keryn walshe – pointing bones and bone points pointing bones and
TRANSCRIPT
Keryn Walshe – Pointing Bones and Bone Points
167
Journal of the Anthropological Society of South Australia Vol. 33 - 2008
Pointing Bones and Bone Points in the Australian Aboriginal Collection of the South
Australian Museum Keryn Walshe
South Australian Museum
Abstract This paper investigates the categorisation of bone objects as ordinary bone points used as tools or fasteners and pointing bones or death-pointers, the objects of sorcery. The South Australia Museum lists over 700 bone objects on its database and 65% of these are listed as sorcery objects. This ratio is in clear contrast to the archaeological record of bone finds across Australia. Classifying bone objects appears to have been a largely subjective process in museums and yet assigning sorcery status adds a further layer of complexity and uncertainty. It is not possible to provide a set of criteria for distinguishing a bone point from a pointing bone at this stage of study and it is clear from this investigation that until critical ethnographic research is undertaken on bone objects, it will be difficult to do so. This paper makes clear that descriptive traits such as the presence of resin, ochre and incisions and physical traits such as length are not reliable indicators of a pointing bone. The only reliable trait identified so far, is the addition of hair string and to a lesser extent, but perhaps as significant, gnawing of the point.
Introduction The South Australia Museum (SA Museum hereafter) lists over 700 bone objects on its database. These are sub-categorised under a wide list of fields including pins, tools, ornaments and death-pointers. The ‘death-pointers’ are by far the largest sub-category comprising about 65% of the bone objects. Death-pointers or pointing bones are sorcery material and related to projective magic. The image of a medicine man setting out on a revenge killing in emu feathered slippers and carrying a pointing bone often stirred popular imagination in early to mid 20th century Australian fiction writing. The death-pointer or pointing bone has consequently enjoyed popular status and
Keryn Walshe – Pointing Bones and Bone Points
168
Journal of the Anthropological Society of South Australia Vol. 33 - 2008
has to some extent, overwhelmed ordinary bone objects in Aboriginal Australian ethnographic collections.
The collection of SA Museum bone objects presents a preponderance of sorcery related bone objects over functional and ornamental bone objects. This ratio is in clear contrast to the archaeological record of bone finds across Australia whereby the most commonly identified bone object is the bone point, also known as an awl or a pin for working and fastening animal skins as cloaks.
This paper investigates the categorisation of ethnographic bone objects with particular focus on death-pointers as objects of sorcery. Such an assignment transposes the object in question to a sacred and eventually physically separate realm compared to their profane counterparts such as tools and ornaments. Assigning sorcery status to objects has implications for museums in presenting public displays and for research of cultural artefacts. SA Museum maintains a secure room for identified men’s ‘secret-sacred’ objects and it has become standard practice for sorcery related material to be placed there. Access to these objects is only allowed after consultation with and permission received from appropriate Indigenous authorities. Universally museums have had mixed experiences in attempting to govern access to particular collections or objects. Those experiences are not the purpose of this paper. The aim here is to highlight the complexities at a much earlier step; the categorisation of bone objects.
The categorisation of bone objects held in the SA Museum Australian Indigenous ethnographic collection as mundane or sorcery related readily suggests a subjective and inconsistent
Keryn Walshe – Pointing Bones and Bone Points
169
Journal of the Anthropological Society of South Australia Vol. 33 - 2008
approach over time. The need for a rigorous code in sorting mundane from sorcery bone objects is apparent. It is highly unlikely that such inconsistency has been exclusive to SA Museum or to this category of Indigenous material culture. National codes for categorising objects would minimise subjective and inconsistent approaches and in turn provide objects of more than ordinary status with agreed levels of security.
As noted above, the SA Museum archaeology collection of bone finds from various sites and regions reflects the national trend toward a predominance of bone points or awls rather than death-pointers. Bone points have been demonstrated to allow a wide range of actions from procuring food to piercing skins (Brockwell & Akerman 2007; Webb 1987; Webb & Allen 1990) and the polish and wear on some strongly suggest long term ownership. Burial sites are also known to yield bone points amongst grave goods and these have been consistently interpreted as ‘awls’ (in the case of burials these are more correctly termed ‘shroud fasteners’ but the archaeology literature tends toward the term awl) rather than death-pointers or pointing bones. Grave goods are generally understood to include objects highly familiar to the deceased and afford them particular status (Akerman 1995; Brockwell & Akerman 2007; Feary 1996; Pretty 1977).
In view of the significant contrast between the archaeology and ethnographic records, an obvious question arises: are archaeological bone objects being misidentified as tools rather than sorcery objects and are ethnographic bone objects being misidentified as death-pointers rather than tools? This paper
Keryn Walshe – Pointing Bones and Bone Points
170
Journal of the Anthropological Society of South Australia Vol. 33 - 2008
will address this critical issue in light of the implications for assigning specific status to a bone object.
Terminology of Bone Objects Apart from the problem of categories and sub-categories, an additional problem needs to be acknowledged. Bone objects are variously termed as shown in the SA Museum collection which lists 20 sub categories of ‘bone object’ in common use. This confusion of terminology is reduced in this paper to four categories relating to use: bone points; ornaments; charms and pointing bones. Bone points cover the sub categories of: archaeology; awl; bone; digging tool; implement; knife; pin and tool. This latter sub-category includes spear points, pressure flaking tools, fabricators, chisels and gouges. The archaeology sub-category here is not the archaeology collection but merely a few specimens transferred from archaeology into ethnography at some stage. Ornaments and charms as a sub-category are comparatively uncluttered with multiple terms. There are only two records of sorcery/medical ornaments with the remaining 155 covering nose bones and nose pegs. The two former records are excluded from this discussion as their categorisation appears even more fraught with subjective and uncertain methods. (These types of objects will be the focus for future study). Charms are unremarkable cut lengths of mostly bird bone plugged at each end with resin and intended to increase success in food gathering and hunting. Pointing bones include death-pointers, sorcery objects and blood-letting and medical objects.
Keryn Walshe – Pointing Bones and Bone Points
171
Journal of the Anthropological Society of South Australia Vol. 33 - 2008
Image 1 - Bone points manufactured from kangaroo bones. Top to bottom: fine point with resin wad at proximal end; fibula bone point with transverse incisions down shaft to tapered point; fibula bone point with spatula end and ulna bone point with broad spatula end. (SA Museum collection, unaccessioned items).
Table One below presents the breakdown of category types for bone objects.
