High positions improve javelin accuracy but reduce atlatl effectiveness

A recent experimental study conducted by Kent State University and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History suggests that hunting from elevated positions significantly increases the performance of thrown javelins while potentially decreasing the effectiveness of atlatl-thrown darts.

The research explores how topographic relief may have influenced weapon choice and hunting strategies during the Paleolithic era. He suggests that a careful examination of landscape features could help explain why certain technological choices were made.

Paleolithic hunters often inhabited landscapes with significant topographical features such as cliffs, arroyos, canyons, and valleys. Archaeological evidence from sites like Solutré in France and the Folsom Site in New Mexico suggests that early humans around the world used natural formations to trap and kill big game.

At the Rocher de Solutré, hunters are said to have led herds of migratory horses into a dead end formed by the southern wall of the cliff before chasing them into the confined area.

The Folsom site showed similar signs of Paleo-Indian hunters using tributary channels flanked by ten-foot-high flanks and cliff walls up to eight meters high to trap and kill bison.

The tactical use of topographic elevations in Paleolithic hunting may have influenced where these hunters made their home, previous research suggests, favoring locations near specific landforms that would have been useful for corral killing. High positions would also have been much safer for hunters, keeping them out of range of retaliatory hoof and horn strikes.

The study entitled “The gravity of Paleolithic hunting”, published in the Journal of Archaeological Sciences: Reportsinvestigates whether elevated hunting positions could have further improved hunting efficiency by leveraging gravity to improve projectile weapon performance. The experiment evaluated the speed and impact kinetic energy of two ancient projectile weapons: the thrown javelin and the atlatl (a projectile throwing stick) with a long dart.

Two authors of the study, Nam Kim, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Metin I. Eren, of Kent State University, were tasked with throwing each type of weapon from four different heights: at from the ground, 3 meters, 6 meters and 9 meters. The duo used a scissor lift to reach the high positions.

Weapons tested included Turbojav training javelins, measuring 182 cm (about 6 feet) in length and weighing 800 grams, and Basketmaker-style atlatls with darts 213 cm (about 7 feet) in length and weighing 200 grams.

Each tester performed ten launches per weapon type and at each height, for a total of 160 launches. Using a high-speed camera recording at 4,000 frames per second, the researchers measured the speed over the last 0.8 meters before impact and calculated the kinetic energy of the impact.

The results showed that the speed and kinetic energy increased with the throwing height of the thrown javelin. Eren’s javelin speed increased from 11.46 meters per second at ground level to 16.20 meters per second at 9 meters, an increase of 41.4%. Kim’s javelin speed increased from 12.55 meters per second to 16.79 meters per second, an increase of 33.8%. The javelin’s impact kinetic energy doubled for Eren and increased by 78.7% for Kim at the highest altitude.

Unexpectedly, the atlatl and dart showed a decrease in performance with increased elevation. As launch height increased, both testers saw a drop in impact velocity and kinetic energy. Biomechanical limitations and projectile stability may explain this decline. Throwing darts downward could interfere with the action of the atlatl lever, as the dart may not stay as firmly in place.

Atlatl darts showed higher velocities than javelins when both were thrown horizontally from ground level, giving the Atlatl the advantages of hunting in flat, open environments. The presence of trees or high ground allowing a hunter to hunt from above would make the javelin the more lethal choice.

The results imply that Paleolithic hunters may have found hand-thrown javelins more advantageous than lever-thrown atlatls on terrain with significant elevations. This could help to understand why some Paleolithic populations did not adopt the atlatl, as it may have lacked effectiveness in their hunting environments.

Although a thrown spear can be interpreted as less advanced technology than the atlatl, inferring anything about spear throwers requires a contextual understanding of the hunting strategy that most benefited them. A toaster is far more advanced technology than a wooden spear, but if survival depends on using one of these to take down a bison, the choice should be clear.

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