Identifier: historyofmankind01ratz (find matches)
Title: The history of mankind
Year: 1896 (1890s)
Authors: Ratzel, Friedrich, 1844-1904 Butler, Arthur John, 1844-1910
Subjects: Ethnology Anthropology
Publisher: London, Macmillan and co., ltd. New York, The Macmillan co.
Contributing Library: Wellesley College Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Wellesley College Library

View Book Page: Book Viewer
About This Book: Catalog Entry
View All Images: All Images From Book
Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book.

Text Appearing Before Image:
—one-tenth real size. (British Museum and Berlin Museum.) this incisions were made in the smooth and strong stems of the trees, which thenatives then climbed with the help of a cord looped round the stem. Polished DRESS, WEAPONS, AND OTHER BELONGINGS OF THE AUSTRALIANS 357 axes are for the most part not found, but a certain amount of smoothing wasgiven by rubbing two stone blades together in water. The shields, as shown inthe coloured plate, serve rather to protect the hand and to ward off blows than tocover the body. Their thickness is much greater than their breadth, and they more-over have an edge bearing a striking resemblance to the parrying shields used onthe Upper Nile. The monotonous Australian ornament of oblique and serpentinelines is a characteristic feature of them. The best shields are found in the north,a broader form occurs in Northern Queensland ; on King Georges Sound shieldsare not known at all. The transition from weapon to implement is formed by the digging-stick
Text Appearing After Image:
Axes of stone or horse-shoe iron from Queensland—one-fifth real size. (British Museum. which the South Australians call kiatta, a baton about a yard and a half long andas thick as the fist. It forms the inseparable companion of the women, who digup roots with its thicker end sharpened and hardened in the fire. In the west awooden implement like a meat-tray is used as spade, basket, and dish alike. Considering the nomadic ways of the Australians, their hut-building can onlybe imperfect, and for a similar reason it reaches a higher level in the north than inthe south. The tribes on the east coast of Spencer Gulf in summer merely sticka few wretched boughs in the ground as a protection from the wind. In winterthey weave huts of a niche shape and cover them at times with bark ; the fireburns in front of the hut. Just as the family, when encamping after its wandering,lights a fire the first thing, and does not build its hut till this has been done, so as 35S THE HISTORY OF MANKIND a gene

Note About Images