Table 1: Sub-categories for bone objects in SA Museum Collection
Archaeology 9
Awl 5
Bone 1
Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery 91
Death-pointer; Human; Sorcery 3
Death-pointer; Medical-object; Sorcery-object; Blood-letting 1
Death-pointer; Sorcery 348
Death-pointer; Spear; Sorcery 1
Digging Tool 1
Keryn Walshe – Pointing Bones and Bone Points
172
Journal of the Anthropological Society of South Australia Vol. 33 - 2008
Implement 2
Knife 1
Material 2
Material; Ornament 2
Medical-material; Bloodletting-tool 1
Ornament 156
Ornament; Sorcery-object 1
Ornament; Sorcery-object; Medical-object 1
Pin 23
Sorcery object 4
Tool 52
TOTAL 706
Summary of Sub-categories
Pointing Bones 450 64%
Bone Points 94 13%
Ornaments 156 22%
Other 11 1%
Since most ornaments and charms appear to be easily distinguished the following analysis will focus on distinguishing bone points (awls and tools) from pointing bones (death-pointers) in ethnographic and archaeology collections by using the SA Museum collection as a case study.
Bone Points 94 bone objects listed on the SA Museum database fall into the sub category of bone points. Closer analysis of 61 of the bone points has allowed recognition of general trends useful for characterising this sub category. These are outlined below followed by results and discussion of the general trends
Keryn Walshe – Pointing Bones and Bone Points
173
Journal of the Anthropological Society of South Australia Vol. 33 - 2008
against public knowledge of bone points. Comprehensive findings are given in Appendix 1 of this paper along with description, provenance, collector and collection date for each object.
61 specimens of bone points were selected at random for greater analysis. Attribute fields were established:
• faunal type
• skeletal element type • length (mm)
• end shape as: uni-point, bi-point, spatula, irregular or broken
• presence or trace of hair string, ochre, resin or incisions
• taphonomic traits such as teeth marks or pitting on the surface.
By far the most common faunal and element type was found to be a macropod (kangaroos and wallabies) fibula. Length ranged from 37 to 280mm with an average of 174mm. Uni-points dominate over spatula and bi-point end shapes with a distribution of 67%, 24% and 10% respectively. No bone point was found to have hair string attached either as a complete or fragmented cord but one does have a few reddish coloured fibres attached. 29% have a resin wad and this is uniformly at the proximal end, 25% are incised and 13% have ochre applied to some or all, of the fibula shaft. Teeth marks and pitting along the shaft or on one or both ends were recorded on only 10% of the points.
The observations indicate that bone points in this sample are without hair string but a strong correlation is demonstrated
Keryn Walshe – Pointing Bones and Bone Points
174
Journal of the Anthropological Society of South Australia Vol. 33 - 2008
between the presence of resin and incisions. To a lesser extent bone points are ochred. Some of the bone points have been chewed or gnawed, probably by humans, and presumably whilst still covered with meat in view of the shape and depth of depressions. This latter feature is worthy of further investigation.
McCarthy states that:
“The rib, leg and wing bones of many kinds of birds and mammals were used throughout the continent as awls. The joint was left on one end as a rule, the other end broken off at the required length and then rubbed on a stone to a sharp point. They are from 5-30cm long…used to peg out possum and other skins on bark and wood to dry them for cloaks and rugs and to perforate their edges in sewing them together….” (McCarthy 1976: 86)
It is apparent from the SA Museum collection that a very narrow range of fauna and skeletal element type are employed. The macropod fibula is an almost preordained canvas requiring little modification to become the perfect bone point. Akerman (1995) records the common use of a macropod fibula for manufacturing bone awls due to its convenient natural form but does also note the use of split long bones as points and scrapers as made evident from research by Bird and Beck (1980) and Webb and Allen (1990). McCarthy also records the use of the ‘strong leg bone’ such as the ulna of a kangaroo or emu sharpened at the distal end and used as a fabricator whilst the tibia (larger of the lower leg bones) was split lengthwise and the sides smoothed flat for use as a gouge or chisel. But it is the macropod fibula which
Keryn Walshe – Pointing Bones and Bone Points
175
Journal of the Anthropological Society of South Australia Vol. 33 - 2008
reigns across both ethnographic and archaeology collections. This may simply reflect an inherent bias as this object is easier to recognise visually in archaeology contexts and is highly collectable ethnographically due to its greater aesthetic qualities compared to say, a gouge prepared from a piece of long bone shaft. Additionally, the confusion between pointing bones and bone points may well have fuelled enthusiasm for acquiring such objects in the early 20th century. However, it is difficult to reconcile the fact that fibulae simply make perfect blanks for manufacturing bone points, against any suggested bias.
Uni-points are the most common archaeology and ethnographic bone finds and were used for a variety of purposes (Webb 1987; Webb & Allen 1990). Because of their wide range of functions, uni-points have been found in a broad range of occupation sites including coastal and inland (Brockwell & Akerman 2007). Uni-point fibula bone points are also known from burial sites where they appear to have been used to fasten cloaks around the deceased (Pretty 1977) or be part of a suite of grave goods representing the deceased’s most familiar, personal objects (Cohen 1993; Feary 1996). Bi-points or fusiform points, previously referred to as ‘muduk’ points by Hale and Tindale (1930), are generally associated with fishing due to ethnographic observations by Roth (1909). Fusiforms were fastened to the spear head (Akerman 1995; McCarthy 1976) and could also be used as barbs. McCarthy and Akerman (1995) note that ‘muduks’ can also be single pointed, varying in length from 3cm up to about 25cm but are usually stout objects subject to breakage during use and thus
Keryn Walshe – Pointing Bones and Bone Points
176
Journal of the Anthropological Society of South Australia Vol. 33 - 2008
have a higher probability of being missed in archaeological contexts and overlooked in ethnographic contexts.
Pointing Bones 448 bone objects listed on the SA Museum database fall into the sub category of pointing bones and these are tabled in Appendix 2 of this paper (which also gives description, provenance, collector and collection date).
Closer analysis of 83 of the pointing bones revealed some general trends useful for characterising this sub category. As with bone points, by far the most common faunal and element type was found to be a macropod (kangaroos and wallabies) fibula. Length ranged from 10 to 335mm with an average of 177mm. Of the 83 specimens only two were less than 105mm and two greater than 300mm in length. Excluding these, the average length is approximately 180mm. Uni-points make up 77% and bi-points 11% of the sample. Interestingly 50% of the uni-points are shaped into a spatula end at the proximal end. Thus pointing bones are more likely to be shaped into a point at the narrower, distal end but shaped into a spatula end at the broader, proximal end.
