Ancient Traps

It seems ancient traps do not have a “use by” date. The traps and trigger systems go back 10,000 years and more, lost in the mist of time.

They still work today, standing the test of time. Some have been rediscovered, like the promontory peg and it works very well, a two stick trigger system, a dead fall that is ingenious and effective. It had to work so the native peoples could eat , they did not use it for sport.

Most are familiar with the figure 4 dead fall system and its variations, but most do not set it up in the proper manner.The trigger system should be to the outside of the dead fall, so when the weight comes down the upright does not deflect the weight. The bait stick should be almost touching the back of the weight, if not touching it, for the best results. Some like this system because it is easy to learn and has a decent track record, only requires a few sticks and no cordage. In my research, the Paiutes are the origin for this trap. When you look at them the Paiute dead fall it is much the same mechanics as the figure 4, with the difference of the use of cordage, and perhaps a bit more efficient, but the same basic principle. The craft and the mechanics involved of these traps is pure genius. All over the world we find elaborate traps.

There are the so called line drives, called “kites”, stone built along like a deep fence that guides the animal to a killing field that they cannot escape from . Some of these guides are up to 40 miles long. Made from stone and wood, they have been debated for years. They were first seen from the air in WW2 and then studied in depth. Now that is an elaborate system that took years to build… that is a trap, said to date back about 3000 years. They were made for antelope and other critters of the hoofed kind.

The Mohave scissor trap holds the critter and with each breath the scissors squeezes ever more and within seconds causes death.A most elegant and humane trap. You can see where the idea came from for all the body holding traps like the conibear.

Ancient man who lived on the sea shores all over the world seemed to notice the same features along their respective shores. When the tide went out many fish were caught in tide pools. Trapped by nature they could not get out until high tide came back in. Most of these natural traps were crescent shaped, so the next logical step was to construct them by hand in order not leave it to chance so they could benefit from the bounty of the sea.

We have not even touched the myriad traps in existence, after all it takes a large book to cover them all. The snare traps and the variations is a facinating subject. My point is to bring attention to how these ancient traps are found all over the world. The ingenuity of ancient man is really astounding. Just the mechanics is a huge step to have been taken by our ancestors and we still benefit from those peoples today. Those who are into the primitive techno aspects of the ancients are working with the brilliant results handed down by these peoples.

If you have the occasion to use one of these traps be sure to thank those who came before us and indeed invented a trap system that fed them and allowed us to exist.

By Dude McLean

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