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Source Description
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.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
119667
label
Spear Thrower
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
119667
contentType
object
title
Spear Thrower
description
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.
date
200 BCE–200 CE
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60743959
genreSpecific
Arms and Armor
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 5.8 x 2 cm (2 5/16 x 13/16 in.)
cul
Peru, South Coast, late Paracas or early Nasca style
accession
1940.507
Source extras
tec
bone, hematite, cotton thread, sinew
tombstone
Spear Thrower, 200 BCE–200 CE. Peru, South Coast, late Paracas or early Nasca style. Bone, hematite, cotton thread, sinew; overall: 5.8 x 2 cm (2 5/16 x 13/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Norweb Collection, 1940.507
collection
AA - Andes
didYouKnow
Spear throwers, also called <em>atlatls</em>, use leverage to propel a spear faster and farther through the air.
citations
citation
Ubbelohde-Doering, Heinrich. The Art of Ancient Peru. New York: F.A. Praeger, 1952.
citation
Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: P. 341
creditline
The Norweb Collection
updatedAt
2026-05-29 06:10:39.751000
sourceId
119667
dept
Art of the Americas
coll
AA - Andes
med
bone, hematite, cotton thread, sinew
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
9394405d11084a7d