Cleveland Museum of Art

Spear Thrower

Date

200 BCE–200 CE

Medium

bone, hematite, cotton thread, sinew

Culture

Peru, South Coast, late Paracas or early Nasca style

Department

Art of the Americas

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Spear throwers improve a spear's range and thrust. The spear was placed against the stone pivot and hurled using the thumb rest, carved as a figure with a skeletal chest, back-bent head, and a severed human head at its rear. This figure, frequent in art, is not well understood, but its appearance here suggests a connection to death. The shaft's carving makes clever use of the bone's marrow cavity. Spear throwers, also called atlatls , use leverage to propel a spear faster and farther through the air.

The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.