This item is a very old Aboriginal Punishment Spear made with stone tools in the 19th Century or earlier. There are very fine stone tool grooves along the entire length. At the balance point, there is an 8 cm wrap of Spinifex pitch to aid in the handling of this weapon. One end tapers to a sharp point. The other end is barbed. One side of the head has 3 barbs. The other side has had the barbs sheared off. Rob Croll, an Australian friend and knowledgeable expert in Aboriginal artifacts examined this spear and he told me that the barbs are intentionally sheared off on one side for use on a certain social group within the tribe. Both ends of the spear have remnants of ochre. The spear is not straight. There is a slight bow along the entire length, probably because of long term storage or it could be a natural bend in the spear. I have owned this spear for more than 25 years and the bow and color have not changed over that period of time.