Stone club.

fearn · 28th March 2007, 05:33 AM

You're right, Inveterate, although the bottom two are technically axes with wooden counterweights (the back blade) covered with woven rattan. Those stone axes are mostly abandoned to ceremonial use, now that steel axes are available.

F

inveterate · 28th March 2007, 05:50 AM

Fearn, Yes most commonly from the Mt Hagen area. Tim , have now had the opportunity to go through 2 extensive libraries on Oceanic and Aboriginal Artifacts and can find nothing like your club, Am wondering could it be European or African? Cheers Rod

Tim Simmons · 28th March 2007, 07:56 AM

I will try to get into town this April. I do not think it is anything other than Melanesian or Micronesian. Look at sago pounders and adze from these regions. Maybe we only need to wait a week or so, all depends on how much work I have to do.

Tim Simmons · 28th March 2007, 05:44 PM

I am on a mission to find all pictures of similar consruction. This is a tool and nowhere near as carefully made as the flint club.
http://www.tribalworldbooks.com.au/mlPage5.html

Tim Simmons · 28th March 2007, 06:08 PM

Explore here, great pictures. Plate 75, my club is of the same quality if not a little better than these.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...%3Den%26sa%3DN

Tim Simmons · 28th March 2007, 07:30 PM

So why not use flint stone. We know it was traded and would be as good as turtle bone.
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...%3Den%26sa%3DN

fearn · 29th March 2007, 05:37 AM

Hi Tim,

Why not use flint stone? This is where the geology lesson comes in. Islands come in three basic flavors (so long as a geologist is not reading this :-)): 1) continental, 2) volcanic and oceanic, and 3) coral.

Basically, flint will only occur on continental islands. Micronesia is composed exclusively of volcanic high islands and coral atolls. On coral atolls, the stone is (you guessed it) coral. This is why atoll dwellers use things like Tridacna shell for tools and put shark teeth on their clubs. On volcanic islands, the only stones available are volcanic, things like basalt and obsidian.

Flint only occurs on continental rocks (ditto with chert). There are no continental islands in Micronesia, and in Polynesia, only New Zealand is continental (and Fiji, if you're going to count Fiji as a Melanesia/Polynesia intermediate). Melanesia contains islands of all three types, and thus it is the only possible source for a flint rock. Even then the rock would have had to come from some place on or near New Guinea, the larger Solomon Islands, or New Caledonia. It could also have come from Australia, of course.

This assumes, of course, that the club actually came from the islands.

Bottom line: identifying the rock is pretty important, because it will help define a source.

Hope this helps.

F

28th March 2007, 05:33 AM	#1
fearn Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,247	You're right, Inveterate, although the bottom two are technically axes with wooden counterweights (the back blade) covered with woven rattan. Those stone axes are mostly abandoned to ceremonial use, now that steel axes are available. F

28th March 2007, 05:50 AM	#2
inveterate Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 58	Fearn, Yes most commonly from the Mt Hagen area. Tim , have now had the opportunity to go through 2 extensive libraries on Oceanic and Aboriginal Artifacts and can find nothing like your club, Am wondering could it be European or African? Cheers Rod

28th March 2007, 07:56 AM	#3
Tim Simmons Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: What is still UK Posts: 5,843	I will try to get into town this April. I do not think it is anything other than Melanesian or Micronesian. Look at sago pounders and adze from these regions. Maybe we only need to wait a week or so, all depends on how much work I have to do.

28th March 2007, 05:44 PM	#4
Tim Simmons Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: What is still UK Posts: 5,843	I am on a mission to find all pictures of similar consruction. This is a tool and nowhere near as carefully made as the flint club. http://www.tribalworldbooks.com.au/mlPage5.html

28th March 2007, 06:08 PM	#5
Tim Simmons Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: What is still UK Posts: 5,843	Explore here, great pictures. Plate 75, my club is of the same quality if not a little better than these. http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...%3Den%26sa%3DN

28th March 2007, 07:30 PM	#6
Tim Simmons Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: What is still UK Posts: 5,843	So why not use flint stone. We know it was traded and would be as good as turtle bone. http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...%3Den%26sa%3DN

29th March 2007, 05:37 AM	#7
fearn Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,247	Hi Tim, Why not use flint stone? This is where the geology lesson comes in. Islands come in three basic flavors (so long as a geologist is not reading this :-)): 1) continental, 2) volcanic and oceanic, and 3) coral. Basically, flint will only occur on continental islands. Micronesia is composed exclusively of volcanic high islands and coral atolls. On coral atolls, the stone is (you guessed it) coral. This is why atoll dwellers use things like Tridacna shell for tools and put shark teeth on their clubs. On volcanic islands, the only stones available are volcanic, things like basalt and obsidian. Flint only occurs on continental rocks (ditto with chert). There are no continental islands in Micronesia, and in Polynesia, only New Zealand is continental (and Fiji, if you're going to count Fiji as a Melanesia/Polynesia intermediate). Melanesia contains islands of all three types, and thus it is the only possible source for a flint rock. Even then the rock would have had to come from some place on or near New Guinea, the larger Solomon Islands, or New Caledonia. It could also have come from Australia, of course. This assumes, of course, that the club actually came from the islands. Bottom line: identifying the rock is pretty important, because it will help define a source. Hope this helps. F