Such beautifully worked implements arc also to be found in Neolithic communities at the present day. They have, as we know. a sacral significant, and are used in religious ceremonies. We may assume that cultures in which implements of this kind apparently served a similar purpose were themselves of a similar type.

But one can go further. There exist in Indonesia groups of people who, up to the latter half of the last century, remained virtually unaffected by the cultural influences which reached Indonesia during the course of the last two thousand years. Amongst these peoples, too; implements for the performance of religious rites were used, and frequently are still in use today, whilst the civilization of these groups resembles that of the Neolithic cultures which still exist.

The significance of this becomes all the more apparent when we consider that the culture of those groups mentioned which remained independent for so many centuries is rooted in the long since extinct Neolithic culture of Indonesia. A strong and persistent tradition has apparently kept alive the characteristics of Neolithic culture as it developed thousands of years ago. The Neolithic cultures which still exist, together with the cultural phenomena of the groups of people referred to above, enable us to obtain a rough idea of the spirit and essence of Neolithic culture e in Indonesia.