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Learning to use atlatls: equipment scaling and enskilment on the Oregon Coast

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 December 2019

Robert J. Losey  and
Emily Hull
Robert J. Losey*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Alberta, 13–15 Tory Building, Edmonton, AB T6G 2H6, Canada
Emily Hull
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Alberta, 13–15 Tory Building, Edmonton, AB T6G 2H6, Canada
*
*Author for correspondence (Email: robert.losey@ualberta.ca)
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Abstract

In the past, atlatls were used in hunting and warfare to throw projectiles. This article examines evidence for ‘enskilment’ in atlatl use from the Par-Tee site (c. AD 100–800) in northern Oregon. Several whalebone atlatls from the site appear to have been crafted specifically to fit the hands of children. The authors argue that this is the result of equipment scaling—the process of adjusting the size of an object to fit the body size of the intended user. The authors suggest, therefore, that proficiency in the skills required to use the atlatl was probably acquired during childhood.

Keywords

Pacific NorthwestOregonatlatlenskilmentequipment scalingchildhood
Type
Research
Information
Antiquity , Volume 93 , Issue 372 , December 2019 , pp. 1569 - 1585
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2019

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