268 'COMP A-RirSiON OF THE TASiM ANil AiN TRO N ATT A . 



plaited baskets and a sort of pitcher made of seaweed. 

 Clothing was practically unknown to them, which is 

 somewhat remarkable considering that in winter time all 

 heights above i,8oo feet are snow-clad for several months, 

 and that the temperature even at sea level is pretty cold. 



Their ornaments consisted in a shell necklace for the 

 women, while the men rubbed a mixture of red ochre and 

 grease into their hair. Their encampments were mainly 

 situated on warm, sandy soil close to fresh water, but 

 they apparently never constructed any huts, except a 

 rough sort of shelter or breakwind of bark. Occasionally 

 they may have resorted to caves, but to judge from the 

 great scarcity of implements in the cave deposits, these 

 caves were no dwelling places, but rather places where 

 they consumed their meals only. 



Their food (i) consisted of the natural products of 

 land and sea, but they had no idea of agriculture, nor 

 did they ever make an attempt to domesticate the anirnals 

 running wild in Tasmania (2). 



They had learnt to make a fire, though there is some 

 doubt as to how it was made. There is a great proba- 

 bility that they used siliceous stones for striking fire, 

 though it is probable that they produced it by the fire 

 stick and drill. 



The dead bodies were disposed of by burning, and 

 subsequent burial of the ashes. 



If they had any religious notions they were of the 

 crudest form, and mainly restricted to certain rites, in 

 which flat, curiously marked pebbles, representing dead 

 relatives, played a great role. 



(i) See also "The Food of the Tasmanian Aborigines," Pap. 

 and Proceed. Roy. Soc. Tas., 1910. 



(2) It is a remarkable fact that the Tasmanians soon recog- 

 nised the value of dogs for their hunting expeditions. Under 

 these circumL.:;ances it is very strange that they never made an 

 attempt to domesticate the Tasmanian tiger or the devil, both 

 animals that would have been very suitable for hunting. 