19% of the sample had hair string attached either as a complete cord or as a few fibres. 8% have an ochre tinge and 24% have resin in a wad or as a trace. Interestingly three specimens appeared to have been burnt evenly across the surface in a high temperature fire. 21% are incised with all but two being incised transversely across both upper and lower surfaces of the shaft. 33% have damage consistent with chewing or gnawing. This damage is fairly evenly distributed at
Keryn Walshe – Pointing Bones and Bone Points
177
Journal of the Anthropological Society of South Australia Vol. 33 - 2008
either end of the point but rarely at both ends, or isolated to a mid point on the shaft. Only one had chewing concentrated at one end and extending down the shaft. Table 2 below summarises the trends for both pointing bones and bone points.
Table 2: Bone Points versus Pointing Bones- common attributes
Attribute Most Common Bone Points (% of sample)
Pointing Bones (% of sample)
Fauna type Macropod 94 99
Skeletal element
Fibula 84 99
End shape Uni-point Spatula Bi-point
67 24 10
77 30 (of total sample) 11
Modification Hairstring Ochre Resin Incision Pitting/Gnawing
0 13 29 15 10
19 8 24 21 33
Macropod fibulae are also the most frequently selected skeletal element amongst identified bone sorcery objects. The presence of ochre, resin wads and hair string is clearly an identifiable trait. Interestingly chewing or gnawing is strongly represented as a trait and this deserves further investigation. The origin of assigning an object as a death-pointer/sorcery bone was investigated by referring to the earliest registration entry for each of the 83 bones and also searching available associated documentation. It was found that only 16 of the 83 entries were originally recorded as ‘pointing bones’ and all
Keryn Walshe – Pointing Bones and Bone Points
178
Journal of the Anthropological Society of South Australia Vol. 33 - 2008
others as awls, pins or bone points. The 16 entered as pointing bones all have resin and hair string attached.
Sorcery objects include a wide variety of mediums with an equally wide variety of powers, but all are united by the use of projective magic and the intent to harm and even kill their victim. Pointing bones and projective magic are described in published accounts such as those by Spencer and Gillen (1927), Elkin (1974), Berndt and Berndt (1964) and McCarthy (1952, 1957, 1976). Bone pointing as projective magic is a symbolic or magical way of spearing the victim and it has been claimed by McCarthy (1957) to be the ‘most powerful, direct and best known method employed’. McCarthy describes the pointing bone as usually the ‘fibula arm-bone of a dead man’ but can also be of a wallaby, kangaroo or emu. The term fibula arm bone is slightly confusing, the fibula being the lesser of the two lower leg bones whilst an arm bone could be the radius, ulna or humerus. Howitt (1904) had earlier referred to the use of a fibula from a dead man’s leg which is scraped, polished and ornamented with ochre and a cord made from the dead man’s hair. This dramatic rendition was presumably sourced by McCarthy who made a slight error but his oversight was rectified in a later publication (1976:89), where he clearly refers to a death-pointer ‘usually made from the leg bone of a kangaroo or emu and sometimes that of a dead man’. The sub categories in SA Museum database referring to death-pointer/human/sorcery refers to the presence of human hair string rather than human bone as the primary material. The SA Museum collection includes objects made from human bone but these were not included in this study.
Keryn Walshe – Pointing Bones and Bone Points
179
Journal of the Anthropological Society of South Australia Vol. 33 - 2008
McCarthy (1957:147) notes that the fibula bone pointer “..may be painted red, incised with a simple design or decorated with down. On the butt is a blob of gum which secures a length of human hair string to the bone”. This object is then used in various ways such as jerking the point at the victim or tying the string onto the victim’s arm for blood letting. Practices differed regionally as did the disposal of the bone after pointing, which may involve wrapping in emu feathers and leaves and burying for some months. One practice recorded for South Australia involved soaking the bone (neilyeri) in a putrefying corpse then wrapping it in putrescent matter and pointing it at, or pricking the intended victim with the neilyeri (McCarthy 1957; Taplin 1879). The hair string cord was also believed by some to drain the blood from the victim and become trapped in the bone. A wad of resin at one end prevented the blood from draining out of the bone. The health of the victim could then be tampered with by the perpetrator heating the bone over a fire, and consequently heating his blood at periodic intervals until great sickness or death occurred (Berndt & Berndt 1964:321). This is interesting in light of two of the specimens from SA Museum exhibit exposure to an even degree of burning from temperatures above 350C. Chewing or gnawing on the bone may also have been carried out with similar intent- to harm the victim by aggravating the enchanted bone.
The ‘death-bone’ is known as ‘gundila’ in the Great Victoria Desert and as ‘injilla’ by the Arrernte according to Berndt (1964), citing from Spencer and Gillen (1938). A variant of the death-bone was the ‘ullinka’ which has a hooked end and a hole at the other through which hair string was passed. An
Keryn Walshe – Pointing Bones and Bone Points
180
Journal of the Anthropological Society of South Australia Vol. 33 - 2008
object donated by Kym Akerman to the SA Museum collection in 1970, fits this description and is also worthy of further investigation.
The ‘werpoo’ is an unusual object, held with the Australian Museum, but recorded from the Adelaide Plains (McCarthy 1952). No similar object exists in the SA Museum collection. The needle like point tapers upwards, to apparently slide without notice to the victim, downwards from the neck or upwards from the chest and into the heart.
The use of a bone from a ‘dead man’ was assumed by Elkin (1938) to be more powerful than animal bones. There is no actual evidence of this in the literature or amongst the physical objects when comparing numbers of animal bones to human bones. The most powerful ingredient of the entire exercise appears to be the chanting accompanying all steps in the process of bone pointing, rather than the actual bone or its adornment.
Chanting was a vital ingredient for the success of pointing and far more secrecy and taboo have existed around the content and tone of the chant than around the object itself. Indeed the power of chanting and singing in pointing a bone was such that the magic was equally capable of harming the perpetrator as the intended victim, or even a bystander. Informants for some anthropologists wanting to elicit sorcery information remarked on the fear held by their informants if merely imitating an act of bone pointing (Berndt 1964).
Keryn Walshe – Pointing Bones and Bone Points
181
Journal of the Anthropological Society of South Australia Vol. 33 - 2008
Bone Points as Pointing Bones Traits identified above for pointing bones include the presence of resin and hair string but unfortunately these are not always retained over time. Resin has volatile molecules highly subject to fluctuating humidity and ambient temperature, resulting in cracking and splitting if not kept in a consistent environment. Hair string is particularly susceptible to insect attack but will also fall away with the resin which holds it to the object. Ochre is a lesser trait but this can rub off with handling over time, leaving only a faint trace.
