Boomerangs have traditionally been the symbol of Australian Aboriginal technology. However, it is important to address the conventional notion of their 'returning effect': whereas returning boomerangs were mainly used for games and learning purposes, non-returning boomerangs were heterogeneous, multifunctional tools. They played (and keep playing) a crucial role in Indigenous societies and perform a multitude of functions, including hunting, fighting, digging, and making music. In this thesis, a specific use for boomerangs is investigated: the functional modification of lithic tools through percussion retouching.

The study of the chaîne opératoire of lithic tools shaped or re-shaped through percussion retouching is fundamental to understanding the techno-functional features of any toolkit. However, this topic has been largely overlooked by scientists and archaeologists investigating Australian contexts. To address this gap in understanding, a multidisciplinary approach is taken. […]