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ABSTRACT
Thrusting spears, hand-thrown javelins, and atlatls are all suggested as weapons used by Paleo hunters to bring down Pleistocene megafauna. Before we can distinguish between weapons in archaeological contexts, or compare their effects, we need accurate measurements of performance characteristics. Velocity directly influences momentum and kinetic energy and thus the damage a projectile can do, but accurate measurements of atlatl dart velocity are scarce. Measuring dart velocity requires naturalistic experiments involving human throwers. We measured numerous well-practiced individuals using a variety of atlatl equipment, comparing radar gun, film, and chronograph measurements of dart velocity. The atlatls used in hunting and warfare probably did not accelerate darts much beyond 35 m/s (78 mph). We evaluate Hutchings’ use of fracture velocity measurements on stone points to distinguish Paleoindian projectile systems, which seems promising but needs better experimental support, and we use kinetic energy and momentum calculations for various projectiles to consider the shift from atlatls to bows in the Southwest.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank the many people who helped and participated in our experiments: all the atlatlists mentioned above, Kathryn Kamp, April Kamp-Whittaker, Kyle Teubert, Justin Garnett, Patrick Hashman, Barny Bahrenfus, Gerald Pettigrew. Anonymous reviewers provided helpful comments. Karl Hutchings, who disagrees vigorously with some of what we say, was nevertheless helpful.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
ORCID
Devin B. Pettigrew http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1604-0176
Ryan J. Grohsmeyer http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0395-2376
Notes on contributors
John C. Whittaker has taught Anthropology at Grinnell College since 1984. The prehistoric Southwest is his research homeland, but he is fondest of experimental archaeology, especially stone tools (Flintknapping: Making and Understanding Stone Tools, University of Texas Press, 1994; American Flintknappers: Stoneage Art in the Age of the Computer, University of Texas Press, 2004), and atlatls. He teaches the normal archaeology classes, and coaches the Grinnell College Raging Cows, the world’s first collegiate atlatl team.
Devin B. Pettigrew is pursuing his doctoral degree at the University of Colorado, after an MA at the University of Arkansas and experience in contract archaeology. His research is in experimental archaeology, focusing on the tools and weapons of early hunter gatherers, using replicated artifacts and modern observational equipment such as slow motion video to recreate the material residues left by ancient hunters, to better understand ancient hunting tactics and implications for social organization. He is a long-time member of the World Atlatl Association, and has been the WAA newsletter editor.
Ryan J. Grohsmeyer is a process engineer at Corning Incorporated in Corning, NY. He earned his BS in Materials Science and Engineering at the Inamori School of Engineering at Alfred University in Alfred, NY in 2012 and his PhD in Materials Science and Engineering at the Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, MO in 2017. While an undergraduate, Ryan worked as an engineering technician with the Materials Science Branch at the NAWC-AD in Patuxent River, MD, and his research and technical experience has focused on high-temperature structural ceramics, ceramic fractography, mechanical testing, precision machining, blacksmithing, and bowyery. Ryan has been making and throwing darts with atlatls since 2004 and competing with the World Atlatl Association since 2007, and has attended ISAC competitions in the United States and Italy.