THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY 



ticum, and another weaving roof coverings of pandanus ; on 

 the right is a group representing a native Tahitian grating 

 cocoanut and another making fire by the primitive method 

 characteristic of the Polynesians, by means of the fire- 

 plough. 



With the exception of a small Australian exhibit, con- 

 sisting of boomerangs, stone implements and ceremonial 

 objects, the entire hall is devoted to collections from Poly- 

 nesia, Melanesia and Micronesia. 



The eastern half of the hall contains objects from Samoa, 

 Hawaii, Marquesas, Cook, Gilbert, Savage, Marshall, Caro- 

 line and Tonga Islands, including wooden images, tapa 

 cloth, weapons, musical instruments, garments, ornaments 

 of dress and models of canoes. Especially interesting in 

 the northeast corner of the hall are the suits of armor and 

 the unique series of weapons from the Gilbert Islanders. 

 The armor is woven of cocoanut fiber and the weapons are 

 set with sharks' teeth. The old mariner's chart, composed 

 of straight and curved sticks to denote the course of the 

 waves while small pebbles represent the atolls, secured 

 from the Marshall Islanders by the late Robert Louis Ste- 

 venson, will also repay attention. 



In the southeastern section of the hall are fine examples 

 of tapa cloth, canoe models, household utensils, garments, 

 kava bowls, necklaces and weapons from Samoa and Fiji. 

 Among the most valuable specimens is the model of a bure 

 or temple, while the cannibal forks and flesh racks are prob- 

 ably the rarest and most exceptional in museum collections. 



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