Study pinpoints when bow and arrow came to North America

Radiocarbon results suggest a single origin and rapid diffusion through cultural transition networks.

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[YesAndNo]

Eren’s prior work showed that a thrown javelin increases not only in velocity but also in kinetic energy—almost a 200 percent increase in impact energy by 9 meters in height. But the atlatl’s effectiveness decreases as the height increases. So the atlatl has a major cost when firing downward, which might be why Neanderthals never developed a version of it.

I had real trouble parsing this section.

* "Eren’s prior work showed that a thrown javelin increases not only in velocity but also in kinetic energy": Yes, objects do move faster when someone throws them.

* "—almost a 200 percent increase in impact energy by 9 meters in height.": Wait, where did height come from? I guess they're throwing it in a high arc? Up and then down again?

* "But the atlatl’s effectiveness decreases as the height increases.": I'm still a little lost, but yeah, it's generally harder to throw objects higher, I guess...

* "So the atlatl has a major cost when firing downward": Wait, downward? Like they're standing on top of a cliff? I just wasn't picturing that at all, especially since the literal picture in the article is on flat ground.

 

[YesAndNo]

I had similar difficulty. But from the statement that Neanderthals "often hunted in hilly areas and would have gained more advantage from a thrown javelin," I gather that "height" here refers to an elevation difference between the thrower and the target. As opposed to just throwing the weapon on a higher-arc trajectory.

I did understand that in the end, but it was a rough road to get there.