Pre-contact Maori whalebone club

Ron Anderson · 11th September 2010, 11:44 PM

everyone, this is a fantastic discussion and i do appreciate your contribution. I will post photos of the NW American (Innuit?) bow and drill I purchased at the auction. This is a simple set but there were larger and more capable ones, beautiful marine ivory pieces with fine carvings. I suspect such tools would be capable of completing that task as well as any metal tool. I don't believe these tools were European inspired. i think the design is essentially local and probably very old. anyone feel free to correct me if you know better.

I'll post the pictures soon.

Ron Anderson · 12th September 2010, 09:42 AM

I am increasingly of the opinion that it is incorrect to assume that concentric circles are outside the capability of pre-contact indians on the West Coast. Or that the craft evident in creating this club must come with the help of European tools.

This flies in the face of everything I know about ancient artefacts. And it flies in the face of the facts I've been able to glean on the tools used by NW American people.

In fact, today I was lucky enough to come across a great reference book – Indian & Eskimo Artifacts of North America. I will scan some of the tools highlighted in it when I can. These include prehistoric "drill flywheels" located in central California.

There are an endless array of Indian and Eskimo pre-contact tools pictured that boggle the mind with their innovation and sophistication, including bow drills, which would have been an incredibly effective and accurate instrument in the hands of any skilled artisan. Certainly, I do not see simple concentric circles as much of a challenge.

More than that, as a collector of middle eastern antiquities, I keep thinking of the incredibly artwork I've encountered in pre-industrial societies, including the Sumerians of circa 2500 BC. Particularly, the unbelievable artwork of cylinder seals, where the images were drilled into the much more difficult medium of rock and stone. These images were initially composed of –what else – circles, and then became more intricate and detailed during the second millennium BC. The drills they used weren't much different from the tools available to native Americans. Largely stone tools

These guys didn't have a Black & Decker.

In fact, I'd suggest we couldn't achieve the same result with our modern tools.

Please remember that whale bone is a much more benign material to work with than steatite, marble or lapis lazuli!

The more you investigate the notion, the more absurd it seems that we can't credit "pre-contact" cultures with that level of artistry. On top of this, we have the evidence of those line drawings, which show concentric circles all the way up the body of some of the clubs. Those line drawings almost certainly hail from early contacts with the culture concerned. I would not be surprised if they from the Captain Cook era, or shortly afterwards. At the very least, they were created before the invention of the camera, by someone who paid close attention to detail.

That said, I think the discussion has been valuable, so thanks everyone for your opinions.

Additional photos of the item will follow this post. I hope they are better, but I'm not much of a photographer.

I will publish scans and photos of tools as soon as I can.

Regards
Ron

Ron Anderson · 12th September 2010, 09:53 AM

More pictures, better light.

Ron Anderson · 12th September 2010, 10:05 AM

Last picture.

Ron Anderson · 12th September 2010, 11:11 AM

Regarding length, I'm afraid I forgot to bring along my tape measure, but estimation is that is about 45/50 cm long.

Roughly.

Regarding handling, I do perceive evidence of handling in the fact that the darkness of the patina fades quite a lot at the handle. This does appear to be because of handling. You'll see it gets much darker towards the end of the club.

M ELEY · 12th September 2010, 11:17 AM

I used to have a book on Native Americans in which there was a VERY old Tlingit club with concentric circles on it. (Actually, come to think of it, the book you list might just be the one?) The circles appeared perfectly round and I was intrigued that they could produce such a pattern. Perhaps we need to consider the material (porous whalebone) first. I mean, it's not like carving into granite. The whalers were able to make amazing shapes/scrimshaw with the most rudimentory of tools, so I imagine its possible. In any case, a very beautiful and amazing find, Ron!

Gavin Nugent · 12th September 2010, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by M ELEY

I used to have a book on Native Americans in which there was a VERY old Tlingit club with concentric circles on it. (Actually, come to think of it, the book you list might just be the one?) The circles appeared perfectly round and I was intrigued that they could produce such a pattern. Perhaps we need to consider the material (porous whalebone) first. I mean, it's not like carving into granite. The whalers were able to make amazing shapes/scrimshaw with the most rudimentory of tools, so I imagine its possible. In any case, a very beautiful and amazing find, Ron!

