- Joined
- Apr 20, 2003
- Messages
- 1,188
A little friend came across this internet article and thought that I would enjoy it. Only the pertinent part posted here. I have encountered a few rudimentary or indigenous edged tools but one of these swords appears to be one creative elaborate wicked beast...
From the story:
Biologist Joshua Drew's surprise discovery began as many do: "I just wanted to... look at really cool stuff," he tells the Los Angles Times.
Drew, now a postdoctoral researcher at Columbia University, was with a few colleagues at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago scoping out a new exhibit a collection of "badass" swords, knives, and lances once used by the inhabitants of the Central Pacific's Gilbert Islands 130 years ago to rip their enemies to shreds.
This particular arsenal wasn't pounded out of iron or steel, though. The 124 flesh-tearing weapons on display had a more biological origin, and were carved out of wood, with each blade edge carefully outfitted with rows of dagger-like shark teeth.
Drew was admiring the pieces when he noticed something strange: A few of the teeth appeared to belong to dusky and spottail sharks, which, oddly, aren't typically found near the Gilbert Isles. How could he tell, you might ask? Well, he was in a natural history museum, and could easily look up fossil records to confirm his suspicions.
"Shape, serration patterns, and other features of shark teeth were enough for researchers to identify the species," says LiveScience.
From the story:
Biologist Joshua Drew's surprise discovery began as many do: "I just wanted to... look at really cool stuff," he tells the Los Angles Times.
Drew, now a postdoctoral researcher at Columbia University, was with a few colleagues at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago scoping out a new exhibit a collection of "badass" swords, knives, and lances once used by the inhabitants of the Central Pacific's Gilbert Islands 130 years ago to rip their enemies to shreds.
This particular arsenal wasn't pounded out of iron or steel, though. The 124 flesh-tearing weapons on display had a more biological origin, and were carved out of wood, with each blade edge carefully outfitted with rows of dagger-like shark teeth.
Drew was admiring the pieces when he noticed something strange: A few of the teeth appeared to belong to dusky and spottail sharks, which, oddly, aren't typically found near the Gilbert Isles. How could he tell, you might ask? Well, he was in a natural history museum, and could easily look up fossil records to confirm his suspicions.
"Shape, serration patterns, and other features of shark teeth were enough for researchers to identify the species," says LiveScience.
