Spinifex resin is a gum coating of some species of spinifex grasses. This sticky resin was traditionally used as an adhesive in tool making by Aboriginal Australians. Many species of spinifex are extremely resinous, to the extent that resin may drip down the stems and leaves on hot days, and large residual lumps of resin often may be seen at the bases of hummocks which have burned. [1]
The spinifex is threshed until the resin particles fall free. These particles are heated until they fuse together to form a moldable black tar which is worked while warm. When set, this gum is quite strong.
The preparation of spinifex for hafting use is similar to that of Xanthorrhoea . [2] It is thought to have been preferable to Xanthorrhoea for hafting, due to its ability to be re-heated and remodelled several times without going brittle. [2] The resin can be re-softened using fire and some moisture.
Most historical accounts of resin processing described Aboriginal men doing the work; however, several factors suggest that women had a much more significant role in processing resin than the accounts suggest. [3]
Within traditional Aboriginal cultures, the known applications of spinifex resin divide into four broad categories: [3]
1) As an adhesive. In areas where appropriate spinifex species grew, many hunting and working implements benefited from the use of spinifex gum or resin as a hafting adhesive: [4]
2) To make items waterproof. Spinifex resin has been used to caulk wooden containers for carrying water.
3) To repair holes and cracks in wooden tools and containers.
4) To manipulate into beads, figurines, vessels and other miscellaneous objects.
In modern times, in true Bush Mechanics spirit, spinifex resin can also be melted to repair things like jerry cans for carrying water and fuel. [5]
As of 2023, a Brisbane-based company has raised funds to develop medical gels from spinifex resin. [6]
Adhesive, also known as glue, cement, mucilage, or paste, is any non-metallic substance applied to one or both surfaces of two separate items that binds them together and resists their separation.
In polymer chemistry and materials science, a resin is a solid or highly viscous substance of plant or synthetic origin that is typically convertible into polymers. Resins are usually mixtures of organic compounds. This article focuses mainly on naturally occurring resins.
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Balsam is the resinous exudate which forms on certain kinds of trees and shrubs. Balsam owes its name to the biblical Balm of Gilead.
Xanthorrhoea is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants endemic to Australia. Species are known by the name Black Boy.
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Xanthorrhoea australis, the grass tree or austral grasstree, is an Australian plant. It is the most commonly seen species of the genus Xanthorrhoea. Its trunk can grow up to several metres tall and is often branched. In certain Aboriginal languages, it is called bukkup, baggup or kawee.
Hafting is a process by which an artifact, often made of bone, stone, or metal is attached to a haft. This makes the artifact more useful by allowing it to be launched by a bow (arrow), thrown by hand (spear), or used with more effective leverage (axe). When constructed properly, hafting can tremendously improve a weapon's damage and range. It is estimated that hafted weapons were most common during the Upper Paleolithic and Middle Paleolithic. It was one of the first tools where hominins took separate elements and united them into a single tool. The development of hafting is considered by archaeologists to have been a significant milestone. It was not only an improvement in the technology at the time; it also showed the progression of the human mind toward a world of complex tool-making.
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Xanthorrhoea thorntonii, commonly known as Cundeelee grasstree, Cundeelee blackboy, desert grasstree, yacka or grasstree, is a species of grasstree of the genus Xanthorrhoea native to central Australia. It is known to the Pitjantjatjara people as kata-kultu, kata-puru, ulpa or urara, the Warlpiri people as yurlurnkuru and the Arrernte as lunkere. X. thorntonii is the only grass tree found in Central Australia including the Great Sandy Desert, Great Victoria Desert and MacDonnell Ranges.
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