tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Oct 03 19:33:32 1997
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Re: Taste, Dance, Arrow
- From: Terrence Donnelly <[email protected]>
- Subject: Re: Taste, Dance, Arrow
- Date: Fri, 03 Oct 1997 21:29:14 -0500
At 01:28 AM 10/3/97 -0700, Qov wrote:
>At 08:46 97-10-02 -0700, Alexander T Greene wrote:
>
>}Oh, yes: arrows. I note no reference to bows or arrows in the Argot
>}section on Weaponry, either Traditional or Modern.
>
>If you consider the combination of the {chetvI'} and the {naQjej} it
>may be a sort of crossbow, like a large {moy'bI'}.
>
Actually, I think Okrand is describing a weapon known to the Aztecs as
an "atlatl". The {chetvI'} part is a longish stick with a hook or
notch on the end. You lay your spear alongside the "chetvI'" with
its end resting in the notch. Then you hoist the whole thing over
your head, holding the other end of the spear-thrower and keeping
the spear next to it. When you throw, you use the spear-thrower like
a lever to impart considerably more thrust to your throw than you'd
get with just a naked spear. Piers Anthony in his books about ancient
humans proposes that it was the discovery of this weapon that let humans
begin to hunt big game like mastodons. The Aztecs used it, and I'm
pretty sure it's been used in Africa, maybe by the Asante. As far
as I know, it's still in use among most cultures that use spears for
real work.
-- ter'eS
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Corridor/2711