Modern schoolchildren, having fallen into the walls of a historical museum, usually with a laugh go through an exposition where tools of the Stone Age are exhibited. They seem so primitive and simple that they do not even deserve special attention from visitors to the exhibition. However, in fact, these tools of the ancient man of the Stone Age are clear evidence of how he evolved from a humanoid monkey to Homo Sapiens. Tracing this process is extremely interesting, but historians and archaeologists can only direct the curious mind in the right direction. Indeed, at the moment, almost everything that they know about the Stone Age is based on the study of these very simple tools. But the development of primitive people was actively influenced by society, religious beliefs and climate. Unfortunately, archaeologists of past centuries did not take into account these factors at all, giving a characteristic of a particular period of the Stone Age. Scientists began to carefully study the tools of the Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic much later. And they were literally delighted with how skillfully primitive people treated with stone, sticks and bone - the most accessible and widespread materials at that time. Today we will tell you about the main tools of the Stone Age and their purpose. We will also try to recreate the production technology of some items. And be sure to give a photo with the names of the tools of the Stone Age, which are most often found in historical museums of our country.
A brief description of the Stone Age
Today, scientists believe that the Stone Age can be safely attributed to the most important cultural and historical layer, which is still pretty poorly studied. Some experts argue that this period does not have clear time boundaries, because official science has established them based on the study of finds made in Europe. But she did not take into account that many of the peoples of Africa were in the Stone Age until they became acquainted with more developed cultures. It is known that still some tribes process animal skins and carcasses with objects made of stone. Therefore, the talk that the tools of the people of the Stone Age is the distant past of mankind is premature.
Based on official data, we can say that the Stone Age began about three million years ago from the moment when the first hominid living in Africa came up with the idea to use the stone for its own purposes.
Studying the tools of the Stone Age, archaeologists often can not determine their purpose. This can be done if you observe tribes that have a similar level of development with primitive people. Thanks to this, many objects become more understandable, as well as the technology of their manufacture.
Historians divided the Stone Age into several rather large time periods: Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic. In each tool, labor gradually improved and became more and more skilled. However, their purpose also changed over time. It is noteworthy that archaeologists distinguish tools of the Stone Age and the place where they were found. In the northern regions, people needed some objects, and in the southern latitudes - completely different. Therefore, to create a complete picture, scientists need both those and other finds. Only by the totality of all the found tools of labor can we draw up the most accurate idea of the life of primitive people in ancient times.
Materials for the manufacture of tools
Naturally, in the Stone Age, the main material for the manufacture of certain objects was stone. Of its varieties, primitive people chose mainly flint and limestone slate. They made excellent cutting tools and weapons for hunting.
In a later period, people began to actively use basalt. He went to tools intended for domestic needs. However, this happened already when people became interested in agriculture and cattle breeding.
At the same time, a primitive man mastered the manufacture of tools from bone, horns of animals killed by him, and wood. In various life situations, they were very useful and successfully replaced the stone.
If we focus on the sequence of occurrence of tools of the Stone Age, we can conclude that nevertheless the first and main material of ancient people was stone. It was he who turned out to be the most durable and was of great value in the eyes of primitive man.
The appearance of the first tools
The first tools of the Stone Age, the sequence of occurrence of which is so important for the world scientific community, were the result of accumulated knowledge and experience. This process lasted more than one century, because it was rather difficult for a primitive man of the Early Paleolithic era to understand that objects collected by chance could be useful to him.
Historians believe that hominids in the process of evolution have been able to understand the wide possibilities of stones and sticks, found by chance, to protect themselves and their community. So it was easier to drive away wild animals and get roots. Therefore, primitive people began to pick up stones and throw them away after use.
However, after some time they realized that it was not so easy to find the right object in nature. Sometimes it was necessary to bypass vast enough territories to make a stone convenient and suitable for gathering in the hands. Such items began to be stored, gradually the collection was replenished with comfortable bones and branched sticks of the desired length. All of them became peculiar prerequisites for the first implements of labor of the ancient Stone Age.
Tools of the Stone Age: the sequence of their occurrence
Among some groups of scientists, the division of implements into historical epochs to which they belong is accepted. However, one can imagine in a different way the sequence of occurrence of tools. Stone Age people gradually developed, so historians gave them different names. Over the long millennia, they have gone from Australopithecus to Cro-Magnon. Naturally, the tools changed during these periods. If you carefully monitor the development of the human individual, then in parallel you can understand how much the tools have been improved. Therefore, further we will talk about objects made during the Paleolithic period by hand:
- Australopithecus;
- pithecanthropus;
- Neanderthals
- Cro-Magnons.
If you still want to know what tools were in the Stone Age, then the following sections of the article will reveal this secret for you.
Invention of tools
The appearance of the first objects designed to facilitate the life of primitive people dates back to the time of Australopithecus. These apes are considered the most ancient ancestors of modern man. It was they who learned to collect the necessary stones and sticks, and then decided to try to give the desired shape to the found object with their own hands.
Australopithecus predominantly engaged in gathering. They constantly looked for edible roots in the forests and picked berries, and therefore they were often attacked by wild animals. The stones found in a random way, as it turned out, helped to engage in the usual business more productively and even allowed to protect themselves from animals. Therefore, an ancient man made attempts to turn an improper stone into something useful with a few strokes. After a series of titanic efforts, the first tool appeared - chopped.
