New Guinea warriors wielded daggers carved from the femurs of their fathers
April 25 (UPI) -- As recently as a century ago, the people of New Guinea were carving daggers from the thighbones of cassowaries, flightless, dinosaur-like birds. The most feared and respected warriors, however, wielded daggers carved from the femurs of either their vanquished enemies or their deceased fathers.A new study, published this week in the journal Royal Society Open Science, details the history of bone daggers in New Guinea and their symbolic importance to the island's native populations.Nathaniel Dominy, a professor of anthropology at Dartmouth College, has been studying bone daggers for several years. The latest study was inspired by his discovery of a drawer full of bone weapons at Dartmouth's Hood Museum of Art.Historical accounts of New Guinea's bone daggers appear in the 18...