What exactly are the advantages of the bow vs. the atlatl?
The atlatl can achieve fairly impressive power and distance; the Conquistadors found that atlatl darts could frequently penetrate their chain-mail when they went up against primitives armed with the weapon. Also, a fair degree of accuracy is possible if one practices enough. The bow has a couple of advantages…. First, it’s more compact overall. This means you can shoot from heavy cover, or from sitting or kneeling positions. It’s much easier to sneak through the woods with a bow and a quiver of arrows than it is with an atlatl and a bunch of 6-foot darts. Also, you can shoot a bow from horseback, an important consideration for peoples that had domesticated that animal. Accuracy with the bow is superior as well. Finally, the atlatl is somewhat inefficient. If you watch slo-motion footage of one in use, you’ll notice a very large amount of flexion in the dart as it’s released. This causes the dart to oscillate in flight for some considerable distance, increasing aerodynamic drag. Arrow
