Spear-thrower
[6] Spear-throwers appear early in human history in several parts of the world, and have survived in use in traditional societies until the present day, as well as being revived in recent years for sporting purposes.
Spear-thrower designs may include improvements such as thong loops to fit the fingers, the use of flexible shafts or stone balance weights.
Some atlatlists maintain that stone weights add mass to the shaft of the device, causing resistance to acceleration when swung and resulting in a more forceful and accurate launch of the dart.
[citation needed] Based on previous work done by William S. Webb, William R. Perkins[8] claims that spear-thrower weights, commonly called "bannerstones", and characterized by a centered hole in a symmetrically shaped carved or ground stone, shaped wide and flat with a drilled hole and thus a little like a large wingnut, are an improvement to the design that created a silencing effect when swung.
The use of the device would reduce the telltale "zip" of a swung atlatl to a more subtle "woof" sound that did not travel as far and was less likely to alert prey.
Robert Berg's theory is that the bannerstone was carried by hunters as a spindle weight to produce string from natural fibers gathered while hunting, for the purpose of tying on fletching and hafting stone or bone points.
A woomera is usually made from Mulga wood, and serves many other purposes such as a: receptacle for mixing ochre for traditional paintings for ceremonies, deflection tool of enemies’ spears in battle, fire making saw, or a utensil for chopping game.
The earliest known example is a 17,500-year-old Solutrean atlatl made of reindeer antler, found at Combe Saunière (Dordogne), France.
Ice Age megafauna offered a large food supply when other game was limited, and the atlatl gave more power to pierce their thicker skin.
Along with improved ease of use, the bow offered the advantage that the bulk of elastic energy is stored in the throwing device, rather than the projectile.
Arrow shafts can therefore be much smaller and have looser tolerances for spring constant and weight distribution than atlatl darts.
This allowed for more forgiving flint knapping: dart heads designed for a particular spear thrower tend to differ in mass by only a few percent.
By the Iron Age, the amentum, a strap attached to the shaft, was the standard European mechanism for throwing lighter javelins.
Complete wooden spear-throwers have been found on dry sites in the western United States and in waterlogged environments in Florida and Washington.
Such was the case with the Tarairiú, a Tapuya tribe of migratory foragers and raiders inhabiting the forested mountains and highland savannahs of Rio Grande do Norte in mid-17th-century Brazil.
Well-polished, it was shaped with a semi-circular outer half and had a deep groove hollowed out to receive the end of the javelin, which could be engaged by a horizontal wooden peg or spur lashed with a cotton thread to the proximal and narrower end of the throwing board, where a few scarlet parrot feathers were tied for decoration.
Equipped with their uniquely grooved atlatl, they could hurl their long darts from a great distance with accuracy, speed, and such deadly force that these easily pierced through the protective armor of the Portuguese or any other enemy.
Archaeologists found decorated examples in the Moche culture burial of the Lady of Cao at El Brujo in the Chicama valley.
Though debate over their function continues, tests with replicas have found them effective aids to spear or dart throwing when used with a cord,.
In modern times, some people have resurrected the dart thrower for sports, often using the term atlatl, throwing either for distance and/or for accuracy.
Currently, Alabama allows the atlatl for deer hunting, while a handful of other states list the device as legal for rough fish (those not sought for sport or food), some game birds and non-game mammals.
Yup'ik Eskimo hunters still use the atlatl, known locally as "nuqaq" (nook-ak), in villages near the mouth of the Yukon River for seal hunting.
[citation needed] There are numerous atlatl competitions held every year, with spears and spear-throwers built using both ancient and modern materials.
Chimney Point State Historic Site in Addison, Vermont hosts the annual Northeast Open Atlatl Championship.
On the Friday before the Championship, a workshop was held to teach modern and traditional techniques of atlatl and dart construction, flint knapping, hafting stone points, and cordage making.
[45] Atlatl events commonly include the International Standard Accuracy Competition (ISAC), in which contestants throw ten times at a bull's-eye target.
In the sixth episode of the fourth season of the television competition Top Shot, the elimination round consisted of two contestants using the atlatl at ranges of 30, 45 and 60 feet.
