Blindpig Bombs Uniface

[uniface]

The last few days I've been absorbed in a gift box of artifacts (a dozen of them) collected by Blindpig (and a friend of his) when he lived in Australia. Ranging in size from tiny tulas to large (5"+) Leiliras, they're fascinating relics of a very different stone age than ours. If places like Florida and Texas were parallel artifact worlds that diverged from the eastern mainstream, going their own ways, Australia was a parallel universe.

What's called the Levallois Point strategy of the (European) Mousterian era is the foundation of their technology. (Repeating a link in case you missed it in the other post http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levallois_technique ) I've seen this from Florida and the deep south here (age unknown), and there's a brief appearance it makes in the east during the Hopewell era, but it seems scarce overall.

The little tulas are even more exotic yet. These started with knapped-off bulbs of percussion of agate and chalcedony, flaked down into chisels and gravers. Like the announcer says, "And now for something completely different !"

Rather than carrying on about stuff I barely understand and only encountered a few days ago, I think it would be neat if Blindpig himself (who seems a reticent sort) would step up and take the podium here, since he knows these very well indeed.

What say, Blindpig ?

(Needless to say, Uniface says, "Thank You !")

 

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[The Grim Reaper]

Let's see some pictures.

 

[GL]

Without pictures I have no idea what you mean. I would love to see them please.

 

[uniface]

Here you go then.

 

[blindpig]

Righty O' mate ,. but a shower and a bite first , just got in .

Oh ,. I can "carry" on , for sure .... ...blindpig Burrp...........

Well , Uniface your name says it all ,. Your passion of uniface tools here in the AIA forum is to say the lest ,... “well Known” . I couldn’t have picked a better target to “bomb” with a few uniface tools from down under .
Uniface wanted to know all I could tell him about these tools ,..of course this would include there age ,.....? Yeah ,... that’s one of those “yet unanswered” questions , there getting further back now , 20,000 yr’s,.. tools look like they fit this assemblage ? But they have good sequence back to 8,000 yr’s, which is maybe a climatic / cultural boundary ?
I’ve seen a few old men with some blades on a friend’s cattle station , they where still using them for more “traditional”...... ....uses ! And I’ve found ‘em in historic context [WW II] . Now , for the most part where I found many tools you had the last 10,000 yr’s laying right on the hard pan , just had to pick and choose,.. What I “picked” may have not been first choice by an Aboriginal , but they “looked” nice !!
The Australian Typeology was not really all there 30 yr’s ago , my two reference books arn’t 100% in agreement , one is better then the other ,I believe ? I’ve found some web-sites in the last yr or so , and even Uniface found a good one , I don’t agree with it all ? But I think the idea of Typeology is to get as many people talking same “language” as possible ??
Uniface's tools ; top two would type as Leilira blades , one on left has low profile , if found out side the N.T. , some may call it a large flake-blade ,.... in the N.T that ‘s a Leilira . The second down on the right is a recognized transitional point /blade , it has steep trimmed face side like the Pirri point , more common to the south, and holds some form of the Leilira Blade . , recognized , yet hasn’t been named ? The blade second down on the left , maybe its just how they come off the core , then trimmed , many would call this a Leilira , but I think this form is a bit distinct , this one needs a name as well !! For the rest , Leilira -flake blades , trimmed flakes tools , the one tan one I’d call a woakwine , think I could make that argument ?
Anyway , this gets us down to the bottom row the Tulas , I can “carry-on” with these tomorrow night .
This all seems so,... one-sided ,.............Blindpig

 

[pickaway]

Great artifacts...

 

[blindpig]

Tula







The tula is a odd little tool , a very distinctive type of chisel bit in regards to its manufacture, the material used for it , which is always a jasper , agate, chalcedony and even found one made from opal , never seen or herd of one made from quartzite which is used for all other tool types in Central Australia [C.A ]. This is also the only tool in C.A and probably in the most part of Australia , that is used to total exhaustion . It’s “life-stages” go as ; Tula , with a nice convex edge , with reduction to a concave edge known as a tula slug , then even pressed into service as a graver with it’s ends trimmed , known as a Burren slug . It is also somewhat of a key or marker for tool assemblages and sequences . I believe [?!] the tula started making it’s way into the tool assemblages some 8,000 B.P. .The northern assemblage goes back some 24,000 yr,s , this would be the “mother” of tools like the Leilira blade .
I need to digress here , as I have no ridilian . O.K. , it is believed there was three distinct migrations into Australia . First , maybe as far back as 40,000 yr’s , the second maybe 20,000 the last ? 8,000 or 4500 these are like “transitional-points” in there sequences, where there tool assemblages change . There is /was [in the 70's ] 6 or 7 of these sequenced assemblages , this has probably changed in the last 30 odd year’s . I’ve read some things found on the inner-net , and I still can’t say “YEAH, THAT’S IT !!” It is a big story , and I haven’t seen but a few “episodes” in the last 30 yr’s !!




Tula’s where hafted to wooden handles with various “gums” from eucalyptus tree’s and in C.A. spinafax [sp] gum , spinafax is a type grass with long nasty pointy “blades” . In the pic the tula is set into a Woomera handle [atlatl] with spinafax gum . Now , an Aboriginal hunter would use this to sharpen his spears , but also this would more then likely be the only stone tool he’d be carrying , they been known to disinbowel there kills with them . The tula is also set into a short [8-12 in.] handle and used as a chisel, I should have been clearer about this .





O’ what the hay , one more pic ,.. A Woomera ,.. There you go , joel

 

[uniface]

Wow !! Edge-mounted ! That opens up a lot of conceptual possibilities for visualising how other side-edged tools may have been used.

Thanks, BP