Ordinary bone points may well have been used as pointing bones after the addition of ochre, resin and in particular hair string. A bone point in the SA Museum collection was retrieved by C. Reid in 1931 from Yapma Jack, who had it secreted in his hut. The registration entry notes that after its revelation, hair string was added but the entry does not state why it was added and if the bone became a sorcery object. As noted earlier, a strong correlation exists between resin and incisions on bone points. Resin enables hair string to be attached to the point. The string becomes of greatest significance as a seemingly physical manifestation of the victim’s circulatory system, now extended beyond the body and into the sorcerer’s control. The hair string then is integral to the pointing process more so than decorative elements such as ochre and incisions. Incision patterns replicate the patterns on incised nose bones from Central Australia and therefore may offer overt means of identifying geo-social affiliations. The average lengths for the SA Museum sample of bone points and pointing bones is almost identical at 174 and
Keryn Walshe – Pointing Bones and Bone Points
182
Journal of the Anthropological Society of South Australia Vol. 33 - 2008
177mm respectively. Chewing or gnawing is an interesting element and is more likely to be present on pointing bones than bone points.
What is not clear in the literature is the potential for bone points to transfer from mundane to sorcery status. There seems to be some anecdotal evidence for an ordinary bone awl to be given hair string and chanted into sorcery but it is not known if a sorcery object can return to an ordinary existence. McCarthy (1976:88, Fig. 66-1) depicts a bone awl, a bone point and a pointed bone implement. These objects need only have resin and hair string attached to become visually at least, a pointing bone. Similarly, pointing bones need only to lose their resin and hair string over time, to become visually, a benign bone point. Further research on a microscopic level to identify evidence for use wear may assist in addressing the question of pointing bones evolving from bone points. This would also account for the same patterns of incision being observed on Central Australian nose bones and pointing bones.
As demonstrated above for bone tools, nose bones are also highly variable for faunal type, skeletal element, uni or bi-point and degree of decoration. Nose bones from central to northern Australia are however more likely to be manufactured from the ulna or radius of large birds, pelican bones in particular but also the bush turkey. These bones are broad in circumference and hollow with a clean white smooth surface. The proximal and distal ends are typically cut through to leave a length of approximately 200mm with open ends. The ends are then available for totemic feathers or tail tips to be
Keryn Walshe – Pointing Bones and Bone Points
183
Journal of the Anthropological Society of South Australia Vol. 33 - 2008
inserted, or plugged with resin. Some nose bones measure over 300mm in length. Numerous bone objects were collected by tourists to Hermannsburg in the 1960-70s and many of these have since been donated to SA Museum. These have been generally manufactured from the broad ‘shovel’ mid-section of a macropod fibula and measure about 150-200mm. Some are rubbed with ochre and most carry three or more series of transverse incisions in the shaft’s concavity. The ends are abraded to a rounded, spatula shape and some have a wad of resin at one or both ends. Their shape and style match earlier records of nose bones. Fibula uni-points, the classic awls, also doubled as nose bones and long bi-points manufactured from the proximal end of a fibula were worn as nose bones without any other purpose (McCarthy 1976, Akerman 1995). Thus the cross over of function and style or category and description is apparent for all bone objects in the broad categories of bone tools, bone ornaments and sorcery objects of bone. As stated earlier in this paper the implications for museum collections and public display is one for topical and critical discussion.
Conclusion Available documents and informal commentary from various collectors and published works suggests that the presence of hair string and resin are more reliable traits for identifying pointing bones than traits such as uni versus bi-point; faunal or skeletal element type, length and the presence of ochre and incisions. Within the SA Museum sample of 83 death-pointers, there is a strong correlation between traits such as hair string, resin, incisions on macropod fibula uni-points that are
Keryn Walshe – Pointing Bones and Bone Points
184
Journal of the Anthropological Society of South Australia Vol. 33 - 2008
approximately 177mm in length and have been chewed or gnawed. Reviewing the original registration entries for the bone objects in the collection, those clearly entered as bone pointers or pointing bones, as opposed to bone points, awls and nose bones or pegs all have the traits identified here- hair string, resin and ochre or incisions. Extrapolating across the collection of over 700 SA Museum bone objects, only 20% rather than 64% are likely to be pointing bones. This conforms to the archaeological data which has consistently identified bone tools, particularly awls and muduks or spear points rather than sorcery related pointing bones. These finds are generally associated with coastal occupation sites although burials across Australia have also yielded bone points presumed to have pinned skin cloaks around the deceased.
Distinguishing sub-categories of bone objects appears to have been a largely subjective process in museum collections. It is unlikely that this situation is exclusive to bone objects but it is obvious that the association of bone with sorcery practices adds a further layer of complexity and uncertainty. This paper has not attempted to provide a set of criteria for distinguishing a bone point from a pointing bone as at this stage there is a lack of critically evaluated information to do so. However, the complexities and uncertainties of dealing with bone objects have been highlighted and further study of bone collections is recommended.
Keryn Walshe – Pointing Bones and Bone Points
185
Journal of the Anthropological Society of South Australia Vol. 33 - 2008
Appendix 1 Note:
‘x’ refers to no observation, including a trace. If a trace was present this would be recorded as such. A trace means that the resin or ochre was present in greater quantity but has since been lost, so it is important to record the trace as an observation.
Anth.No.
Cat. Description Animal Element LxW (mm)
Bi-/Uni- point
Spatula Hairstring Ochred Resin Incised Chewed
632 Tool Tool, bones, for stone chipping (3)
Macropod Fibula 170x6 X x x x x x proximal end
1068 Tool Tool, implement, stone; used for making glass spear-heads
Macropod Fibula 242x7 X Spatula x x x incised X
3978 Tool Tool, bone, used for extracting splinters
Macropod Fibula 156x7 Unipoint x x x x x proximal end
4297 Tool Tool, gouge, bone
Macropod Fibula 265x20 Unipoint x x x x x x
4298 Tool Tool, gouge, bone
Macropod indet. 238x25 X Spatula x ochre x incised x
4299 Tool Tool, gouge, bone
Macropod indet. 235x28 X Spatula x x resin incised x
4300 Tool Tool, gouge, bone
Macropod indet. 180x25 X Spatula x x resin incised x
4301 Tool Tool, gouge, bone
Macropod Fibula 215x25 X Spatula x ochre x x x
11713 Pin Pin, bone indet. Fibula 180x15 Unipoint x x x x x x 11714 Pin Pin, bone Macropod Fibula 280x10 Unipoint x x x x x x 11715 Pin Pin, bone Macropod Fibula 268x8 Unipoint x x x x x distal end
Keryn Walshe – Pointing Bones and Bone Points
186
Journal of the Anthropological Society of South Australia Vol. 33 - 2008
Anth.No.
