Butt Modification on Some Shell Adze Blades from the Banks Islands, Northern Vanuatu
Rawson, Mark (1988-12-01). "Butt Modification on Some Shell Adze Blades from the Banks Islands, Northern Vanuatu". Australian Archaeology. 27 (1): 17–23. doi:10.1080/03122417.1988.12093159. ISSN 2470-0363.
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Abstract: “Butt Modification on Some Shell Adze Blades from the Banks Islands, Northern Vanuatu” by Mark Rawson examines a collection of shell adze blades from the Banks Islands, Vanuatu, specifically focusing on the rare feature of butt modification. This study involves the analysis of 334 shell adze blades in the Australian Museum, identifying at least four complete examples with bifacial flaking along their previously ground lateral margins and notches, or “waists,” for hafting. The provenance of the collection is uncertain, having been acquired by the museum from the University of Sydney in 1957, with all items labeled as originating from the Banks Islands. These islands are volcanic and located north of the main Vanuatu Island chain.
The article details the morphology and metrical attributes of these adzes, following Garanger’s typology, discussing items like Item 1 which shows common morphological traits with other Pacific examples. The other items also show unique features and are systematically described in terms of their shape, cross-section, and the extent of their butt modifications. The article goes on to compare these items’ morphological attributes with others from the Pacific region, but notes that the lack of spatial and temporal contexts limits the value of these comparisons.
The discussion suggests that few examples of waisting or other butt modifications are apparent in western Pacific studies and hypothesizes that such modifications may have been overlooked or misclassified in archaeological contexts. The article concludes by suggesting that low frequencies of such modified tools might indicate localized cultural practices or specialized activities, and suggests that future studies of museum collections and distributional studies could help elucidate the relationship between the modified forms seen in both shell and stone tools
Extra details:
QID: Q112209819 MAG: 2308047671 OpenAlex: W2308047671 CorpusID: 112032306
