Aboriginal Dress in the Kimberley, Western Australia

Akerman, Kim

doi:10.2752/bewdf/edch7010

Cited by 5 publications

(9 citation statements)

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“…Species of Styloctenium are today known only from the large Indonesian island of Sulawesi (and some of its satellites) and the Philippine island of Mindoro (Bergmans and Rozendaal 1988, Esselstyn 2007). We also note with interest that compelling rock art images of the large, extinct carnivorous marsupial Thylacaleo have also recently come to light in the Kimberley (Akerman 2009, Akerman and Willing 2009). These discoveries point to the importance of rock art as a source of information about the past distributions in time and space of animals in northern Australian contexts.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Twentieth century occurrence of the Long-Beaked Echidna Zaglossus bruijnii in the Kimberley region of Australia

Helgen¹,

Miguez²,

Kohen³

et al. 2012

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The monotreme genus Zaglossus, the largest egg-laying mammal, comprises several endangered taxa today known only from New Guinea. Zaglossus is considered to be extinct in Australia, where its apparent occurrence (in addition to the large echidna genus Megalibgwilia) is recorded by Pleistocene fossil remains, as well as from convincing representations in Aboriginal rock art from Arnhem Land (Northern Territory). Here we report on the existence and history of a well documented but previously overlooked museum specimen (skin and skull) of the Western Long-Beaked Echidna (Zaglossus bruijnii) collected by John T. Tunney at Mount Anderson in the West Kimberley region of northern Western Australia in 1901, now deposited in the Natural History Museum, London. Possible accounts from living memory of Zaglossus are provided by Aboriginal inhabitants from Kununurra in the East Kimberley. We conclude that, like Tachyglossus, Zaglossus is part of the modern fauna of the Kimberley region of Western Australia, where it apparently survived as a rare element into the twentieth century, and may still survive.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Twentieth century occurrence of the Long-Beaked Echidna Zaglossus bruijnii in the Kimberley region of Australia

Helgen¹,

Miguez²,

Kohen³

et al. 2012

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“…We conclude our discussion around 2000 albeit with reference to current research topics and discourses (e.g. Akerman 2015aAkerman , 2016David et al 2019;Harper et al 2020;O'Connor et al 2013;Ross and Travers 2013;Travers and Ross 2016;Veth et al , 2019.…”

Section: Picturing Kimberley Rock Art Researchmentioning

confidence: 96%

Histories of Australian Rock Art Research

Porr

2023

Australian Archaeology

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Terra Australis reports the results of archaeological and related research within the south and east of Asia, though mainly Australia, New Guinea and island Melanesia -lands that remained terra australis incognita to generations of prehistorians. Its subject is the settlement of the diverse environments in this isolated quarter of the globe by peoples who have maintained their discrete and traditional ways of life into the recent recorded or remembered past and at times into the observable present.

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“…The final form of the boomerang is then attained by finely shaping with a stone or shell scraper, followed by smoothing the surface with a fine-grained grinding stone or organic incisor tools. In some areas, boomerangs were also decorated with linear or pattern designs, both engraved and painted (Akerman, 1998;Bordes, 2021;Bordes et al, 2015;Clarke, 2012;Davidson, 1936;Dawson, 1881;Hale & Tindale, 1933;Helmes, 1892;Jones, 2004;Langley et al, 2016;McCarthy, 1961;Roth, 1897;Spencer, 1922;Thomas, 1986;Wornshop, 1897).…”

Section: Boomerangs In Australian Aboriginal Cultures: An Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Behind an Australian Icon, Wakefield Press, Kent Therefore, it is perhaps unsurprising that, besides their well-known hunting function, boomerangs were used in many other different ways. Examples include their use as a cutting tool, a hammer, a club, for digging, for making fire, as a fire-poker, for making music (Akerman, 1998;Jones, 2004;McCarthy, 1961McCarthy, , 1976Pahlow & Silady, 1986;Thomson, 1964 and references therein), and for retouching lithic tools.…”

Section: Known and Unknown Uses Of Boomerangsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Tales of Multifunctionality: a Systematic Quantitative Literature Review of Boomerangs Used as Retouchers in Australian Aboriginal Cultures

Martellotta

Brumm

Langley

2022

J Archaeol Method Theory

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Boomerangs are among the most recognisable elements of Australian Aboriginal technology. In the popular mindset, the prevailing image of these wooden artefacts is that of thrown implements that return to the thrower, principally used for hunting animals. However, boomerangs have a deep multipurpose role in Indigenous societies, with just a few examples of their known functions, including fighting, digging, and making music (i.e., “clap sticks”). Recently, yet another function for boomerangs has been proposed (Martellotta et al., 2021): the functional modification of lithic tools (i.e., retouching)—a form of use that is almost unknown among non-Aboriginal researchers. Here, we provide the first comprehensive review of evidence for the use of boomerangs as lithic retouching tools (percussors). A detailed lexical analysis demonstrates similarities between Palaeolithic bone retouchers used for the same purposes as the Australian hardwood boomerangs, thus confirming our traceological hypothesis and the power of using a multidisciplinary approach in investigating Australia’s deep past. This paper provides the foundation for discussions surrounding the multipurpose concept behind many Aboriginal tools by focusing on the most iconic item. We propose that, in future studies, the complex technological and functional features of boomerangs should take precedence over their famous “returning effect”.

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Aboriginal Dress in the Kimberley, Western Australia

Cited by 5 publications

References 0 publications

Twentieth century occurrence of the Long-Beaked Echidna Zaglossus bruijnii in the Kimberley region of Australia

Twentieth century occurrence of the Long-Beaked Echidna Zaglossus bruijnii in the Kimberley region of Australia

Histories of Australian Rock Art Research

Tales of Multifunctionality: a Systematic Quantitative Literature Review of Boomerangs Used as Retouchers in Australian Aboriginal Cultures

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