The sling is an ancient weapon known to Neolithic peoples around the Mediterranean, but is likely to be much older. It is possible that the sling was invented during the Upper Palaeolithic at a time when new technologies such as the spear-thrower and the bow and arrow were beginning to emerge. In Australia, the woomera has the same mechanical dynamics as the sling, transducing rotational movement into linear projection, although it is not known whether this was an independent invention or not. I