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The history of mankind (1896) (14577239708)
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Identifier: historyofmankind01ratz (find matches)
Title: The history of mankind
Year: 1896 (1890s)
Authors: Ratzel, Friedrich, 1844-1904 Butler, Arthur John, 1844-1910
Subjects: Ethnology Anthropology
Publisher: London, Macmillan and co., ltd. New York, The Macmillan co.
Contributing Library: Wellesley College Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Wellesley College Library
Text Appearing Before Image:
i. Carved dance-shield from east New Guinea—one-fifth real size. 2. Shield from Teste in New Guinea— one-tenth real size. (Christy Collection.) lower end by buttons, and hence easily emptied. The sling is a simple cord,doubled in the middle to form a seat for the stone. It is unknown in NewIreland and the Solomons ; while in Tanna the boys use slings where their eldersemploy bows and spears. The Fijians have also short throwing-clubs, with adeeply shouldered head, like the induku of the Kaffirs. The killing-clubs ofMalayta are stronger weapons of the same kind, having a carved handle, with alump of pyrites at the lower end contained in a web of bast. To this classbelong the instruments like staves, over a yard long, used in New Caledonia,originally nothing but pointed cudgels with a grip for the hand. Even before the age of iron, knives and daggers were used in hand-to-hand fight-ing, either formed of broken-off spear-heads or poniards of bone. Those from the
Text Appearing After Image:
I. Wooden shield, bound with plaited rattan,with black and white pattern, fromFriedrich-Wilhelms Harbour. 2. Carvedshield from Hatzfeld Harbour. 3.Wooden battle-shield from Astrolabe Bay. 4. Wooden battle-shield from Tro-briand. 5. Motu-motu shield fromFreshwater Bay. One-twelfth realsize. (Berlin Museum of Eth-noloffv.) DXESS AND WEAPONS OF THE MELANESIANS 237 Admiralty Islands are conspicuous by their breadth at the point where the bladepasses into the artistically engraved handle. The so-called daggers made of ray-stings are really files. Not uncommonly the handle itself is pointed like adagger. The poniards of bird-bone (mostly a cassowarys leg-bone), frequent inNew Guinea and the neighbourhood, are simple enough; the thick end with thejoint serves as grip, the other being split and worked to a point. Ornament israre, and limited to very simple scratched work, owing to the hardness of thebone. A finish, rare among races in this stage, is given by wrapping spear-headsand knife-blad
Bone carving encompasses the acts of creating art, tools, and other goods by carving animal bones, antlers, and horns. It can result in the ornamentation of a bone or the creation of a distinct object. Bone carving has been practiced by a variety of world cultures, sometimes as a cheaper, and recently a legal, substitute for ivory carving. It was important in prehistoric art, with notable figures like the Swimming Reindeer, made of antler, and many of the Venus figurines.
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