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Man
is an inventor. He has always tried to find a way to make his life
better. At one time man used a thrusting stick or a hand-thrown spear to
hunt animals. To be effective though, the hunter would have to be close
enough to his quarry, unobserved … a difficult and dangerous task.
Walla! … Man invented the atlatl!
This new two-part weapon system consisted of the atlatl, which is
similar to a long crochet hook and the spear or dart with a cup on the end in
which to engage the spear to the atlatl. By using the atlatl to propel
the spear, the hunter could deliver it with much more force from a distance.
Thousands of years later, man’s ingenuity supplanted the atlatl and spear
with a more effective tool, the bow and arrow.
The following links provide information regarding the history of the
atlatl.
The Atlatl Story An Ice Age Hunting Weapon Magdalenian Spearthrower (actually just the carved spur) Museum of National Antiquities France Atlatls or Spearthrowers in Prehistoric Minnesota
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