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A sling is a projectile weapon typically used to throw a blunt projectile such as a stone. It is also known as the shepherd's sling. The sling is not to be confused with the slingshot, which works on completely different principles. Image File history File linksMetadata Weapon_Sling_1. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata Weapon_Sling_1. ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (500x720, 20 KB) Summary Ragzouken made this sling himself using braiding methods from http://slinging. ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (500x720, 20 KB) Summary Ragzouken made this sling himself using braiding methods from http://slinging. ...
This article does not cite any references or sources. ...
A projectile is any object sent through space by the application of a force. ...
This article does not cite any references or sources. ...
A sling has a small cradle or pouch in the middle of two lengths of cord. The sling stone is placed in the pouch. Both cords are held in the hand, then the sling is swung and one of the two cords is released. This frees the projectile to fly in a straight line. It flies on a tangent to the circle that the pouch makes. The sling derives its effectiveness by essentially extending the length of a human arm, thus allowing stones to be thrown several times farther than they could be by hand.
The sling is very inexpensive, and easy to construct. It has historically been used for hunting game and combat. Today it still interests sportsmen as a survival tool and as an improvised weapon.
The sling in antiquity
Origins The sling is an ancient weapon, the origin of which is lost in antiquity. It is certain that slings were known to Neolithic peoples around the Mediterranean, but it seems likely that the sling is very much older. It is quite possible that the sling was invented during the Upper Paleolithic at a time when new technologies, such as the atlatl and the bow and arrow, were emerging. With the exception of Australia, where spear throwing technology such as the woomera predominated, the sling became common all over the world, although it is not clear whether this occurred because of cultural diffusion or independent invention. An atlatl (from Nahuatl ahtlatl ; in English pronounced [1] or [2]) or spear-thrower is a tool that uses leverage to achieve greater velocity in spear-throwing, and includes a bearing surface which allows the user to temporarily store energy during the throw. ...
A bow is a weapon that shoots arrows powered by the elasticity of the bow and/or the string. ...
Hunting spear and knife, from Mesa Verde National Park. ...
This article is about the woomera, a weapon. ...
Archaeology Whereas sling-bullets are common finds in the archaeological record, slings themselves are rare. This is because the materials from which slings are made are bio-degradable and because slings are low-status weapons that are rarely included in a wealthy person’s grave where preservation might be more probable.
There are exceptions. The oldest known extant slings were found in the tomb of Tutankhamen who died about 1325 B.C.. A pair of finely plaited slings were found among a number of other weapons. The sling was probably intended for the departed pharaoh to use for hunting game. Image of sling from the Tomb of Tutankhamen. Tutankhamun (alternate transcription Tutankhamen), named Tutankhaten early in his life, was Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt (1334 BC/1333 BC - 1323 BC), during the period known as the New Kingdom. ...
Centuries: 15th century BC - 14th century BC - 13th century BC Decades: 1370s BC 1360s BC 1350s BC 1340s BC 1330s BC - 1320s BC - 1310s BC 1300s BC 1290s BC 1280s BC 1270s BC Events and Trends Egypt: End of Eighteenth Dynasty, start of Nineteenth Dynasty (1320 BC) Significant People 1323...
Another Egyptian sling was excavated in El Lahun in Al Fayyum Egypt in 1914 by William Matthew Flinders Petrie and now resides in the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology. It was found alongside the remains of an iron spearhead and thought by Petrie to date from about 800 BC. The remains are broken into three sections and not quite complete. Although very fragile, the construction is clear: it is made of bast fibre (almost certainly flax) twine; the cords are braided in a 10-strand elliptical sennit and the cradle seems to have been woven from the same lengths of twine used to form the cords. Image of the Lahun sling and reconstruction by Burgess. Al Fayyum or El Faiyûm (Arabic: الÙيوم ) is the capital of Al Fayyum Governorate, Egypt. ...
Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie (3 June 1853 – 28 July 1942) was an English Egyptologist and a pioneer of systematic methodology in archaeology. ...
The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology in London is run by the Institute of Archaeology, which is part of the University of London. ...
Bast are the strong fibers in the phloem of some plants. ...
For other uses, see Flax (disambiguation). ...
A braid Step by step creation of a basic braid using three strings To braid is to interweave or twine three or more separate strands of one or more materials in a diagonally overlapping pattern. ...
A sennit is a kind of flat cordage made by plaiting thinner strands of rope or grass. ...
