Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

T. Koch · 21st July 2012, 05:48 PM

Hi Vikingsword,

My name is Thor and I am a new member here. I hope you will all forgive me for practicing a bit of necromancy on this old thread, but I thought I'd try contributing with something to the forums for my first post here. I must also confess to having been lurking here for more than a year now and in that time I have been truly humbled by the level of knowledge on here. I've learned so much already and It is indeed an honor being in the company of you gentlemen!

I am a bachelor in biology, now undertaking my masters degree in human parasitology. To put food on the table meanwhile, I work for our Environmental Ministry here as part of the CITES Management Authority team where I am now on my 5th year. One of my many tasks at work , is looking at peoples' antiques in order to asses whether the materials used warrants the need for a CITES-permit/-certificate, i.e. if it's from a species contained within the CITES Appendices.

Basically I look at a lot of horn, bones, ivory etc. from different source species and this is where I think I might be of value to this, at this point albeit elderly, discussion.

Considering sea cows (order Sirenia) there are two extant families: Manatees, (Trichechidae) and the dugongs (Dungongidae), the latter consisting of only one extant species: The dugong, Dugong dugon. Now, the manatee species are confined to Afrcia and the New World, so they are conveniently excluded from the discussion at hand. The extant dugong however is dispersed over South East Asia, and is as such a likely candidate for source material.

One feature of the skeleton of the species in the family Dugongidae is the increased density, known as pachyostosis, of the rib bones. The weight of which the animal uses while swimming to keep on 'right keel', so to speak. It is exactly the density of this bone which makes it suitable for manufacture into tools and other items. Personally, the only Dugongid I've seen processed like this is the now extinct Steller's Sea Cow (Hydrodamalis gigas), the distribution of which was far more Northern than the extant dugong. As already mentioned, this is also the species, of which the ribs are utilized today by modern knife makers. The inuit tools I have personally seen from Steller's Sea Cow, had all been manufactured by Russian Inuit peoples, which have had a tradition for utilizing this species as part of their sustenance.

Now whether or not the Dayak likewise has/had a tradition for utilizing the extant dugong, local to Borneo, is beyond my area of expertise. Here I think it might be better consulting an anthropologist with a specialty in these people. On a further note, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if one of our members here, would be able to answer that: What do/did the Dayak catch and eat?

A last thing I would like to get around when on the topic of Sirenids, is that of alleged 'sea cow ivory'. We know from G.W. Steller's own notes that the Steller's Sea Cow didn't have any teeth, so that again leaves our extant dugong. Personally I have never seen, in photo or real life, any dugong ivory. Or let me rather put it this way: I have never seen any ivory which could not reasonably be explained as stemming from a different species of mammal.
Furthermore I have my doubts if there is any real ivory to be used on a dugong at all. While the dugong do not grow any canine teeth, the males do have two 'tusk-like' incisors, however these are fairly small, certainly compaired to tusks of other classic ivory-species, but also compaired to the objects they are supposedly carved into, i.e. sword and dagger handles.
To clarify, it is not that I believe that dugong 'tusks' was never a source of ivory, it is just that I have never seen anything to convince me otherwise. In the face of new evidence I am certainly anticipating a change of my position.

I submit to you here a picture of the skull from a Dugong dugon: http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.ed....jpg/view.html

Here one of a dugong skull in relation to a human male: http://www.customs.gov.au/site/content8949.asp

This concludes my introduction on these forums. I hope you found the above interesting – if you indeed made it all the way here to the end – and I apologize in advance for any linguistical or grammatical errors on the way. English is not my native language.

I am looking much forward to my time here with you gentlemen, thank you!

All the best, - Thor Koch

21st July 2012, 05:48 PM	#60
T. Koch Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Mother North Posts: 189	Hi Vikingsword, My name is Thor and I am a new member here. I hope you will all forgive me for practicing a bit of necromancy on this old thread, but I thought I'd try contributing with something to the forums for my first post here. I must also confess to having been lurking here for more than a year now and in that time I have been truly humbled by the level of knowledge on here. I've learned so much already and It is indeed an honor being in the company of you gentlemen! I am a bachelor in biology, now undertaking my masters degree in human parasitology. To put food on the table meanwhile, I work for our Environmental Ministry here as part of the CITES Management Authority team where I am now on my 5th year. One of my many tasks at work , is looking at peoples' antiques in order to asses whether the materials used warrants the need for a CITES-permit/-certificate, i.e. if it's from a species contained within the CITES Appendices. Basically I look at a lot of horn, bones, ivory etc. from different source species and this is where I think I might be of value to this, at this point albeit elderly, discussion. Considering sea cows (order Sirenia) there are two extant families: Manatees, (Trichechidae) and the dugongs (Dungongidae), the latter consisting of only one extant species: The dugong, Dugong dugon. Now, the manatee species are confined to Afrcia and the New World, so they are conveniently excluded from the discussion at hand. The extant dugong however is dispersed over South East Asia, and is as such a likely candidate for source material. One feature of the skeleton of the species in the family Dugongidae is the increased density, known as pachyostosis, of the rib bones. The weight of which the animal uses while swimming to keep on 'right keel', so to speak. It is exactly the density of this bone which makes it suitable for manufacture into tools and other items. Personally, the only Dugongid I've seen processed like this is the now extinct Steller's Sea Cow (Hydrodamalis gigas), the distribution of which was far more Northern than the extant dugong. As already mentioned, this is also the species, of which the ribs are utilized today by modern knife makers. The inuit tools I have personally seen from Steller's Sea Cow, had all been manufactured by Russian Inuit peoples, which have had a tradition for utilizing this species as part of their sustenance. Now whether or not the Dayak likewise has/had a tradition for utilizing the extant dugong, local to Borneo, is beyond my area of expertise. Here I think it might be better consulting an anthropologist with a specialty in these people. On a further note, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if one of our members here, would be able to answer that: What do/did the Dayak catch and eat? A last thing I would like to get around when on the topic of Sirenids, is that of alleged 'sea cow ivory'. We know from G.W. Steller's own notes that the Steller's Sea Cow didn't have any teeth, so that again leaves our extant dugong. Personally I have never seen, in photo or real life, any dugong ivory. Or let me rather put it this way: I have never seen any ivory which could not reasonably be explained as stemming from a different species of mammal. Furthermore I have my doubts if there is any real ivory to be used on a dugong at all. While the dugong do not grow any canine teeth, the males do have two 'tusk-like' incisors, however these are fairly small, certainly compaired to tusks of other classic ivory-species, but also compaired to the objects they are supposedly carved into, i.e. sword and dagger handles. To clarify, it is not that I believe that dugong 'tusks' was never a source of ivory, it is just that I have never seen anything to convince me otherwise. In the face of new evidence I am certainly anticipating a change of my position. I submit to you here a picture of the skull from a Dugong dugon: http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.ed....jpg/view.html Here one of a dugong skull in relation to a human male: http://www.customs.gov.au/site/content8949.asp This concludes my introduction on these forums. I hope you found the above interesting – if you indeed made it all the way here to the end – and I apologize in advance for any linguistical or grammatical errors on the way. English is not my native language. I am looking much forward to my time here with you gentlemen, thank you! All the best, - Thor Koch