Archaeologists recently found one of the behemouths outside of Paris and the scientific community was abuzz. Now one was spotted just west of Flatrock in the Oakwoods Nature Center. It was speared 6 or 7 times to subdue it before we ran out of time and Chase finally put it down. The cardboard looked to be in good shape so maybe it can be used next year for atatl practice.
We take a lot of things for granted in our industrialized civilization and besides water we must have food to survive. If you're hungry you can go to a super market or any fast food chain. It was quite different a few millenia ago. Invention helped humans develope and survive in the harsh real world. The atlatl was one of those inventions allowing hunters to throw their spears farther and with more force. This allowed them to bring down a beast as large as the present day elephant. Now we have high powered rifles for deer.
The art of using an atlatl is difficult to come by as you can see. The atlatl becomes an extension of the users arm allowing more force to be applied. The point when you let go is very important and hard to estimate. Some are better than others and Brendan picked it up fairly easy. After the explorers had a few turns the parents tried it and Brendan's mom was able to put a killing shot on the big beast. Dad boasted that he could cook a bronto burger of the kill that even Fred Flintstone would enjoy. A good time was had by all, except for the mastodon.
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If you're interested in experiencing the atlatl throw look up: http://www.michiganatlatl.org/ or visit the Oakwoods Nature Center and ask for Chase.
Get Outdoors Downriver.