Ancient representations
 Slingers on Trajan's Column. Representations of slingers can be found on artifacts from all over the ancient world, including Assyrian and Egyptian reliefs, the columns of Trajan [4] and Marcus Aurelius, on coins and on the Bayeux Tapestry. Image File history File links Slingers_on_Trajans_Column. ...
Image File history File links Slingers_on_Trajans_Column. ...
In the Middle Bronze Age Assyria was a region on the Upper Tigris river, named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur (Akkadian: ; Hebrew: , Aramaic: ). Later, as a nation and empire that came to control all of the Fertile Crescent, Egypt and much of Anatolia, the term Assyria...
Trajans Column is a monument in Rome raised by order of emperor Trajan. ...
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus (April 26, 121[1] – March 17, 180) was Roman Emperor from 161 to his death. ...
The Bayeux Tapestry (French: Tapisserie de Bayeux) is a 50 cm by 70 m (20 in by 230 ft) long embroidered cloth which depicts the events leading up to the 1066 Norman invasion of England as well as the events of the invasion itself. ...
Written history The sling is mentioned in the Bible, which provides the oldest textual reference to a sling in Book of Judges, 20:16 [5]. This text was probably written about 1000 BC but refers to events of several centuries earlier. David and Goliath picture. ...
David and Goliath picture. ...
This article is about the Biblical king of Israel. ...
David faces Goliath in single combat. ...
This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library. ...
Book of Judges (Hebrew: Sefer Shoftim ספר שופטי×) is a book of the Bible originally written in Hebrew. ...
The Bible also provides the most famous slinger story: the battle between David and Goliath from The First Book of Samuel 17 [6], probably written in the 7th or 6th century BC, describing events from around the 10th century BC. In this story, the shepherd David, unarmoured and equipped only with a sling, defeats the warrior champion Goliath with a well aimed shot to the head. The story serves to emphasise several important aspects of the sling: it is clearly a low-status weapon, but in the hands of an expert it is not to be underestimated. This article is about the Biblical king of Israel. ...
David faces Goliath in single combat. ...
The Books of Samuel (Hebrew: Sefer Shmuel ספר שמו×ל), are part of the Tanakh (part of Judaisms Hebrew Bible) and also of the Old Testament (of Christianity). ...
(2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium) The 7th century BC started on January 1, 700 BC and ended on December 31, 601 BC. // Overview Events Ashurbanipal, king of Assyria who created the the first systematically collected library at Nineveh A 16th century depiction of the Hanging Gardens of...
(2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium) The 6th century BC started on January 1, 600 BC and ended on December 31, 501 BC. // Monument 1, an Olmec colossal head at La Venta The 5th and 6th centuries BC were a time of empires, but more importantly, a time...
(2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium) // Overview Events Partition of ancient Israel into the Kingdoms of Judah and Israel (c. ...
The sling is also mentioned by Homer [7] and by many other Greek authors. The historian of the famous retreat of the Ten Thousand, 401 BC, relates that the Greeks suffered severely from the slingers in the army of Mithridates, while they themselves had neither cavalry nor slingers, and were unable to reach the enemy with their arrows and javelins. This deficiency was later rectified when a company of 200 Rhodians, who understood the use of leaden sling-bullets, was formed. They were able, says Xenophon, to project their missiles twice as far as the Persian slingers, who used large stones. Homer (Greek: ) is the name given to the supposed unitary author of the early Greek poems the Iliad and the Odyssey. ...
The Ten Thousand were a group of mercenary units, mainly Greek, drawn up by Cyrus the Younger to attempt to wrest the throne of the Persian Empire from his brother, Artaxerxes II. Their march to the Battle of Cunaxa and back to Greece (401 BC-399 BC) was recorded by...
Xenophon, Greek historian Xenophon (In Greek , ca. ...
The Persian Empire was a series of historical empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the old Persian homeland, and beyond in Western Asia, Central Asia and the Caucasus. ...
Ancient authors seemed to believe, incorrectly, that sling-bullets could penetrate armour, and that lead projectiles, heated by their passage through the air, would melt in flight.[1][2] In the first instance, it seems likely that the authors were indicating that slings could cause injury through armour by a percussive effect rather than by penetration. In the latter case we may imagine that they were impressed by the degree of deformation suffered by lead sling-bullet after hitting a hard target.[3]
Various ancient peoples enjoyed a reputation for their skill with the sling. Thucydides mentions the Acarnanians and Livy refers to the inhabitants of three Greek cities on the northern coast of the Peloponnesus as expert slingers. Livy also mentions the most famous of ancient skillful slingers: the people of the Balearic Islands. Of these people Strabo writes: And their training in the use of slings used to be such, from childhood up, that they would not so much as give bread to their children unless they first hit it with the sling.[8] Bust of Thucydides residing in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto. ...
