I found an old campfire the other day, what they call an ‘ Emu pat hearth ‘ which is the remainder of hard baked clay from a fire . You can see a photo of it in the scars in country archive, just a small pile of orangey red burnt clay lumps out in the open paddock. One thing I have learnt about scartrees is the old real estate maxim…location location location. This old cooking site is found midway between the river & the wells and has a couple of big old scarred box trees and a patch of belah spear trees. It’s the same with the strangely scarred trees, they are always found association with other more ‘normal’ or garden variety scartrees. If in doubt, look about ..would be my advice for anyone trying to distinguish culturally modified trees ( cmt’s ) from other natural scars caused by branch fall or impact or insect attack. Also you should check the local indigenous history…what were the practises of the people ? You may find historical sources don’t always agree, for example Lindsay Black produced a map depicting which areas of NSW had Teleteglyphs – ceremonial carved trees (mostly around Bora rings ) and which parts had Taphoglyphs – carved trees around a burial site. He wrote…
“The northern half of the Kamilaroi nation used carved trees, or
teleteglyphs, at Bora Grounds, hut seldom at a grave. This area
was north of a line from Nyngan. Quambone and Coonamble and
then along the Barwon River extending eastwards towards the coast”
But another google search produced Robert Etheridge who wrote ; “Therefore it must be safely assumed, that wherever tribes with the similar Kamilaroi-Wollaroi-Wiradjuri social organization”” roamed there will teleteglyphs be found “. But I do know from reading K.Langloh Parker that the Euahlayi ( you ahl ayi ) people that lived here had a belief in spirit – haunted trees similar to the Arunta from central Australia. So do I !
