Aboriginal Australians' tool and weapons
ABORIGINAL PEOPLE FORMED one of the most technologically advanced societies in the world when they first arrived in Australia. The way they adapted to our country’s challenging conditions is a testament to Aussie inventiveness.
The Indigenous Aboriginals had many different weapons and tools to help them survive in the wild. The machines that we use today in modern times have all been derived in one way or another from the indigenous tools. They had to learn the hard way with lots of dangers and no technology or electricity at all. A few of their tools and weapons are; string, baskets, spears, shelters, axes and mats. They also came up with the ideas of twine, tanning, fire making, weapon tips, weapons, boats, message sticks, dishes and huts.
Spears
There are a large variety of spears made by the Indigenous peoples of Australia. They were made for a variety of purposes and from a variety of materials. When making a spear, Aboriginal men would often use fire to help straighten or harden the wood. Hunting spears are usually made from Tecoma Vine. Spears were used for killing animals for food and also for fighting. Spears were very useful to the Indigenous people.
How spears are made
When the maker gets the vine they are curly. To straighten the vines the maker dried out the moisture by heating the branch over a small fire while it was still green. In the process of doing this the maker would shape it into the form that they wanted. After this process the maker would attach a wooden barb to the spear head using emu or kangaroo. The spears could vary in size but the biggest one you would usually find would be about 270 cm long (9 feet).
Tecoma vines are not straight but they are curly. Tecoma is a genus of 14 species of shrubs or small trees in the trumpet vine family. The Tacoma is an evergreen so it is available year round. The Tecoma is also found as a bush. The Tecoma is native to Australia.
Uses
Spears which were made for killing large animals such as kangaroos and buffaloes needed to be made out of strong hardwood so it was able penetrate the skin. On the tip of these spears there was a sharp stone. The spears which were made for fishing used a lighter material and normally had a few barbed points. Bamboo could be used to make a number of points. Spears for bird hunting were also made from a light wood. They used spears for the birds when they were in flight so it would hit them and damage their wings and necks. Spears were also used for fighting. these spears had thick wood and barbs.
Spear throwers
Spear Throwers were used with spears to be able to through the spear a further distance and with more force. A woomera is a wooden Australian Aboriginal spear-throwing device. The woomera is 2 to 3 feet (61 to 91 cm) in length. One end is 3 inches (8 cm) wide and possessing a hollow, curved cross-section while the other is more pointed and has a hook. The woomera was traditionally decorated with incised or painted designs that indicated belonging to a particular linguistic group.
Clubs
Aboriginal people were clever with making tools and weapons. Clubs ranged from heavy to light, light to throw, heavy for fighting and varied depending on the region. Heads of the clubs could be round , pointed or jagged. Throwing clubs would move in flight and bounce off the ground.
Boomerangs
The boomerang's distinctive sound and remarkable return flight has made it famous throughout the world. Other cultures invented throwing sticks with controllable motion and spin, but the boomerang was a purely Aboriginal invention. The angled shape with asymmetrical curves makes use of one of the most complicated principles of aerodynamics: asymmetrical lift.Hunting boomerangs were much larger than 2 metres , the boomerangs we throw for fun today.
Aboriginal people often paint or carve designs on boomerangs related to legends and traditions. Boomerangs continue to be used in some religous ceremonies and are clapped together, or pounded on the ground as accompaniment to songs.
Boomerangs are roughly made in a V shaped hard wood, with slightly curved, the angle between the arms are ranging from 90 degrees to 160 degrees.
Boomerangs are roughly made in a V shaped hard wood, with slightly curved, the angle between the arms are ranging from 90 degrees to 160 degrees.
Woomeras
The woomera is another uniquely Aboriginal invention that uses leverage to allow a spear to be thrown up to three times further. Witnesses report seeing spears thrown with enough force to skewer the trunk of a full-grown eucalyptus tree! Typically, the woomera was made by shaping a piece of hardwood into a long, thin handle and attaching a stone to the base to hold a spear-end in place.
Thermoplastic resins
Aboriginal people made a powerful thermoplastic resin from porcupine grass and grass trees. They beat the resin out of the grass, then cleaned it and heated it over fire to create a sticky black substance. The resulting resin hardened as it cooled and was strong enough to bind rock to wood. This resin was used to create tools such as spears, woomeras and axes.
Weirs and Fishtraps
Aboriginal people demonstrated a sophisticated understanding of engineering, physics and aquaculture in the design of elaborate stone fish traps in NSW, and the 100 sq.km eel farm at Lake Condah in Victoria. They made these fish farms by creating complex systems of canals, linked weirs and ponds out of river stones. Lake Condah shows evidence of a very large, settled community that harvested and smoked eels to trade. Some of Australia’s Aboriginal fish traps are thought to be up to 40,000 years old. They may be some of the oldest surviving human-made structures in the world.
Stone tools
Aboriginal stone tools were highly sophisticated in their range and uses. Stone and natural glass were fashioned into chisels, saws, knifes, axes and spearheads. Stone tools were used for hunting, carrying food, for making ochre, nets, clothing, baskets and more. Aboriginal people are thought to be one of the first to use stone tools to grind seeds, and the first to create ground edges on stone tools. They could grind a precision edge from stone that was as sharp as any metal blade found in England in 1788.
Water bags
The Coolgardie Safe, which used capillary action and evaporative cooling to keep food from spoiling, was the ‘household fridge’ of Australia from the 1890s until the mid-twentieth century. It is thought to have been partly inspired by watching Aboriginal people carry water in special bags made of wallaby skin, which used the same principles of heat transfer to keep the water cool.