A portrait of Titus Livius made long after his death. ...
Capital Palma de Mallorca Official language(s) Spanish and Catalan Area – Total – % of Spain Ranked 17th 4,992 km² 1. ...
The Greek geographer Strabo in a 16th century engraving. ...
The late Roman writer Vegetius, in his work De Re Militari, wrote: Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1695x2336, 2620 KB) Balearic slinger by Johnny Shumate I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1695x2336, 2620 KB) Balearic slinger by Johnny Shumate I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ...
Capital Palma de Mallorca Official language(s) Spanish and Catalan Area – Total – % of Spain Ranked 17th 4,992 km² 1. ...
Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew from a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula circa the 9th century BC to a massive empire straddling the Mediterranean Sea. ...
Vegetius (Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus) was a celebrated military writer of the 4th century. ...
De Re Militari (Latin On military matters) was a treatise of late Roman warfare that became a military guide in the middle ages. ...
- Recruits are to be taught the art of throwing stones both with the hand and sling. The inhabitants of the Balearic Islands are said to have been the inventors of slings, and to have managed them with surprising dexterity, owing to the manner of bringing up their children. The children were not allowed to have their food by their mothers till they had first struck it with their sling. Soldiers, notwithstanding their defensive armour, are often more annoyed by the round stones from the sling than by all the arrows of the enemy. Stones kill without mangling the body, and the contusion is mortal without loss of blood. It is universally known the ancients employed slingers in all their engagements. There is the greater reason for instructing all troops, without exception, in this exercise, as the sling cannot be reckoned any encumbrance, and often is of the greatest service, especially when they are obliged to engage in stony places, to defend a mountain or an eminence, or to repulse an enemy at the attack of a castle or city.[9]
Combat It is clear that many ancient peoples used the sling in combat and that organised armies included specialist slingers as well as equipping regular soldiers with slings as a back up weapon. As a weapon, the sling had several clear advantages. In general, a sling bullet lobbed in a high trajectory could achieve an effective range of around 200 meters — significantly farther than most bows of the period, the arrows of which were usually loosed along relatively flat trajectories that seldom managed to send them beyond 100 meters. Modern authorities vary widely in their estimates of the effective range of ancient weapons and of course bows and arrows could also have been used to produce a long-range arcing trajectory, but ancient writers repeatedly stress the sling's advantage of range. The sling was light to carry and cheap to produce; ammunition in the form of stones was readily available and often to be found near the site of battle. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...
On the other hand, some modern historians have posited that unlike archers, it was probably difficult to deploy slingers in very close formation because each man requires a significant space in the line of battle and slingers cannot easily be deployed in multiple ranks. Historian Arther Ferrill has attempted to contradict this proposition by pointing out that the underhand technique (see "How to Sling" section below) would have allowed a slinger to swing his sling within a space not much larger than one needed by an archer or a comparable missile-armed warrior, and the debate remains largely unresolved to this day. An archer can easily shoot from behind protection or fortification — including downwards from the top of a wall — whereas a slinger must expose his person to the missiles of the enemy. An arrow is more likely to penetrate armours or shields due to its sharp point, but a sling could do damage to relatively soft armor (such as quilted cloth) by percussive force without the need to break the surface of the armor itself. It has been said that to achieve range and accuracy with a sling required a long period of training. However, this is probably no more the case than for the bow, and when the target was a mass formation great accuracy was probably not so essential. Arther Ferrill, now a professor emeritus of history at the University of Washington at Seattle[1], is also a respected expert on Ancient Rome and military history. ...
This image depicts a typical bow, as made by the Huns, lying against a tree. ...
An arrow is a pointed projectile that is shot with a bow. ...
This article does not cite any references or sources. ...
A shield is a protective device, meant to intercept attacks. ...
Caches of sling ammunition are frequently found at the sites of Iron Age hill forts of Europe. 40,000 sling stones were found at Maiden Castle in Southern England. It is proposed that Iron Age hill forts of Europe were designed to maximise the effectiveness of defending slingers. Iron Age Axe found on Gotland This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age, for the mythological Iron Age see Iron Age (mythology). ...
