A New Idea re Weapons of Oceania and a Poll

[Ian]

Ed and Jim,

Thank you for your wonderful support and advice. Indeed, it will take me several years to complete the entire region. Help from the membership here will be greatly appreciated.

My plan is to start with the area where I have the most access to data and most familiarity: Australasia (Australia, New Zealand, and their neighboring territories and islands). There are several online sites dealing with the peoples of this region, their culture and weapons. State and National museums have substantial collections, but relatively little on display or catalogued online. This may need some "boots on the ground" to access some of the undisplayed material. I'm working on that. The same is true for Oceania more broadly. Fortunately, I can get to many of these places more easily than when I lived in the U.S.

After Australasia, the next most promising cultures are Samoa, Fiji, and Vanuatu. There are online and museum data for these countries that help the task but some field work will be required.

After that it gets more difficult and will likely require more travel. In some ways it is a race against time as many of the "old ways" have been disappearing. There may be little to discover outside museums.

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I am developing an overall outline for each country.

Country Name

Indigenous groups

A. Background

1. A brief history of indigenous occupants

2. Colonial history (including WWI and WWII involvement)

3. Geography

B. Weapons, Shields, Armor

1. Projectiles

a. Spears
b. Sticks/boomerangs
c. Bows, arrows
d. Other

2. Clubs

a. Throwing
b. Combat

3. Hafted weapons

a. Axes
b. Adzes
c. Other

4. Shields and armor

5. Other items adapted for fighting

6. Ceremonial/Spiritual objects

C. References and Online Resources


Additional ideas for categories are very welcome.