Primitive Technology

by David Wescott

4-dart spine

  5-dart balance

  6-throwing style

  A longer atlatl has increased tip speed causing faster dart travel. The increase is due to the amount of additional time that force is applied to the dart due to the expanded radius of the arc created by the longer atlatl. Dart speed at time of release gives the dart its distance.

  Weight of the atlatl is increased by longer length so to keep the speed high you must keep the weight down. To illustrate, hold a three foot long 2x4 in one hand and move it in an arc over your head as fast as you can. Then use a willow shoot the same length. Weight not length make the speed difference. Shaping the atlatl like half a bow, with the hand grip being the heaviest and then tapering to the spur, will give the best weight balance to keep your tip speed high. This design will also give the atlatl flex. If there is deflex there is reflex and this can add more tip speed just before the dart is released.

  Figure 2: The author with atlatl and dart ready to throw long distances. Atlatl is 42.5", and the dart is 52"

  The dart weight will determine how much you want the atlatl to flex. If the atlatl does not flex enough then it is not storing any of the energy that you are producing during the throw. Instead of the dart shooting off the spur with a boost of deflexed stored energy you only get what you generate through brute strength. If the dart spine/flex is to great for the atlatl reflex, it may cause the dart to rupture prior to release. If the atlatl flex is too great for the weight of the dart then the stored energy is not released until after the dart has left the spur. A heavy dart may also overstress the atlatl to the breaking point. If you can keep the dart weight as light as possible then you keep the tip speed of that atlatl and dart as high as possible. Carefully consider different material, length, and diameter when making lighter darts.

  The dart spine is how much the dart will flex or bend. This bending is storing up energy to be released at the time the dart leaves the atlatl spur. If the spine is too stiff then little or no energy is released. If the spine is too soft, then the energy is released from the dart after it leaves the spur. Watch out for darts that in the first part of their flight bend one way and then the other several times before straightening out for level flight. All aluminum darts that I have seen do this badly. Any dart that has the same diameter its full length will do this because of a middle balance point. Since the force is applied to one end, the notch end will try to pass the tip end. This is corrected in two ways: fletching the butt end and/or weighting the tip. With fletching you can stabilize the shaft but you will have that early bending boing, boing, boing effect.

  With proper dart balance you can leave off the fletching.

  Figure 3: Just a few of my atlatls. The short one is 8" long, and the longest is 48" long. The two on the top use a cord to either nock a dart like an arrow, or nock a dart in the middle of the shaft. The second from the bottom is the atlatl described in the article and shown in figure 2.

  Fletching stabilizes the dart by dragging the air especially in the boing part of the flight, reducing speed. The dart should be a tip heavy tapered shaft and balance on a knife edge about two-fifths of the overall dart length. If this dart boings on release the spine is too soft. You can sometimes cut a little off the smaller diameter nock end to stiffen the spine. Different materials the same diameter and length can vary a lot in both balance and spine, so one has to experiment for best combinations.

  Figure 2 shows the atlatl and dart in the position ready to throw long distances. On July 8,1990 I made my first throws over 500 feet using this throwing style and atlatl/dart set. The atlatl is made from yew wood with an antler nocking spur tied on with sinew. It is 42.5 inches long and weighs 103 grams and even with the following dart it will flex over 6 inches during the throw. The dart is made from my favorite material, cattail. It has a hardwood point and nock glued in and sinew wrapped around the shaft to keep it from splitting. It's 52 inches long, weighs 20 grams, is 3/8 inch in diameter at the point and 1/4 inch at the nock (fig. 3). It will balance on a knife edge 21.75 inches from the point.

