Experimental Archeology (OLD TOOLS/ATLATLS) with Angelo Robledo

Experimental Archeologist Angelo Robledo throws an atlatl at the Valley of Fire Park in Nevada.

Experimental Archeologist Angelo Robledo throws an atlatl at the Valley of Fire Park in Nevada.

Spears! Sharp rocks! Ancient blades, bows and arrows and ...atlatls? What’s an atlatl? Experimental archeologist and decades-long ancient tool enthusiast Angelo Robledo is as passionate as an ologist can get. You likely have never heard of an atlatl, but by the end of the episode you’ll be carving one out of old lumber. Also covered: early axes, Indigenous traditions of Central and South America, ancient graffiti, tales of field work, archeology heroes, what to do if you find artifacts on a hike, and the physics of how far you can lob ancient weaponry, plus: the World Atlatl Association. 

Listen via Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get podcasts.

Follow Angelo Robledo at Twitter.com/idigit1st or Instagram.com/idigit1st

Check out the World Atlatl Association at WorldAtlAtl.org

A donation went to Black Trowel Collective

Listen to Angelo's podcast, Sample Excavator 

Instagram.com/sampleexcavator and Twitter.com/sampleexcavator 

Transcripts & bleeped episodes at: alieward.com/ologies-extras

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Sound editing by Jarrett Sleeper of MindJam Media & Steven Ray Morris

Theme song by Nick Thorburn

Some links you may enjoy:

What is an Acheulean hand ax? 

Zelia Nuttall: one rad lady

Neanderthal tool use

More Neanderthal tool use — with pictures!

Lake Mungo Remains

Atlatl Rock

Basketmaker’s Broken Roof Cave

Moche Toss Badminton game

Spear throwing and Neanderthals: modern experiments https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/01/neanderthal-spears-threw-pretty-well/581218/

DOCTOR Richard VanderHoek, Alaska State Archeologist https://www.arcus.org/researchers/37283/display

More Moche Badminton: https://worldatlatl.org/moche-badminton/

Video of Moche Toss https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=8&v=k99dR1UTqPM&feature=emb_title

Marrow or flesh: what made our brains grow? https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fat-not-meat-may-have-led-to-bigger-hominin-brains/

MechanicsAlie Ward