Cat. Description Animal Element LxW (mm)
Bi-/Uni- point
Spatula Hairstring Ochred Resin Incised Chewed
11717 Pin Pin, bone Macropod Fibula 250x10 Unipoint x x x x x x 11719 Pin Pin, bone Macropod Fibula 225x8 Unipoint x x x x x x 11721 Pin Pin, bone Macropod Fibula 205x7 Unipoint x x x x x x 11723 Pin Pin, bone Macropod Fibula 190x7 X Spatula x x x x x 11727 Pin Pin, bone Macropod Fibula 155x7 Unipoint x x x x x x 11728 Pin Pin, bone Macropod Fibula 230x5 Bipoint x x x x x x 11730 Pin Pin, bone Macropod Fibula 215x7 Bipoint x x x x x x 13858 Digging
-tool Digging-tool, implements for gathering lily roots
Macropod Fibula 70x23 X Spatula x x x x x
17477 Tool Tool, bone implement
Macropod Fibula 214x6 Unipoint x x x resin incised x
17478 Tool Tool, bone implement
Macropod Fibula 180x5 Unipoint x x x resin incised x
17479 Tool Tool, bone implement
Macropod Fibula 188x5 Unipoint x x x resin incised x
17480 Tool Tool, bone implement
Macropod Fibula 205x5 Unipoint x x x resin incised x
17481 Tool Tool, bone implement
Macropod Fibula 185x5 Unipoint x x x resin incised distal end
17482 Tool Tool, implement, bone
Macropod Fibula 200x6 Unipoint x x x resin incised x
17483 Tool Tool, bone implement
Macropod Fibula 215x6 X Spatula x x resin incised x
17484 Tool Tool, bone implement
Macropod Fibula 180x5 Unipoint x x x resin incised x
17485 Tool Tool, bone implement
Macropod Fibula 190x5 Unipoint x x x resin incised x
17487 Tool Tool, implement, bone
Macropod Fibula 237x6 X Spatula x x resin incised x
17488 Tool Tool, bone implement
Macropod Fibula 215x5 Unipoint x x x resin incised x
17775 Tool Tool, implement, bone
Macropod Fibula 158x7 Unipoint x x x x x x
17776 Tool Tool, implement,
Fibula 195x5 Unipoint X x x resin x x
Keryn Walshe – Pointing Bones and Bone Points
187
Journal of the Anthropological Society of South Australia Vol. 33 - 2008
Anth.No.
Cat. Description Animal Element LxW (mm)
Bi-/Uni- point
Spatula Hairstring Ochred Resin Incised Chewed
bone 17777 Tool Tool,
implement, bone
Fibula 176x5 x Spatula x x x x x
21323 Implement
Implement, bone
Fibula 174x6 Bipoint X x x x x x
26149 Pin Needle Fish Vertebral 40x3 Unipoint x x x x x x 27215 Knife Knife, bone,
'taraka wakala'
indet. 145x25 Unipoint X x x resin x x
28377 Tool Tool, implement, bone; see Other Information
Macropod Fibula 231x7 X Spatula x x x x x
29300 Arch. Implement, bone
Macropod Fibula 95x7 Unipoint x x x x x shaft
29781 Tool Tool, implement, bone
Macropod Fibula 136x6 Unipoint x x x x x x
29782 Tool Tool, implement, bone
Macropod Fibula 140x8 X Spatula x x x x x
29783 Tool Tool, implement, bone
Macropod Fibula 127x5 Unipoint x x x x x x
29784 Tool Tool, implement, bone
Macropod Fibula 174x7 Unipoint x x x x x x
29785 Tool Tool, implement, bone
Macropod Ulna 152x15 Unipoint x x ochre x x x
29787 Tool Tool, implement, bone
Macropod Ulna 143x20 Unipoint x x ochre resin x x
29788 Tool Tool, implement, bone
Macropod indet. 153x18 Unipoint x x x x x x
40629 Tool Tool, implement, bone for
indet. indet. 115x9 Unipoint x x x x x proximal end
Keryn Walshe – Pointing Bones and Bone Points
188
Journal of the Anthropological Society of South Australia Vol. 33 - 2008
Anth.No.
Cat. Description Animal Element LxW (mm)
Bi-/Uni- point
Spatula Hairstring Ochred Resin Incised Chewed
sewing skins for cloaks
48060 Awl Awl, cassowary bone
Cassowary tibiotarsii 173x8 Unipoint x x ochre x x x
50774 Tool Tool, double ended skewer, bone
indet. Rib 280x5 Bipoint x x x x x x
53330 Tool Tool, bone implement; Register says 'associated in some way with a story of a being called Garaban. The name could be of Lard:l origin'
indet. indet. 182x30 X Spatula x ochre x x x
54503 Tool Tool?, point, bone
Macropod Fibula 180x5 Unipoint x x x x x x
54504 Tool Tool?, point, bone
Macropod Fibula 114x4 Unipoint x x x x x x
54505 Tool Tool?, point, bone
Macropod Fibula 115x3 Unipoint x x x x x x
61056 Pin Pin, bone Macropod Fibula 214x6 Unipoint x x ochre resin x x 61401 Awl Awl, ornament
for piercing nasal septum
Macropod Fibula 135x5 Unipoint x x Ochre x x x
68059 Tool Tool, spatula, bone, decorated with resin, found in a cave in a gorge
Fibula 212x7 Unipoint Spatula x x Resin x x
69859 Tool Tool, bone point- maker; found unregistered in store;
Macropod Fibula 135x6 Unipoint x x x x x x
Keryn Walshe – Pointing Bones and Bone Points
189
Journal of the Anthropological Society of South Australia Vol. 33 - 2008
Anth.No.
Cat. Description Animal Element LxW (mm)
Bi-/Uni- point
Spatula Hairstring Ochred Resin Incised Chewed
inscribed `Port George IV'
11732 a
Pin Pin, bone Macropod Fibula 105x10 Unipoint x x X x x distal end
11732 b
Pin Pin, bone Macropod Fibula 110x7 Bipoint x x X x x x
11732 c
Pin Pin, bone Macropod Fibula 68x6 Bipoint x x X x x x
11732 d
Pin Pin, bone Macropod Fibula 37x7 Unipoint x x X x x x
11732 e
Pin Pin, bone Macropod Fibula 39x8 Unipoint x x X x x x
Keryn Walshe – Pointing Bones and Bone Points
190
Journal of the Anthropological Society of South Australia Vol. 33 - 2008
Appendix 2 Anth. No.
