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TUBUAI ARTIFACTS
Octopus Lure Sinkers - from the Claude Mignard Collection 452-1-OLS-1,2,3. These sinkers all came from Mataura Parcelle TERUAPUPU #1, they are shown full size on the opposite page, sinkers 1 and 2 could be termed "coffee bean shaped" These artifacts are comparatively rare with only about 10 specimens known to the author. The first sinker has been fashioned from a fine grained vesicular lava which appears well patinated, the back has been ground flat which is an unusual feature in as much as the backs are often flat but not ground, also this sinker has been either damaged or deliberately ground along the right side, leaving flat deep groove. Sinker 2 has been fashioned from a course grained, highly crystalized non-vesicular stone, the crystals are large being up to 3 or 4 mm in diameter and may take up about 50% of the total volume. It is unusual in demonstrating transverse concavity in the posterior surface. The third sinker may not even be a sinker in as much as it is so different from all others, being almost flat and very small. It demonstrates however the distinctive groove while the back has been deliberately ground flat. The cross section is however rather irregular despite the grinding. This sinker is fashioned from a course grained stone which is not however of the vesicular type. Claude Mingard recovered these artifacts along with a very rare and unusual adze fragment (see 452-1-2Ab-1f) scattered over a wide area while farming the southeast corner of TERUAPUPU #1. The sinkers may indicate early deposits in this area and add to the growing evidence that the base of the foothills were occupied from an early period. The artifacts which remain from this early settlement are indeed rare and dispersed indicating perhaps a rather temporary occupation. Fragments from large untanged, unpecked lenticular or sub reversed triangular sectioned adzes have been recovered about 100 meters east of the TERUAPUPU site. |
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