KIDDER—GUERNSEY | ARCHEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS IN ARIZONA 179 
in its resting place between and upon the second 
and third finger (fig. 87).1 
For the actual throw the arm was brought for- 
ward and the atlatl whipped over; at the same 
time the thumb and the fore and second fingers 
released the dart, which was propelled by the 
pressure upon its butt of the engaging spur. 
Our most complete atlatl was found in Cist 10, 
Cave I (pl. 82, c. d). Owing to its having been 
pressed down into the bottom of the burial cist 
by the weight of the body above it, it is now some- 
what bent and twisted; although in places the 
wood (a close-grained variety, possibly oak) is 
slightly shrunken, the stick has for the greater 
part retained its original proportions and _ still 
shows a smooth, careful finish. Its length over 
all is 26 inches; width of spur end 12 inches; of 
grip end ~ inch. As the photograph shows, the 
spur is a little rounded projection carved in the 
end of a groove sunk into the upper or flat side 
of the shaft. The last two or three inches of the 
spear fitted into this groove and a little shallow 
cup in its butt engaged the spur (fig. 87).2 The 
groove, together with the cup and spur arrange- 
ment, must have:held the dart perfectly steady, 
yet without in the least hampering its release at 
the instant of throwing; there could have been no 
possibility of side-slip. 
The spur is 3 inches from the end; from it to 
the handle the front of the shaft is flat; the edges 
are rounded, the back shghtly convex. The handle 
proper begins 4 inches from the butt; at that 
_point there are shallow notches on the edges for 
the reception of the seizing which once held in 
place the now missing finger loops (see fig. 88, }). 
Marks of the binding can still be seen. Just below 
these notches are deeper and broader ones, so cut, 
apparently, that the loops might set more closely 
together (fig. 88). 
Use of spear thrower. 
Fie. 87. 
+ This reconstruction of the method of gripping the atlatl and spear is the result of 
practical experiment and of observation of the grip on the atlatl as depicted on the 
sculptures of Chichen-Itza, Yucatan. The grip as figured by Pepper (1905, pl. 1), in 
which the spear is held by the thumb and forefinger, makes it difficult to accomplish 
a straightaway throw; that of Cushing (1895, fig. 32) is much like ours, except that 
the little finger is not in use; as a matter of fact, the little finger aids greatly in hold- 
ing the atlatl firmly in the hand. ; 
*?This atlatl is, therefore, ‘‘ mixed,’ according to Krause’s classification of spear 
throwers into male, female, and mixed (1905, p, 620), 
