atlatl

[aht-laht-l]

noun

Archaeology.

1. spear-thrower.

Word History and Origins

Origin of atlatl¹

First recorded in 1870–75, atlatl is from the Nahuatl word ahtlatl

Example Sentences

In another study published last month, researchers tested how males and females used an atlatl, a common prehistoric hunting weapon.

From Salon

Other Ancestral Puebloans primarily hunted and foraged for their food, some using the bow and arrow, and others using an ancient spear-throwing technology called an atlatl.

From Science Magazine

I was standing beneath the Atlatl Rock petroglyphs in the Valley of Fire, Nevada’s oldest state park, with Artemis Adventure Tours founder and guide, Katya Spitz.

From Seattle Times

Fourteen years ago, in the mountain ice outside Yellowstone National Park, he spotted the foreshaft of a throwing spear called an atlatl dart, carved from a birch sapling 10,300 years ago.

From New York Times

In portraits carved on stone monuments there, the new king, named Yax Nuun Ayiin, holds an atlatl, a spearthrower used by Teotihuacan warriors, and wears a Teotihuacan-style headdress adorned with tassels.

From Science Magazine

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