March 09, 2005

Before the bow and arrow, there was the atlatl. The first true weapon system, it may have been responsible for the extinction of the wooly mammoth. The atlatl's armor piercing capability almost allowed the Aztecs to triumph over the Conquistadors. You can make or buy one yourself, and experience the thrill of the ancient hunt. Atlatl movie clip.
posted by maryh 19 years ago
  • )
  • ATLATLATLATLATLATLATLATLATLATLATLATLATLATL i swear to god that's all that got me through sixth grade.
  • What? Picking off those who would oppose you at distance with a dart traveling roughly 90mph?
  • Atlatls got me threw the rigamarole of grade school, back when I leved in Macadamia. I would conceal my atlatl within my smock, sneak up to the gazebo, and then vanquish my foes with an atlatl ambush.
  • lived
  • And before the atlatl, there was the boner.
  • Yes, but could that bat boner pierce 16th century body armor? On second thought, I don't want to know.
  • I've campaigned hard against the proliferation of this dangerous military technology. The fire-hardened stick and the well-chucked rock are perfectly adequate for tribal defence and the atlatl represents an immoral threat to the balance of power. Fascist Aztec bastards.
  • I blame that monkey who threw a bone in the air and it turned into a spaceship. And then when they travelled in it they were like "my god its full of stars", like Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise. I wish I could stab Tom Cruise with a spear. Yeah, I guess I hung out at the wrong monolith back when I was an australopithecus.
  • *atlatls banana towards maryh at 90mph*
  • Oww!!
  • (and thanks!)
  • From personal experience, I just want to say that atlatls are really hard to use. The fact that some people have been known to still hunt with them is just wacky. More Atlatl Links! (I'm much more a flint knapper myself.)
  • :( Muffpub beat me to it--I wanted to say ATLATLATLATLATLATLATLATLATLATLATLATLATLATL. What a great word. Cobaltnine: I was taught to throw using an atlatl by a park ranger in Utah. I think with a little practice, I could catch dinner. (And if not, we could whittle the stick down to roast weenies)