Military Power

The thought occurs to me: Why the heck didn't the Romans make use of this thing during the Republic and the early Imperial eras? You would think that an atlatl-launched Marian javelin would have been a lot more effective than the bare-hand launched variety they did use, and yet I've never heard of the Romans or other classical civilization using an atlatl. In a casual internet search, I can't find a single instance of a classical civilization using an atlatl, either. Which leads me to think that I haven't somehow missed mention of it, in my readings.

Was the technique of the atlatl lost in between the high stone age, and the early days of civilization? Wasn't someone using the thing during the Roman era, somewhere? For that matter, why didn't any other early civilized nation use them?

It seems really bizarre, when you think about it: How did such a simple and effective technique get lost? Did it? Was there something about the atlatl technique that would have prevented a Roman legionary or other spear-chucking soldier from making effective use of it?

The more I think about this, the stranger it is.

A couple of thoughts on this...

It needed too much space to use, remember we are talking about the age of massed infantry here. Not too much space between ranks and files.

A Roman legionary, even with his pila, was a shock rather than missile trooper. The pila were an extension of shock, to be used at close range rather than at 'missile' distances. Like a grenade rather than a mortar.

Archery was more effective, longer ranged and more accurate.