Conus shell apex (dibi dibi)
Country
Australia
State/Province
Queensland
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Object detail
Description
Ground and perforated apex of Conus shell.
Classification
INDIGENOUS CULTURES Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander shell
ARCHAEOLOGY
ARCHAEOLOGY
Measurements
Dia 55mm
Media/Materials description
Conus shell
History and use
Cone shell discs are made from the top of large conus shells and used throughout New Guinea, the Torres Strait and North Queensland. How they are worn differs across regions. In the Torres Strait and North Queensland, most are worn as pendants. Melanesian people in New Guinea wear these discs in a range of ways - sometimes attached to the nasal septum, like a pendant, or attached at the waist.
These discs are called dibi dibi in Kala Lagaw Ya language. They were made on Mabuiag in the Torres Strait, and collected during an ethnoarchaeological study of the Gumu area of Mabuiag conducted in 1985.
This item was most recently on display in the exhibition 'Connections across the Coral Sea: A story of movement' at Museum of Tropical Queensland (2021-2022) and Queensland Museum (2022-2023).
These discs are called dibi dibi in Kala Lagaw Ya language. They were made on Mabuiag in the Torres Strait, and collected during an ethnoarchaeological study of the Gumu area of Mabuiag conducted in 1985.
This item was most recently on display in the exhibition 'Connections across the Coral Sea: A story of movement' at Museum of Tropical Queensland (2021-2022) and Queensland Museum (2022-2023).
Registration number
S622.18
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