Introduction
The atlatl or spear thrower was the primary weapon system in most parts of the world for thousands of years. This ancient device is basically a stick used to propel a light spear, usually referred to as a dart, faster, harder, and further than with the hand alone. These darts range in size from 4 feet up to 10 feet with an average length around 6 feet.
The earliest evidence for an atlatl date to 19,000 years ago but probably was in use for much longer. Fully developed by during the Middle Magdalenian Period (10,000 – 8,000 B.C.) in Europe, it was replaced by the bow and arrow about 9,000 years ago. In the Americas, the atlatl flourished for about 10,000 more years and varied widely from region to region. In fact, even though the atlatl was replaced by the bow and arrow as the primary weapons system less than 2,000 years ago, the atlatl was retained by some native groups in South America, Mexico, and Alaska as recent as the 1940’s, and in Australia, the atlatl (called a Woomera) continues to be used by the aborigines in traditional hunts.
In the United States, we commonly refer to the spear thrower as an atlatl, which is the Aztec word for the hunting device. According to early sources, the atlatl was used for spear fishing and hunting water fowl, but during times of war, the atlatl was utilized as an artillery weapon which the Spanish conquistadors found out first hand. In Michoacan, Mexico, the Tarascan Indians continued to hunt water fowl with an atlatl into modern times.
Image from the Codex Borgia
Texas Atlatls
Fortunate for us, archaeological atlatl specimens have been recovered from dry rock shelters in West Texas and the Lower Pecos. Several specimens were found at the Shumla Caves in the Lower Pecos region, which is located in Val Verde, County, and are on exhibit at the Witte Museum in San Antonio. Parts of atlatls that were made from bone, antler, or rock have survived in other parts of Texas.
Atlatls artifacts recoved from the Shumla Caves near Del Rio, TX
Atlatls in the 21st Century
Today the atlatl is alive and well and continues to be practiced as an underground sport at state parks, archaeology fairs, and college campuses around the world. The World Atlatl Association (WAA), founded in 1987, publishes events and provides international rules and regulations for atlatl competitions. There are several atlatl associations in the United States with a Texas Atlatl Association planned for the future. Currently if anyone from the South Texas region is interested, they may join the South Texas Atlatl League located in the Rio Grande Valley.
Great Plains inspired atlatl with finger loops and antler spur
6 1/2 foot carrizo cane darts
Mayan inspired atlatl or "hulche"