How to Make a Stone Age Sling!

Last Updated on Thursday, 03 September 2009 01:53 Written by Storm Thursday, 03 September 2009 01:52

Here are the tools I use to construct a sling:  buckskin, a broken javelina tooth that I found in southern Arizona, unidentified thin bones I
collected from a deer carcass, and a wooden mallet.

That javelina tooth cuts through buckskin, even the thicker skin around the deer’s neck, very quickly.  It definitely rivals the proficiency of an obsidian flake (although the tooth required some sharpening on a piece of sandstone after this project was finished).  Here I am cutting out the sling’s pouch.

The shape of the pouch can vary amongst users.  You can visit the slinging website mentioned above to view different styles. 
Here is a pouch I had cut and pierced earlier in the day.

Piercing the buckskin, in order to attach the cords, can be challenging.  A sharp, strong implement is required.  I use a small bone and a wooden mallet.  If you know the name or placement of this deer bone, please let me know ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ).  I collected three of them from a mostly-intact, totally clean deer carcass.

There are many ways to attach the pouch to the cords. I chose a three-point method in order to draw the edges of the pouch together and secure the projectile within the buckskin.  The next sling I make will sport a simpler one-point attachment so that I can test the potential differences.

It is said that the cords should be as long as the distance between your hand and heart when your slinging hand is extended to your side.  Being a beginner, I have made the cords slightly shorter.  This ought to give me more control and accuracy over shorter distances.

After having attached one cord to each end of the pouch, I knotted one end and made a loop on the other.

Holding the knot and loop as one would when operating the sling. 

Aim, sling, and devour your kill!