1916.36.122

Collection type

Object

Description

Stone tool, mata'a, made of obsidian.

Long description

Stone tool. 1 of 29 implements including wasters, tanged obsidian spearheads and hammer-stones together in a clear fronted old museum display box. [ZM 28/4/2004]

Geographical reference

Rapa Nui

Oceania > Polynesia > Rapa Nui

Person

Field collector William Scoresby Routledge

Field collector Katherine Maria Routledge

PRM source William Scoresby Routledge

Date / Period

Date made: Before 18/08/1915

Date collected

Between 29 March 1914 and 18 August 1915

Acquisition information

Donated: 1916

Materials and processes

Material Obsidian Stone, Process Flaked

Dimensions

Length: max 90 mm, Width: max 70 mm

Object numbers

Accession number: 1916.36.122

Research and responses

Please note that the Routledge's published account of their journey includes many specific object references, drawings, maps and photographs. Please refer to: Routledge, Mrs. [Katherine] Scoresby Routledge (1919) The Mystery of Easter Island: The Story of an Expedition. London: Sifton, Praed & Co. Ltd. [L.Ph 29/4/2004]

Please note that the unpublished field notes relating to this expedition are at the Royal Geographical Society. This information was found on p. 334 of the biography of Katherine Routledge (Pease): van Tilburg, Jo Anne (2003) Among Stone Giants: The Life of Katherine Routledge and her Remarkable Expedition to Easter Island. London: Scribner. [L.Ph 29/4/2004]

Associated publications

One of twenty objects from the Pitt Rivers Museum included in the exhibition catalogue Making Monuments on Rapa Nui: The Statues from Easter Island, by Colin Richards and Bryan Sitch (Manchester: The University of Manchester, Manchester Museum, 2015). On page 39 in the section 'The End of an Era' this particular object is one of a group described as follows: 'Hoard of obsidian implements or weapons called mata'a. Mata'a appear much more frequently and in greater numbers in more recent archaeological contexts on Rapa Nui. This has been interpreted as evidence that the islanders' traditional way of life descended into civil strife and open warfare. This seems to be supported by oral history testimony and by the discovery of skeletons showing trauma but researchers differ in how to interpret the evidence (see below). Loan courtesy of the Pitt Rivers Museum, 1916.36.118-128, 130, 132, 134 and 135'. [ZM 9/9/2015]

Search terms: Tool, Technique, Weapon, Flake, Spear-head, Hammer-stone, Debitage