ATATL MAKING

THIS PREHISTORIC HUNTING TOOL WAS USED THROUGHOUT THE WORLD DURING THE PALEOLITHIC ERA ON UP TO THE 1900'S. IT WAS AN EVOLUTIONARY ADVANCEMENT OVER THE HAND HELD SPEAR. IT WAS A WOODEN STICK LESS THAN 85 CM. LONG AND HAD A HOOK ON IT. IT ARTIFICIALLY EXTENDED THE SPEED AND POWER OF THE SPEAR IN HUNTING LARGER MAMMALS AND SEA ANIMALS.


IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA THE PEOPLE WERE FREQUENTLY SEPARATED FROM EACH OTHER SO EACHINDIVIDUAL NEEDED TO LEARN HOW TO SURVIVE USING VERY FEW TOOLS. THE ATALATL SURVIVED A LONG TIME IN THIS CULTURE BECAUSE OF IT HAD THE ABILITY TO KILL A NUMBER OF ANIMALS.


IT WAS ALSO USED IN BAJA BY THESE INDIANS IN THE 1600'S AS THE SPANISH DOCUMENTED. THESE TOOLS PROBABLY ORIGINATED IN THE UPPER PALEOLITHIC TIMES IN EUROPE. THEY ARE SHOWN IN PETROGLYPHS OF THE COSO RANGE BY LOS ANGELES. THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL STYLES FOUND IN EXCAVATIONS IN VARIOUS CAVES FROM NORTHERN TO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.


MANUFACTURING OF THE ATLATL


IT WAS MADE FROM A STRONG GREEN . STICK FROM A TREE. CUT WITH A ROUGH FRACTURED STONE. IN SOME CASES IT WAS WARMED OVER A FIRE IN ORDER TO BEND IT SLIGHTLY. IT WAS RASPED WITH ROUGH ROCK INTO FINAL FORM AND SMOOTHED WITH AN OBSIDIAN CHIP OR ABRASIVE STONE.


THE DART


THE DART WAS THE ARROW PART OF THE ATLATL SYSTEM AND USUALLY HAD A SPEAR POINT OF STONE, BONE, OR STINGRAY. THE STONE OR BONE POINT WOULD LIKELY BREAK UPON IMPACT WITH THE ANIMAL. PREHISTORIC DARTS ARE SIMILAR TO THOSE MADE DURING HISTORIC TIMES. THERE HAVE BEEN MANY DART FRAGMENTS UNCOVERED IN CAVES.


MY EXPERIENCE IN FLINT KNAPPING AND ATLATL THROUGHING


I WAS TRAINED IN MAKING OBSIDIAN PROJECTILE POINTS AT MAMMOTH CAVES DURING MY ROLE WITH THE FOREST SERVICE. THEY HAD TONS OF OBSIDIAN CORES ABOUT 4 BY 4 FEET IN SIZE AND THEY SPLIT THEM WITH HAMMERS IN ORDER FOR US TO LEARN ABOUT KNAPPING PROJECTILE POINTS. THEN THEY ADHERED THEM TO ARROW SHAFTS WITH FEATHERS. ONE GUY WAS VERY MUCH INTO THE ART OF KNAPPING AND HAD WRITTEN A NUMBER OF ARTICLES ABOUT KNAPPING. IT WAS A RATHER A FUN ART FORM THAT SEEMED EASY TO ME. THEY EXHIBITED ALL TYPES OF GRINDING AND HAMMER STONES ALONG WITH THE USE OF THE DEBITAGE, IT LOOKED LIKE HUGE ROOM FULL OF REPRODUCED ARTIFACTS. WE SPENT ABOUT A WEEK IN THIS OUTDOOR LABORATORY LEARNING NEW WAYS OF USING DEBITAGE FOR CUTTING LEATHER. AND WE LEARNED ABOUT THE FOREST SERVICE WHICH DID NOT PROTECT SOME OF THE SITES IN THE INYO NATIONAL FOREST.

ONCE SOME OF OUR PROJECTILE POINTS WERE ON SOME ARROWS WE WERE TRAINED IN SHOOTING SOME TARGETS, AND SOME OF OUR GROUP TRIED TO THROW AN ATLATL. IT WAS QUITE FOREIGN TO ME. MANY OF THE WOMEN WENT ON WALKS AND TALKED ABOUT HOW THEIR CHILDREN MISSED THEM SO MUCH OR GOT THE FLU WHILE THEY WERE GONE. IT WAS IN A HIGH ALTITUDE LOCATION AND I DID NOT SLEEP VERY WELL THE WHOLE TIME. LATER ON I REALIZED THAT HIGH ALTITUDES AFFECT CERTAIN PEOPLE'S SLEEP. I WAS GLAD TO GET HOME. WE VISITED A NUMBER OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES THAT SEEMED TO BE VERY SIMILAR TO THOSE ON THE MENDOCINO - MANY TEMPORARY OBSIDIAN CAMP SITES. THE MAMMOTH LAKE OBSIDIAN IS OF A VERY GOOD QUALITY VERSUS SOME OBSIDIANS THAT HAVE AIR POCKETS IN THEM WHERE I LIVE. THIS AREA IS WELL KNOWN FOR HAVING SOME OF THE HIGHEST QUALITY OBSIDIAN IN CALIFORNIA.