The Oldest and Most Incredible Weapons System...Ever. The ATLATL.

reply to post by jude11


Wonderful thread, jude11, I have always been fascinated by the Atlatl too. I really like flint-knapped blades, arrowheads and spear points as well. Other than that I just popped by because your thread is really cool.

Have a good one.

X.

My uncle, amature achriologist, constructed one of these. We were able to send a dart through a 50gal metal barrel.
Another variant with the darts was to have a segmented shaft. Once the dart hits the target, the beast may try to remove the dart. Leaving about 1/3 of the dart impaled into the target. They are not hard weapons to make and are easy to use.
One last thing, the Spanish Conquistadors were very concerned about these weapons, as they were the only weapons which could puncture thier armour.

Very Nice Thread S+F. The Atlatl is no Joke.

I was watching a documentary a week or two ago. The guy who did "Super-size" me was a part of the making of it, and also took part in the experiment. To see if 10 people I believe 10, could survive for 10 days in the American Northwest I believe with just caveman type technology.

After 5 days they were done, starving, thirsty, cold, dejected. Until the produces felt bad and gave them Atlatl's. On the 2nd day of hunting Elk, and some were HUGE ElK. They brought down what I wanna say was at least an 800 pound elk with this simple tool. It was amazing. It was a shame it happened on the 8th or 9th day though, when now they had enough meat to last the group a few weeks,lol. And the most motivated guy quit the day before thay made the kill.

Yea it was a one out of 100 shot, but it shows you the power of this weapon system, and what the atlatl pro said, this was the tool that turned man into the ultimate hunter, and changed many things.

Now I don't know if the shot was staged. Hard to hit an Elk right in the neck at 30-35 yards, especially with no food for a week = no energy, you reflexes are probaly shot at that point. But who knows if tehy showed the guy throw that atlatl, then cut shot to an elk geting hit in the neck with an arrow from a compound bow, then back again. You never know with "reality" tv. Like when Bear Grylls(sp?) hit that rabbit from like 25 yards by throwing a heavy stick/club and killed it. yea right

But regardless, the Atlatl was a gamechanger for mankind. Simple but highly effective weapon system.

Great thread! Thanks.

I recently thought about doing this with PVC pipe. Granted not very 'traditional' but inexpensive, straight, strong, and if I screw it up I just cut another section and start over.

I recently made a bowfishing 'reel' from PVC and it worked better than anything I purchased on the market. Easy, durable, and coat almost nothing. Love it.

Oldest, perhaps.

Most incredible weapon system? What's with the over-board sensationalist topic titles on this website? Are you that desperate for views/stars/flags?

Please, I think self opinions should be removed from thread titles. This is the most far thing from an incredible "weapon system" I think I've ever seen...

reply to post by Nola213
I have never done it from 25 yards, but I have successfully hunted rabbit with a throwing stick at 10 yards.

We made an atlatl in history class in high school, worked very well, very accurate, and once you mastered it, you could get fairly decent distance as well

This weapon's movie debut was a film named "Quest for Fire"

you can make a much better version using string and bamboo by the same principal.
(just checked youtube, guess its a long lost secret)

My personal fav,the boomerang..dating back 30,000 years and still a very complex and fascinating weapon
Even at that age,humans understood the physics of flight!

reply to post by jude11


The Atlatl is a wonderful tool. I became aware of it a few years ago while I was studying prehistoric technology. It is simple yet incredibly effective. That is how a good, simple tool should be. I had never thought of making one. Thanks for the videos. I am going to try that out!


reply to post by Alda1981


I thought it was very apparent. He killed it to gain experience in using the tool and possibly gain experience in prepping the animal for slaughter. The best way to do that is to use it on a target that you would potentially hunt and possibly eat. It's too bad you "apparently" can't handle the death of an animal. That is no reason to imply a negative bias toward someone who can.

