Linton — Tlic Marquesas Islands 347 



MISCELLANEOUS TOOLS 



Ouiros (51) says that the Marquesans used adzes made from thick 

 fish bones or shells. This is the only evidence of the occurrence of these im- 

 plements in the Marquesas and as no examples are known, it seems probable that 

 Quiros confused the Marquesas with some of the low coral islands visited on the 

 same voyage. 



Sharks' teeth, hafted in various ways, were formerly used as knives and 

 carving tools, but no specimens seem to have survived and the methods of haft- 

 ing have been forgotten by the present natives. According to Langsdorff (38, p. 

 175) the teeth from the lower jaw of the shark were used as substitutes for gim- 

 lets or awls, being fastened to wooden handles. Sharks' teeth, apparently un- 

 hafted, were also used as razors. The hair was gathered in small bunches and 

 the tooth sawn back and forth across it at the roots. 



Very few bone tools appear to have been used in the Marquesas. Fleurieu 

 (23, p. 135) mentions the use of bone awls. Narrow wedge-like implements of 

 bone or hard wood were used to pound the feather caulking into the bow and 

 stern seams of canoes. Bone knives are described on page 351. 



A number of shell implements appear to have been employed in wood 

 carving, although we have no information as to their form. The grooves in foa 

 wood tapa beaters are said to have been cut with pearl shells ground to a keen 

 edge, and the handles were shaped with a small black shell, called mania. 

 Fleurieu (23, p. 135) says that the Marquesans used "pieces of shell of different 

 shapes and sizes, sharp or toothed like a saw." Knives made from whole pearl 

 shells ground to a sharp edge were used for a number of purposes. There ap- 

 pears to have been no clear distinction between these and the shell scrapers 

 used in tapa making. 



Rasps made from the skin of the shark or giant ray were used in shaping 

 clubs and other objects made from the hard foa wood. They were made by wrap- 

 ping the skin around a smooth stick while it was wet and soft. One end of the 

 stick projected a few inches beyond the skin, forming the handle. (See PI. LVi, A.) 

 Fine shark skin, apparently not mounted, was used in polishing bowls and other 

 wooden objects. Sections from the tail of the giant ray were also used as rasps, 

 requiring no preparation other than drying. These tail rasps have continued in 

 use until modern times for the grating of sandal wood, although recently they 

 have been supplanted by files. The spines of the sting ray are said to have been 

 hafted and used as saws. 



Chisels edged with rats' teeth were formerly used by expert Marquesan 

 artisans in the carving of hard stone. None of these implements have survived, 



[87] 