  In my efforts to throw as far as I can, I have made over 40 different atlatls ranging from 6 to 54 inches long, with various nocks and types of wood (fig. 4). Since I'm making a half bow with weight as a factor I use the lightest bow woods available: juniper, red cedar, and yew wood. The 150 plus darts have been made from every kind of bush, berry, reed, cane, and shoots from around the USA that I can find or trade. Broad leaf cattail from Oregon is my first choice, but rag weed from the East is showing good promise. The dart length only needs to be long enough to hold on to as it is thrown. Who says that a dart has to be longerthatthe atlatl? A well made 18 inch dart will fly just as well as a 90 inch dart when thrown from an atlatl that was made to fit the dart.

  The best set combination for me may not be the best for you. The length of your arms and your strength will make enough difference that you will have to play around with lengths and weights or both atlatls and darts in or-derto improveyourdistance. But PLAYING AROUND is what it's all about.

  Reconstructing A Generic Basketmaker Atlatl

  By David Wescott

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  BROKEN-ROOF CAVE

  Ever since my early exposure to Outdoor Survival Skills by Larry Olsen, I have been fascinated by the design and function of the atlatl. I have made many and always had a few in my collection of tools. But it wasn't until the 1988 Rabbit Stick Rendezvous where I saw Jim Riggs' quiver of Great Basin reproductions that I realized there was more to this stick than I had imagined. His collection contained a wide variety of local types and displayed his pride in knowing the indigenous culture of his home. I decided right then to make a study of the Basketmaker culture of my home and collect as much data as possible.

  Laying the Foundation

  The first and most obvious task was to locate pictures and measurements of existing artifacts. In doing this, it was interesting to note the wide variety of style and materials used in the Great Basin as compared to the almost identical shape, scale and materials common to the southwest. I also obtained a printout from an Australian museum that listed the specs of 289 woomera specimens in their collection. Once again the variety was limited only to the taste and skill of the maker.

  Once the specimens were identified, I wanted to see some of them up-close. It's hard to get a feel for the shape, scale and beauty of an object from a copy of a photo or anthropological description. A friend was visiting some museums in the southwest to study collected rabbitsticks and bullroarers, so I went along to find as many atlatls as I could. I pressed my nose up against many cases and fogged up the plexiglass covers to try get an overall view of the few I was able to locate. In most cases photos were difficult and measurements impossible.

  I found out what I could and ended up going back to the literature to confirm what first-hand information I did obtain. It was also helpful to see the real thing in order to get a better framework for comparing the data in the literature. We saw fragments, weathered specimens, some oddities, and 4 complete artifacts. Knowing the basics and comparing data to what we did see, we came to the conclusion that some of the information in print was inaccurate, inconsistent in its collection and reporting, and incomplete. Most current research and experimentation is limited to the controversy over weight use, location and implications. Ethnographic and archaeological reports were most helpful in getting measurements and photos. From the reports, I chose specimens with the most consistent styles. They dominated the literature and are clearly representative of what could be called "Basketmaker Style" atlatls. Rare designs that are "out of the ordinary", as is common in Great Basin specimens, are essentially nonexistent.

  The Process

  The best representative specimen was located at the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff - the Sand Dune Cave specimen. It was on display and could not be measured, but it was completely intact and had been thoroughly studied in a number of anthropological reports. Its only oddity was the style of fastening the finger loo
ps in place. This was compared to a very recent find now housed at the

  Anasazi State Historical site in Boulder, Utah. It was very weathered, but not to the point of losing measurements or specific features. With this much to guide me, I decided to make a reproduction of the MNA-Sand Dune model, also a Generic model using average measurements, adornments, and finger loops compiled from the accompanying graph, as well as up-to-date information on the affects of weights and tuning principles.

  The Sequence

  The wood of choice was clearly scrub oak (Querqus gambelli). It is very strong and can maintain a stiff spine with very little material (see chart for measurements). Green wood was cut for the MNA model, and a fire-killed stand was used for the Generic model. The green wood was split with a machete and baton, and the two halves tied together with string. Spacers were placed between the halves to allow for moisture loss. The staves were loosely wrapped in a plastic bag for 1 week to slow the drying process, thus reducing checking and warping. The fire-killed stave was split with a celt and wooden wedges and worked immediately.

