The Atlatl---a Sustainable Hunting Possibility

In our family, we have had a long standing discussion on the methods of early American's hunting techniques. It is well known that the Bow and Arrow combination has not been around all that long.This can be documented by the sudden appearance small projectile points found in Woodland sites around our state. While I forgot what I was told (not that unusual), it seems that maybe around 3000 years ago the bow showed up.

There has always been this talk of the atlatl, or throwing stick, that was used to launch a larger spear. I have maintained that these simple contraptions were not particularilfy useful because in my own hunting experience, deer particularly, have the ability to dodge arrows even from modern bows, that would be the ones with the fancy Farris Wheel like pulleys.

Ever hunter has had deer jump the sound of the string, thus making a get-away. Now the throwing stick, or atlatl, is a cumbersome thing and it just never registered with me as being affective for "hunting". Now admittedly, it might be a righteous "killing" instrument but most animals would simply dodge the spear because they would see the motion of the hunter as he launched the shaft, and it is not a small shaft.



So this weekend, I had a chance to test these atlatls---- and they are sustainable because they are made of all natural materials, including some shafts being made of Giant Ragweed stems, but as far as a hunting tool, I am still not there. If the land is heavily forested these things are unwieldy for sure. If the hunter is out in the open the movement of the hunter is so great even I could dodge the spear if I was dead drunk. I don't even need to be the Kung Fu guy I am.

So what is the deal? Why did they use them? For one thing, ancient hunters didn't have any rules, like, they could hunt at night, they could dress up as wolves, and they could cheat. Plus, these atlatls, as my brother pointed out can pack one big wallop. It looks to me like the native dudes trapped the caribou, mastodons and maybe buffalo in snares, vee traps, seathing muck-filled bogs and then once confined (and still very dangerous) they would stand back only a few yards and whale away with big spears. I still don't think they tripped around in some pastoral setting casually spearing some grazing animal.

To top it of, the experience of the weekend convinced me that the ancient ones were sustainable, and we moderns don't really have a clue. I don't think we get it. But then, we probably will have guns for some time to come---be that good or bad.