Posted on 07/11/2008 6:22:50 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
The study not only illustrates the link between body art, such as tattoos and intentional scarring, with cultural identity, but it also suggests that study of this imagery may help to unravel mysteries about where certain groups traveled in the past, what their values and rituals were, and how they related to other cultures...
For the study, published in the latest issue of the journal Antiquity, Brady documented rock art drawings; images found on early turtle shell, stone and wood objects, such as bamboo tobacco pipes and drums; and images that were etched onto the human body through a process called scarification...
Although people were living in the Torres Strait as early as 9,000 years ago, when sea levels were lower and a land bridge connected Australia with New Guinea, archaeological exploration of the area only really began with Haddon's 19th century work. Since body art, rock art, wooden objects and other tangible items have a relatively short shelf life, Haddon's collections and data represent some of the earliest confirmed findings for the region...
Based on land locations where the body art and object imagery were found, as well as the nature of the designs, Brady concludes that the Cape York residents were the hunter-gatherers, while groups in more northerly locations within Torres Strait appear to have been horticulturalists. Since imagery mixed and matched more among the early farmers, Brady concludes they enjoyed kinship links, and engaged in extensive trade, with Papua New Guinea groups.
(Excerpt) Read more at dsc.discovery.com ...
Cultural Clue: A coiled snake is etched onto a person's body through a process called scarification. Evidence for scarification among indigenous Australians is primarily via (19th century) anthropologist A.C. Haddon who took black and white photographs of some designs, as well as drawing others into his notebooks in the late 1800's. [Antiquity/Liam Brady]
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evolution-in-reverse alert.
Tobacco pipes?
Next someone will claim that they invented the bong. :’)
While it is true that the vast majority of modern peoples learned of tobacco from Europeans, the southwest Pacific has two special cases where Europeans had almost nothing to do with the spread of tobacco or indeed nothing at all to do with it. In the relatively simple case of central Australia in the dry country of the “outback” the native Australians chewed the native tobaccos or its lookalike(Duboisea hopwoodii) all quite unaffected by or uninspired by Europeans or those affected by them. In this one remote area of the world American tobaccos never penetrated in their modern forms and in alliance with the habit of smoking. To such tribes as the Aranda and their brothers goes the distinction of being like the South American Indians, unique originators of habits of using tobacco...
Based on land locations where the body art and object imagery were found, as well as the nature of the designs, Brady concludes that the Cape York residents were the hunter-gatherers, while groups in more northerly locations within Torres Strait appear to have been horticulturalists. Since imagery mixed and matched more among the early farmers, Brady concludes they enjoyed kinship links, and engaged in extensive trade, with Papua New Guinea groups.
In New Guinea the story is rather odd and difficult to explain. In this large island South American tobacco spread far and wide with tremendous rapidity immediately after it arrived. So far as we know, we have to say that tobacco was introduced to northwest New Guinea by the Moluccans shortly after their first contacts with Spanish and Portuguese sailors in greater Indonesia in some part of the 16th century, but not apparently as early as the time of Magellan (1519) or Albuquerque (1509 and later). It moved through a diversity of tribes, many of whom were in a chronic state of hostility with each other, and over several major changes in habitat, over the central mountain ridge to the tribes on the other side and along down to the south coast where Europeans in the first decade of the 17th century find themselves being offered tobacco in two different ports of call.
G’day, Fred.
That hopwoodii stuff, it’s pituri — and having scarfed quite a bit on a trip to the Olgas, back when I was a wild and reckless young lair who’d have a fair suck on any sauce bottle that promised to get me stonkered, I can tell you it will never replace the filter-tip Camels that remain my most enduring vice.
A ranger pointed out a patch of the stuff, mentioned that the Aborigines used it to get high, and that was the only cue I needed. I lagged behind, uprooted a couple of bushes and went the gobble back at camp.
Ears started getting hot, felt like I had a band being tightened around my forehead, feet went tingly and I had a lot of extra energy. Then, after about four hours, it was like I’d been biffed with a tyre hammer. Headache, fuzziness, and a really bad pain in the comic cuts, followed by bulk chunders and trots.
Mate, that stuff might have some family link to nicotinia, but so do a couple of bushes in my front yard. Roll some up in a Tally Ho, which I also tried, and the experience isn’t bonza. Unlike dark Turkish and bright Virginia, no pleasure factor whatsoever.
If the blacks were silly enough to use a lot of it, well it might explain why Captain Cook found them to be the most primitive people in the world. Heads aching too badly to get anything done!
Pituri link below, if you’re interested:
http://www.entheology.org/edoto/anmviewer.asp?a=47&z=5
So THAT’S what lady-plumbers do on their day off!
LOL! You've got the lingo down pat mate, worthy of Banjo or Lawson...music to my ears...where have you been all my (Freeper) life?
I like this part from your link:
The initial effect of pituri is as a stimulant, later however the user begins to fell a bit heavy and finally sleepy. In small quantities the pituri can assuage hunger and enable long journeys to be undertaken without fatigue and with little food. It can also be used to excite the participants before fighting (Maiden, 1889).
Reminds me of that Hoodia substance that's used as an appetite suppressant - not available in Australia. Might be an unexplored business opportunity.
Thanks!
On tinnie #4..understood every word.
The writer of this article is in love with the look of his own writing.
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