The term hill fort is commonly used by archeologists to describe fortified enclosures located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. ...
For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ...
Maden Castle from the north Maiden Castle is a hill fort, mostly dating from the Iron Age, situated 2 miles south of Dorchester, in Dorset, England. ...
The hilltop location of the forts would have given the defending slingers the advantage of range over the attackers and multiple concentric ramparts, each higher than the other, would allow a large number of men to create a hailstorm of stone. Consistent with this, it has been noted that, generally, where the natural slope is steep, the defences are narrow and where the slope is less steep, the defences are wider.
Construction A classic sling is braided from non-elastic material. The classic materials are flax, hemp or wool; those of the Balearic islanders were said to be made from a type of rush. Flax and hemp resist rotting, but wool is softer and more comfortable. For other uses, see Flax (disambiguation). ...
U.S. Marihuana production permit. ...
Long and short hair wool at the South Central Family Farm Research Center in Boonesville, Arizona Wool is the fiber derived from the fur of animals and people of the Caprinae family, principally sheep, but the hair of certain species of other mammals such as goats and rabbits and oxes...
Genera Andesia Distichia Juncus - Rush Luzula - Woodrush Marsippospermum Oxychloë Prionium Rostkovia The Juncaceae, or the Rush Family, is a rather small monocot flowering plant family. ...
Braided cords are used in preference to twisted rope because a braid resists twisting when stretched. This improves accuracy.
The overall length of a sling could vary significantly and a slinger may have slings of different lengths, the longer sling being used when greater range is required. A length of about 120 cm (4 ft) would be typical.
At the centre of the sling, a cradle or pouch is constructed. This may be formed by making a wide braid from the same material as the cords or by inserting a piece of a different material such as leather. The cradle is typically diamond shaped and, in use, will fold around the projectile. Some cradles have a hole or slit that allows the material to wrap around the projectile slightly thereby holding it more securely; some cradles take the form of a net. Modern leather-working tools Leather is a material created through the tanning of hides and skins of animals, primarily cattlehide. ...
At the end of one cord, a finger-loop is formed; this cord is called the retention cord. At the end of the other cord it is common practice to form a knot; this cord is called the release cord. The release cord will be held between finger and thumb to be released at just the right moment. The release cord may have a complex braid to add bulk to the end, this makes the knot easier to hold and the extra weight allows the loose end of a discharged sling to be recovered with a flick of the wrist.
Polyester (Dacron (TM)) is an excellent material for modern slings, because it does not rot or stretch and is soft and free of splinters. SEM picture of a bend in a high surface area polyester fiber with a seven-lobed cross section Polyester is a category of polymers, or, more specifically condensation polymers, which contain the ester functional group in their main chain. ...
Modern slings are begun by plaiting the cord for the finger loop in the center of a double-length set of cords. The cords are then folded to form the finger-loop. The cords are plaited as a single cord to the pocket. The pocket is then plaited, most simply as another pair of cords, or with flat braids or a woven net. The remainder of the sling is plaited as a single cord, and then finished with a knot. Braided construction resists stretching, and therefore produces an accurate sling.
Ammunition The simplest projectile was the humble stone, preferably well-rounded; suitable ammunition may frequently be found in a river. The size of the projectiles can vary dramatically in size from pebbles weighing no more than 50 g (2 oz.) to fist-sized stones weighing 500 g (1 lb) or more. Image File history File links Sling_bullets_clay_and_stone. ...
Image File history File links Sling_bullets_clay_and_stone. ...
Ham Hill is a country park to the west of Yeovil, Somerset, England. ...
Iron Age Axe found on Gotland This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age, for the mythological Iron Age see Iron Age (mythology). ...
A hill fort is a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for military advantage. ...
The ounce (abbreviation: oz) is the name of a unit of mass in a number of different systems, including various systems of mass that form part of English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ...
lb may refer to two units of measurement: A pound (unit of mass) A pound-force (unit of force), better distinguished as lbf or lbf. ...
Projectiles could also be purpose-made from clay; this allowed a very high consistency of size and shape of the shot that would be an aid to range and accuracy. Many examples have been found in the archaeological record. The Gay Head cliffs in Marthas Vineyard are made almost entirely of clay. ...
The best ammunition was cast from lead. Leaden sling-bullets were widely used in the Greek and Roman world. For a given mass, lead, being very dense, offers the minimum size and therefore minimum air resistance. In addition, leaden sling-bullets are small and difficult to see in flight. For Pb as an abbreviation, see PB. General Name, Symbol, Number lead, Pb, 82 Chemical series Post-transition metals or poor metals Group, Period, Block 14, 6, p Appearance bluish gray Standard atomic weight 207. ...
