Hampton Green Homes

The type of tree. First ask yourself whether the tree species is one which is known to have been used for bark removal, or whether the nature of the bark is comparable to known species. Not surprisingly, Indigenous people used the bark of particular kinds of trees for a reason. In eastern New South Wales, for instance, box trees and river red gums were commonly used by Indigenous people because the bark could be levered off in sufficiently large sections to be useful.

By extension, it is highly unlikely that introduced species would have been scarred by Indigenous people. The presence of axe marks. Because of regrowth around the margins of the scar, normally only upper and lower axe marks on a scar will be visible.

These will look like single or parallel lines at the top and base of the scar. Bear in mind that axe marks from stone axes are likely to be less sharp and clean than those from steel axes, because the angle at the point of a stone axe is less acute. Typical stone axe marks will look like broad, asymmetrical ‘bludgeon’ marks, with possible crushing of the underlying sapwood. Steel axes, on the other hand, will leave straight, narrow and often quite deep incisions.

Do not automatically discard the possibility of a tree being scarred by Indigenous people just because it has steel axe marks. Steel axes were highly valued by Indigenous people and were traded extensively throughout Australia long before any direct contact with Europeans. The existence of such marks therefore only dates a scar to after the initial European occupation of Sydney, rather than to the first direct incursion of Europeans into an area.

Europeans also removed bark from trees for roof shingles, or as sheets to cover a lean-to. Often they removed it by making zig-zag ‘herringbone’ cuts at the top and the bottom of the scar, which are readily identifiable. However, you need to be aware that in some areas Indigenous people produced similar ‘herringbone’ patterning when removing bark for roofing material. Comparing stone and steel axe marks. Stone axes typically leave broad, asymmetrical ‘bludgeon’ marks, sometimes accompanied by crushing of the underlying sapwood. Cut marks from steel axes, on the other hand, tend to be much deeper, straighter and narrower.

Tags: Box Trees, Direct Contact, European Occupation, Kinds Of Trees, New South Wales, Scar