Aboriginal artifacts from Utchee Creek / Meingen Creek catchment boundary

All of these tools fit well into the hand with a comfortable, strong grip.

This is a digging stick with a spike and a blade. Both faces of the blade have been crudely dressed to sharpen the edge. Beautifully weighted for useful impact while still light enough for long periods of use

This is a knife

This is a knife

This is a knife

Another knife

This is a multi-function tool. This is how it is used as a digger.

When held in the left palm, it is a tray that can be held steady and level without effort, or a hard-working surface for grinding or sorting. A dilly bag can be fitted over the projection to collect particles.

This is it as a tray. Beautifully weighted - you feel like you could walk long distances through the forest holding this without spilling it.

This is how it is used as a heavy chopper.

This is a 'two-fingered' knife, with a point and a concave blade.

There are notches and grooves worked into this surface to assist grip.

When you hold it with two fingers in the grooves, you know you are holding it properly.

The blade of the knife

The blade of the knife.

The location of the artifacts is about 16 Km south-west of Innisfail. The artifacts were found on the roadside/headlands where the blue dashed line crosses the red road reserve.
The blue dashed line is the catchment boundary between Utchee Creek and Meingen Creek.
The site is level and has spectacular views of Bartle Frere and Bellenden Ker.

This chisel comes from a location about 4 km away, where Beahr Road fords Utchee Creek. It would make a good camp site, with flat ground alongside swimming holes. It feels like this tool would be good for 'pecking' with a wrist-bending motion, or 'screwdrivering' with a wrist-twisting motion.

For opening oysters perhaps ?

Note the shaped facets at the gripping end ...

... and how the base of the finger fits into the facet, with the finger wrapping around comfortably, and the thumb base fitting to give a solid grip.