Showing posts with label tools. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tools. Show all posts

Archeology in the Rottnest Island Region

archeology
Work is being done to make the earliest human habitation of the Great Swan Region in Western Australia clearer. This covers the glacial period before the post-glacial sea rise, 30,000 to 6,000 before the present.
aboriginal stone tools
Aboriginals were making flake stone tools. Though for the most part natural forming cutting edges of quartz and chert were utilized Aboriginals evolved to adapt to hot conditions they survived the extremely cold conditions. Rottnest Island was inhabited during the fall in sea level but not thereafter. Aboriginals do have folk memories in the their culture about a past period when trees grew on intervening land now beneath the sea. The sea flooded in 6,500 years ago, quite recent.

Pollen records of close onshore land that wetland and woodland. There were changes over the years as the climate changed. Aboriginals did not take to cave dwelling as they had to hunt for food. They lived in the open around fires. Bush food and fresh water were available there.

The sources of material for stone tools have not been found. It is assumed that they were in the now submerged land between the Australian coast and the offshore islands. The claim that islands were not occupied after the inundation is suspect because limestone flakes were found on Garden Island and not on the mainland.
 Archeology by Ty Buchanan 
 Australian Blog
            Australian Blog   Adventure Australia
ALL BLOG ARTICLES· ──► (BLOG HOME PAGE)
aboriginal ice age 30,0000 6,000 years ago cold conditions, frozen rottnest island garden articles news politics economics society anthropology historiography history sociology people nations country asia europe africa u.s. south america central Mediterranean eastern western interesting funny technology free news sex

Cockatoo Makes and Uses Tools

It was believed that Man was the only toolmaking animal. In recent times many animals have been seen using tools like wood and rocks mainly to access food.

A cockatoo named Figaro kept in captivity in Austria has been using tools to get food. Birds are extremely intelligent creatures. It is known that they mimic sounds such as the human voice. Some can even understand the meaning of basic sentences. Figaro creates tools, modifying tools specifically to get small pieces of food placed outside his cage.

Other bird species observed using tools are crows, ravens, woodpecker finches and Herons. A captive New Caledonian crow used wire rather than wood to reach into crevices for grubs. Northern blue jays have used shredded paper to gather up food pellets. In the wild they do not use tools at all.

Tool use is not a specific function developed at a particular point in time by a species. It a a general function of high intelligence. To access food, many smart animals can make and use tools. Man the toolmaker is not unique.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ornithology
TwitThis