Quote: Yet they never got slings, bows, etc from these contacts? Any thoughts?
I'll direct your attention to the info in this thread:
http://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1361924194/6#6its not much info, but still...
The aboriginal tribes up north got a lot from the macassan trepang (sea slug) traders such as dug out canoes (as opposed to the common bark canoe) and tobacco pipes. The cultural exchange was a two way street - even now some aboriginal Yolngu words can be found in the macassan language.
There is a Yolngu book "Guya bunarra'wuy" which translates as "Fish with bow and arrow"
Quote: the hand-thrown spear, not even using a cord, remains as a ranged weapon.
not strictly true, see here for a start: [url]http://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/document/Volume_66_1957/Volume_66,_No._2/The_Maori_kotaha,_by_J._B._Palmer,_p_175-191/p1 [/url]
Quote: Plus with the boomerangs and spear chuckers (don't know the aboriginal technical name for an atlatl)
well, that depends on which tribal language you are speaking, but its common usage to refer to it as a "Woomera" a word from the Dharuk Language of Sydney NSW.
Quote: No flocks of domesticated animals, what about wild flocks of ducks, geese, or the like? How about pigeons or something similar?
throwing stick and spears were used. Also climbing up the trees with stone axes to get koalas and possums was common practice...