Boomerang

weapon · Australia · Aboriginal

The boomerang is the curved throwing stick of the Aboriginal peoples of Australia, carved from hardwood and used for hunting, fighting, digging and ceremony. Returning boomerangs are shaped with a twist across the wings so that they curve in flight and come back to the thrower, while heavier non-returning forms are hurled flat and low to strike game or an enemy, and the same shapes were used as clapsticks, digging tools and fire-sticks. The weapons are sometimes engraved or painted with the designs of the maker's clan. The returning boomerang is one of the oldest known engineered tools and was

Open in the interactive archive →