Modern Humans Made Their Point

Science Magazine ^ | 2005-04-22 | Ann Gibbons

[CurlyDave]

Well, OK how is it pronounced?(If it is spelled correctly.)

I have seen: "At-latl", and I have seen "Atl-atl" , although I have never heard it pronounced by an expert.

Both are plausible, although I would tend to go with the second.

[JohnBovenmyer]

I don't se the point of this piece except for the afrocentrism.

Whenever filling out a form that asks for your ethnic group all Americans can honestly put down African-American!

[null and void]

Dunno either. It just seems to need a glottal stop or two...

a[glottal stop]-la[glottal stop]l

[Lester Moore]

I have seen: "At-latl", and I have seen "Atl-atl" , although I have never heard it pronounced by an expert.

I'm no expert, but I'd gotten that it was pronounced,"At-lat'-tel", From some web site a couple of years ago. Like "At-lan'-tis".

[de Buillion]

"She noted that there was a "grammar and an order" to assembling these tools--one that required extensive social networks in order to exchange technology and specialized materials. She thinks that projectiles made modern humans more efficient hunters who could shoot small game and live in varied terrain."

I have maintained for years that the art of weapons development was the main driving force that was responsible for humans achieving all that we have achieved. Weapon development is the mother of all technology, still today.

[Mind-numbed Robot]

I guess the thong is not such a new style after all.

[spetznaz]

I get the power increase machine facet in the womera,but just how accurate were they? And if there was a loss of accuracy (if), was the increase in force worth it? ALso just how much more powerful was a womera thrown javelin/spear as compared to your more conventionally launched javelin/spear?

Thanks.

[Lessismore]

The Wikipedia has good articles on "atlatl" and "dart".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dart_%28missile%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlatl

[null and void]

I don't have a quantitative answer, but qualitatively, the increase in power is similar to the force multiplication you get with a hammer vs pounding holding a rock.

Accuracy is pretty darn good, as the dart is usually a lighter longer projectile. Not quite as dramatic an improvement as going from a handgun to a rifle.

I've seen video of Amazon Indians spearing fish at maybe 5-10 m distance. Call it a 100-150 mm target, that gives an accuracy of 10-30 mils. Not bad...

[tet68]

Hehe - "Homo Erectus"

Didn't they come out of San Francisco?

Either that, or they were the most unfortunately named of the early hominids. ;-)


Shouldn't that be Homonids? ;^)

[null and void]

Great links! I guess I didn't do too bad off the top of my pointy head.

I didn't realize how high tech the specs were on the darts, stone points knapped to within a few percent weight! I'm reminded how delighted James Watt was to get an engine machined so precisely that the cylinders varied in size by 'no more than the thickness of an old shilling'.

Spetznaz, The Aztec Atlatl was able to penetrate Spanish iron armor, and provide a clean through and through shot on an armored Spaniard. Compare that to Agincourt!

[null and void]

Ghod I love FR...

[SunkenCiv]

"They didn't have to kill [Neandertals]," says Brooks. "They just had to outcompete them." -- IOW, they only had to marginalize them, then starve them to death. See? No confrontations, serenity now, serenity now.

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[kitchen]

If any of the points were obsidian - quite likely - then obsidian hydration analysis would be a useful option.

[Betis70]

As an engineer, you might be interested in this article. Very interesting.

http://www.primitive.org/atlstealth.htm

[null and void]

Nice!

[SunkenCiv]

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[Flag_This]

I’ve always wondered why spear throwers were eventually abandoned. I bet the Romans could have used them to throw their pila further than using arm-strength alone.