A woomera is an Australian Aboriginal wooden spear-throwing device.[1][2][3] Similar to an atlatl, it serves as an extension of the human arm, enabling a spear to travel at a greater speed and force than possible with only the arm.
The woomera in this picture is the wooden object at leftMokare with spear and woomera, another woomera lies at his feet.
The word "woomera" comes from the Dharug language of the Eora people of the Sydney basin. The name was adopted for the town of Woomera, South Australia, founded in 1947 as the home of the Anglo-Australian Long Range Weapons Establishment, also known as the "Woomera Rocket Range" and now called RAAF Woomera Range Complex.[4]
Descriptionedit
The woomera is between 61 and 91 cm (24 and 36 in) in length.[5] Like many Australian Aboriginal tools, there is much diversity in design. Some versions have one end that is 7.6 cm (3.0 in) wide and possessing a hollow, curved cross-section not unlike an airfoil, while the other is more pointed and has a hook. Other versions used in northern Australia are less than 2.5 cm (0.98 in) wide, made of flat wood, with a wooden point angled back along the flat length of the woomera, fixed with Spinifex wax. Some woomera were traditionally decorated with incised or painted designs that indicated belonging to a particular linguistic group that it may be returned to if found abandoned.[citation needed]
Useedit
A sharp stone attached to the end of the handle
Records show that the implement began to be used about 5,000 years ago,[6] although the Mungo Man remains from at least 43,000 years ago show severe osteoarthritis in the right elbow associated with the use of a woomera.[7] It is still used today in some remote areas of Australia.[citation needed] Like spears and boomerangs, woomeras were traditionally used only by men. Some woomeras, especially those used in the central and western Australiandeserts,[8] were multi-purpose tools.[9] Often shaped like long narrow bowls, they could be used for carrying water-soaked vegetable matter (which would not spill and could later be sucked for its moisture) as well as small food items such as little lizards or seeds. Many woomeras had a sharp stone cutting edge called a tula adze[10] attached to the end of the handle with black gum from the triodia plant. This sharp tool had many uses, such as cutting up game or other food and wood. It is supposed that the woomera could be used as a shield for protection against spears and boomerangs. The woomera is held in one hand while the other hand places the butt of the spear on the woomera's hook; the hollow curved shape facilitates this alignment without looking. The woomera effectively lengthens the thrower's arm, greatly increasing the velocity of the spear. Correcting for the game animal's lateral dodging is accomplished by tilting the wing-shape woomera during the throw for last-second corrections. The kinetic energy of a spear launched from a woomera has been calculated as four times that of an arrow launched from a compound bow.[6]
Different Aboriginal groups had different shapes and styles of woomera.[11] For example, the woomera of the central desert tend to be very wide and slightly bowl-shaped whereas those of the Kimberley are flat long and narrow.[12]
Referencesedit
^Phyllis Mary Kaberry, Aboriginal Woman, Sacred and Profane. Gregg International, Westmead, Kent 1970. p14 "The Aborigines generally use a spear-thrower (noslal) and a shovel-spear (djinad), the fashioning of which is a long and delicate process. The blade made of iron, mudagandji, must be welded into an oval shape varying from three to five ..."
^Mitchell Rolls, Murray Johnson, Historical Dictionary of Australian Aborigines, Scarecrow Press, 2010. p157 "SPEAR-THROWER. It is made of Mulga Wood. A wooden implement that has a projection peg either carved into or secured to the butt, the spear-thrower greatly increased the range and accuracy of spears hurled by Aboriginal hunters. It could also be used for a ..."
^Linley Erin Hall, The Laws of Motion: An Anthology Of Current Thought, 2005. p66, "In Australia the spear thrower is popularly called a woomera, one of the many Aboriginal names for a spear thrower"
^Earp, G. Butler (1852). The Gold Colonies of Australia. London: Geo. Routledge & Co. p. 126.
^ ab"Extinction's group theory". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. 25 June 2004. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
^Lawrence, Helen (2006). Mungo over millennia : the Willandra landscape and its people. Sorell, Tas: Maygog Publishing. p. 42. ISBN0-9758199-1-7.