Cat. Description Original registration entry / specimen docs
Animal Element LxW (mm)
Bi-/Uni- point
Spatula Hair-string
Ochred Resin Incised Chewed
612 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl, or carving tool or chipping
Awl or carving tool, or for chipping.
Macropod Fibula 148x6 x Spatula x x x x proximal end
3770 Death-pointer; Sorcery
Pointing, bone, incised
Pointing bone, incised
Macropod Fibula 10x5 Unipoint Spatula x x x on ends x
12836 Death-pointer; Sorcery
Pointing-bone, dug from floor of cave
Pointing bone Macropod Fibula 156x5 Unipoint x x x x x proximal end
12837 Death-pointer; Sorcery
Pointing-bone, dug from floor of cave
Pointing bone Macropod Fibula 180x6 Unipoint x x x x x proximal end
12838 Death-pointer; Sorcery
Pointing-bone, dug from floor of cave
Pointing bone Macropod Fibula 157x5 Unipoint x x x x x proximal end
12840 Death-pointer; Sorcery
Pointing-bone, ornamented, dug from floor of cave
Pointing bone Macropod Fibula 270x6 Unipoint x x x Resin shaft hatching
x
14254 Death-pointer; Sorcery
Pointing-bone, peg, bone
Macropod Fibula 270x5 Bipoint x x x x x x
16589 Death-pointer; Sorcery
Pointing-bone, obtained from Yapma Jack
From Yapma Jack, who secreted it in his hut, cord attached after its first discovery.
indet. indet. 147x8 Unipoint x Hairstring
Ochre tinge
Resin x x
29908 Death-pointer; Sorcery
Pointing-bone?, implement, bone; Register says '`Named in the Ouldea
Bone point Macropod Fibula 112x3 Unipoint x x x x x x
Keryn Walshe – Pointing Bones and Bone Points
191
Journal of the Anthropological Society of South Australia Vol. 33 - 2008
Anth. No.
Cat. Description Original registration entry / specimen docs
Animal Element LxW (mm)
Bi-/Uni- point
Spatula Hair-string
Ochred Resin Incised Chewed
language' R.T.M. (no further information with specimen)'
32512 Death-pointer; Sorcery
Pointing-bone; Register says 'Magic stick found in a native camp, abandoned on account of sudden sickness.'
Panji, for opening veins, for piercing arms, back, etc, for certain ceremonies in which it was worn.
Macropod Fibula 218x5 Bipoint x x x x x x
33137 Death-pointer; Spear; Sorcery
Pointing-bone or spear point?; 'Found in sand dunes'; originally 3 registered with same number - see A44181 & 44182 for other two
Nose-pegs or spear points.
Macropod Fibula 150x10
Unipoint x x x x x mid shaft
33372 Death-pointer; Sorcery
Pointing-bone; Register says '16 of 30 implements found on gravelly floor of creek (in one spot) under 3 feet of water. Originally collected by Mr Stafford.',
Bone implements Macropod Fibula 128x6 Unipoint Spatula x x x x mid shaft
Keryn Walshe – Pointing Bones and Bone Points
192
Journal of the Anthropological Society of South Australia Vol. 33 - 2008
Anth. No.
Cat. Description Original registration entry / specimen docs
Animal Element LxW (mm)
Bi-/Uni- point
Spatula Hair-string
Ochred Resin Incised Chewed
'15 made A44199 to A44213'
33851 Death-pointer; Sorcery
Pointing-bone?
Bone point Macropod Fibula 115x5 Unipoint x x x x x shaft
44111 Death-pointer; Sorcery
Pointing-bone, 'Kutimara'
Macropod Fibula 270x9 Unipoint x x x Trace x x
44113 Death-pointer; Sorcery
Pointing-bone, 'Kutimara'
Pointing. Kutimara.
Macropod Fibula 335x12
Unipoint x x Ochred x x x
44116 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl, point, bone, kangaroo fibula, 'Panji'
Panji, Bone Point, Awl, kangaroo fibula for various uses.
Macropod Fibula 210x6 Unipoint x x x x x x
44118 Death-pointer;Awl; Sorcery
Awl, point, bone, kangaroo fibula, 'Panji'
Panji, Bone Point, Awl, kangaroo fibula for various uses.
Macropod Fibula 218x7 Unipoint x x x x x x
44119 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl, point, bone, kangaroo fibula, 'Panji'
Panji, Bone Point, Awl, kangaroo fibula for various uses.
Macropod Fibula 223x8 Unipoint x x x x x x
44123 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl, point, bone, kangaroo fibula, 'Panji'
Panji, Bone Point, Awl, kangaroo fibula for various uses.
Macropod Fibula 210x8 Unipoint x x x x x x
44125 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl?, point, bone
Panji, Bone Point, Awl, kangaroo fibula for various uses.
Macropod Fibula 110x5 x Spatula x x x x x
44128 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl?, point, bone
Panji, Bone Point, Awl, kangaroo fibula for various uses.
Macropod Fibula 242x6 Bipoint x x Ochre tinge
x x x
44133 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl?, point, bone
Panji, Bone Point, Awl, kangaroo fibula for various uses.
Macropod Fibula 210x8 x x x x x x x
Keryn Walshe – Pointing Bones and Bone Points
193
Journal of the Anthropological Society of South Australia Vol. 33 - 2008
Anth. No.
Cat. Description Original registration entry / specimen docs
Animal Element LxW (mm)
Bi-/Uni- point
Spatula Hair-string
Ochred Resin Incised Chewed
44180 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl?, point, bone
Bone point Macropod Fibula 115x10
Unipoint Spatula x x x x x
44181 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl?, point, bone
Bone point Macropod Fibula 175x7 Unipoint Spatula x x x x distal end
44182 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl?, point, bone
Bone point Macropod Fibula 195x7 Unipoint Spatula x x x x shaft
44183 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl?, point, bone
Bone point Macropod Fibula 149x7 Unipoint Spatula x x x x distal end
44184 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl?, point, bone
Bone point Macropod Fibula 188x7 Unipoint Spatula x x x x shaft
44185 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl?, point, bone
Bone point Macropod Fibula 127x6 Unipoint Spatula x x x x proximal end
44186 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl?, point, bone
Bone point Macropod Fibula 125x6 Unipoint Spatula x x x x x
44187 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl?, point, bone
Bone point Macropod Fibula 157x6 Unipoint Spatula x x x x distal end
44188 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl?, point, bone
Bone point Macropod Fibula 178x4 Bipoint x x x x x x
44189 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl?, point, bone
Bone point Macropod Fibula 141x5 x Spatula x Ochre tinge
x x shaft
Keryn Walshe – Pointing Bones and Bone Points
194
Journal of the Anthropological Society of South Australia Vol. 33 - 2008
Anth. No.
