The Rocking Chair Think Tank.

[Epicurean Pariah]

I was watching a TV show that amongst other things was about the Clovis peoples of post ice age North America. This is of interest to me because of all things ancient and my collecting of paleo artifacts.
In one scene a hunter is carrying a dozen spears with stones affixed to them. It struck me as erroneous because I think the projectile was affixed to a short stub of wood and pushed into the female end or slot bored or drilled into a spear. Therefore a only couple of spears would be carried with perhaps a string or rope attached or perhaps not. A bag with many projectile stubs could be easily carried. The spear then is then loaded with the stub, and thrown. The projectile stub then embeds in the game. The line is pulled and separates from the stub and retrieved and re loaded and thrown again with a fresh projectile stub, quickly. Any thoughts on this idea?

 

[Beverly]

EP, I would have to agree. A s a native American, i have witnessed member of my tribe spear hunting the buffalo we are permitted to hunt. Each hunter rides out with two spears and wears a belt with six to eight projectile heads strung from it.

While our hunters do not use a rope or cord to retrieve the spears, they are retrieves when the hunter nears the targeted animal, just as you describe, leaving the projectile portion in the animal.

It is possible that this is a later evolution of spear use and the first peoples to use them did carry multiple full spears but, I would think that this method would have been in use by the time of the Clovis People.

 

[Epicurean Pariah]

EP, I would have to agree. A s a native American, i have witnessed member of my tribe spear hunting the buffalo we are permitted to hunt. Each hunter rides out with two spears and wears a belt with six to eight projectile heads strung from it.

While our hunters do not use a rope or cord to retrieve the spears, they are retrieves when the hunter nears the targeted animal, just as you describe, leaving the projectile portion in the animal.

It is possible that this is a later evolution of spear use and the first peoples to use them did carry multiple full spears but, I would think that this method would have been in use by the time of the Clovis People.

Thanks, I was thinking about my post as I was sleeping last night, all the explanations of the stub. I think I was trying to explain a bolt or harpoon. Anyway hunters have to move quietly and a handful of sticks is not stealthy.
What do you know of the ancient use of nets large or small for game capture or immobilization?

 

[Epicurean Pariah]

Harrison or others with interest, I was looking at a Paleo Venus many years ago and I noticed a pattern in the area of the top of its head and it made me think of hair net. Well my previous post to Beverly thinking of nets again. Well that had me going into things like large nets to capture game in small numbers rather than stampeding a few thousand over a cliff.
Also,
The skull found in the cave in Galilee region recently, that tested as a true human/ N'thal hybrid was interesting. Time frame of second human migration out of Africa and N' thal forced south by glaciers.
Add to that, the Mt. Toba eruption around 70,000 BCE that reduced humanity to between 3000/1500 humans on earth it's a wonder that any of us are here. And things are getting better every day.