Ref ID:	26856
Ref Type:	Journal Article
Authors:	Doelman, Trudy Cochrane, Grant W. G.
Title:	Design theory and the Australian tula adze
Date:	2014
Source:	Asian Perspectives (2012)
Abstract:	The tula (or tuhla) adze is a unique composite tool, invented and adapted to arid zone Australia and used through the late Holocene until recent times (Veth et al. 2011). A wealth of ethnographic descriptions and archaeological studies have already provided a strong corpus of information about the manufacture and use of this implement. Our goal here is to explain why Aboriginal toolmakers manufactured it according to relatively rigid design specifications over large expanses of space and time. We do this through a reexamination of the ethnographic and archaeological evidence and the application of design theory. We will argue that tula adzes were designed to be reliable implements during a period of environmental unpredictability. However, the economic benefits of these reliable design features cannot be measured merely in terms of greater efficiency in resource harvesting. More significantly, they helped to ensure the consistent production of high-quality trade items that were crucial to the establishment and maintenance of cooperative relationships between social groups.
Date Created:	2/28/2018
Volume:	51
Number:	2
Page Start:	251
Page End:	277