Stone club.

[fearn]

Ummmmmm, the privet hawk moth (Psilogramma menephron) caterpillars eat members of the families Bignoniaceae and Oleaceae, including "olive trees (Olea europaea, OLEACEAE), but is perhaps most often found in suburbia on privet (Ligustrum vulgare, OLEACEAE ), jasmine (Jasminum officinale, OLEACEAE ), and Australian native olive (Olea paniculata, OLEACEAE)" (ref). You were perhaps expecting that because it is found in the tropical Pacific, therefore privet is found there too?

Best,

F

[Tim Simmons]

F, are you stating that there are no Australasia Ligustrum, native Privets or related species? Dr Gasson did say "closest anatomical match". Perhaps you have access to better examples to match the results too? If so that would greatly help your most learned contributions so far to the thread.

[Bryan.H]

In Australia, the Ligustrum privet species (some of which are classified as introduced and pests where they are prolific) are sometimes easily confused with the native Grey Myrtle shrub/ tree [BACKHOUSIA MYRTIFOLIA] . The wood from this tree is recorded as being favoured by aboriginal groups in Queensland specifically for axe handles! and also known locally in the past as 'neverbreak' wood...so it's not impossible for this club to be of Northern Australian provenance.

http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache...&ct=clnk&gl=au


Grey Myrtle



Ligustrum privet

[Tim Simmons]

Perhaps it is privet/olive like plant family-Oleaceae all would be to some degree similar?, that is far more inclusive though.

Thanks Bryan Northern Australia is of course where flint mines are mentioned in a much earlier link.

I think Ligustrum undulatum is a native Australian privet. I imagine they are all quite hard and useful for tools and utensils.

[fearn]

Hi All,

Thing to watch (as Tim already noticed) is the scientific name, not the common name. The wood expert narrowed it to either Ligustrum or something similar to it in the Oleaceae (the olive family).

I'm being annoying in pointing out that I'm not seeing evidence of a tropical privet. Northern Australia is tropical, and Torres Islands are further north (e.g. closer to the equator) than mainland Australia. The fact that the Privet hawk moth is all through the Pacific isn't good evidence, because it eats things other than privet.

Now, I don't have university access right now, so I can't easily find out if there's a close tropical relative of Ligustrum hanging out in the Torres Strait area. If the wood is privet (e.g. Ligustrum species), it strongly suggests that the club was made in a subtropical or temperate setting, somewhere where privet grows.

Best,

F

[Tim Simmons]

From the "Australian Museum Sydney" a wonderful paper back book/pamphlet "Australian Aboriginal Stone Implements" 1976 F. D. McCarthy. I post here {if okay with the moderators} a few paragraphs that I hope try to boil down and keep in context, also show how fresh this study is. The books main concentration is what it calls prehistoric camp sites but this is Australia and without solid provable dating prehistoric could only really mean from the early 19th century. My club would be described as a "partially trimmed coroid club" there is some continuity of form when one looks at "fig 61 image no5" which also happens to have been traded quite far. I cannot post the whole book.

Barry if you do not already have this, then you need it. It is cheap, shipping cost more than the book.

[Tim Simmons]

Another picture which I could not fit in the last post.