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Aboriginal Australian Artefacts
Australian Aboriginal artefacts include a variety of cultural artefacts used by Aboriginal Australians. Most Aboriginal artefacts were multi-purpose and could be used for a variety of different occupations. Spears, clubs, boomerangs and shields were used generally as weapons for hunting and in warfare. Watercraft technology artefacts in the form of dugout and bark canoes were used for transport and for fishing. Stone artefacts include cutting tools and grinding stones to hunt and make food. Coolamons and carriers such as dillybags, allowed Aboriginal peoples to carry water, food and cradle babies. Message sticks were used for communication, and ornamental artefacts for decorative and ceremonial purposes. Aboriginal children’s toys were used to both entertain and educate. Weapons Aboriginal peoples used several different types of weapons including shields (also known as hielaman), spears, spear-throwers, boomerangs and clubs. Peoples from different regions used di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North Queensland
North Queensland or the Northern Region is the northern part of the Australian state of Queensland that lies just south of Far North Queensland. Queensland is a massive state, larger than many countries, and its tropical northern part has been historically remote and undeveloped, resulting in a distinctive regional character and identity. Townsville is the largest urban centre in North Queensland, leading it to be regarded as an unofficial capital. The region has a population of 231,628 and covers . Geography There is no official boundary that separates North Queensland from the rest of the state. Unofficially it is usually considered to have a southern border beginning south of the Mackay Region southern boundary, but historically it has been as far south as Rockhampton. To the north is the Far North Queensland region, centred on Cairns and out west is the Gulf Country. A coastal region centred on its largest settlement is the city of Townsville. The city is the locatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acacia Estrophiolata
''Acacia estrophiolata'', commonly known as ironwood, southern ironwood, desert ironwood or utjanypa, is a tree native to Central Australia. Description It is a graceful, pendulous shade tree, which grows from about tall and has a trunk with a diameter of up to about 0.45 m. It has a spreading crown that becomes weeping as the tree matures. Young plants have rigid branches and short straight phyllodes that appear in clusters as trees mature the branches become pendulous and the light green spiky phyllodes in crease in length but are no longer clustered. It has a heavy bloom of spherical pale yellow flowers after winter rains. The tree has a slow growth rate and is both drought and frost tolerant. Taxonomy The species was first formally described by botanist Ferdinand von Mueller in 1882 as part of the work ''Definitions of some new Australian plants'' as published in ''Southern Science Record''. It was reclassified as ''Racosperma estrophiolatum'' by Leslie Pedley in 1987 then ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acacia
''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus name is New Latin, borrowed from the Greek (), a term used by Dioscorides for a preparation extracted from the leaves and fruit pods of ''Vachellia nilotica'', the original type of the genus. In his ''Pinax'' (1623), Gaspard Bauhin mentioned the Greek from Dioscorides as the origin of the Latin name. In the early 2000s it had become evident that the genus as it stood was not monophyletic and that several divergent lineages needed to be placed in separate genera. It turned out that one lineage comprising over 900 species mainly native to Australia, New Guinea, and Indonesia was not closely related to the much smaller group of African lineage that contained ''A. nilotica''—the type species. This meant that the Australasian lineage (by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Waddy
A waddy, nulla-nulla or boondi is an Aboriginal Australian hardwood club or hunting stick for use as a weapon or as a throwing stick for hunting animals. ''Waddy'' comes from the Darug people of Port Jackson, Sydney.Peters, Pam, ''The Cambridge Australian English Style Guide'', Cambridge University Press, 1995, ''Boondi'' is the Wiradjuri word for this implement. Description and use A waddy is a heavy pointed club constructed of carved hardwood timber. Waddies were used in hand-to-hand combat and were capable of splitting a shield and of killing or stunning prey. They could be employed also as projectiles or to make fire and make ochre. They found further use in punishing those who broke Aboriginal law. Construction. The waddy was made by both men and women and could be painted or left unpainted. Its construction varied from tribe to tribe, but it was generally about one metre in length and sometimes had a stone head attached with beeswax Beeswax (''cera alba'') is a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sinew
A tendon or sinew is a tough, high-tensile-strength band of dense fibrous connective tissue that connects muscle to bone. It is able to transmit the mechanical forces of muscle contraction to the skeletal system without sacrificing its ability to withstand significant amounts of tension. Tendons are similar to ligaments; both are made of collagen. Ligaments connect one bone to another, while tendons connect muscle to bone. Structure Histologically, tendons consist of dense regular connective tissue. The main cellular component of tendons are specialized fibroblasts called tendon cells (tenocytes). Tenocytes synthesize the extracellular matrix of tendons, abundant in densely packed collagen fibers. The collagen fibers are parallel to each other and organized into tendon fascicles. Individual fascicles are bound by the endotendineum, which is a delicate loose connective tissue containing thin collagen fibrils and elastic fibres. Groups of fascicles are bounded by the epitenon, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plant Fibre
