Hafted Tool-use Experiments with Australian Aboriginal Plant Adhesives: Triodia Spinifex, Xanthorrhoea Grass Tree and Lechenaultia divaricata Mindrie

Hafted stone tools commonly figure in Australian archaeology but hafting traces and manufacture processes are infrequently studied. The Aboriginal processing of resin from Xanthorrhoea (Sol. Ex Sm.) grass tree, Triodia (R.Br.) spinifex and Lechenaultia divaricata (F.Muell.) mindrie, is reported with experiences and observations about the performance of resin mixtures in hafted tool-use experiments. Pure mixtures of winnowed Triodia grass, though soft, were more effective as a sticky adhesive than lumps collected from ant nests or the ground following bushfires. Xanthorrhoea resin mixed with ka... Mehr ...