For You Atlatl Fans

[Rick]

Here is an article on atlatl weights.

http://www.primitive.org/atlweights.htm

[Rick]

I stopped in the Northern Arizona Museum this week and ran across a type of atlatl I had never seen before. Naturally, I thought of you folks and took a couple of pictures for you.:)

The atlatl consists of three pieces as you can see in the first picture. The handle is at the top with a stone attached for enertia. A long hollow reed was used as the atlatl shaft and a six inch removable point was stuck in the business end. Once a kill was made, the reed could easily be removed from the animal and the all important point retrieved once the animal was butchered.

Another unique feature that I had never seen was the finger loops. The second picture shows how they were constructed.

[BraggSurvivor]

Hey Rick, whats with the cobs of corn above the display?

[Tahyo]

Native American TP, is my guess. :)

[Rick]

It was a display of all the various types of corn the local indigenous population planted.

They had the three pieces of the atlatl out so you could handle it and look it over. The three pieces are laying on the top of a plexiglass display. It was a really neat museum loaded with jewelry and everyday wares of the indigenous peoples like different types of mocs, pottery, cookware, etc. It's located in Flagstaff, Az.

http://www.musnaz.org/

[hoosierarcher]

Thanks Rick. I have been trying to make my own atlatl and darts a few times in the past. I did get some to work but never as well as those of others' I have tried. Now I have more an idea of what to do.

[Rick]

Here are a couple of more pics of it. One of the notch for the reed and one of the handle weight to add enertia.