I would have loved doing such activities at that age. It was a great learning experience for the boy.

reply to post by jude11


The interesting bit I find in all of this is that it's found, like the bow, on nearly every continent.... This even more incredible considering it was before the formation of actual "civilizations" (supposedly).

reply to post by Rockpuck


I think most people would agree,the earth has been traveled and settled upon many times through the millennia,this human spirit remains to this day..

reply to post by jude11


-Oldest? WRONG!!! Knives and spears came before the atlatl. And so did "fire on a stick". Yes, by definition they too are "weapons systems".

-Most incredible weapons system? No, there are far more incredible. I'd argue that anything with artificial intelligence is far more incredible than mastering basic laws of physics.

reply to post by jude11
One of the features of Werner Hergoz's great film Cave of Forgotten Dreams is a segment showing use of an atlatl...in 3-D no less! Very cool!
Fact is, most of what we call 'arrowheads' are actually atlatl points.

Originally posted by thepainweaver
reply to post by jude11

 

-Oldest? WRONG!!! Knives and spears came before the atlatl. And so did "fire on a stick". Yes, by definition they too are "weapons systems".

-Most incredible weapons system? No, there are far more incredible. I'd argue that anything with artificial intelligence is far more incredible than mastering basic laws of physics.

edit on 8-9-2012 by thepainweaver because: (no reason given)

edit on 8-9-2012 by thepainweaver because: (no reason given)

A knife is not a 'system'.

A spear is not a 'system'.

By definition the ATLATL is a 'system' much like a gun could be considered as such. A gun and a bullet together are a 'system' One doesn't work without the other. And in the case of an ATLATL, one is enhanced because of the other.

And as far as most incredible. Because of it being the oldest 'system' that we know of and also the basic understanding of a lever some 17,000 yrs ago...many people think...That's Incredible! Myself included.

Peace

Check out history channels top shot they use one for competition.
The asian guy kicks butt with it pretty cool its all about technique.

reply to post by jude11


Great thread!
This is what ATS is all about...threads that educate!

I had never heard of the Atlatl......I find that sad (my lack of knowledge here) and amazing at the same time.
I am going to construct one of these tomorrow....I have been watching the videos here and found many others that were very handy.
If I get good enough with one of these I may well attempt deer hunting with it this winter. I will have to be fairly certain I can kill it relatively quickly and I want to make sure I am fairly accurate first (don't want to cause undo suffering because I want to attempt this..I generally hunt with a high powered rifle...but this could be something that keeps me alive one day and without practice, in a survival situation where food is short and energy is low, practice isn't really feasible)

Again, thanks for this thread....
"Amazing weapon system".....Definitely!

Originally posted by Jakal26
reply to post by jude11

 

Great thread!
This is what ATS is all about...threads that educate!

I had never heard of the Atlatl......I find that sad (my lack of knowledge here) and amazing at the same time.
I am going to construct one of these tomorrow....I have been watching the videos here and found many others that were very handy.
If I get good enough with one of these I may well attempt deer hunting with it this winter. I will have to be fairly certain I can kill it relatively quickly and I want to make sure I am fairly accurate first (don't want to cause undo suffering because I want to attempt this..I generally hunt with a high powered rifle...but this could be something that keeps me alive one day and without practice, in a survival situation where food is short and energy is low, practice isn't really feasible)

Again, thanks for this thread....
"Amazing weapon system".....Definitely!

edit on 9-9-2012 by Jakal26 because: (no reason given)

Thanks for your input and definitely for your enthusiasm.

Please upload a vid on your venture with the ATLATL.

Also, please carry your rifle when trying the ATLATL for the first time hunting as you will most likely encounter many mistakes on your first attempt. The rifle can be used to quickly put an animal out of its misery in the case of a mere wounding.

Peace and Good Luck!

Originally posted by Still Naive?
Oldest, perhaps.

Most incredible weapon system? What's with the over-board sensationalist topic titles on this website? Are you that desperate for views/stars/flags?

Please, I think self opinions should be removed from thread titles. This is the most far thing from an incredible "weapon system" I think I've ever seen...

edit on 8-9-2012 by Still Naive? because: (no reason given)

Seeing that you are a long time member I think that you should know the workings around here.

Sensational titles and false claims don't gain stars and flags.

Content and informative subject matter does.

Peace