ever try throwing a ping pong ball really hard? it will wreck your arm because so little of the energy in your arm can be transferred to the ball. the weights absorb energy in the initial part of the throw and delivers it to the spear at the end of the throw resulting in greater distance (or greater penetration) there will be a 'sweet spot' on the atlatl where the weight works best as evidenced by the attachment method being adjustable. an elegant and intelligent bit of primitive engineering
there is no evidence of increased power of the dart, but much evidence as he points out that it stabilizes the throwing stick with its inertia. In hundreds of practice throws the weight gave more stability to the stick as he says.
I think both of your opinions apply. If you lighten the dart, adding weight to the throwing stick would allow for a smoother acceleration and reduce stress on the thrower(the reason the arrow weight is matched to the bow draw weight, and you never dry-fire a bow). In this like archery, golf or in any manual activity smooth and consistent is the key to accuracy/consistency. Having flown model helicopters in the age before gyro stabilization, I can attest to the stability factor provided by weight at the end of a stick. We would add adjustable weights to the stabilizing fly-bar and the further out the weights were placed, the more stable the aircraft, to the point where it was hard to get it to maneuver. Put a pingpong ball on a string and swing it in an orbit, then see how difficult it is to alter the plane of the orbit. Now replace the ball with a lead weight and see how hard it is to alter its orbital plane. A weighted throwing stick would naturally want to fly in one plane which would help provide a stable launch to the dart for better accuracy and more stable longer flight...
Great explanation. Those are two very nice artifacts. I've found a couple where I live. The atlatl used here also had a detachable stone spur (snakehead). The spurs are a treat to find.
I have an interesting atlatl weight that started out that way--then was passed along and ended its life as a shaft straightener with the groove very deep perfectly round and polished as glass. The back is indeed flat so it for sure started out as an atlatl weight which stabilized with its inertia the stick and the throw to achieve better accuracy as was proved in hundreds of throws. Most of the viewers do seem to think that the throwing stick with weight is what was thrown so the one thing missing was a photo or short video of the concept of throwing and only the dart flies. One person mentioned why not just make the stick thicker?? Because that totally changes the physics of the bending and flexing and spring action of the stick. Also as the dart almost leaves-its quite bent and then springs from the throwing stick and flexes and wobbles back and forth for a long time into the flight. Both stick and dart are very bent and spring off with great force which would be visible in slow motion high speed film. My atlatl I used purchased darts but believe me those things flex and bend back and forth at their natural resonance well into the flight if not most of it. An atlatl dart does not leave the same as an arrow from a bow and arrow--it is different physics.
Actually it can. If thrown, more weight hitting a target will just thrust that much deeper into said target. It's similar to me shooting my 9mm, typically a 115 grain bullet has more force and penitration power than the common 90 grain projectile.
the weights they are speaking of are not hitting the target. it was a simple and very great idea to allow a hunter to hold his atlatl for long periods without the tip heavy dart causing fatigue to his throwing arm. it would move the total center of balance to be in the palm of his hand instead of a foot in front of it.
atlatl weights were used because their inertia stabilized the stick without changing the physics and shape of the stick. They were used because they had it down to a fine art even though we visualize earlier man as "must have been retarded". The atlatl weight had not one iota to do with counterbalance contrary to common thought.
thanks alot i think you just helped me identify my artifact i have been woundering about after seeing your video. soon i will have a video of it on my channel please confirm that it is a atlatl weight thanks again
Would love to hear your take on the difference between an atlatl weight and a banner stone. What do you believe the banner stone's main function was? I have seen one, half moon shaped with a hole through the middle and can't figure how it may have been used/for what purpose. thx for the informative videos. Love them :)
yeah the banner stones do not seem to be designed for attachment in the correct orientation to be an atlatl weight, like he says here actually. i don't see why that is a popular concept.
Why not just use a thicker spot in the stick for weight? It wouldn't take much more bulk to add that amount of weight, and shaping stone is laborious. This seems overly complex. What am I missing?
Spears can be re-used. They can be either picked up if throw was missed or taken out of killed animal. That and the importance of successful hunt makes it beneficial to make as good spear as you can. Stone is much more dense than wood. You can store more kinetic energy in same volume. Better weight distribution and better aerodynamics. Wooden spear is elastic. When it has to move that stone it bends as a spring - even more energy is stored.
+Aris Taukulis The weights are not used in the spears, they are in the throwing lever. I believe the weight had to be made only once and could be used even if the thinner throwing lever snapped. People had time to do more labor intensive work like they had time to shape statues and other works of art from the stone as well.
I found a good one my guess is made of red hematite and have other carving than just lashing grooves. I put a video up before I knew what it was then ran across this one.