In some cases, the lead would be cast in a simple open mould made by pushing a finger or thumb into sand and pouring molten metal into the hole. However, sling-bullets were more frequently cast in two part moulds. Such sling-bullets come in a number of shapes including an ellipsoidal form closely resembling an acorn - this could be the origin of the Latin word for a leaden sling-bullet: glandes plumbeae (literally leaden acorns) or simply glandes (meaning acorns, singular glans). Casting may be used to create artistic sculptures Casting is a manufacturing process by which a molten material such as metal or plastic is introduced into a mold, allowed to solidify within the mold, and then ejected or broken out to make a fabricated part. ...
3D rendering of an ellipsoid In mathematics, an ellipsoid is a type of quadric that is a higher dimensional analogue of an ellipse. ...
Other shapes include spherical and, by far the most common, resembling the shape of an almond nut - like an American football that has been squashed so that it has an elliptical rather than circular section. This shape is sometimes referred to as biconical, although this really fails to convey the subtlety of the shape. Almond shaped leaden sling-bullets were typically about 35 mm (1 3/8 in) long and about 20 mm (3/4 in) wide weighing approximately 28 g (1 oz). United States simply as football, is a competitive team sport that is both fast-paced and strategic. ...
The ancients do not seem to have taken advantage of the manufacturing process to produce consistent results; leaden sling-bullets vary significantly. The reason why the almond shape was favoured is not clear: it is possible that there is some aerodynamic advantage, but it seems equally likely that there is some more prosaic reason such as the shape being easy to extract from a mould or that it will rest in a sling cradle with little danger of rolling out.
Very often, symbols or writings were moulded into lead sling-bullets. Many examples have been found including a collection of about 80 sling-bullets from the siege of Perusia in Etruria from 41 BC, to be found in the museum of modern Perugia). Examples of symbols include a stylised lightning bolt, a snake, and a scorpion - reminders of how a sling might strike without warning. Writing might include the name of the owning military unit or commander or might be more imaginative: "Take this," "Ouch," and even "For Pompey's backside" added insult to injury, whereas dexa (catch!) is just sarcastic. The ancient Perusia, now Perugia, first appears in history as one of the twelve confederate cities of Etruria. ...
The area covered by the Etruscan civilzation. ...
Location of Perugia in Italy Coordinates: , Country Region Province Province of Perugia Government - Mayor Renato Locchi Area - City 449 km² (1,165 sq mi) Elevation 493 m (1,617 ft) Population (July 2006)[1] - City 161,390 - Density 359/km² (929. ...
Pompey, Pompey the Great or Pompey the Triumvir [1] (Classical Latin abbreviation: CN·POMPEIVS·CN·F·SEX·N·MAGNVS[2], Gnaeus or Cnaeus Pompeius Magnus) (September 29, 106 BC–September 29, 48 BC), was a distinguished military and political leader of the late Roman republic. ...
Julius Caesar writes about clay shot being heated before slinging, so that it might set light to thatch. For other uses, see Julius Caesar (disambiguation). ...
The sling in medieval period
Europe By the Middle Ages the shepherd's sling was militarily extinct. The staff sling continued to be used in sieges and the sling was used as a part of large siege engines.
The sling continued in use for the hunting of game.
The Americas
A south American sling made of alpaca hair The sling was known throughout the Americas.[4] Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1953x1253, 240 KB)Taken by Neal Grout and released into the public domain. ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1953x1253, 240 KB)Taken by Neal Grout and released into the public domain. ...
This article is about a breed of domesticated ungulates. ...
In the ancient Andean civilizations such as Inca Empire slings were made from the wool of the Llama. These slings typically have a cradle that is long and thin and features a relatively long slit. Andean slings were constructed from contrasting colours of wool; complex braids and fine workmanship result in beautiful patterns. Ceremonial slings were also made; these were large, non-functional and generally lacked a slit. To this day, ceremonial slings are used in parts of the Andes as accessories in dances and in mock battles. Capital Cusco 1197-1533 Vilcabamba 1533-1572 Language(s) Quechua, Aymara, Jaqi family, Mochic and scores of smaller languages. ...
Binomial name (Linnaeus, 1758) The llama (Lama glama) is a South American camelid, widely used as a pack animal by the Incas[1] and other natives of the Andes mountains. ...
