science

Toas

Toas is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Toas rather than just read about it. In short: Toas are small composite and painted artifacts made by members of the Diyari and collected by Lutheran Missionary Johann Reuther at the Killalpaninna Mission in South Australia beginning in 1904. Reuther claimed they were used as 'signposts' on vacating a camp to tell those following where they had gone.

Key takeaways

Toas belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Toas to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Toas from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Toas are small composite and painted artifacts made by members of the Diyari and collected by Lutheran Missionary Johann Reuther at the Killalpaninna Mission in South Australia beginning in 1904. Reuther claimed they were used as 'signposts' on vacating a camp to tell those following where they had gone. Each toas thus represented a particular place, by way of its carved shape and painted detail. In 1906 Reuther retired from the mission and sold 385 toas to the South Australian Museum (images of toas) for £400. They probably have more in common with 'marker pegs' than message sticks. The toas combined Aboriginal and European technologies and were made within a frontier context at the mission. They often used gypsum as substrate for painting and incorporating object such as shells, gypsum paste also hid European methods of joining pieces of wood which provided the armature. Gypsum was often used in Aboriginal mourning ceremonies. While there is no doubt the manufacture and form of the toas are Aboriginal and that they mythologically encode place names, it is suggested that they were made at the mission in response to an easy supply of surplus gypsum and the active interest of an inquiring German missionary. As such they are now regarded as precursors of the Western Desert Painting Movement. The origin of the word toas for these objects is probably an idiosyncratic usage by Reuther, perhaps in a mission pidgin, extending terms (from the Bilatapa language as well as of Diyari) which imply burying, covering up, inserting, or sticking into the ground. Less generous commentators have said that Reuther was just setting himself up with an exit fund by supplying authentic Aboriginal artefacts to an under-supplied market. The names of those who may have had a role in producing the toas are Petrus or Peter Pinnaru, Emil Kintalakadi, Elias Palkalinna (Diari), Elisha Tjerkalina (Diari), Andreas Dibana, Johannes Pingilina (Diari), Moses (Tirari), Titus (Diari) and Joseph Ngantajlina (Diari Lake Hope). A contemporary artist re-envisioning the toas is Irene Kemp.

References Jones, Phillip G. (2007). Ochre and rust : artefacts and encounters on Australian frontiers Kent Town, S. Aust., Wakefield Press. ISBN 978-1-86254-585-4

Notes

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Toas

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Toas claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Toas before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Toas ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Toas

In research: Toas appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Toas in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Toas is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Archaeological artifacts, Australian Aboriginal art, Australian Aboriginal bushcraft, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Toas outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Toas in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Toas means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Toas out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Toas in simple terms?

Why does Toas matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Toas?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Toas.