Cat. Description Original registration entry / specimen docs
Animal Element LxW (mm)
Bi-/Uni- point
Spatula Hair-string
Ochred Resin Incised Chewed
44190 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl?, point, bone
Bone point Macropod Fibula 166x4 Unipoint Spatula x x x x x
44191 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl?, point, bone
Bone point Macropod Fibula 124x6 Unipoint Spatula x x x x x
44192 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl?, point, bone
Bone point Macropod Fibula 175x6 Unipoint Spatula x ashy tinge
x x x
44193 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl?, point, bone
Bone point Macropod Fibula 157x4 Unipoint x x x x x x
44194 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl?, point, bone
Bone point Macropod Fibula 118x5 Unipoint x x Burnt brown
x x x
44195 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl?, point, bone
Bone point Macropod Fibula 176x7 Unipoint Spatula x Ochre tinge
x x distal end
44196 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl?, point, bone
Bone point Macropod Fibula 193x4 Unipoint x x x x x shaft
44197 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl?, point, bone
Bone point Macropod Fibula 155x7 Unipoint Spatula x x x x proximal end
44198 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl?, point, bone
Bone point Macropod Fibula 148x7 Unipoint Spatula x x x x x
44199 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl?, point, bone
Bone point Macropod Fibula 240x7 Unipoint x x Ochre tinge
x x proximal end
Keryn Walshe – Pointing Bones and Bone Points
195
Journal of the Anthropological Society of South Australia Vol. 33 - 2008
Anth. No.
Cat. Description Original registration entry / specimen docs
Animal Element LxW (mm)
Bi-/Uni- point
Spatula Hair-string
Ochred Resin Incised Chewed
44200 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl?, point, bone
Bone point Macropod Fibula 184x4 Unipoint Spatula x x x x x
44201 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl?, point, bone
Bone point Macropod Fibula 126x5 Unipoint Spatula x x x x x
44202 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl?, point, bone
Bone point Macropod Fibula 186x6 Unipoint Spatula x x x x x
44203 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl?, point, bone
Bone point Macropod Fibula 122x4 x Spatula x Burnt brown
x x shaft
44204 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl?, point, bone
Bone point Macropod Fibula 106x4 Unipoint Spatula x x x x x
44205 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl?, point, bone
Bone point Macropod Fibula 154x7 Unipoint x x x x x shaft & point
44206 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl?, point, bone
Bone point Macropod Fibula 166x6 Unipoint Spatula x x x x x
44207 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl?, point, bone
Bone point Macropod Fibula 108x4 Unipoint Spatula x x x x shaft
44208 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl?, point, bone
Bone point Macropod Fibula 172x6 Unipoint Spatula x x x x x
44209 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl?, point, bone
Bone point Macropod Fibula 186x8 Unipoint Spatula x x x x shaft
Keryn Walshe – Pointing Bones and Bone Points
196
Journal of the Anthropological Society of South Australia Vol. 33 - 2008
Anth. No.
Cat. Description Original registration entry / specimen docs
Animal Element LxW (mm)
Bi-/Uni- point
Spatula Hair-string
Ochred Resin Incised Chewed
44210 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl?, point, bone
Bone point Macropod Fibula 173x5 Unipoint x x x x x distal end
44211 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl?, point, bone
Bone point Macropod Fibula 128x5 Unipoint Spatula x x x x distal end
44212 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl?, point, bone
Bone point Macropod Fibula 120x6 Unipoint Spatula x x x x shaft
44213 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl?, point, bone
Bone point Macropod Fibula 83x5 Unipoint x x x x x x
44214 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl?, point, bone
Bone point Macropod Fibula 138x6 Bipoint Spatula x x x x x
44215 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl?, point, bone
Bone point Macropod Fibula 154x5 Bipoint x trace x x x shaft
44216 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl?, point, bone
Bone point Macropod Fibula 166x6 Bipoint x x x x x x
44217 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl?, point, bone
Bone point Macropod Fibula 184x8 Unipoint Spatula x x x x proximal end
44238 Death-pointer; Awl; Sorcery
Awl?, point, bone
Macropod Fibula 216x5 Bipoint x x x x x x
49965 Death-pointer; Sorcery
Pointing-bone, with hair string
Bone with hairstring
Macropod Fibula 195x6 x Spatula Hairstring
x Resin shaft x
50770 Death- Pointing-bone, Bone with Macropod Fibula 212x6 Unipoint x Hairst x Resin shaft x
Keryn Walshe – Pointing Bones and Bone Points
197
Journal of the Anthropological Society of South Australia Vol. 33 - 2008
Anth. No.
Cat. Description Original registration entry / specimen docs
Animal Element LxW (mm)
Bi-/Uni- point
Spatula Hair-string
Ochred Resin Incised Chewed
pointer; Human; Sorcery
with human hair string
hairstring ring
56228 Death-pointer; Sorcery
Pointing-bone Pointing Macropod Fibula 203x5 Unipoint x Hairstring
x Resin shaft x
56229 Death-pointer; Sorcery
Pointing-bone Pointing Macropod Fibula 254x8 Unipoint x Hairstring
x Resin shaft x
56230 Death-pointer; Sorcery
Pointing-bone Pointing Macropod Fibula 218x10
Unipoint x Hairstring
x Resin shaft x
56231 Death-pointer; Sorcery
Pointing-bone Pointing Macropod Fibula 230x10
Unipoint x Hairstring
x Resin shaft x
56232 Death-pointer; Sorcery
Pointing-bone Pointing Macropod Fibula 260x7 Unipoint x Hairstring
x Resin shaft x
56233 Death-pointer; Sorcery
Pointing-bone Pointing Macropod Fibula 177x8 x Spatula Hairstring
x Resin shaft x
56234 Death-pointer; Sorcery
Pointing-bone Pointing Macropod Fibula 243x9 Unipoint x Hairstring
x Resin shaft x
56235 Death-pointer; Sorcery
Pointing-bone Pointing Macropod Fibula 187x10
Unipoint x Hairstring
x Resin shaft x
59116 Death-pointer; Sorcery
Pointing-bone; Register says 'Central Australian type'
Pointing Macropod Fibula 243x5 Unipoint x x x Trace x x
61586 Death-pointer; Sorcery
Pointing-bone Carved by well known aboriginal, probably Jim Kite circa 1916
Macropod Fibula 188x4 Bipoint x x x x both ends
x
62939 Death-pointer; Sorcery
Peg, bone, animal; pointing-bone?