Fiber crops are field crops grown for their fibers, which are traditionally used to make paper, cloth, or rope. Fiber crops are characterized by having a large concentration of cellulose, which is what gives them their strength. The fibers may be chemically modified, like in viscose (used to make rayon and cellophane). In recent years, materials scientists have begun exploring further use of these fibers in composite materials. Due to cellulose being the main factor of a plant fiber's strength, this is what scientists are looking to manipulate to create different types of fibers. Fiber crops are generally harvestable after a single growing season, as distinct from trees, which are typically grown for many years before being harvested for such materials as wood pulp fiber or lacebark. In specific circumstances, fiber crops can be superior to wood pulp fiber in terms of technical performance, environmental impact or cost. There are a number of issues regarding the use of fiber c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mastic (plant Resin)
Mastic ( el, Μαστίχα) is a resin obtained from the mastic tree (''Pistacia lentiscus''). It is also known as tears of Chios, being traditionally produced on the island Chios, and, like other natural resins, is produced in "tears" or droplets. Mastic is excreted by the resin glands of certain trees and dries into pieces of brittle, translucent resin. When chewed, the resin softens and becomes a bright white and opaque gum. The flavor is bitter at first, but after some chewing, it releases a refreshing flavor similar to pine and cedar. History Mastic has been harvested for at least 2,500 years since Greek antiquity. The word ''mastic'' is derived from grc-gre, μαστιχάειν, masticháein, 'to gnash the teeth', which is also the source of the English word ''masticate''. The first mention of actual mastic 'tears' was by Hippocrates. Hippocrates used mastic for the prevention of digestive problems, colds and as a breath freshener. Romans used mastic along with honey, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lithic Flake
In archaeology, a lithic flake is a "portion of rock removed from an objective piece by percussion or pressure,"Andrefsky, W. (2005) ''Lithics: Macroscopic Approaches to Analysis''. 2d Ed. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press and may also be referred to as simply a ''flake'', or collectively as debitage. The objective piece, or the rock being reduced by the removal of flakes, is known as a core.Andrefsky, W. (2005) ''Lithics: Macroscopic Approaches to Analysis''. 2d Ed. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press Once the proper tool stone has been selected, a percussor or pressure flaker (e.g., an antler tine) is used to direct a sharp blow, or apply sufficient force, respectively, to the surface of the stone, often on the edge of the piece. The energy of this blow propagates through the material, often ( but not always) producing a Hertzian cone of force which causes the rock to fracture in a controllable fashion. Since cores are often struck on an edge with a suitable angle (<90°) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bambusa Arnhemica
''Bambusa arnhemica'' is one of three bamboo species native to Australia. It grows in the northwestern areas of the Northern Territory, and is common on riverbanks in Kakadu. Stems turn orange yellow as they harden. Upper stems and branches arch gracefully. It grows to about 8 m in height. It is available from specialist nurseries. The plant was first described by Ferdinand von Mueller Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Vict .... References arnhemica Flora of the Northern Territory Poales of Australia Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller {{Australia-plant-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Softwood
file:Pinus sylvestris wood ray section 1 beentree.jpg, Scots Pine, a typical and well-known softwood Softwood is wood from gymnosperm trees such as conifers. The term is opposed to hardwood, which is the wood from angiosperm trees. The main differences between hardwoods and softwoods is that the structure of hardwoods lack resin canals, whereas softwoods lack pores (though not all softwoods have resin canals). Characteristics Softwood is wood from gymnosperm trees such as pines and spruces. Softwoods are not necessarily softer than hardwoods. In both groups there is an enormous variation in actual wood hardness, the range of density in hardwoods completely including that of softwoods. Some hardwoods (e.g. balsa) are softer than most softwoods, while the hardest hardwoods are much harder than any softwood. The woods of longleaf pine, Douglas fir, and Taxus, yew are much harder in the mechanical sense than several hardwoods. Softwoods are generally most used by the construction ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Holocene
The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene together form the Quaternary period. The Holocene has been identified with the current warm period, known as MIS 1. It is considered by some to be an interglacial period within the Pleistocene Epoch, called the Flandrian interglacial.Oxford University Press – Why Geography Matters: More Than Ever (book) – "Holocene Humanity" section https://books.google.com/books?id=7P0_sWIcBNsC The Holocene corresponds with the rapid proliferation, growth and impacts of the human species worldwide, including all of its written history, technological revolutions, development of major civilizations, and overall significant transition towards urban living in the present. The human impact on modern-era Earth and its ecosystems may be considered of global si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
