World's oldest boomerang - found in Poland

Only a plastic one when I was a child, as Bunny said it was more a form of human fetch.

Various sorts of throwing sticks have been used all over the world, for a very long time, I supposed we in Europe stopped using them when we invented archery?

Dog ball throwers are based on paleolithic spear throwers.

Atlatl is the name of the spear thrower.

Atlatl sounds like a good name for a service dog.

Some years ago, National Geographic produced a video demonstrating the use and advantage to historic hunting people of an atlatl (helps to imagine / visualise what was involved):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHgUMUk3YwY

Not quite your average saunter down to your local supermarket!

I agree.  It is strange how some words capture attention this way.

Goodness knows why; my mind then leapt to another word whose sounds I like: Tenochtitlan.

("Tenochtitlan

also known as Mexico-Tenochtitlan, was a large Mexican altepetl in what is now the historic center of Mexico City." - of circa 700 years ago.) 

(Altepetl

another good sounding word - "The altepetl was the local, ethnically-based political entity, usually translated into English as "city-state", of pre-Columbian Nahuatl-speaking societies in the Americas.").

... aardvark, Alberque - so many words - insufficient time to explore.

I agree.  It is strange how some words capture attention this way.

Goodness knows why; my mind then leapt to another word whose sounds I like: Tenochtitlan.

("Tenochtitlan

also known as Mexico-Tenochtitlan, was a large Mexican altepetl in what is now the historic center of Mexico City." - of circa 700 years ago.) 

(Altepetl

another good sounding word - "The altepetl was the local, ethnically-based political entity, usually translated into English as "city-state", of pre-Columbian Nahuatl-speaking societies in the Americas.").

... aardvark, Alberque - so many words - insufficient time to explore.