Study of Effectiveness of "Neanderthal Spears"

[tomclark]

Spears/Javelins throws more effective than previously thought?? Not limited to @ 30 feet, not just thrusting, stabbing.

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/01/neanderthal-spears-threw-pretty-well/581218/

[gregszybala]

An interesting article. We take for granted what their capabilities were and tools could do.

[Von]

After reading that It sounds like they were digging pits and using punji sticks to trap deer. I figure spears were use for personal protection, warfare and hunting. I can’t imagine a bunch of guys confronting a healthy woolly mammoth and throwing spears at it? That sounds like a good way get trampled. On the other hand setting pit traps to immobilize it and then finishing it off with spears seems reasonable and a lot safer.

Great read! Thanks!

Von

[OnewiththewilD]

I can totally imagine a group of experienced people planning an ambush and choosing the right kill zone to engage a mammoth or mastodon herd. And something tells me they probably weren’t the hardest of the game animals that they challenged and took on. When your people have been hunting the same creatures for generations and generations at some point someone’s gonna figure out the best tricks to employ to do it.

[tomclark]

Yes, Von. If you miss....RUN!!! lol

[gregszybala]

HA!

[Von]

Man that dude with the beard is quick!!! 😂

[Jethro355]

I found the comments that Neanderthal man would be incapable of throwing a spear very well to be amusing. Not that I know personally, but I think I remember reading that they had the upper body similar to a gorilla(anatomically), and I have had a gorilla throw a chunk of a tree at me, and if I hadn’t ducked, I wouldn’t be typing this. I enjoyed that read, Tom. I love stuff like this.

[sailorjoe]

Hi Tom, A very interesting article. Thanks for bringing it to our attention. Comparing the abilities and capabilities of modern humans and Neanderthals is an apples and oranges comparison as so many anthropologist are prone to do makes no sense. Some of these animals could have been baited or lured up close and killed from a blind. There are other possible scenarios as well.

[Tam]

I enjoyed the read . I do believe the more powerful N people could achieve this . As a hobby I throw knives . Little gal 5’5”very small frame and older is still able to throw with some power .
Right tool ... right body .. I believe this would have been very possible .

[Jethro355]

I have no doubts you are a regular Annie Oakley with a knife!

[OnewiththewilD]

Tam I’ve been an avid knife thrower since my early 20’s. I throw knifes ,tomahawks, Spears, spikes,etc. heck I can even throw them little pins with the plastic ball head and get em to stick in certain things. One of my favorite things to throw is 8 penny nails.

[tomclark]

Tam you should do a video, especially with the 8 penny nails!

[OnewiththewilD]

I think one of the main things people are overlooking when guesstimating what the ancients were capable of is the techniques and skills employed along with these tools. Take a modern hammer for example, yes it’s clearly made to hit things with,and anybody can drive a nail with it, but can examining it show you the depth of possibility inherent within it? Or the intelligence level of the person who used or owned it? Or what they were capable of building/ doing with it? Though these spears may seem very simple to our modern eyes I’m sure the people who relied on them knew just how to use them to greatest effect while minimizing risks to themself’s, after all ,their lives depended on it.