  A cardboard template was made from the measurements of each design. The Generic model was designed from averages taken from the selected specimens on the graph. Length-60.2cm; Width distal-2.7cm; Width at narrowest-1.5cm; Width proximal-2.2cm; Thickness distal-1.2cm; Thickness proximal-.63cm. This was traced onto the stave as a guideline. The stave is then roughed-in with a machete, adze, and knife. Final shaping was done with a rasp, spokeshave, and bow scraper. Care must be taken to check the spine and make sure that the wood you are using is dense enough to let you match the measurements of the original yet still maintain strength. Not all pieces of wood are the same. Check the growth rings for density. The MNA model only had three rings, and wood was taken only from the belly.

  The spur and trough are cut into the stave using a small chisel. Chert flakes were also used with very good results on the dryer wood, and a beaver tooth gouge worked well on the green wood. Final tuning was done with an obsidian scraper and spoke shave. An atlatl must be tested for spine (modified tiller) to check its deflex. Deflex should be tested by bending the atlatl towards its back (not towards the belly as in bow making), occur at about the mid-point, and not bend more than about 1". The point of flex is where the weight is placed if you choose to use one.

  All finely crafted wood specimens I have seen are burnished with an antler tine and finished by hand polishing. This closes the grain and makes the wood less vulnerable to weathering. At this point the atlatl was tested with a light dart made of Canary Reed Grass (Phragmites communus) that is fletched and has a willow foreshaft and small obsidian point attached. Dart fragments found in southwestern caves are commonly of reed grass or some other very light material. Because of the thinness of this model, a heavy cane or willow dart could overpower and snap the atlatl. Lastly, the finger loops are attached along with any other adornments, fetishes/medicines, and technologies such as weights. Materials such as ochre, feathers, claws, teeth, gems, fiber cordage, etc. all reflect the taste of the maker.

  The following description of the finger loops and how they were applied is taken from University of Utah Anthropological papers related to the basketmaker cave excavations in Arizona and Utah. This particular loop system had some unique additions, but is basically a common model. The diagram is a detail of the construction of the loops: details on the left are the back, and those on the right show the front of the atlatl.

  "The grips were formed of a strip of leather about 14.5 cm long rolled up around a piece of sinew. This was then perforated in the center and slid up the shaft to a point 9.5 cm from the end. The ends of the leather were brought forward to form the grips, tied to the shaft and then back on themselves with sinew. The center of the strip was also secured with sinew. Shallow notches had been cut on either side of the shaft to allow more room for the fingers. An additional piece of leather, with two long "tails" had been attached to the back with sinew; then the tails were wrapped around the loops and shaft and secured with sinew, thus concealing some of the loop attachment. Sinew and leather wraps continue up the shaft, just forward of the finger loops. Fiber cordage and blue bird feathers are applied over these wraps."

  Where are they now? Through my research, I was able to uncover mention of 28 separate specimens or fragments. Locating specimens from reports, however, is difficult as they do not tell where to look for them. The majority of specimens were listed in the following sources: Graat Basin Atlatl Studies, Stone Age In The Great Basin, Handbook of the North American Indian #11, U of U Anthropological Paper #93, and U of U Anthropological Paper #104. Some of the atlatls mentioned have been discussed elsewhere in this issue of the BPT. Unfortunately, the majority are still in collections, a few are on display, but no listing of their present locations has been compiled. Do you know where these atlatls are housed? If so please contact the SPT and let us know. We are interested in compiling an inventory of eastern specimens and/or any other western ones we have missed to this point.

  Great Basin Specimens - Lovelock Cave, Plush Cave, Roaring Springs Cave 1 &2, McClure, Nicolarsen, Cowbone Cave/Winnemucca Lake, Hogup Cave, Council Hall Cave, Last Supper Cave, Kramer Cave, Juke Box Cave, Cowboy Cave, Potter Creek Cave. Basketmaker Specimens -Broken Roof Cave, Grand Gulch 1 & 2, White Dog Cave 1 -2-3, Kinboko, Lukachukai, Baylor Rock Shelter, N.C. Cave, Leonard Rock Shelter, Etna Cave, Gypsum Cave, Humboldt Cave.

