Slings & Slingstones: The Forgotton Weapons of Oceania and the Americas

A fascinating examination of an overlooked weapon For most of us, our knowledge of slings and slingstones begins and ends with the biblical tale of David slaying Goliath. Scholars and archaeologists have told us that slings like the one David employed were common in the Old World, used not just for shepherd boys to kill giants but for protecting herds, hunting, and combat. However, few scholars have addressed the function slings have occupied outside of Eurasian civilizations, especially their use in Oceania and the Americas. In this astounding new archaeological survey, authors Robert York and Gigi York examine the history of Oceania and the Americas to unveil the significant role slings and slingstones played in developing societies. They present new evidence that suggests that unlike David who plucked rounded pebbles from a stream, inhabitants of the Pacific Islands deliberately fashioned sling missiles out of coral, stone, and clay into uniquely deadly shapes. They also show that the use of slings in the Americas was more pervasive and inclined to variability than previously recognized. Well documented, bountifully illustrated, and thoroughly researched, Slings and Slingstones is sure to engage readers interested in expanding their knowledge of the past. It is an essential reference for archaeologists, historians, and students of the history of arms and weaponry. "In the old story of love and loss, Lisa Ampleman's I've Been Collecting This to Tell You cuts to the core of the matter with concision and subtlety. Hearts are laid bare, dissected, even grown anew. Masterfully structured and alert to the most vital details, this collection has lots to tell us--and a voice at once authentic and lyrical with which to do it."--Don Bogen "In these poems, the beloved is a space the speaker moves through--at first with trepidation, then with gathering force-- emerging finally into a hard-won world ravishing in its clarity un-der a brutally beautiful "sky pinking up/like a newly healed limb." The poems of Lisa Ampleman's collection don't flinch, and the reward of their acute seeing is a song that's sustenance itself."--Kerri Webster "Lisa Ampleman's subtle and beautifully-wrought poems make way for the possibility that all is not "frenzy" in this "agitated world." Although we might be "the walking wounded," and "like Thomas/ need scars to believe," the poems assure us that we heal, that wholeness and grace await us."--Eric Pankey "A prairie is plain, they say--those who have not stood in one. And so, too, is an ordinary heartbreak, until Lisa Ampleman begins to unfold it in these closely observed and quietly surprising poems. Salvation doesn't live here, but there's plenty to salvage in the wry, self-effacing metaphors by which she harvests what wisdom experience yields."--Susan Tichy Cover......Page 1 Copyright......Page 5 Dedication......Page 6 Contents......Page 8 List of Figures......Page 10 List of Maps......Page 14 Preface......Page 16 Acknowledgments......Page 20 Abbreviations......Page 24 Part 1: Setting the Stage......Page 26 Introduction......Page 28 Chapter 1: Time Out, or a Brief Try at Locating the World’s First Slings and Slingstones......Page 30 Part 2: Oceania/The Islands of the Central Pacific......Page 40 Introduction......Page 42 Chapter 2: Micronesia......Page 44 Chapter 3: Melanesia......Page 56 Chapter 4: Polynesia......Page 68 Chapter 5: Oceania Summary......Page 88 Part 3: The Americas......Page 96 Introduction......Page 98 Chapter 6: South America and Mesoamerica......Page 100 Chapter 7: North America......Page 114 Chapter 8: The Americas Concluding Remarks: Questions and Issues......Page 170 References......Page 178 Index......Page 208