Experimental launch of atlatl from a cherry peckerBebber et al. 2024, Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
Posted on 10/22/2024 7:21:19 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
A recent experimental study led by Kent State University and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History suggests that hunting from elevated positions significantly increases the performance of thrown javelins while potentially decreasing the effectiveness of atlatl-thrown darts.
The research explores how topographic relief may have influenced weapon selection and hunting strategies during the Paleolithic era. It suggests that carefully considering landscape features could help explain why certain technological choices were made.
Paleolithic hunters often inhabited landscapes with significant topographic features such as cliffs, arroyos, canyons and valleys. Archaeological evidence from sites like Solutré in France and the Folsom site in New Mexico suggests that early humans worldwide used natural formations to trap and kill large game animals.
At the Rock of Solutré, hunters are believed to have driven herds of migrating horses into a cul-de-sac formed by the southern cliff face before hunting them in the confined area.
The Folsom site showed similar signs of Paleo-Indian hunters using tributary channels flanked by three-meter-high sides and cliff walls up to eight meters high to trap and kill bison.
The tactical use of topographic elevations in Paleolithic hunting may have influenced where these hunters made their homes, according to previous research, favoring locations near specific landforms that would have been useful in making corralled kills. The elevated positions would also have been much safer for the hunters, keeping them out of reach of retaliatory hoof and horn strikes.
(Excerpt) Read more at phys.org ...
Experimental launch of atlatl from a cherry peckerBebber et al. 2024, Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
I’m all for advancing knowledge. But I wonder who paid for this study. I hope it wasn’t me, via my taxpayer dollars.
Throwing a spear from high ground prevents one from being stomped or gored to death by their target.
IOW, you have no interest in this topic.
Alas, Thag Simmons learned this lesson the hard way.
Gravity:
It’s the law...
> IOW, you have no interest in this topic. <
To the contrary. My apologies if I gave that impression. I found the article to be quite interesting. And that’s one nice thing about FR, the wide variety of posts.
My comment was more along financial lines. I hope this was not a federal grant kind of thing. I suppose this outlook comes from my naturally cheapskate nature.
I see the same thing in my field, chemistry and physics. Many dollars and many hours have been spent chasing string theory. Yet there is nothing practical to show from it. So is it worth the investment? I have mentioned this to other science people.
It is not always a popular comment!
🙂
WARNING! DANGER!
Don’t fall down the “rabbit holes” linked at the bottom of this interesting article. Many interesting things there are inside!
BTW,I have loved knowing and reading about atlatls ever since I learned about them and how to spell “atlatl” in college long ago. I’ve never made or used one.
Thanks, again, Sunken Civ.
My pleasure!
No one cares.
I suppose anyone who would answer would care, at least in some level.
Generally I will respond to trolling. IOW, unlike your first post here, it isn’t all about you.
I must admit that I am puzzled by your responses to me. In my post #9 I if I explicitly apologized if had inadvertently upset you.
Do you prefer that there be no negative or questioning (or off-topic) responses to any of your posts? If so, please make that clear in your post #1. Or perhaps form some sort of science caucus. Folks usually respect such boundaries.
Oh, and was my original post logically wrong? Could be. I’m often wrong. And when I am, I’d appreciate a good counter-argument.
As to me being a troll, ha that was rude. Come on man. I’ve been here 15+ years. So I will continue to express my opinions within the rules set up by JimRob. And you of course are free to respond, whether rudely or not.
Im a bird watcher and a poultry farmer.
I was once a wrestler and still live in cherry country.
Despite all that, I would suggest that this specific equipment must be rather rare.
I assume he borrowed it from someone at the university teaching urology.
:^)
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