OBSIDIAN WEAPONS FROM ADMIRALTY ISLANDS

[VANDOO]

THE ADMIRALTY ISLANDS ARCHIPELAGO IS LOCATED NORTH WEST OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA IN THE AREA OF THE BISMARK ARCHIPELAGO. THEY HAVE SEVERAL SOURCES OF VERY GOOD QUALITY OBSIDIAN STONE (VOLCANIC GLASS) WHICH IS RARE IN THE REGION. OBSIDIAN WAS WIDELY TRADED BY THE LAPITA CULTURE WHICH STARTED AROUND 3500 YEARS AGO AND COLLAPSED AROUND 2000 YEARS AGO. THEY HAD A WIDE TRADE NETWORK STRETCHING FROM THE NEW GUINEA REGION TO TONGA AND SAMOA. LOU ISLAND HAS A VERY GOOD SOURCE OF OBSIDIAN WHICH HAS BEEN MINED FROM ANCIENT TIMES. STONE CLUB HEADS ARE OFTEN MADE BUT MOSTLY FROM VOLCANIC BASAULT STONE.
#1. 9.5 INCH, OBSIDIAN KNIFE, ADMIRALTY ISLANDS.
#2. 26 CM. OBSIDIAN KNIFE, ADMIRALTY IS.
#3. OBSIDIAN DAGGERS ADMIRALTY ISLANDS
#4. OLD OBSIDIAN DAGGER, ADMIRALTY IS.
#5. ADMIRALTY IS. FIGURAL SPEAR.
#6. ADMIRALTY IS. CEREMONIAL SPEAR
#7. 2 ADMIRALTY IS. SPEARS AND A BASAULT HEADED CLUB.
#8. ADMIRALTY IS. SPEAR
#9. ADMIRALTY IS. SPEAR
#10. ADMIRALTY IS. SPEAR WITH STINGRAY BARB POINT.
#11. OLD BOOK PLATE OF ADMIRALTY IS. OBSIDIAN WEAPONS
#12. OLD BOOK PLATE ADMIRALTY IS. OBJECTS

[VANDOO]

#1 THRU #12 VARIOUS ADMIRALTY ISLAND SPEARS AND KNIVES

[VANDOO]

FEEL FREE TO ADD ANY EXAMPLES OR FURTHER REVELANT INFORMATION AS THIS IS ALL THE INFO I HAVE ON HAND AT PRESENT. PICTURE #1 & #2. ADMIRALTY ISLANDS MANUS ISLAND. THE ADMIRALTY ISLANDS TODAY ARE MANUS PROVENCE OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA, MANUS BEING THE LARGEST ISLAND .

[VANDOO]

A FEW MORE OBSIDIAN TIPPED WEAPONS FROM THE ADMIRALTY ISLANDS.

[VANDOO]

#1 THRU #4. ADMIRALTY ISLANDS DAGGERS
#5 & #6. ADMIRALTY ISLANDS ADZ WITH OBSIDIAN BLADE.

[LJ]

I have a particular liking for these, have seen plenty in museums but haven't come across one for sale. The book "An ethnography of the Admiralty Islanders" by Sylvia Ohnemus" (1998) provides a good background.

Also, I'm sure I've read an academic paper that discusses changes in form of spears and knives over time, in response to a changing market (i.e. as outsiders came in and started buying them). If I find it again I will post a link - or perhaps somebody else can get there before me.

[LJ]

I've found the article. It was: "Ethnoarchaeology, Museum Collections and Prehistoric Exchange: Obsidian-Tipped Artifacts from the Admiralty Islands" by Robin Torrence. Published in World Archaeology, Vol. 24, No. 3, Ancient Trade: New Perspectives (Feb., 1993), pp. 467-481.

[VANDOO]

#1. MY TWO SPEARS, MY SPEARS COLLECTED IN MID 1930'S
#2. ,#3, #4. & #5. DETAIL ON A NICE SPEAR SAID TO BE FROM MANUS ISLAND n.g.

[VANDOO]

ANOTHER NICE EXAMPLE 23.5INCH LONG (CUT OFF) SPEAR 19TH. CENTURY, CROCODILE DESIGN ON SHAFT.

[VANDOO]

A CEREMONIAL ADMIRALTY ISLAND KNIFE/ DAGGER SHAPED LIKE A FISH. 18.5 INCHES LONG MISSING THE OBSIDIAN STONE BLADE BUT THE BLACK ADHESIVE WHERE IT WAS MOUNTED REMAINS. A UNUSUAL, GOOD OLD OCEANIC DAGGER.