  Throwing Atlas1 Darts

  photos By David Wescott & David Hol laday

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  Sample Rabbit Stick Patterns

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  HAND-THROWN PROJECTILES

  Things That Fly - Part 1

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  "In the early days of the Dreamtime, people had to crawl on their hands and knees because the sky was nearly touching the ground. An old chief came to a magic pool and he stooped down to drink. As he did so, he saw a beautiful straight stick in the water and he reached in and picked it up. Then he suddenly thought, 'I can push up the sky with this stick and we'll be able to stand up.' So he pushed and pushed until he pushed the sky to where it is today and the trees began to grow and the possums ran about in the branches and the kangaroos started hopping for joy. Then he looked at his stick and saw it was terribly bent. Thinking it was no longer good, he threw it away but it came back to him. He tried again and it came back again. So he kept the stick and called it the boomerang."

  -Australian Aboriginal legend as told by Les and Arthur Janetski

  No one can be sure of the boomerang's origins. The twisting path of a falling leaf or seed may have inspired the first experiment, or it may have evolved from simple throwing [clubs].

  The oldest wooden boomerangs so far discovered date from 8 -10,000 years ago. Boomerangs also appear in Arnhem Land rock paintings, thought to be more than 15,000 years old.

  Despite this antiquity, the world's oldest boomerang is possibly not Australian. A boomerang made from a mammoth's tusk was found in southern Poland during 1987 and has been dated to 23,000 years ago. Other prehistoric boomerangs have been found in Jutland [Denmark] (7,000 years) and are depicted in North African cave paintings [Ethiopia] (9,000 years).

  Australian Aborinals were joined as boomerang throwers by the Hopi Indians, Eskimos, peoples of India, Ancient Egypt, Indonesia, the New Hebrides, Spain, Holland, and Germany. In most of these places the boomerang was made obsolete by the bow and arrow.

  Aborigines have used boomerangs for thousands of years. It is not surprising to find a great diversity in their form and function. Specific uses have led to specialized forms.

  Despite their specialized forms, some types of boomerang had several uses. In arid Australia for example, a boomerang was used as a hunting and fighting weapon: a ceremonial percussion instrument: a utensil for digging, clearing the ground, making or tending

  fire and for cutting meat. Boomerangs could be used as toys by children or adults, or could become sanctified as religious objects.

  Q. What do you call a boo
merang that doesn't come back?

  A. A stick.

  The fact is that most boomerangs did not come back. Of the popular fallacies associated with the boomerang perhaps the most widespread and deep-rooted is the belief that all boomerangs are of the returning type. As a matter of fact, returning boomerangs constitute only a very small percentage of Australian boomerangs, a percentage difficult to estimate accurately but which under normal aboriginal conditions may have been exceedingly small. There are parts of Australia, particularly in the North, where the return boomerang is unknown.

  Surprisingly, the non-return boomerang is aerodynamically more complex than the returning boomerang.

  Both types of boomerang share the same essential characteristic, which is that the lift generated by their rotating wings gives them a greatly extended flight. For a return boomerang, the flight path is approximately circular, whereas for a straight-on boomerang the flight path is nearly linear. But both are capable of travelling 200 m or more through the air--much further than one can throw a simple throwstick, which makes no use of aerodynamic lift and has a range of about 60 m.

  THE VERSATILE BOOMERANG

  The boomerang that the aboriginal uses for hunting (B) is fairly straight and streamlined in cross section (F). It is thrown directly at game and does not return. A picklike tip may be added (A) to make a more lethal fighting weapon. Returning boomerangs (C,D) are lighter, have an airfoil shape (E) and are used as toys and in sporting contests.