Elevated positions enhance javelin accuracy but reduce atlatl efficiency

A recent experimental study led by Kent State University and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History suggests that hunting from elevated positions significantly increases the performance of thrown javelins while potentially decreasing the effectiveness of atlatl-thrown darts.

The research explores how topographic relief may have influenced weapon selection and hunting strategies during the Paleolithic era. It suggests that carefully considering landscape features could help explain why certain technological choices were made.

Paleolithic hunters often inhabited landscapes with significant topographic features such as cliffs, arroyos, canyons and valleys. Archaeological evidence from sites like Solutré in France and the Folsom site in New Mexico suggests that early humans worldwide used natural formations to trap and kill large game animals.

At the Rock of Solutré, hunters are believed to have driven herds of migrating horses into a cul-de-sac formed by the southern cliff face before hunting them in the confined area.

The Folsom site showed similar signs of Paleo-Indian hunters using tributary channels flanked by three-meter-high sides and cliff walls up to eight meters high to trap and kill bison.

The tactical use of topographic elevations in Paleolithic hunting may have influenced where these hunters made their homes, according to previous research, favoring locations near specific landforms that would have been useful in making corralled kills. The elevated positions would also have been much safer for the hunters, keeping them out of reach of retaliatory hoof and horn strikes.

The study, “The gravity of Paleolithic hunting,” published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, investigates whether elevated hunting positions could have further enhanced hunting efficiency by leveraging gravity to improve projectile weapon performance. The experiment assessed the velocity and kinetic impact energy of two ancient projectile weapons: the thrown javelin and the atlatl (a projectile-launching stick) with a long dart.

Two study authors, Nam Kim, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Metin I. Eren, Kent State University, were tasked with launching each weapon type from four different heights: ground level, 3 meters, 6 meters, and 9 meters. The duo used a scissor lift to reach the elevated positions.

The weapons tested included Turbojav training javelins, measuring 182 cm (approximately 6 feet) in length and weighing 800 grams, and Basketmaker-style atlatls with darts 213 cm (approximately 7 feet) long and weighing 200 grams.

Each tester conducted ten launches per weapon type at each height, totaling 160 launches. Using a high-speed camera recording at 4,000 frames per second, the researchers measured the velocity over the last 0.8 meters before impact and calculated the kinetic impact energy.

Results showed that velocity and kinetic energy increased with launch height for the thrown javelin. Eren’s javelin velocity rose from 11.46 meters per second at ground level to 16.20 meters per second at 9 meters, a 41.4% increase. Kim’s javelin velocity increased from 12.55 meters per second to 16.79 meters per second, a 33.8% rise. The kinetic impact energy of the javelin doubled for Eren and increased by 78.7% for Kim at the highest elevation.

Unexpectedly, the atlatl and dart showed decreased performance with increased elevation. As the launch height increased, both testers experienced a drop in velocity and kinetic impact energy. Biomechanical limitations and projectile stability may explain the decline. Launching darts downward could hinder the atlatl’s lever action as the dart might not remain as firmly seated.

Atlatl darts showed higher velocities than javelins when both were launched horizontally from the ground level, giving the atlatl the hunting advantages in flat, open environments. The presence of trees or elevated terrain permitting a hunter to hunt from above would make the javelin the deadlier choice.

The findings imply that Paleolithic hunters may have found hand-thrown javelins more advantageous than the lever-launched atlatls in terrains with significant elevations. This could provide insights into why some Paleolithic populations did not adopt the atlatl, as it may have lacked effectiveness in their hunting environments.

While a thrown spear can be interpreted as less advanced technology than the atlatl, inferring anything about the spear throwers requires a contextual understanding of which hunting strategy benefited them most. A toaster is a far more advanced technology than a wooden spear, but if survival depends on using one of them to take down a bison, the choice should be clear.

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