[Kubur]

In the early 20th c. They produced such tools with European material such as glass bottles and glass from utility electric poles

http://www.donsmaps.com/kimberleypoints.html

[VANDOO]

THANKS FOR THE INTERESTING LINK ON THE KIMBERLY GLASS POINTS. THE NATIVE AMERICANS ALSO MADE GLASS POINTS. THE GLASS KIMBERLY POINTS ARE EAGERLY COLLECTED IN AUSTRALIA THESE DAYS. THE ADMIRALTY ISLANDS HAD A LARGE SUPPLY OF GOOD QUALITY OBSIDIAN SO MADE MORE AND LARGER POINTS AND TRADED THEM THRU-OUT THE SURROUNDING ISLANDS. THEY DID NOT DO THE FINE PRESSURE TYPE FLAKING THAT YOU SEE ON THE KIMBERLY POINTS.

[VANDOO]

ANOTHER NICE EXAMPLE. "MISSED IT BY THAT MUCH" MAXWELL SMART
76 INCHES LONG

[VANDOO]

A OLD BOOK PLATE SHOWING 2 EXAMPLES OF THE OBSIDIAN SPEARS AND OTHER ITEMS FROM MICRONESIA.

[Rick]

Originally Posted by VANDOO

THEY DID NOT DO THE FINE PRESSURE TYPE FLAKING THAT YOU SEE ON THE KIMBERLY POINTS.

Barry, any ideas on the reason for this?
When viewing these points this was the first question that popped into my mind.
Why so crude?

[VANDOO]

THE PERCUSSIVE METHOD OF STONE NAPPING IS THE OLDEST. OBSIDIAN IS EASY TO FRACTURE MAKING EXCELLENT KNIVES AND SPEARS WITH LONG SHARP EDGES. WHEN USING A MATERIAL LIKE THIS OBSIDIAN AND SOME OTHER TYPES OF STONE THAT FRACTURE LONG AND CLEAN WITH LONG SHARP EDGES THEY OFTEN STOP THERE. THIS TYPE OF POINT IS FOUND IN AUSTRALIA AND SOUTH AMERICA AS WELL AS IN THE REGION OF THE ADMIRALTY ISLANDS AND PERHAPS IN OTHER REGIONS. THE PERCUSSION AND PRESSURE FLAKING TECHNIQUE CAME ABOUT LATER MOSTLY TO DEAL WITH SHAPING MORE DIFFICULT TYPES OF STONE AND TO MAKE SMALLER MORE COMPLICATED SHAPES. THE MOST TECHNICALLY DIFFICULT AND EXPENSIVE POINTS WERE MADE USING THE OLD PERCUSSIVE TECHNIQUES AND THE CLOVIS AND FOLSOM POINTS DEVELOPED OVER 10 THOUSAND YEARS AGO WERE THE VERY BEST. THE PRESSURE FLAKING IS PRETTY AND EFFICIENT BUT NO DOUBT CAME ABOUT IN LATER TIMES.

[VANDOO]

#1. FLAKES OR SPALL , OFF A STONE CORE, TOOLS FOR PERCUSSION FLAKING. A ANTLER HAMMER AND AN ANVIL STONE TO PLACE THE STONE CORE ON FOR HAMMER FOR STRIKING OFF FLAKES.
#2., #3. & #4. EXAMPLES OF AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL KNIVES DIFFERENT MATERIAL BUT SAME TYPE OF POINTS.
#5. PALEO POINTS, PERCUSSION FLAKING MOST DIFFICULT AND BEST FLAKING TECHNIQUES FOLSOM, CLOVIS, DALTON

[VANDOO]

THREE MORE OBSIDIAN POINTED SPEARS FROM THE ADMIRALTY ISLANDS

[motan]

Thanks Vandoo for posting this. I don't know anything about the them, but besides the great esthetic beauty, these tools are infomative for me. I collect stone-age flints in the fields on and off for decades. Flints are often all that remains from these distant ages and reconstructions in pre-historic museums are usually poor and over-primitive. Your artifacts help me visualize how advanced the material culture could have been, 10, 50 thousand years ago or even earlier.

