David Ian Howe | A CINEMATIC ATLATL B ROLL: Prehistoric Weapons Archaeology @davidianhowe | Uploaded February 2020 | Updated October 2024, 15 hours ago.
The weapon Devin is using here is called an “Atlatl,” which is a lever device that helps launch longer spears or darts. The bow technology was not always around and was invented much later.
Essentially, the user places a dart into the hook of the atlatl, and the lever action of the device releases stored kinetic energy into the spear, which then hits its target with greater force and velocity than the human arm can throw alone.
We call it an “Atlatl” because when the Spanish arrived in present day Mexico, the native Nahuatl (Aztec) speaking populations using the weapon referred to it as such. Ironically, there was probably a Proto-Indo-European word for the spear thrower in the ice age, but it’s long since fallen out of use.
The weapon Devin is using here is called an “Atlatl,” which is a lever device that helps launch longer spears or darts. The bow technology was not always around and was invented much later.
Essentially, the user places a dart into the hook of the atlatl, and the lever action of the device releases stored kinetic energy into the spear, which then hits its target with greater force and velocity than the human arm can throw alone.
We call it an “Atlatl” because when the Spanish arrived in present day Mexico, the native Nahuatl (Aztec) speaking populations using the weapon referred to it as such. Ironically, there was probably a Proto-Indo-European word for the spear thrower in the ice age, but it’s long since fallen out of use.