^Gould, Richard A. (Richard Allan) (1970). Spears and spear throwers of the Western Desert Aborigines of Australia. American Museum of Natural History, New York
^Cundy, B. J. (1989). Formal variation in Australian spear and spearthrower technology (Vol. 546). British Archaeological Reports Ltd. Chicago
A drawing of a woomera 2016-09-16 at the Wayback Machine, from the book Boy Scouts Beyond the Seas: "My World Tour" by Sir Robert Baden-Powell, 1913
January 01, 1970
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For other uses see Woomera A woomera is an Australian Aboriginal wooden spear throwing device 1 2 3 Similar to an atlatl it serves as an extension of the human arm enabling a spear to travel at a greater speed and force than possible with only the arm The woomera in this picture is the wooden object at left Mokare with spear and woomera another woomera lies at his feet Contents 1 Name 2 Description 3 Use 4 References 5 External linksName editThe word woomera comes from the Dharug language of the Eora people of the Sydney basin The name was adopted for the town of Woomera South Australia founded in 1947 as the home of the Anglo Australian Long Range Weapons Establishment also known as the Woomera Rocket Range and now called RAAF Woomera Range Complex 4 Description editThe woomera is between 61 and 91 cm 24 and 36 in in length 5 Like many Australian Aboriginal tools there is much diversity in design Some versions have one end that is 7 6 cm 3 0 in wide and possessing a hollow curved cross section not unlike an airfoil while the other is more pointed and has a hook Other versions used in northern Australia are less than 2 5 cm 0 98 in wide made of flat wood with a wooden point angled back along the flat length of the woomera fixed with Spinifex wax Some woomera were traditionally decorated with incised or painted designs that indicated belonging to a particular linguistic group that it may be returned to if found abandoned citation needed Use edit nbsp A sharp stone attached to the end of the handle Records show that the implement began to be used about 5 000 years ago 6 although the Mungo Man remains from at least 43 000 years ago show severe osteoarthritis in the right elbow associated with the use of a woomera 7 It is still used today in some remote areas of Australia citation needed Like spears and boomerangs woomeras were traditionally used only by men Some woomeras especially those used in the central and western Australian deserts 8 were multi purpose tools 9 Often shaped like long narrow bowls they could be used for carrying water soaked vegetable matter which would not spill and could later be sucked for its moisture as well as small food items such as little lizards or seeds Many woomeras had a sharp stone cutting edge called a tula adze 10 attached to the end of the handle with black gum from the triodia plant This sharp tool had many uses such as cutting up game or other food and wood It is supposed that the woomera could be used as a shield for protection against spears and boomerangs The woomera is held in one hand while the other hand places the butt of the spear on the woomera s hook the hollow curved shape facilitates this alignment without looking The woomera effectively lengthens the thrower s arm greatly increasing the velocity of the spear Correcting for the game animal s lateral dodging is accomplished by tilting the wing shape woomera during the throw for last second corrections The kinetic energy of a spear launched from a woomera has been calculated as four times that of an arrow launched from a compound bow 6 Different Aboriginal groups had different shapes and styles of woomera 11 For example the woomera of the central desert tend to be very wide and slightly bowl shaped whereas those of the Kimberley are flat long and narrow 12 References edit Phyllis Mary Kaberry Aboriginal Woman Sacred and Profane Gregg International Westmead Kent 1970 p14 The Aborigines generally use a spear thrower noslal and a shovel spear djinad the fashioning of which is a long and delicate process The blade made of iron mudagandji must be welded into an oval shape varying from three to five Mitchell Rolls Murray Johnson Historical Dictionary of Australian Aborigines Scarecrow Press 2010 p157 SPEAR THROWER It is made of Mulga Wood A wooden implement that has a projection peg either carved into or secured to the butt the spear thrower greatly increased the range and accuracy of spears hurled by Aboriginal hunters It could also be used for a Linley Erin Hall The Laws of Motion An Anthology Of Current Thought 2005 p66 In Australia the spear thrower is popularly called a woomera one of the many Aboriginal names for a spear thrower RAAF Base Woomera Retrieved 15 July 2017 Earp G Butler 1852 The Gold Colonies of Australia London Geo Routledge amp Co p 126 a b Extinction s group theory The Sydney Morning Herald Fairfax Media 25 June 2004 Retrieved 21 October 2011 Lawrence Helen 2006 Mungo over millennia the Willandra landscape and its people Sorell Tas Maygog Publishing p 42 ISBN 0 9758199 1 7 Gould Richard A Richard Allan 1970 Spears and spear throwers of the Western Desert Aborigines of Australia American Museum of Natural History New York Cundy B J 1989 Formal variation in Australian spear and spearthrower technology Vol 546 British Archaeological Reports Ltd Chicago World Prehistory In New Perspective aboriginal spear thrower aboriginal spearthrower sell aboriginal spear thrower Aboriginal Bark Paintings 2017 09 01 Retrieved 2019 12 17 Aboriginal Australia Cooper Carol National Gallery of Victoria Australian Gallery Directors Council Sydney Australian Gallery Directors Council 1981 ISBN 0 642 89689 5 OCLC 8487510 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint others link External links edit nbsp Look up woomera in Wiktionary the free dictionary Aboriginal technology Archived 2008 07 20 at the Wayback Machine A drawing of a woomera Archived 2016 09 16 at the Wayback Machine from the book Boy Scouts Beyond the Seas My World Tour by Sir Robert Baden Powell 1913 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Woomera spear thrower amp oldid 1212956899, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
