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Amentum vs atlatl (Read 4725 times)
Tomas
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Amentum vs atlatl
Mar 25th, 2013 at 11:07am
 
Hi all,
Amentums and atlatls! Is one better than the other? I am planning on making some and am curious what the pros and cons of are for them.
Is one easier to learn than the other? Harder to make?
And also how to use em!
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David Morningstar
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Re: Amentum vs atlatl
Reply #1 - Mar 26th, 2013 at 3:11am
 

The amentum is for heavy rigid spears, the atlatl is for long slim flexible darts. The atlatl and dart goes much faster and further, but the amentum goes on a spear that you can also fight hand to hand with.
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Rat Man
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Re: Amentum vs atlatl
Reply #2 - Mar 26th, 2013 at 8:58am
 
Personally I'd rather have an atlatl and keep my enemy at a distance.  I guess it really depends on the circumstance.  Both are good weapons.
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Bill Skinner
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Re: Amentum vs atlatl
Reply #3 - Mar 26th, 2013 at 11:37am
 
Atlatls' were for hunting and keeping some distance between the hunter and the animal, and still get enough penetration to reach vital organs.  What do you call a caveman who got too close to a mammoth?  Toegoo!

An amentum was for throwing a spear heavy enough to punch through the armor an opposing warrior would have on and at a long enough distance that the other warrior couldn't reach you with HIS weapons.

That being said, I think I read some where that an amentum actually predated the atlatl by a really long time, like 40,000+ years, so it was used for hunting a long time before the atlatl was invented.  Also, check out the Bois du Commandant, which is very similar but was used by Neanderthals. 

(Caldou, if I got that wrong, sorry, your English is way better than my French.)
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Caldou
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Re: Amentum vs atlatl
Reply #4 - Mar 26th, 2013 at 3:17pm
 
Bill Skinner wrote on Mar 26th, 2013 at 11:37am:
check out the Bois du Commandant,
(Caldou, if I got that wrong, sorry, your English is way better than my French.)

Well, you may find more results with "Bāton de commandement" (Command Staff) rather than Commander's Wood ^^

I read that those may have been tools for straightning shafts, but after a quick wikipedia reading, they seem to say it was like a "staff-amentum", like our fustibals, but for amentums...
Then the hole may also be simply to make them lighter too (Ain't antlers toop heavy to use for atlatl ? that could have been one "easy" fix, no ?)
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Mauro Fiorentini
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Re: Amentum vs atlatl
Reply #5 - Mar 29th, 2013 at 8:11am
 
Topic added to the PW's index.
Greetings,
Mauro.
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Bill Skinner
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Re: Amentum vs atlatl
Reply #6 - Mar 29th, 2013 at 12:08pm
 
They were thought to be emblems of rank when they were first discovered in the 19th century, no one had a clue that they could be used for throwing a spear.  Now, the thought is that there were hundreds made of wood for every one made of antler, wood was supposed to be easier to work than antler, so antler was for important people.  The guys that made that guess have never tried to work wood with stone flakes.  Antler, soaked in water for a week or so, gets much softer and is pretty easy to work.  It smells like dead meat and the scent sticks to your hands for a couple of weeks but the antler looses the bad smell as soon as it dries out.
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Tomas
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Re: Amentum vs atlatl
Reply #7 - Mar 29th, 2013 at 2:27pm
 
Alright so now I have to try all three! I really want to make a nice carved baton. Next time I'm I the woods I'll be looking for good wood for these.
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