26 ms·

Could some archaeologist shed some light on this? I'm not arguing against the weapon theory, but... It was found near the Thames, it was made of wood, it didn't

Could some archaeologist shed some light on this? I'm not arguing against the weapon theory, but... It was found near the Thames, it was made of wood, it didn't show any traces of blood or anything that would suggest a bone impact, it has the distinct shape of a paddle, it even has a pommel to prevent you from losing it when it's wet, but in the entire article I couldn't find a single reason why it couldn't be just a paddle - not that you couldn't use it as a weapon for the occasional weekend massacre...

pacaro 9y ago
I’m not an archeologist, and you raise an interesting question, but from what I can find, the Neolithic paddles that we know about have much more efficient shapes. As a recreational kayaker and paddler for 35 years, I can certainly attest that you would optimize the weight of a paddle as much as possible. Kayak paddles used by indigenous peoples in the Arctic are traditionally made using a Stone Age toolkit (these societies had no significant access to metal until relatively recently) and have highly optimized forms
Someone 9y ago
”When it was in good shape, the Thames Beater measured about two feet in length” For me, that alone makes it unlikely it is a paddle. Google also gives me https://bendingbranches.com/sizing/canoe-paddle https://bendingbranches.com/sizing/canoe-paddle. The smallest paddle It suggests is a three feet paddle, and that is if your nose is 20 inches above your seat. This also looks too heavy for a paddle. Looking at the pommel, I doubt that’s because they couldn’t do better at the time. So, I doubt it is a paddle. A child’s cricket bat is more likely, given where it was found :-)
- mcguire 9y ago
  A cricket bat like the piltdown man's?
- zupzupper 9y ago
  For a canoe you're sitting relatively high in the water, check out the Coracle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coracle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coracle For bonus points, its also known to have been in common use in the British Isles. They could have just been using this as a basic rudder?
- sandworm101 9y ago
  Smaller people. Smaller boats. And how do we know we are looking at a finished product? This could be by someone still trying to work out what size/shape he wants. Or maybe this is the backup paddle kept for when you really really need one and don't care so much about its size.
  - Someone 9y ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neolithic_Revolution#Social_change https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neolithic_Revolution#Social_ch...: ”Average height went down from 5'10" (178 cm) for men and 5'6" (168 cm) for women to 5'5" (165 cm) and 5'1" (155 cm), respectively, and it took until the twentieth century for average human height to come back to the pre-Neolithic Revolution levels.” Smaller people, but nowhere near what’s needed to make such a short paddle usable. And yes, it could be a badly made paddle, but I think that’s very unlikely. Just think about how you use a paddle; you hold it with one hand at the pommel and the other about halfway down the shaft. In this case, halfway down is about a foot between your hands. If you want that to be body-sized, you need a body that’s quite a bit less than a foot wide between the shoulders. Also, to have this ‘blade’ enter the water, the hand on the pommel can’t be much more than a foot above the water shoulder height. That hand starts each stroke at about shoulder height. I also guess (but can’t tell from the photos) experts can see the product was finished from its smoothness. If you cut wood, you start by cutting it into a rough shape, and only then care about finer details. You don’t make a smooth looking but oversized object and remove millimeters at a time.
Retric 9y ago
It has a rather striking similarity to Maori weapons which we have extensive documentation for: https://www.armymuseum.co.nz/blog/maori-weapons.html https://www.armymuseum.co.nz/blog/maori-weapons.html The idea is you want extra weight at the end of a club for increased momentum without increasing overall weight as much, but you want to avoid extra air resistance. Resulting in a large flat end that tapers to a handle. The base of the handle then flares out for a pommel and/or includes a hole for a string (think Wii controllers). That said, it also somewhat resembles a cooking implement, but the specific shape may make that less likely.
YeGoblynQueenne 9y ago
Well, the theory kind of goes that it is a paddle- the kind a neolithic person would not want to find themselves up the proverbial creek without. But you didn't mean that. (look, it's almost Christmas. I can crack a joke, surely?)

pacaro 9y ago

I’m not an archeologist, and you raise an interesting question, but from what I can find, the Neolithic paddles that we know about have much more efficient shapes. As a recreational kayaker and paddler for 35 years, I can certainly attest that you would optimize the weight of a paddle as much as possible. Kayak paddles used by indigenous peoples in the Arctic are traditionally made using a Stone Age toolkit (these societies had no significant access to metal until relatively recently) and have highly optimized forms

Someone 9y ago

”When it was in good shape, the Thames Beater measured about two feet in length” For me, that alone makes it unlikely it is a paddle. Google also gives me https://bendingbranches.com/sizing/canoe-paddle https://bendingbranches.com/sizing/canoe-paddle. The smallest paddle It suggests is a three feet paddle, and that is if your nose is 20 inches above your seat. This also looks too heavy for a paddle. Looking at the pommel, I doubt that’s because they couldn’t do better at the time. So, I doubt it is a paddle. A child’s cricket bat is more likely, given where it was found :-)

mcguire 9y ago
A cricket bat like the piltdown man's?
zupzupper 9y ago
For a canoe you're sitting relatively high in the water, check out the Coracle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coracle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coracle For bonus points, its also known to have been in common use in the British Isles. They could have just been using this as a basic rudder?
sandworm101 9y ago
Smaller people. Smaller boats. And how do we know we are looking at a finished product? This could be by someone still trying to work out what size/shape he wants. Or maybe this is the backup paddle kept for when you really really need one and don't care so much about its size.
- Someone 9y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neolithic_Revolution#Social_change https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neolithic_Revolution#Social_ch...: ”Average height went down from 5'10" (178 cm) for men and 5'6" (168 cm) for women to 5'5" (165 cm) and 5'1" (155 cm), respectively, and it took until the twentieth century for average human height to come back to the pre-Neolithic Revolution levels.” Smaller people, but nowhere near what’s needed to make such a short paddle usable. And yes, it could be a badly made paddle, but I think that’s very unlikely. Just think about how you use a paddle; you hold it with one hand at the pommel and the other about halfway down the shaft. In this case, halfway down is about a foot between your hands. If you want that to be body-sized, you need a body that’s quite a bit less than a foot wide between the shoulders. Also, to have this ‘blade’ enter the water, the hand on the pommel can’t be much more than a foot above the water shoulder height. That hand starts each stroke at about shoulder height. I also guess (but can’t tell from the photos) experts can see the product was finished from its smoothness. If you cut wood, you start by cutting it into a rough shape, and only then care about finer details. You don’t make a smooth looking but oversized object and remove millimeters at a time.

Retric 9y ago

It has a rather striking similarity to Maori weapons which we have extensive documentation for: https://www.armymuseum.co.nz/blog/maori-weapons.html https://www.armymuseum.co.nz/blog/maori-weapons.html The idea is you want extra weight at the end of a club for increased momentum without increasing overall weight as much, but you want to avoid extra air resistance. Resulting in a large flat end that tapers to a handle. The base of the handle then flares out for a pommel and/or includes a hole for a string (think Wii controllers). That said, it also somewhat resembles a cooking implement, but the specific shape may make that less likely.

YeGoblynQueenne 9y ago

Well, the theory kind of goes that it is a paddle- the kind a neolithic person would not want to find themselves up the proverbial creek without. But you didn't mean that. (look, it's almost Christmas. I can crack a joke, surely?)