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Spear throwers

As they fought their way across Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital, Cortés and his Spaniards were harassed by showers of arrows and light ‘javelins’: ‘It was as if a layer of yellow cane was spread over the Spaniards’.

The ‘javelins’ were actually light spears thrown with a weapon new to the Europeans. A stick the length of a man’s arm, with a grip at one end and a hook to engage the spear at the other, these spear throwers were called atlatl in the Nahuatl language of the Aztecs.

The ‘arm’ of the long atlatl allowed a thrower to fling a light spear much farther and faster than by hand alone. Tipped with a sharp point of obsidian, bone, or hardened wood, these spears were dangerous weapons.

Though bows and arrows had replaced atlatls in many parts of the world, the atlatl was an ancient and still important weapon in the Americas when the Spanish arrived.

Aztec battles often began with a barrage of arrows and atlatl spears, before the warriors closed in with ‘macuahuitl’s, wooden swords edged with razor-sharp obsidian.

The few Aztec atlatls that survive are highly decorated - like this one in the British Museum. Beautifully carved and decorated with gold, it’s still usable! Did you know there are over 70 events involving atlatl competitions every year in the USA? Sports featuring ancient technology are becoming ever more popular...