Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37587181›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2023

Atlatl use equalizes female and male projectile weapon velocity.

Michelle R Bebber, Briggs Buchanan, Metin I Eren, Robert S Walker, Dexter Zirkle

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Late Pleistocene Clovis atlatl hunting fails a chronological modeling test.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Michelle R BebberDepartment of Anthropology, Kent State University, Kent, OH, 44242, USA. mbebber@kent.edu.
Briggs BuchananDepartment of Anthropology, University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK, 74104, USA.
Metin I ErenDepartment of Anthropology, Kent State University, Kent, OH, 44242, USA.
Robert S WalkerDepartment of Anthropology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA.
Dexter ZirkleDepartment of Anthropology, Kent State University, Kent, OH, 44242, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The atlatl is a handheld, rod-shaped device that employs leverage to launch a dart, and represents a major human technological innovation. One hypothesis for forager atlatl adoption over its presumed predecessor, the thrown javelin, is that a diverse array of people could achieve equal performance results, thereby facilitating inclusive participation of more people in hunting activities. We tested this hypothesis via a systematic assessment of 2160 weapon launch events by 108 people who used both technologies. Our results show that, unlike the javelin, the atlatl equalizes the velocity of female- and male-launched projectiles. This result indicates that a javelin to atlatl transition would have promoted a unification, rather than division, of labor. Moreover, our results suggest that female and male interments with atlatl weaponry should be interpreted similarly.

Indexed as

WeaponsFemaleHumansHuntingMaleTechnology

Identifiers

PMID37587181
PMCPMC10432391

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.