The sling was used for hunting and warfare. One notable use was in Incan resistance against the conquistadors after the fall of the Incan Empire. These slings were apparently very powerful; in 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Colombus, historian Charles C. Mann quoted a conquistador, who said that an Incan sling "could break a sword in two pieces" and "kill a horse" [5] Conquistadors (Spanish: []) (English: Conqueror) were Spanish soldiers, explorers and adventurers who invaded and conquered much of the Americas and Asia Pacific, bringing them under Spanish colonial rule between the 15th and 19th centuries, starting with the 1492 settlement by Christopher Columbus in what is now the Dominican Republic and Haiti. ...
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Charles C. Mann (fl. ...
Variants
Staff sling The staff sling, also known as the stave sling, consists of a stave (a length of wood) with a short sling at one end. One cord of the sling is firmly attached to the stave and the other end has a loop that can slide off and release the projectile. Staff slings are extremely powerful because the stave can be made as long as two meters, creating a powerful lever. Ancient art shows slingers holding staff slings by one end, with the pocket behind them, and using both hands to throw the staves forward over their heads. For other uses of the word staff, see staff. ...
Trunks A tree trunk as found at the Veluwe, The Netherlands Wood is a solid material derived from woody plants, notably trees but also shrubs. ...
Levers can be used to exert a large force over a small distance at one end by exerting only a small force over a greater distance at the other. ...
The staff sling has a shorter range than the shepherd's sling, is less accurate and requires two hands so the user could not carry a shield. It was generally used to throw heavy projectiles. Staff slings were good siege weapons because masses of stone could be launched at fortified locations at a high-arcing angle. A shield is a protective device, meant to intercept attacks. ...
The French word is fustibale.
Kestros The kestros (also known as the kestrosphendone, cestrus or cestrosphendone) is an intriguing sling weapon mentioned by Livy and Polybius. It seems to have been a heavy dart flung from a leather sling. It was invented in 168 BC and was employed by some of the Macedonian troops of King Perseus in Third Macedonian war. There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ...
Darts are missile weapons, designed to fly such that a sharp, often weighted point will strike first. ...
Centuries: 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC - 1st century BC Decades: 210s BC 200s BC 190s BC 180s BC 170s BC - 160s BC - 150s BC140s BC 130s BC 120s BC 110s BC Years: 173 BC 172 BC 171 BC 170 BC 169 BC - 168 BC - 167 BC 166 BC 165...
The Third Macedonian War (171 BC - 168 BC) was a war fought between Rome and King Perseus of Macedon. ...
Catapults The onager is a torsion powered siege engine which uses the energy stored in a mass of twisted ropes and releasing it in one quick motion to rotate what was, essentially, a staff sling. Sketch of an Onager, from Antique technology by Diels. ...
The trebuchet is a gravity powered siege engine which uses the energy stored in a raised weight to rotate what was, again, a staff sling. Some trebuchets were small and operated by a very small crew; however, unlike the onager, it was possible to build the trebuchet on a gigantic scale: such giants could hurl enormous rocks at huge ranges. Trebuchets are, in essence, mechanised slings. Trebuchet at Château des Baux, France. ...
Slings today The sling is used today as a weapon primarily by violent protestors, launching either stones or incendiary devices, such as Molotov cocktails. International Brigades used slings to throw grenades during the Spanish Civil War. Similarly, the Finns made use of sling-launched Molotov cocktails in the Winter War against Soviet tanks. For the 2008 film of the same name, see Incendiary (film). ...
Molotov cocktail is the generic name for a variety of crude incendiary weapons. ...
The three-pointed red star, symbol of the International Brigades The International Brigades were Republican military units in the Spanish Civil War, formed of many non-state sponsored volunteers of different countries who traveled to Spain, to fight for the republic in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939. ...
It has been suggested that Martyrs of the Spanish Civil War be merged into this article or section. ...
Combatants Finland Soviet Union Commanders Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim Kliment Voroshilov, later Semyon Timoshenko Strength 250,000 men 30 tanks 130 aircraft[1][2] 1,000,000 men 3,000 tanks 3,800 aircraft[3][4] Casualties 26,662 dead 39,886 wounded 1,000 captured[5] 126,875 dead...
Soviet redirects here. ...
The sling is of interest to athletes interested in, for example, breaking distance records. The best modern material is a polyester twine (trade name Dacron). Dacron is strong, smooth, immune to moisture and never rots. SEM picture of a bend in a high surface area polyester fiber with a seven-lobed cross section Polyester is a category of polymers, or, more specifically condensation polymers, which contain the ester functional group in their main chain. ...
