Real Men Use Atlatls, Not Bow-and-Arrows : Part I

At the annual picnic of the Kokosing Chapter of the Archaeological Society of Ohio (ASO)--held at the Knox County Fairgrounds--Steve House gets ready to launch a spear with an atlatl, a device used for tens of thousands of years worldwide for more killing power with much less effort.  House has a degree in archaeology and is president of the Muskingum Chapter of  ASO.  (Photo by Don Comis)

House sends the spear on its way (visible in sky in far top left of photo).  It impaled itself in the ground, by a tree,  abut 50 yards from House.  (Photo by Don Comis)

What can go 100 miles an hour and reach 600 yards, pre-dating the bow-and-arrow?  The answer, an “atlatl”, doesn’t tell you much, let alone how to pronounce it.

But prehistoric man, dating back to about 30,000 years ago, used this home-made, hand-held device to launch their spears with more power and distance and less wear and tear on the hunters’ bodies.

I first heard about these devices when I joined the Kokosing Chapter of the Archaeological Society (ASO) of Ohio, but I couldn’t grasp what they really looked like or how they worked based on just verbal descriptions and sketches.

So I was thrilled to learn that there would be a demonstration of atlatl spear-throwing at the annual picnic of our archaeological club tonight—and that the Brown Family Environmental Center at Kenyon College would have a demonstration of making atlatls on Thursday, August 28, from 4 to 7 p.m.  Two representatives of Thunderbird Atlatl, the world’s largest atlatl manufacturer, will conduct the demonstration.

Steve House, president of the Muskingum Chapter of the  ASO,  demonstrated the atlatl  outside of our picnic area, shooting spears into a target.  He took me farther away to demonstrate a long distance throw and I watched him launch he spear about 50 yards, impaling itself in the ground near a tree.

House said that a man in southwest Ohio recently won first place in the World Atlatl Association’s International Standard Accuracy Contest with almost a perfect score.  The atlatl is still in use throughout the world.  It can kill big game such as elk, bear, and deer.   Pennsylvania has a limited season for hunting with an atlatl.  Missouri allows hunting with an atlatl only for small game, not deer, while in the south the device is combined with a reel and used to fish.

House showed several types of atlatls and talked about the complex design that launches spears with such force, including a balancing weight.  His spears had small copper tips.  The tips can be small and lightweight because much of the killing power is in the force with which the spear is launched.

He used bamboo for his spears but said primitive man used many different woods and other materials such as marsh grasses.  House’s spears were not much taller than him, but he said that some hunters use long spears, citing South American hunters  with 12-foot-long  spears .

I should get used to taking videos so I could have shown House practicing with his spears until late in the evening.  Besides, I couldn’t take all the still photos I wanted because I didn’t have a full battery, although I own three camera batteries.

I’ll write Part II on August 28, after seeing how atlatls are made, at Kenyon College.  The Ohio Atlatl Association has a Facebook page.  Also, Ray Strischek , who makes and throws atlatls in Athens, Ohio, has a nice website.

The Kokosing Chapter has meetings open to the public on the third Thursday of each month, at 7:30 p.m. at the Knox County Career Center.  For more details, check out the "Archaeological Finds" and "Archaeological Slides" sections of my website.