Experiment Tests Javelins and Atlatl Effectiveness at Various Heights

CLEVELAND, OHIO—According to a Phys.org report, Paleolithic hunters may have thrown javelins from elevated positions to increase their effectiveness. Nam Kim of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Metin I. Eren of Kent State University and their colleagues tested the velocity and kinetic impact energy of both six-foot javelins and seven-foot darts thrown with an atlatl by launching the weapons from a scissor lift set at four different heights, ranging from ground level to about 30 feet. Measurements of the throws were taken with a high-speed camera. The experiment found that velocity and kinetic energy increased when the javelin was thrown from the highest position, but the velocity and kinetic impact energy of the darts thrown with the atlatl decreased as elevation increased. The researchers suggest that launching the darts downward from the elevation may have hindered the lever action of the atlatl, which outperformed the javelin on ground level. Paleolithic hunters may have therefore chosen atlatls when hunting in flat open environments, and javelins when trees or elevated terrain were present. The researchers also suggest that some Paleolithic populations may not have adopted atlatl technology because it would not have been effective in their environments. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. To read more about evidence for early hunting, go to “Weapons of the Ancient World: Hunting Equipment.”