The Atlatl

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This is a real atlatl from the Chicago Museum of Natural History. This spearthrower is shaped like a large 2 foot long crochet hook with finger loops at the end. The hook is inserted into a carved depression in the end of the spear or dart and the spear is thrown with a motion similar to throwing a baseball. This extension of the arm creates 2 1/2 times the force and results in being able to throw the spear 2 1/2 times the distance allowing for hunting at a distance. It was one of the great inventions of humankind. Similar atlatls were probably in use in the Upper Midwest during the late Archaic around 3500 years ago and appear in the petroglyphs at the Jeffers Petroglyphs site in southwestern Minnesota. To see a petroglyph of a similar atlatl from Atlatl Rock Petroglyphs in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada Click Here.

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