102 



FURTHER NOTES ON THE HABITS OF THE TAS- 

 MANIAN ABORIGINES. 



PI. XVI., XVII., XVIII., XIX., XX. 

 By Frita Noctling, M.A., Ph.D., Etc. 

 (Read October 9, 1911.) 

 1. DID THE TASMANIAN ABORIGINES MANUFAC- 

 TURE BONE IMPLEMENTS?— PL XVI. 



The question whether the aborigines used bones of 

 animals, either entirely or in fragments, for implements is 

 of gi-cat importance. It has hitherto been assumed that 

 bone as a material for implements did not come in to use 

 earlier than the Magdalenian stage. If this be so, all the 

 earlier industries, -v^^hich, of course, include the archae- 

 olithic stage, did not use bone, either as a material from 

 which implements were manufactured, or, indirectly, as a 

 tool to press off small Hakes, in order to sharpen the edge. 

 The Tasmanian industry, which, as we have seen, repre- 

 sents the typical archjeolithic stage, should, therefore, not 

 know the use of bone. It would constitute one of the 

 greatest anomalies in the evolution of mankind, if it wex-e 

 a fact that the aboi'igines did include bone among the 

 materials from which they manufactured their imple- 

 ments. I can safely say that there are few persons living 

 who have so carefully studied and examined the camping 

 grounds as I have, but never did I find a single piece of 

 bone that could even, with the greatest stretch of imagina- 

 tion, be considered as an implement; in fact, the almost 

 total absence of bones or fragments therefrom on the camp- 

 ing grounds has always struck me as rather remarkable. 



Yot there is a general belief among the amateur coHeV- 

 tors that the aborigines manufactured a kind of scoop 

 from bone, and such specimens are greatly valued. Among 

 the great treasures of the Hobart Museum there is a 

 bundle of bones labelled, "Bone implements manufactured 

 by the aborigines." 



I had always my doubts as to the authenticity of tnese 

 bone implements, and I am now in the position to con- 