This item was an oblong shaped stone. On the one hand, it was thickened to fit more conveniently in the hand, and the ancient man sharpened the other with blows with another stone. It is worth noting that the creation of chopped was a very time-consuming process. The stones were quite difficult to process, and the movements of Australopithecus were not exact. Scientists believe that to create one chopper required at least a hundred strokes, and the weight of the tool often reached fifty kilograms.
With the help of chopping, it was much more convenient to dig up roots from under the ground and even kill them with wild animals. We can say that it was with the invention of the first tool of labor that a new milestone began in the development of mankind as a species.
Despite the fact that chopping was the most popular tool, Australopithecus learned to create scrapers and peaked points. However, the scope of their applications was the same - gathering.
Pithecanthropus implements
This species is already bipedal and can pretend to be called a person. The tools of the people of the Stone Age of this period, unfortunately, are not numerous. Finds related to the era of Pithecanthropus are very valuable for science, because each item found carries in itself extensive information about the poorly studied historical time interval.
Scientists believe that Pithecanthropus used mostly the same tools as Australopithecus, but learned to process them more skillfully. Stone choppers were still very common. Flakes were also used. They were made of bone by splitting into several parts, as a result, a primitive man received a product with sharp and cutting edges. Some findings allow us to get an idea that the Pithecanthropus tried to make tools from wood. Actively used by people and eoliths. This term was used to refer to stones found in water bodies, which have sharp edges by nature.
Neanderthals: New Inventions
The tools of the Stone Age (photos with the signature we gave in this section), made by Neanderthals, are light and new forms. Gradually, people began to approach the choice of the most convenient shapes and sizes, which greatly facilitated the hard daily work.
Most of the finds of that period were discovered in one of the caves in France, so scientists call all the tools of Neanderthal labor Mousterian. This name was given in honor of the cave where large-scale excavations were carried out.
A distinctive feature of these items is their focus on the manufacture of clothing. The ice age during which the Neanderthals lived dictated their conditions to them. In order to survive, they had to learn how to process animal skins and sew various clothes from them. Among the tools appeared punctures, needles and awls. With their help, the skins could be joined together by the tendons of animals. Such tools were made of bone and most often by splitting the source material into several plates.
In general, scientists divide the finds of that period into three large groups:
- ruby;
- scraper;
- peaked points.
Rubilitsa resembled the first implements of ancient man, but they were much smaller. They were quite common and were used in different situations, for example, to strike.
Scrapers were great for carving carcasses of dead animals. Neanderthals skillfully separated the skin from meat, which was then divided into small pieces. With the help of the same scraper, the skins were further processed, this tool was also suitable for creating various wood products.
Pointed ones are often used as weapons. Neanderthals had sharp darts, spears and knives for various purposes. For all this, peaked points were needed.
Age of Cro-Magnon
This type of person is characterized by high growth, a strong figure and a wide range of skills. Cro-Magnons successfully put into practice all the inventions of their ancestors and came up with completely new tools.
During this period, stone tools were still extremely common, but gradually people appreciated other materials. They learned how to make various devices from the tusks of animals and their horns. The main activities were gathering and hunting. Therefore, all tools contributed to the relief of these types of labor. It is noteworthy that Cro-Magnons learned to fish, so archaeologists were able to find, in addition to the well-known knives, blades, arrowheads and spearheads, harpoons and fishing hooks made from animal tusks and bones.
Interestingly, the Cro-Magnons came up with the idea of making dishes from clay and burning them in a fire. It is believed that the end of the ice age and the Paleolithic era, which was the heyday of the Cro-Magnon culture, was marked by significant changes in the life of primitive people.
Mesolithic
Scientists date this period from the tenth to the sixth millennium BC. In the Mesolithic, the world's oceans gradually increased, so people had to constantly adapt to unfamiliar conditions. They developed new territories and sources of food. Naturally, all this affected the tools, which became more perfect and convenient.
In the Mesolithic era, archaeologists everywhere found microliths. By this term, it is necessary to understand the tools made of small stone. They greatly facilitated the work of ancient people and allowed them to create skillful products.
It is believed that it was during this period that people first began to tame wild animals. For example, dogs became loyal companions of hunters and guards in large settlements.
Neolithic
This is the final stage of the Stone Age, in which people mastered agriculture, cattle breeding and continued to develop pottery craftsmanship. Such a sharp leap in human development noticeably altered stone tools. They acquired a clear focus and began to be manufactured only for a particular industry. For example, stone plows were used to till the land before planting, and harvested with special tools for harvesting with cutting edges. Other tools made it possible to finely chop plants and prepare food from them.
It is noteworthy that in the Neolithic era, whole settlements of stone were built. Sometimes houses and all objects inside them were wholly and completely cut out of stone. Such villages were very common in the territory of modern Scotland.
In general, by the end of the Paleolithic era, man had successfully mastered the technique of manufacturing tools from stone and other materials. This period has become a solid foundation for the further development of human civilization. However, until now, ancient stones have many secrets that attract modern adventurers from around the world.