Quote:Could expert ancient slingers sling that much harder than we can now? was there some trick that has been lost?
Modern forensics may tell us how fast a round lead ball or similar has to be travelling at time of impact to penetrate soft tissue. This info might not be hard to find in an internet search.
Regarding lost tricks; I assume there are some of these. The stories that directly claim and indirectly infer great range and accuracy (common?) in ancient times indicate this may be true. Also, ancient art shows slingers in set-up and immediately-after-shooting poses that none of us use. Finally, there are tales of shooters' slings cracking like whips when they shot.
For inferred range/accuracy, consider the willingness of armored foot soldiers to fight with slingers in their rear, slinging stones over their heads into the enemy. For poses, see Babylonian(?) and other drawings showing slingers set-up to shoot with their thumbs IN the sling pocket. Our slings are silent.
mgreenfield