This Woomera (spear thrower or atlatl) from the Central Desert region of Australia was made in the early 1900s. The Aborigines of the Central Desert travelled on long walkabouts where they had to carry light weight and multi-purpose tools. This light weight Woomera is called a Miru by the indigenous Central Desert people. The Miru is not only a spear thrower, but the curved interior section is used much like a coolamon bowl for the preparation of food, preparing ochre for ceremonial purposes, etc. The central section has a thin and uniform thickness along most of the entire length. This example is in excellent condition with no breaks or cracks. It is one of the nicer Mirus that I have seen with fine patination and a dark brown color. The peg is tightly bound with fine sinew. The handle has a ball of Spinifex resin for the grip and this is mostly intact with no missing material. This Miru has a really nice rainbow serpent incised Totemic art on the inner surface (see photo). This Woomera feels great in the hand. It would make a fine throwing implement, if it were not a good collectable. There is a small hole on the back surface for mounting purposes that does not go through to the inner surface. This can be ued for mounting or you can fill it in with a tiny amount of wood putty. Length = 75 cm. Weight = 400 gm