[VANDOO]

THANKS FOR THE REPLY. I HAVE HUNTED STONE POINTS FOR MANY YEARS AND AS YOU MENTION ALL WE FIND IS THE POINTS AND TOOLS OFTEN WORN AND POLISHED BY HUNDREDS OR THOUSANDS OF YEARS IN A RIVER BED. NOTHING REMAINS TO TELL US HOW THEY WERE ATTACHED OR DECORATED DURING THOSE TIMES.
THESE MORE RECENT TRIBAL GROUPS CAN GIVE US A CLUE AS TO THE WIDE RANGE OF POSSIBILITIES, NOW LONG LOST IN TIME OF THE MANY PEOPLES BEFORE US. TODAY'S FLINT NAPPERS HAVE LEARNED MOST OF THE TECHNIQUES USED BY THE ANCIENTS, THOUGH MANY ARTIFACTS CAN NOT BE DUPLICATED EVEN BY THE BEST. EXAMPLES IN STONE EXIST IN PLENTY BUT EXAMPLES OF ADHESIVES, SHAFTS, HANDLES AND DECORATIONS ARE VERY FEW.
#1. AN EXAMPLE OF A SHAFT AND OBSIDIAN ADZE BLADE FROM THE ADMIRALTY ISLANDS.
#2., #3. & #4. OBSIDIAN POINTS FROM EASTER ISLAND THEY ARE OFTEN DESCRIBED AS SPEAR POINTS BUT MOST LIKELY ARE ADZE BLADES. THE ADZE IS MOSTLY A TOOL BUT CAN ALSO FUNCTION WELL AS A WEAPON. I AM NOT AWARE OF ANY COMPLETE EXAMPLES FROM EASTER ISLAND.

[VANDOO]

A UNUSUAL ADMIRALTY ISLANDS CLUB WITH OBSIDIAN SPIKES 39 INCHES LONG

[motan]

Hi VANDOO,
Sorry for the late response. The items you show in your one-before-last post are reminicen in shape to those from the Aterian culture of the Sahara that started around 140,000 YBP. They have been interpreted as projectile points because they are the earliest tanged pieces. It was even postulated that they indicate the first development of bow and arrow. However, many have a thick and rounded front edge and I was wondering about their usefulness as projectile points. Later interpretation describes the rounded tip artifacts as "tanged scrapers" (???).
Looking at your examples it can be postulated that the tanged artifacts of the Aterian indicate the development of HAFTING on a wide scale and for different purposes (adzes, knifes, axes etc, but maybe also projectiles) more than anything else. This example illustrates the usefulness of recent tribal artifacts and techniques to the research of the stone age. Thanks,
Eytan

[VANDOO]

THANKS FOR THE POST AND PICTURES. WE HAVE SIMILAR BLUNT POINTS IN NORTH AMERICA AND I SUSPECT THEY OCCUR WHEREVER STONE POINTS OCCUR. SOME START OUT AS SCRAPER OR ADZ POINTS EITHER THROUGH DESIGN OR BECAUSE OF THE SHAPE AND POSSIBILITY'S OF THE STONE FLAKE.
OTHERS ARE PROBABLY FASHIONED FROM BROKEN SPEAR POINTS WHICH ARE RE-KNAPPED TO WHAT WE REFER TO HERE AS BLUNTS.
I SUSPECT OBSIDIAN BLADES WERE INSET INTO WAR CLUBS AND SPEARS ON EASTER ISLAND IN SIMILAR FASHION TO THE WEAPONS USED ON THE MAINLAND OF SOUTH AMERICA.
WE CAN FANTASIZE ABOUT THE DESIGNS AND ART ON STONE AGE TOOLS AND WEAPONS BUT WE CAN ALSO BE SURE THEY WERE THERE. THE ANCIENT ART WORK ON OVERHANGS AND IN CAVES THE WORLD OVER SHOW STONE AGE MAN APPRECIATED ART, COLOR AND DESIGN FROM THE BEGINNING.
HERE ARE TWO FRAMES OF BLUNT POINTS MOST LIKELY MADE FROM VARIOUS TYPES OF POINTS OR KNIVES. NORTH AMERICAN.

[VANDOO]

CEREMONIAL FISH KNIFE COMPLETE WITH OBSIDIAN BLADE ADMIRALTY ISLANDS

[josh stout]

And that fish is clearly a shark.

[VANDOO]

HERE IS A INTERESTING ADMIRALTY ISLANDS DAGGER. IT HAS 3 STINGRAY TAIL BARBS AND A LONGER BONE SPIKE. THE HANDLE IS DECORATED IN THE USUAL WAY USING TRADITIONAL MATERIALS.