Australian Aboriginal artifacts
Australian Aboriginal artifacts consist the boomerangs, spears, dillybags and other things the semi-nomadic Aborigines had to carry around. Many artifacts were devised to address the harsh living conditions in the Australian environment.
The boomerangs could be used:
- as hunting or fighting weapons,
- for digging,
- as cutting knives,
- for making fire by friction and
- as percussion instruments - music sticks.
Sometimes the challenge overwhelmed both the people and their tools, so they needed an input from supernatural sources. Art was the mediator of these forces, not 'l'art pour l'art' but practical strengthening of one's faith into oneself and the tool. Aboriginal art saturated these artifacts with sorcery and magic.
Even today, Aboriginal art is mostly sold as decoration on Aboriginal artifacts such as boomerangs, pottery, dillybags; on Aboriginal musical instruments: didgeridoos, emu callers, bullroarers and clapsticks.