The atlatl was a spear throwing tool that was invented during the Paleolithic era, but it could be much more older. The shaft, with a notch for the spear to rest on before the throw, functionally extends the forearm and creates more leverage for the thrower. The atlatl increases the throwing lever of the arm, and this extra length increases the amount of force transferred to the spear over a longer distance. The end result is a system of levers that imparts more energy into the spear, which will increase the speed, distance, and penetration ability of the spear. The name “atlatl” comes from the Aztec language Nahuatl, and the Aztecs could launch spears hard enough to pierce the armor of the Spaniards.

While the earliest remains of an atlatl can be traced back to around 18,000 years ago, there is evidence that the tool was invented way before that. There is fossil evidence of a Homo sapiens from 42,000 years ago with arthritis in his elbow, which suggests a wear and tear injury from repeated throwing motions that are consistent with atlatl spear throwing. The atlatl seems to have been invented to help take out mega fauna during the last Ice Age. For animals that large, you would need to have a very powerful throw that that also provided distance from the large animal for safety, but still had to penetrate its tough hide. Variations of the atlatl would continue to be used in Europe, with improvements like adding a strap, which increased range and rifled the dart. Native Americans, who brought the technology over the Bering Land Bridge, would continue to use the atlatl as well as the bow and arrow. The atlatl was featured in the iconography of many Central and South American cultures, including the Mayans who had a spear throwing owl god who used the tool. The atlatl may have been one of the most important early human inventions of all time, and ensured their survival through more efficient hunting in tough times.

Materials: 

·      Several junior atlatl sets

o   While these can be handmade, I would probably purchase them

·      Pencil and paper

·      A tape measure

·      A large whiteboard or writing pad to record the data

Presentation 

·      Begin with a quick review of the different types of simple machines. After the students go through the different types of simple machines, ask them, “What type of simple machine would our arm be during a throw?” Hopefully one of the students will be able to answer, “ lever.” Specifically, when our arm is bent, it is a class three lever, with the forearm acting as the lever arm and the elbow acting as the pivot. The bicep (and other muscles) provide the force. Ask the students, “If the same amount of force is applied to two different levers, one short and one long, which lever can do more work?” Again, hopefully the students will answer, “The longer lever makes work easier.” Ask the students, “By this logic, if someone has a longer forearm, what does that mean for their throwing distance?” The students should answer, “It should increase their throwing distance.” We can increase our arm length by using the atlatl tool, which effectively makes our arm lever much longer. If we have a much longer lever, if we use the same force as before, the spear should go farther. So let’s put it to the test. Tell the students that we are performing an experiment to see if the atlatl will increase our throwing distance.

·      The students should begin to warm up the shoulders by lightly tossing a ball back and forth. Gradually, the students should begin throwing the actual javelin. Once they feel good, they can move on to the actual experiment throws.

·      The instructor should have a premeasured distance that the students are going to throw. If the area is marked off to show distance every ten feet or so, that will make the measuring go much faster.

·      Next, the student throws the javelin as far as possible without the atlatl. The student should get three to five throws, and the farthest throw will be the one that is measured officially. We should measure where the spear hit first, not how far it rolled.

·      Once the students have their baseline throws, it is time to warm-up with the atlatl. The student should get three to five throws, and the farthest throw will be the one that is measured officially. We should measure where the spear hit first, not how far it rolled.

·      Once all the data is collected, we will see if the students were throwing further with the atlatl or not. We could find the average amount of improvement the atlatl gave the students, as well as look at some of the outliers.

·      Have a discussion about the results. If the atlatl did improve distance, have a discussion on how the atlatl improved the simple machine of our arm. If there was not improvement, have a discussion on the confounding factors and variables that the experiment did not account for.

·      If this lesson is being used to reinforce the scientific method, have a discussion on the different parts of the experiment and how they fit into the scientific method model.

a.     Hypothesis: Does the atlatl make our throws go farther?

b.    Materials: Would shorter or longer atlatls change the throwing distance?

c.     Procedure: What is the independent variable (the throws with the atlatl)? What is the dependent variable (the distance of the throw)?

d.    Results: Did the javelin go farther with the atlatl? How much farther?

e.     Conclusion: Was the hypothesis similar to the results? Why or why not?

Bibliography:

Hirst, K. (2019). The Atlatl: 17,000-Year-Old Hunting Technology. The Technology and History of the Atlatl Spear Thrower. ThoughtCo.  https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-an-atlatl-169989 Last retrieved July 4th, 2021.

 Spear Thrower. (2021) Wikipedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spear-thrower Last retrieved July 4th, 2021.