Woomera N.Territory?

[fearn]

Hi Kronckew,

Thanks for that neat video of the atlatl. I keep promising myself I'll get one, someday.

I'm no specialist on the spearthrowers, but I think there's a mechanical difference between the North American spear throwers and the Australian ones. The old Midwest spear throwers were, as you say, optimized as a "two spring" system, where the spear thrower bent, the dart bent, and then they both sprung back in synchrony to store and release the energy, and make the dart really fly. They optimized the system by repositioning the stone weight up and down the shaft of the spearthrower, to change how fast it rebounded to mesh with the rebound speed of the dart.

The Australian spearthrowers--woomeras--are, so far as I know, rigid. I've seen a demonstration of the Queensland variety (similar to the one here), and the spear definitely bends. The desert woomeras are spoon-shaped and rigid, and I'm not sure if their spears bend or not. The one video I saw (from around Uluru) showed an aboriginal using his broad spearthrower sidearm to good effect, so that spoon shape might have some stabilizing effect that I don't understand (perhaps the edge of the spoon holds the spear level while the user throws sidearm). In any case, any spring action was confined to the spear, and the woomera is primarily a lever arm.

One thing I'm not sure about is whether the North American spearthrower is technically an atlatl, which to be picky, is the Aztec spearthrower used to good effect on Cortez. Presumably it is, but the few illustrations I've seen of the Aztec atlatl don't have the banner weight, so for all I know, the Aztec atlatl was built more like a woomera. Yes, I KNOW that atlatl is now an anthropological term. I'm just being picky

Thanks for showing this great item, Tim. No arguments that this one is from the Torres Straits (unlike that stone club )

Best,

F

[Tim Simmons]

The auther suggests that apart from small areas the use of atlatls had fallen out of favour before the introduction of the gun. Interesting what is said about weights?

[fearn]

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

[G. McCormack]

The Atlatl was used for thousands of years. It's arguably one of the most important innovations ever.

Most Australian throwers are used with really long heavy darts, like 10 or so feet. Most also employ a hammer grip, and the dart doesnt sit on top, but rather to the side. The wide body and airplane wing or birdwing cross section aids in tracking during the throw. The end of yours is probably incorrect-- the angle is wrong to nock darts, from my view.

Flexible N. American throwers don't really increase dart speed, even if calibrated to the weight and length of the darts. Most flexible atlatls fail to transfer their potential energy into the dart, transferring less than a stiff thrower. They do feel different. Kinda nice.

Bannerstones and weights act to stabilize the throw (partially by lowering the felt center of gravity of the fulcrum of the dart and nock, if that makes sense), and so may be seen to help increase consistency, but they do not appear to increase dart speed or result in an increase in energy delivered to a target.

Anyone who is interested, I encourage you to make a thrower and some darts. Its very easy when you learn the concepts, and the equipment is free and easy to make.


I've made dozens of throwers, and throw at least a few times a week. My atlatl goals include taking a rabbit, and hunting a shark from my kayak.

I will mention, its a helluva lot easier to make meat with a bow than with an atlatl.

But if you're going for Pleistocene megafauna, and you have a bunch of guys and a big herd of mammoths or something, go with the atlatl.

cool stuff

[kronckew]

i think that last statement is the key to why the bow replaced the atlatl. the wildlife in the americas was quite a bit larger when man first appeared, and required a larger spear to kill them. once they were killed off, and nothing bigger than a bison was around, the bow was more convenient, and required less wood for it's little 'spears', for the game remaining (and for anti-personnel duties). the 3-5 oz. atlatl dart at 848 ft delivers quite a bit more punch than a puny lightweight 180 grain turkish flight arrow 'spear' at 900 yds.

Turkish flight arrows

[Tim Simmons]

Repaired and ready for use just like a Blackfella. With respect a kill tally of two would suggest a person had not been making and using a woomera since a very young boy .

[fearn]

Hi Tim,

Dumb question, but could there be a mistaken repair on your woomera?

Specifically, the b/w picture you posted in #9 shows a hook at a more acute angle and a shell base that's oriented at an opposite angle to your specimen. What I would suggest is that, perhaps, the hook on your specimen was a bit loose, sliding up and down through the socket, and somebody positioned it on the wrong side and glued it in place.

Any evidence of a repair, or does the angle of the peg vary in samples?

So far as the megafauna extinction driving out the atlatl, I'd have to say that wouldn't work.

The big reason is that, in America, the megafauna went extinct around 10-12,000 years ago (except for the mammoths that held out to 1650 BC in the Arctic). However, the bow and arrow were apparently introduced to the New World around 4000 years ago by the paleo-eskimos. The atlatl was still used by the Aztec into historic times.

In Australia and New Guinea, the megafauna went extinct (apparently) around 40-50,000 years ago, but the people still use woomeras. And in Papua New Guinea, some tribes use bows, some tribes use spearthrowers--in place of bows? In addition? So we don't see a global replacement of one for the other.

Bottom line: I don't think there's a correlation between changing diets and changing gathering technology. I'd suggest that things like range and ease of manufacture probably matter more. Or, perhaps, losing a battle to a troop of archers might have inspired people to change over...

So far as Australian woomeras go, if Mr. McCormack is correct, then the spears thrown by woomeras are stiff enough to be used as handheld spears, and can be used in hand, as walking sticks, etc. I'm not sure the spears are that rigid, and we'll have to post some specimens. What I am more sure of is that atlatl darts are too small and thin for such uses, so I can see why they'd be replaced by bow and arrow--in some places. Remember that some people retained the atlatl technology for roughly 3000 years after the replacement became available, and the Maya apparently never adopted bows until Europeans introduced them in historic times.

Anyway, the switch from spearthrower to bow is a pretty complicated affair.

Now we've got a debate!

Best,

F