The term plastics covers a range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic condensation or polymerization products that can be molded or extruded into objects or films or fibers. ...
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the current record for the greatest distance achieved in hurling an object from a sling is: 477.10 m (1565 ft 4 in), using a 127 cm (50 in) long sling and a 62 g (2.12 oz) dart. This was achieved by David Engvall at Baldwin Lake, California, USA on 13 September 1992. Those of a more traditional bent may prefer the Guinness record for slinging a stone: 437.10 m (1434 ft 2 in), using a 129.5 cm (51 in) long sling and a 52 g (1.8 oz) ovoid stone, set by Larry Bray in Loa, Utah, USA on 21 August 1981. The Guinness Book of Records (or in recent editions Guinness World Records, and in previous US editions Guinness Book of World Records) is a book published annually, containing an internationally recognized collection of superlatives: both in terms of human achievement and the extrema of the natural world. ...
is the 256th day of the year (257th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ...
is the 233rd day of the year (234th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Gregorian calendar). ...
Slings of tomorrow The principle of the sling is simply too good to go away. Various methods have been proposed for tether propulsion systems for spacecraft and many of these are slinging on a grand scale. Artists conception of satellite with a tether Tether propulsion uses long, strong strings (known as tethers) to change the orbits of spacecraft. ...
How to sling For a conventional throw, one does not make multiple rotations of the sling, a proper slinging action requires just one rapid rotation. The more times you swing it, the less likely you'll hit your target.
(Some slingers will rotate the sling slowly once or twice to seat the projectile in the cradle.)
One makes an overhand throw, using the sling to extend one's arm. The motion is similar to bowling a cricket ball. This is relatively accurate, instinctive and quite powerful. One faces 60 degrees away from the target, with one's weak hand closest to the target. The coordinated motion is to move every part of the body, legs, waist, shoulders, arms, elbows and wrist in the direction of the pocket in order to add as much speed as possible to the stone. One releases the projectile near the top of the swing, where the projectile will proceed roughly parallel to the surface of the earth.
Another method of release said to be favoured by slingers firing into grouped or massed targets is an underhand throw. The motion is similar to that of throwing a softball. The trajectory arc is relatively high. The thrower stands 60 degrees away from the target, and takes one step forward from the trailing foot, letting the sling swing forward. Range is said to be increased with this method, sacrificing accuracy. Several historians have conjectured that this was the most commonly used method in ancient warfare due to its practicality.
There are also sideways releases, in which the swing goes around. These throws make it very easy to miss the target by releasing the projectile at a slightly wrong time. Other slinging methods can be seen, but many authorities deprecate them.
The clumsiest part of using a shepherd's sling is to regain control of the release cord. Conventionally, the loop of the retention cord is placed around a finger of the strong hand. Several projectiles may be held in the weak hand. After the release, an expert will continue the motion. The cradle will catch around a stone held out with the weak hand, so that the end of the release cord swings back to the strong hand retaining the loop. Just after the knot begins to swing, slightly before the knot reaches the strong hand, one drops or throws the projectile toward the ground with the weak hand, starting into the next release. Some persons braid the end of the release cord around a weight to help perform this manoeuvre. With this method, a skillful user can throw an aimed stone every few seconds in a cyclic coordinated movement, until the weak hand is empty.
In popular culture - In the Dungeons and Dragons fantasy game and computer games based on it, the sling is a projectile weapon that can be used by most classes.
- In the computer game Nethergate, both Romans and Celts can use slings, and Celts are particularly skilled with them.
- In the Heroes of Might and Magic series of computer games, halflings use slings as their weapon.
- Slingers feature as a common skirmisher unit in Rome: Total War for several factions, often those without bow-armed infantry. They are portrayed as slightly inferior to normal archers, with the notable exception of mercenary Rhodian and Baelaric Slingers. However this issue has been adressed in the Rome: Total Realism mod.
- In Age of Mythology slingers are available to the Egyptian side. They are cheap counter archers, posing little threat to any units other than archers, and are generally made superfluous by Heroic Age units such as Chariot Archers.
- Episode "Homecoming" of series TV Lost. Ethan Rom wielded a sling and released the projectile upon Jin in order to knock him out.
- It was used inside the book Starcraft: Liberty's Crusade.