Circles are a easy to make, no question about that, millions of weapons all over the world have these displayed in wood, bone, steel, ivory etc.
What the real trick is looking at these points when the piece is in hand or under macro, this alone can often tell the subtle tell tale signs/clues

.

Gav

M ELEY · 12th September 2010, 01:05 PM

Gotcha, Gav. That does make sense. In other words, more research is needed. Still like the piece, though. I've always been fascinated with whalebone clubs.

12th September 2010, 09:53 AM	#3
Ron Anderson Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 228	More photos More pictures, better light. Attached Images

12th September 2010, 10:05 AM	#4
Ron Anderson Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 228	Last picture. Attached Images

11th September 2010, 11:44 PM	#1
Ron Anderson Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 228	everyone, this is a fantastic discussion and i do appreciate your contribution. I will post photos of the NW American (Innuit?) bow and drill I purchased at the auction. This is a simple set but there were larger and more capable ones, beautiful marine ivory pieces with fine carvings. I suspect such tools would be capable of completing that task as well as any metal tool. I don't believe these tools were European inspired. i think the design is essentially local and probably very old. anyone feel free to correct me if you know better. I'll post the pictures soon.

12th September 2010, 09:42 AM	#2
Ron Anderson Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 228	I am increasingly of the opinion that it is incorrect to assume that concentric circles are outside the capability of pre-contact indians on the West Coast. Or that the craft evident in creating this club must come with the help of European tools. This flies in the face of everything I know about ancient artefacts. And it flies in the face of the facts I've been able to glean on the tools used by NW American people. In fact, today I was lucky enough to come across a great reference book – Indian & Eskimo Artifacts of North America. I will scan some of the tools highlighted in it when I can. These include *prehistoric* "drill flywheels" located in central California. There are an endless array of Indian and Eskimo pre-contact tools pictured that boggle the mind with their innovation and sophistication, including bow drills, which would have been an incredibly effective and accurate instrument in the hands of any skilled artisan. Certainly, I do not see simple concentric circles as much of a challenge. More than that, as a collector of middle eastern antiquities, I keep thinking of the incredibly artwork I've encountered in pre-industrial societies, including the Sumerians of circa 2500 BC. Particularly, the unbelievable artwork of cylinder seals, where the images were drilled into the much more difficult medium of rock and stone. These images were initially composed of –what else – circles, and then became more intricate and detailed during the second millennium BC. The drills they used weren't much different from the tools available to native Americans. Largely stone tools These guys didn't have a Black & Decker. In fact, I'd suggest we couldn't achieve the same result with our modern tools. Please remember that whale bone is a much more benign material to work with than steatite, marble or lapis lazuli! The more you investigate the notion, the more absurd it seems that we can't credit "pre-contact" cultures with that level of artistry. On top of this, we have the evidence of those line drawings, which show concentric circles all the way up the body of some of the clubs. Those line drawings almost certainly hail from early contacts with the culture concerned. I would not be surprised if they from the Captain Cook era, or shortly afterwards. At the very least, they were created before the invention of the camera, by someone who paid close attention to detail. That said, I think the discussion has been valuable, so thanks everyone for your opinions. Additional photos of the item will follow this post. I hope they are better, but I'm not much of a photographer. I will publish scans and photos of tools as soon as I can. Regards Ron

12th September 2010, 11:11 AM	#5
Ron Anderson Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 228	Regarding length, I'm afraid I forgot to bring along my tape measure, but estimation is that is about 45/50 cm long. Roughly. Regarding handling, I do perceive evidence of handling in the fact that the darkness of the patina fades quite a lot at the handle. This does appear to be because of handling. You'll see it gets much darker towards the end of the club.

12th September 2010, 11:17 AM	#6
M ELEY Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: NC, U.S.A. Posts: 2,156	I used to have a book on Native Americans in which there was a VERY old Tlingit club with concentric circles on it. (Actually, come to think of it, the book you list might just be the one?) The circles appeared perfectly round and I was intrigued that they could produce such a pattern. Perhaps we need to consider the material (porous whalebone) first. I mean, it's not like carving into granite. The whalers were able to make amazing shapes/scrimshaw with the most rudimentory of tools, so I imagine its possible. In any case, a very beautiful and amazing find, Ron!

12th September 2010, 01:05 PM	#8
M ELEY Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: NC, U.S.A. Posts: 2,156	Gotcha, Gav. That does make sense. In other words, more research is needed. Still like the piece, though. I've always been fascinated with whalebone clubs.