Boomerang. Central Australia, late 19th-early 20th century.

Boomerang. Central Australia, late 19th-early 20th century.
Carved wood.
Measurements: 74 cm (height).

Boomerang made of wood with carved ornaments. Historically, boomerangs were used as hunting weapons, percussion musical instruments, battle maces, fire starters, decoys for hunting waterfowl and as recreational toys. Tribal boomerangs may be inscribed or painted with designs meaningful to their makers.

The origins of the boomerang in Australia date back to prehistoric times, as evidenced by the presence of 20,000-year-old depictions of war boomerangs on the walls of rock art sites, and the discovery of millennia-old fragments of throwing sticks in South Australia dating back 10,000 years.