- In Jean Auel's book The Clan of the Cave Bear the eponymous Neanderthal people use slings for hunting small game, although it is disparaged as a weapon for men too old to participate in the group's hunting of big game with spears. Ayla, the main character, secretly (since even contact with hunting weapons is taboo for females) teaches herself to use a sling she finds discarded from a men's practice session and achieves deadly accuracy with the weapon. She even eventually develops a (possibly inauthentic) method of firing two stones in rapid succession. In the sequel The Valley of Horses she extends her skill to slinging from horseback, and her proficiency with the weapon inspires the other principal character Jondalar to create a spear thrower based on similar principles.
- It is a favourite weapon of many beasts (most notably otters) in the series Redwall.
The original Dungeons & Dragons set Dungeons & Dragons (abbreviated as D&D or DnD) is a fantasy role-playing game (RPG) published by Gary Gygax and David Arneson in January 1974. ...
This article is about a concept in role-playing games. ...
Nethergate logo Nethergate is a computer-based historical-fiction fantasy role-playing game by Spiderweb Software available for the Macintosh and Microsoft Windows platforms. ...
Heroes of Might and Magic II Heroes of Might and Magic (sometimes called simply Heroes or HoMM) is a series of turn-based computer games developed by New World Computing, a division of The 3DO Company. ...
Halfling is another name for J. R. R. Tolkiens hobbit and is a fictional race sometimes found in fantasy novels and games. ...
Rome: Total War is a grand strategy computer game where players fight historical and fictious battles during the era of the Roman Republic, from 270 BCE to 14 CE. The game was developed by Creative Assembly and released on September 22, 2004. ...
Age of Mythology (commonly abbreviated as AoM), is a mythology-based, real-time strategy computer game developed by Ensemble Studios, and published by Microsoft Game Studios. ...
Jean Marie Auel (born February 18, 1936 in Chicago, Illinois) is a writer, who is best known for the Earths Children books, a series of books set in prehistoric Europe which explores interactions of Cro-Magnon people with Neanderthals. ...
The Clan of the Cave Bear is a historical fiction novel by Jean M. Auel. ...
This article is about cultural prohibitions in general, for other uses, see Taboo (disambiguation). ...
The Valley of Horses is a historical fiction novel by Jean M. Auel. ...
Jondalar is the male main character of Jean Auels Earths Children series. ...
The atlatl is a weapon that uses leverage to achieve greater speed in spear-throwing, and includes a bearing surface which allows the user to temporarily store elastic energy during the throw. ...
Redwall was the first book in the eponymous series by Brian Jacques. ...
Footnotes - ^ Lucretius, On the Nature of Things[1] -- "Just as thou seest how motion will o'erheat / And set ablaze all objects, - verily / A leaden ball, hurtling through length of space, / Even melts."
- ^ Virgil, The Aeneid[2], Book 9, Stanza LXXV -- "His lance laid by, thrice whirling round his head / The whistling thong, Mezentius took his aim. / Clean through his temples hissed the molten lead, / And prostrate in the dust, the gallant youth lay dead."
- ^ This has been observed in modern times. After slinging a lead fishing weight against a concrete block, the slinger photographed the deformed weight and observed that it was hot when he picked it up.[3].
- ^ Paul Campbell. The Chumash Sling. ABOtech.com. Retrieved on 2007-05-16.
- ^ Mann, pg. 84.
Lucretius Titus Lucretius Carus (c. ...
For other uses, see Virgil (disambiguation). ...
Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ...
May 16 is the 136th day of the year (137th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
See also An atlatl (from Nahuatl ahtlatl ; in English pronounced [1] or [2]) or spear-thrower is a tool that uses leverage to achieve greater velocity in spear-throwing, and includes a bearing surface which allows the user to temporarily store energy during the throw. ...
A Swiss arrow, more commonly called a Dutch arrow, but also a Yorkshire arrow, or a Gypsy arrow is similar to a standard arrow, with the addition of a small notch close to the fletching. ...
Further reading - The ballistics of the sling, Thom Richardson, Royal Armouries Yearbook, Volume 3 1998.
- An Ancient Egyptian Sling Reconstructed, E. Martin Burgess 1958, Journal of the Arms and Armour Society, 2.10 June:226-30.
External links - Slinging.org resources for slinging enthusiasts.
- Sling Weapons The Evolution of Sling Weapons
- The Sling - Ancient Weapon
- Sports and Pastimes of the People of England, Joseph Strutt, 1903.
- Funda, William Smith, A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities.
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