Traditional Weapons

• Australia is a vast country with several different climates, from deserts to rain forests to mountains and plains. Despite the different environmental conditions and animal populations of each region, the different Aboriginal tribes developed similar hunting tools. Clubs, knives and throwing tools, such as boomerangs and spears, are used by most every tribe. Knives are made from sharpened stone and animal bones. Spears are also made from animal bones and long wooden sticks.
  
  

Regional Techniques

• Aboriginal people developed hunting techniques suited to the environment and the animals they hunt. Desert tribes hunt emus and kangaroos and developed the boomerang, which is thrown at the animal. The boomerang strikes the animal in the head, neck or limbs, immobilizing it. Coastal tribes hunt turtles, whales and dugongs, which are related to manatees. These tribes use a three-prong spear to pierce marine animals and fish. Some tribes employ domesticated dingos, or wild dogs, to help them hunt.
  
  

Herding Technique

• Aboriginal men often hunt kangaroo in a group. The men stretch a large net across a section of the forest near where the kangaroos are feeding. A few hunters then spread out on the other side of the kangaroos so that the animals are positioned between the hunters and the net. Other hunters hide in the brush near the net. The hunters drive the kangaroo toward the net. When the animals become entangled in the net while trying to escape the herders, the hidden hunters kill the trapped animals with clubs, spears and knives.
  
  

Animal Tracking

• Plains hunters scan the horizon for disturbances in the tall grass. Forest and desert tribes look for animal tracks on the ground. Coastal tribes learn turtle and marine mammal migration and feeding patterns to track and kill food. Aboriginal people do not hunt at night; however, they do hunt nocturnal animals, such as the koala and opossum. Nocturnal animals are tracked to their daytime lairs by smell or following droppings and footprints. Hunters dip a stick or a blade of grass into some honey and insert it into the animal's lair, such as a burrow or hollow tree. The hunter examines the honey for animal hairs stuck in the honey to confirm the prey is present.