Throwing

Throwing is a physical action which consists of mechanically accelerating a projectile and then releasing it into a ballistic trajectory, usually with the aim of impacting a distant target. This action typically refers to hand-throwing by animals with prehensile forelimbs. In this case, the projectile is grasped in a hand while the proximal limb segments move through compounded kinematic chains to impart a mechanical advantaged swinging motion. For other animals, the definition of throwing is somewhat unclear, as other actions such as spitting or spraying may or may not be included.

Primates are the most proliferative throwers in the animal kingdom, and they typically throw feces as a form of agonistic behavior. Of all primates, humans are by far the most capable throwers, and throw a large variety of projectiles with a much greater complexity, efficacy and accuracy. Throughout human evolution, humans (especially Homo sapiens) have used hand-thrown projectiles for hunting and in warfare — first through rock-throwing, then refined weapon-throwing (e.g. spear, axe or dart), and into modern day with payload-carrying devices such as hand grenades, flashbangs and tear gas canisters.

To overcome the biophysical limitations of throwing by hand, humans also designed tools to improve the efficiency of their throwing techniques. The atlatl, amentum, sling and various models of catapults are notable examples of throwing mechanisms.

With the advent of bow and arrow, and later the gunpowder-based firearms, human innovation into throwing tools as ranged weapons essentially obsoleted, but throwing either by hand or with tools has persisted for recreational purposes (such as thrower tools in fishing and clay pigeon shooting) or as a form of exercise. Throwing is thus still performed in many sports and games, particularly ball games, and in throwing sports (especially track and field) the action is the main determiner of the outcome.