Figure One - 2.2 inch long granite atlatl spur surface found on private land
in Kings County, California by Connie Hudson prior to 1970.
John Bradford Branney Collection.

The purpose of the atlatl weapon system is to extend the arm of the thrower much like a lever. When thrown properly, the atlatl handle increases the velocity of the spear.

The finger bone's connected to the hand bone,
The hand bone's connected to the arm bone,
The arm bone's connected to the shoulder bone,
Now shake dem skeleton bones!

Dem bones, dem bones gonna walk around
Dem bones, dem bones, gonna walk around
Dem bones, dem bones, gonna walk around
Now shake dem skeleton bones!

When I think about the process of flinging a spear with an atlatl weapon system, the above tune comes to mind. Many of us remember this song from our childhoods. The various muscles and bones in the human body work together in unison and harmony to make us move. To make a successful atlatl throw, various components in the atlatl weapon system and the human body must work together in unison and harmony. One difference between the atlatl weapon system and the human body is that in the atlatl process one of the components detaches from the rest of the components; the atlatl spear. We better hope that we don't have any detaching components from the human body!

Figure Two - Atlatl mechanics.

Most experts believe that prehistoric humans had access to the atlatl weapons system in North America as far back as Clovis Paleoindians. Archaeological evidence for this is circumstantial. However, we do have clear evidence that the atlatl was in play in North America as early as the Middle Archaic. One of the reasons that atlatls might not be found in older Paleoindian sites is because atlatls or throwing handles were mostly made of perishable material.

Based on archaeological evidence, bow and arrow technology replaced most atlatl technology in North America sometime around A.D. 200 to A.D. 500. There were some atlatl holdouts. When Spanish explorer Hernán Cortés landed in Mexico around A.D. 1519, he found the atlatl weapon system in use within the Aztec population. Cortés also discovered that Spanish chain mail armor wasn't always effective against the penetration of an atlatl-thrown spear.

Figure Three - Close up of the tail end of a spear which connects to a spur
on the atlatl or throwing handle.

An atlatl or throwing handle is a piece of wood, bone, or antler two feet or so long. One end of the atlatl was for the thrower's hand while the other end connected to the spear via a peg, hook, or spur (figure three). A cup or indentation at the tail end of the spear fits onto the spur of the atlatl handle.

Figure Four - Rounded and
polished tip of the hummingbird atlatl spur.

I will refer to the peg, hook, or spur at the tail end of the atlatl or throwing handle as simply the spur. The spur's purpose is to connect the tail end of the spear to the atlatl. The spur and the tail end of the spear work on the same principle as a ball and socket. A ball and socket is a mechanical device where the ball (in this case the spur) rotates in a socket (in this case the indented end of the spear) and allows rotating motion within the limits of the design. In other words, the cupped or indented end of the spear rotates on the spur until the spear is on its way and disengages from the spur and the throwing handle. The spear remains engaged at the spur during the throw because the atlatl is traveling at a faster velocity than the spear. When the spear's velocity exceeds the velocity of the atlatl, the spear disengages from the spur on its way to the target.

Written another way, when the thrower starts the spear toss, his or her arm pulls the atlatl forward and upward, and the cupped end of the spear rotates on the tip of the spur until the spear disengages from the atlatl and heads towards the target.

Users of prehistoric atlatl weapon systems made spurs out of bone, rock, antler, and wood. There is one case in prehistoric Colorado where investigators proposed that a bison tooth was used as an atlatl spur. I already mentioned that we suspect that prehistoric humans made their atlatls out of perishable materials, so spurs might be the only things that survived time in the atlatl weapon system.

Investigators and collectors have found evidence for the use of the atlatl in prehistoric California in almost every region of the state in the form of atlatl spurs. In fact, California has enough prehistoric atlatl spur examples to classify them into categories. (Ralston and Fitzgerald 2014).

Figures one and four show an example of a prehistoric atlatl spur surface found in Kings County, California by Connie Hudson prior to 1970. Most of the people I have spoken to about this prehistoric artifact believe this atlatl spur represents a bird's head, specifically a hummingbird's head.

A bird's head would be an ideal symbol for an atlatl. If we think about a spear launched from an atlatl, flying effortlessly through the sky, what better symbol for a flight than a bird or hummingbird?

Figure Five - A mock up of how I believe this
bird head spur was used within the atlatl weapon system.

Figure five is a drawing showing how I believe the prehistoric human had the hummingbird spur set up. The maker of this atlatl weapon system gouged out a hole into the back end of the wooden handle and attached the spur there. The butt end of the spear or dart was then placed on the rounded knob of the spear. When the prehistoric human flung the wooden handle forward, the spear led the way until it flew on its own.