A javelin (throwing spear) refers to the act of throwing a spear, or a spear specifically designed for throwing.

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We see these kinds of pictures a lot in our lives. Paleolithic Homo sapiens hunting a massive mammoth by throwing spears. Thanks to the synergy of human tool-making intelligence and a body optimized for throwing, humans became the apex predators of the ecosystem. You could say humans are the only ones capable of actually aiming and throwing things.

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As you know, throwing isn't just about swinging your arm. It's closer to a full-body workout using your wrists, waist, and lower body. This sequence requires perfect bipedalism, strong legs, shoulders that can rotate freely at a 90-degree angle, depth perception, and the intelligence to predict the projectile's movement. It's basically a human-exclusive trait. Plus, making a javelin wasn't as simple as you'd think.

This is roughly what a Paleolithic javelin looked like. Considering that just tying and gluing things back then required significant technical skill, it looks like a pretty complex tool.

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First, here's the tip. It's not just a rock stuck on a stick like we usually imagine. Since the tip of the spear is prone to breaking during a hunt, they made a hole in the shaft and created a separate part called a 'foreshaft' so it could be easily replaced.

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The back part had bird feathers attached to improve straight-line stability. It's a mystery how they figured out that adding feathers makes things fly better.

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But the biggest innovation is this 'atlatl' (spear-thrower). You poke a hole in the 'butt' of the spear, hook that ring-like thing into the hole, and throw it.

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The javelins we're used to seeing look like this, where you grip the shaft directly and hurl it, so the spear-thrower feels unfamiliar. The primary function of the atlatl is to increase the rotation radius by the length of the stick, allowing for more instantaneous force. Most importantly, it makes the throwing process easier. Unlike hand-throwing, where you have to let go mid-way to throw in a straight line (making it hard to follow through), using an atlatl lets you swing it all the way through like a club, allowing you to literally smack it with full power. It's estimated that the invention of the spear-thrower increased human throwing distance by nearly tenfold. Carving the hook and securing it firmly required immense skill and effort, as evidenced by artifacts found with animal carvings on the atlatls.

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This shows that highly skilled and important people made them, and that atlatls and javelins were considered crucial resources. The javelin wasn't just one of many hunting methods in the Late Paleolithic; it was humanity's literal bread and butter.

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그만큼 기술력있고 중요한 사람이 이를 제작하고 또 창던지개와 투창이 상당히 중요한 자원으로 여겨졌다는 것도 알 수 있다. 투창이라는 것은 후기구석기 시대 단지 사냥방법중 하나였던 것이 아니라 인류의 밥줄 그 자체였던 것이다. 출처: 싱글벙글 지구촌 갤러리 [원본 보기]