Glass Spearhead Found on Australia’s Rottnest Island

After the controversial story earlier this week titled 'Biologist takes first ever picture with ultra rare bird, then kills it ‘for science’' it's nice to see incredibly humbling actions by other scientists.

A University of Western Australia, quite literally, stumbled upon a 19th century spearhead, had taken a photo of it, and actually reburied the artifact out of respect for Aboriginal traditions.

(University of Western Australia) PERTH, AUSTRALIA—A team from the University of Western Australia’s School of Indigenous Studies found a rare nineteenth-century glass spearhead while visiting Rottnest Island, also known as Wadjemup. Such spearheads are thought to have been made from scraps of glass by Indigenous men and boys who were imprisoned on the island between 1838 and 1931. They were then able to use the weapons to supplement the prison diet of barley, cabbage, and porridge with fish, snake, and quokka—a nocturnal marsupial about the size of a cat. “As I was digging around in the sand with my foot, something shiny glinted in the light and I recognized the object to be a glass spearhead,” Professor Len Collard said in a press release. The team photographed the spearhead and reburied it at the site out of respect for Aboriginal traditions.

link

If you want to learn more about Australian spearheads, you can head Here

Enjoy!

a reply to: Ghost147

and reburied it at the site out of respect for Aboriginal traditions.

I Live in Fremantle which is literally the last stop before you hit Rotto - my utmost respect goes out the the lads from UWA for their respect toward our heritage.

Wonderful find.

a reply to: Ghost147

I remember the story in School,we have to many prisoners in England, we are moving you to Australia so you can settle..

a reply to: Ghost147

That is an amazing piece of craftsmanship. Generations and generations went into the skills it took to make these kinds of tools. I hadn't heard of it used on glass quite like this, just obsidian. From what I've read even those who mastered this particular skill had many failures for each successful one.

S&F

originally posted by: scubagravy
a reply to: Granite

snip

good job that they reburied it.

Let's hope it doesn't show up on e-bay !

West coast waves rule !

a reply to: Ghost147

Link within the link has a little more detail…

Harrison and others suggest that while these "classic" spearheads may have been made in limited numbers before the late 19th century, Aborigines focused on their manufacture only after 1885 to satisfy the appetites of European collectors bewitched by exotic artifacts. According to this theory, classic Kimberley points were in essence "virtuoso tourist art," rather than an enduring prehistoric artifact type. Indeed, in historic times they were often made from glass bottles or ceramic telegraph-wire insulators instead of stone. But archaeologist Kim Akerman, who knows Aborigines who hunted with Kimberley points until the 1970s, argues that the classic spearheads were probably common in prehistoric times as well.

Whats the point?
So, points made from glass may have been for tourists. I get that, not the real thing. Glass would shatter on impact, more than likely, but would be quicker to fashion (from discarded empty drink bottles) and sell to stupid tourists that don't know the difference.

I wonder if they were laughing at the tourists who thought they were getting the genuine article?

In Hawaii main land tourists are Howlies, wonder what slang is for them down under?

a reply to: intrptr

A little off topic , but when I worked on the Nullabor
the natives would sell 'fossilised emu eggs ' to the yanks
(just big heavy round granite rocks!)
50 cent boomerangs went for $20 ...
lol

a reply to: intrptr

the Hawaiiana term is spelled Haole, it means newcomer or foreigner. It has come to be derogatory and a racist term much like Cracker.

Go live there and experience reverse racism.

originally posted by: ChesterJohn
a reply to: intrptr

the Hawaiiana term is spelled Haole, it means newcomer or foreigner. It has come to be derogatory and a racist term much like Cracker.

Go live there and experience reverse racism.

Cool looking points, whether used to procure meat for snake fajitas or simple tourist trinkets.

Now about this "reverse racism"... Is that where people adore you for your skin color?

a reply to: intrptr

In Hawaii main land tourists are Howlies,

No. Caucasians in general are called haole. There are kamaaina haole.
The word for tourists is "money." Unless they are Canadian.

a reply to: dogstar23
Reverse prejudice is where the mentality is that only whites are prejudice. then you are in an area where the white is the minority and the bigotry, hatred and racism is put on the white people.

a reply to: ChesterJohn

Quite often quite rightly.

OP:That's impressive knapping given the material they were working with.
Kia mana to those who found and respected those items.

This is great news, now the Cottesloe Cabal will build a 6 lane highway over it like they plan on doing with Beeliar wetlands.

Or is 19th century not old enough to establish "continued cultural connection"?

Thanks for posting this Ghost, ignore my politicizing of it.

a reply to: Phage

LOL!!!!

originally posted by: ChesterJohn
a reply to: intrptr

the Hawaiiana term is spelled Haole, it means newcomer or foreigner. It has come to be derogatory and a racist term much like Cracker.

Go live there and experience reverse racism.

US stripped the natives of their ownership there too, like everywhere else the US invades.

I empathize with that.

Thanks for the correction for spelling, when spoken it sounds like howlie, right? Up until now I though it described the way tourists howl when they walk across hot sandy beaches…

Ooh, ow, owt, hoo, howt… 'howlies'.

originally posted by: radarloveguy
a reply to: intrptr

A little off topic , but when I worked on the Nullabor
the natives would sell 'fossilised emu eggs ' to the yanks
(just big heavy round granite rocks!)
50 cent boomerangs went for $20 ...
lol

Too funny, I think I got one of those boomerangs. I threw it and it never came back.