Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to kill this.



Thats right, this here's a Wooly Mammoth. You all know what those are right? Well, its kind of like an elephant bred with a dinosaur. Its huge. What do you think you're going to kill it with? A gun? Alright, problem solved. But theres one fatal flaw with that plan... You live 13,500 – 9,000 years ago. And we all know they didn't have guns back then. But that didn't stop them from taking this goliath down, you see, there was a group of people that used to take these things down without shooting them. They were Clovis People.


Things to know about Clovis People:
-Bering Strait Land Bridge
-13,500 B.C.
-Paleo-Indian Hunters – favored hunting large game on the edge of the grasslands.
-First known group to populate the Americas?


Clovis Technology
-Clovis spear point – this item literally defines their society.
-Fluted rock spear point.
-Mystery of Origin & downfall and demise.
-And one more VERY IMPORTANT WEAPON… wait for it.



So while they're hunting these.




THIS is hunting them.

OK, you are a Clovis hunter. What are the requirements for your weapon? What does it have to do to be effective? The Clovis Answer?



Heres basicaly what it does.


Atlatl = Spear Thrower

-Similar technology develops around 30,000 years ago and spread worldwide.
Significant advance over spear alone.
-“Dart” replaces the spear…long, thin arrow-like projectile.
-“Atlatl” – dart throwing tool designed to increase distance and accuracy of the projectile.
-Speeds of 100 miles per hour for the dart were possible.

Parts of an Atlatl:

-Handle – 15” – 30” in length
-Notched Hook – bone/horn
-Bannerstone (Weight on back) – optional
-Wrapped Grip – various methods of retaining grip.

Why It Works:

Functioned as a lever that gave the hunter's throw more power and distance.
It extends the length of the human arm by 15” – 30” inches.
The snap of the wrist while throwing a dart from an atlatl gives you a longer lever, like adding another arm joint.


At the end of the last Ice Age, in what is now western Montana, a woolly mammoth followed a path to the river that would one day be called the Missouri. The mammoth was a lone bull, and his huge curving tusks grazed the sedge covering the mountain-fringed valley. With a flick of his trunk he sampled the breeze and snorted at the unfamiliar smell mixed with the aroma of water. Adult mammoths had no natural enemies, and this one had never before encountered the one creature that regularly killed them. As the bull paused at the strange smell, four skin-clad hunters rose from the sedge and leveled their throwing sticks. Their arms moved in an arc as each man launched a reedy projectile that sprang from the stick and covered the 40 yards in the blink of an eye. The flint points thudded deep into the hairy flanks and were followed by a second volley, then a third, which also found their marks. The mammoth trumpeted in confusion and rage, then wheeled and began a lumbering trot back up the valley, the projectiles swinging from his wounds. The hunters followed at a distance, knowing it was just a matter of time. Several of the projectiles had hit vital spots, and their quarry was soon lying dead on the tundra, a six ton mountain of meat.



Fun Atlatl Facts:

Modern record atlatl throw = 848.5 feet or nearly 3 football fields! (1995 in Aurora, Colorado)
A skilled Atlatlist can fling a 5-ounce Dart at upwards of 100 miles per hour, delivering a bigger knock-down punch than an arrow fired from a 60-pound compound bow.

WARNING! Atlatls or spearthrowers are LETHAL weapons. They are not toys. They were used to kill ancient bison and mammoth. They will make your arm effectively 2 ½ times stronger. The beginner will not have much control over where the spear lands and it will probably go further and have more force than expected. Do not use it with less respect than a bow and arrow or a gun. Use in a wide open area with nothing and no one that you do not want to accidentally kill. Use only with adult supervision. Build and use at your own risk.