would never hit upon the invention;
nor could a race of high native dexterity acquire proficiency in the art
of hunting with the thrower until each individual was willing to
practise for a considerable period. It may once more be concluded,
accordingly, that by the end of the Palæolithic, civilization had
developed to a point where men were much readier to undergo
protracted training and forbearance than they had been at the
beginning of the period.
One instrument that we are wont to associate with the beginnings
of civilization, because of its almost universal employment by
savages of to-day, is the bow and arrow. So strong has the
preconception been that the Palæolithic peoples must have been like
modern savages, that time and time again it has been assumed that
they possessed the bow. There is no convincing evidence to show
that this was so, and a good deal of negative evidence to establish
that they were unacquainted with the weapon. All the Palæolithic
remains of flint, bone, or horn, which at times have been interpreted
as arrow points, are more conservatively explained as knives or
heads of darts. The prevailing opinion is that the bow was not
invented until the Neolithic. This would make the weapon only about
ten thousand years old—a hoary antiquity, indeed, but recent as
compared with the knife, the spear, and even the harpoon. The
reason for this lateness in the invention of the bow and arrow is
probably to be sought in the delicacy of the instrument. It is not
essentially more complex than the harpoon, certainly not more
complex than the harpoon impelled by the spear thrower. But it
involves much finer adjustments. A poorly made harpoon is of
course inferior to a well-made one, but may be measurably effective.
It may retrieve game half the time. But a bow which falls below a
certain standard will not shoot at all, or will shoot so feebly as to
have a zero efficiency. In fact, one of the things that students of the
beginnings of culture have long been puzzled about is how the bow
and arrow could have been invented. Most other inventions can be
traced through a series of steps, each of which, although incomplete,
achieved a certain utility of its own. But, other than toys or musical
instruments, no implement has yet been found, or even satisfactorily
imagined, which was not yet a bow, which would still serve a
purpose, and which, by addition or improvement, could give rise to
the bow.

76. Wooden Implements

Wood is likely to have been used by primitive men for one purpose
or another from the very earliest times. Even “half men” of the
“missing link” type, it may be believed, would in case of need pick up
a stick or wrench a limb from a tree to serve them as a club. But we
do not know when human beings first began to fashion wood into
definite implements by working it with their stone tools. Wood is too
perishable a substance to have stood any chance of being preserved
from so long distant a past.
Our knowledge of the first employment of wood is indirect. Many of
the Mousterian chipped flakes are of such size and shape that they
could have been operated much more effectively had they been
mounted on a handle. Possibly therefore the process of hafting or
handling had come to be practised in the Mousterian, although there
is no specific evidence to this effect. In the Upper Palæolithic, wood
was certainly used to a considerable extent. The harpoon and dart
heads, for instance, must have had wooden shafts.
A true ax is not known from the Old Stone Age and seems to have
been invented in the Neolithic. The distinctive factor of the
instrument, upon which its utility largely depends, is the straightness
and smoothness of the edge; and such an edge is best attained by
the grinding process. Even the unground axes of the earliest
Neolithic depended on a single stroke to provide them with the
required straight cutting edge. We may believe, therefore, that the
Palæolithic peoples worked wood in the manner familiar to us from
the practices of many modern savage races. They split it, rubbed it,
and burned it into shape, rather than trying to chop it.
 77. Fire
One of the most fundamental of human arts is the use of fire. It is
also one of the most ancient. Its occurrence is easily traced, at any
rate in deposits that have not been disturbed by nature, through the
presence of charred bones, lumps of charcoal, and layers of ash.
Charcoal crumbles easily, but its fragments are practically
imperishable. Its presence in considerable quantities in any station,
particularly if the coal is accumulated in pockets, is therefore sure
proof that the people who occupied the site burned fires for warmth,
or cooking, or both purposes. The use of fire has been established
throughout the part of the Palæolithic when men lived in caves and
under rock shelters; that is, during the Mousterian and Upper
Palæolithic.
The Chellean and Acheulean deposits are so much older and
more open, and in many cases have been washed over so much by
rainfall and by streams, that, if the men of these periods did use fire,
as they may well have done, its evidences might have been pretty
generally obliterated.
Whether early Palæolithic men knew how to make fire, or whether
they only found it and kept it alive, is more difficult to say. They could
easily have acquired it in the first place from trees struck by lightning
or from other occasional natural agencies. Then, recognizing its
value, they may well have nursed it along, lighting one hearth from
another. Yet at some time in the Palæolithic the art of producing fire
at will, by friction between two pieces of wood, is almost certain to
have been invented. One may infer this from the general similarity of
level of Magdalenian civilization to that of modern savages, all of
whom practise the art of ignition. But in the nature of things it would
be difficult to find evidence bearing on this point from more than ten
thousand years ago. It can be assumed that man is likely to have
lived first for a long period in a condition in which he knew and used
and preserved fire, yet was not able to produce it.

78. Houses