Hi Tim,
So far as I know, bow and arrow started replacing the atlatl in the Americas starting around 2000 BC. According to Robert McGhee (Ancient People of the Arctic), the paleo-Eskimos brought their bows with them out of Asia between 3000 BC and 2000 BC, and as far as I know, the first Indian arrowheads occur in northern Labrador around 2000 BC, and look like crude copies of those of the paleo-eskimo. So his hypothesis is that the Indians learned how to make bows from the Eskimo, and the technology diffused south from there.
As for why bows replaced atlatls, I'd guess that it's because the projectiles are smaller, easier to make, and fly at least three times as far. I've been checking flight records, and the current atlatl record is around 848 feet, while flight bows, even without the gizmos, fly over 900 yards (with a crossbow shooting over 2000 yards, and the handbow record at something like 1337 yards). Also, the bow is probably easier to stalk with, since all you have to do is pull and release.
Still, the atlatl stayed around for a while, such as with the Aztecs. As for why the Australian aboriginals didn't switch (unlike their New Guinea and Torres Island cousins, who mostly did switch), all I can guess is that either a) Australia doesn't have great archery materials in The Bush (dubious), or b) making and carrying bows and arrows was too much fuss, considering that most of aboriginal toolkit is multi-use, and bow and arrows are single use. Still, the Utes and other desert nomadic people (such as the San in south Africa) made and used bows, even when all they had for wood was willow. So it's just one of those puzzles.
F
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