Peg Macropod Fibula 183x4 x Spatula x x x x x
Keryn Walshe – Pointing Bones and Bone Points
198
Journal of the Anthropological Society of South Australia Vol. 33 - 2008
Anth. No.
Cat. Description Original registration entry / specimen docs
Animal Element LxW (mm)
Bi-/Uni- point
Spatula Hair-string
Ochred Resin Incised Chewed
64326 Death-pointer; Sorcery
Pointing-bone?, hair string attached to one end by resin
Point, bone Macropod Fibula 168x5 Unipoint x Hairstring
ochre Resin x x
65155 Death-pointer; Sorcery
Pointing-bone, found inside skeleton
Pointing Macropod Fibula 240x5 x Spatula x x x x x
65156 Death-pointer; Sorcery
Pointing-bone, found inside skeleton
Pointing Macropod Fibula 158x6 x x x x x x x
68058 Death-pointer; Human; Sorcery
Pointing-bone, with human hair
Macropod Fibula 315x8 Unipoint x Hairstring
x Resin Shaft x
68467 Death-pointer; Sorcery
Pointing-bone; collected Christmas 1943 on trip to Hermannsburg and Palm Valley
Macropod Fibula 190x10 Unipoint
x Hairstring
x Resin shaft x
70697 Sorcery object
Sorcery object, pointing bone, pointed at one end, knob of spinifex resin with fragments of hair string and other cordage attached at other end, transverse scoring for 2/3 of length
Fibula 315x8 Unipoint x Hairstring x Resin shaft x
70763 Sorcery object
Sorcery object,
Macropod Fibula 175x5 Unipoint
x x x Resin shaft x
Keryn Walshe – Pointing Bones and Bone Points
199
Journal of the Anthropological Society of South Australia Vol. 33 - 2008
Anth. No.
Cat. Description Original registration entry / specimen docs
Animal Element LxW (mm)
Bi-/Uni- point
Spatula Hair-string
Ochred Resin Incised Chewed
pointing bone, pointed at one end, knob of spinifex resin at other end, transverse scoring for most of length. No hair-string attached, otherwise in fair to good condition. Formerly stuck to a hand-drawn label "Nose-bones", has adhesive from tape adhering to it.
70764 Sorcery object
Sorcery object, pointing bone, pointed at one end, knob of spinifex resin at other end. No hair-string attached, otherwise in fair to good condition. Formerly stuck to a hand-written label "Nose-bones", has adhesive from tape adhering
Macropod Fibula 151x7 Unipoint
x x x Resin x x
Keryn Walshe – Pointing Bones and Bone Points
200
Journal of the Anthropological Society of South Australia Vol. 33 - 2008
Anth. No.
Cat. Description Original registration entry / specimen docs
Animal Element LxW (mm)
Bi-/Uni- point
Spatula Hair-string
Ochred Resin Incised Chewed
to it. 70765 Sorcery
object Sorcery object, pointing bone, pointed at one end, kn ob of spinifex resin at other end. No hair-string attached, otherwise in fair to good condition. Formerly stuck to a hand-written label "Nose-bones", has adhesive from tape adhering to it.
Macropod Fibula 113x3 Unipoint
x x x Resin x x
Keryn Walshe – Pointing Bones and Bone Points
201
Journal of the Anthropological Society of South Australia Vol. 33 - 2008
References Akerman, K. 1995. The use of bone, shell and teeth by
Aboriginal Australians. In E. Johnson (ed.) Ancient People and Landscapes. Pp. 173-83. Lubbock, Texas: Museum of Texas.
Bird, C. and Beck. C. 1980. Bone points and spatula: salvage ethnography in southwest Australia. Archaeology and Physical Anthropology in Oceania 15(3): 168-171.
Berndt, R.M. and C.H. Berndt. 1964. The World of the First Australians. Sydney: Ure Smith.
Brockwell, S. and K. Akerman. 2007. Bone points from the Adelaide River, Northern Territory. Australian Aboriginal Studies 2007: 83-97.
Cohen, S. 1993. Burial site bones baffle the boffins. GEO 15(1): 52-61.
Elkin, A.P. 1974 (revised edition). The Australian Aborigines. Sydney: Angus & Robertson.
Feary, S. 1996. An Aboriginal burial with grave goods near Cooma, New South Wales. Australian Archaeology 43: 40-42.
Hale, G. and N.B Tindale. 1934. Aborigines from Princess Charlotte Bay, North Queensland. Records of the SA Museum 5(2): 117-172.
Keryn Walshe – Pointing Bones and Bone Points
202
Journal of the Anthropological Society of South Australia Vol. 33 - 2008
Howitt, A.W. 1904. The native tribes of south-east Australia. London: Macmillan.
McCarthy, F. D. 1952. A werpoo, or bone dagger from South Australia. Australian Museum Magazine 10(9): 290-292.
McCarthy, F. D. 1957. Australian Aborigines, their life and culture. Colorgravure Publications (Herald & Weekly Times Ltd), Melbourne.
McCarthy, F.D. 1976. Australian Aboriginal Stone Implements, including bone, shell and tooth implements. Sydney: Australian Museum Trust.
Pretty, G.L. 1977. Cultural Chronology of Roonka Flat, a preliminary consideration. In R.V.S Wright (ed.) Stone Tools as Cultural Markers; change, evolution and complexity . Pp. 288-331. Prehistory & Material Studies Series No. 12. AIATSIS, Canberra & Humanities Press Inc, New Jersey.
Roth, W.E. 1909. Fighting weapons. North Queensland Ethnography. Bulletin No. 13. Records of the Australian Museum 7(4): 189-211.
Spencer, B. and F.J. Gillen. 1927. The Arunta: a study of a stone age people. London: Macmillan.
Taplin, G. 1879. The Narrinyeri. In J.D. Woods (ed.). The native tribes of South Australia. Pp. 1-156. Adelaide: E.S. Wigg.
Keryn Walshe – Pointing Bones and Bone Points
203
Journal of the Anthropological Society of South Australia Vol. 33 - 2008
Webb, C. 1987. Use wear on bone tools: an experimental program and three case studies from south east Australia. Unpublished BA (Hons) thesis, La Trobe University.
Webb, C. and J. Allen. 1990. A functional analysis of Pleistocene bone tools from two sites in southwest Tasmania. Archaeology in Oceania 25: 75-78.