184 THE CONCAVE STONE IMPLEMENTS, ETC., 



Sometimes the position of the groove tells that it was 

 for (2) one-handed use. The concave is in this case at the 

 end of a stone which may be quite long, or it may be near the 

 end at one side, or it is on such a round thick stone as ap- 

 pears improbable for a spokeshave. 



The channel grooves appear to have been used by the 

 (3) overhand grip, as in the illustration of the Wonkanguru 

 man (Fig. 9), for which I have to thank Mr. Alston. The 

 man is here using a flat smoother on a boomerang, but the 

 method of employment is the same. 



OTHER IMPLEMENTS USED. 



The Tasmanians frequently made, upon a straight edge, 

 a curved excrescence or a sharp point. The protuberance 

 was chipped all round, or, if a point, on both sides. With its 

 use this article does not deal. The angle, where this curve 

 or point joined the straight edge, was often used to form 

 a concave scraper. 



If both sides of the curve or point were so used, a (1) 

 "duck-biir' (Ling Roth) was made (Fig. 6). 



The illustration shows a chalcedony specimen from Lis- 

 dillon, near Little Swanport, where one angle of the chipped 

 curve has been so employed. 



Just as other implements were often used as concave 

 scrapers in Australia, the Tasmanian would also pick up 

 the first stone to hand if he sought to plane down his throw- 

 ing stick, or to put a point on his spear. For him the (2) 

 scraper with its thinner edge and especially with its chipped 

 margin would be particularly suitable; therefore, it is this 

 implement that was most frequently used. 



The comparatively (3) thin knives of the Tasmanians 

 are made quite readily into concave scrapers, and, although 

 this is not seen as often as it is North of Bass Straits, yet 

 relatively they are quite as frequent. The Victorians fre- 

 quently used the little "chipped-back knives" (Etheridge) as 

 sharpening implements, and even the minute, round, chipped 

 scrapers (6 mm. in diameter) are sometimes grooved for that 

 purpose. 



The disc-shaped scraper (4), which has one flat side 

 (Fig. la and b), and the other side either flattened or in a 

 ridge, or conical, is in 16 per cent, of my cases made into a 

 concave scraper. Mr. Clive Lord draws my attention to the 

 fact that dents in its edge are freauently worked in con- 

 cave implements. It is singular that a similar employment 

 by the Victorians is not noted. Out of 60 (not selected) 

 specimens, not one had been so employed. 



