Today, films about the life of a primitive man sometimes appear on screens . But what was she like? What did the Cro-Magnon man do in his free time? What ancient tools can be seen in our time?
You will find answers to all these questions by reading this article.
The meaning of the term
This concept first appeared in the works of Karl Marx. He defines it as a "mechanical means of labor." It was thanks to the classification of finds and the compilation of periodization of the increasingly complicated production of objects that the German scientist confirmed his theory of social evolution.
Those are, in a more understandable language, a tool - this is any item due to which we work on natural materials and get the things we need. For example, if you take a spear and kill a mammoth, then the whole tribe will be well-fed and dressed. In this case, the spear is a tool of hunting and labor.
Classes of an Ancient Man
Judging by Darwin's theory, man descended from a monkey. Indeed, archaeologists find the remains of mammals, which in the structure of the skull bear the features of a monkey and a person.
Ramapitec, Australopithecus, Pithecanthropus, Neanderthal ... These are transitional stages from the animal world to man.
Our modern look is called Homo sapiens ( Homo sapiens ), or Cro-Magnon. Its occurrence is attributed to the period 40,000 years ago.
The feature that distinguished people from animals, then there was already speech and the ability to consciously influence events. That is, a person was trained to produce ancient tools, the names of which we do not know, but we can restore their appearance.
What did our distant ancestors do? All forces were directed to survival. The average life expectancy was not more than thirty years. Hunger, predators, quarrels with neighboring tribes, diseases - all these factors greatly complicated the existence of primitive people.
Thus, hunting and gathering were aimed at feeding the tribe. Sewing and dressing - to dress people and warm homes.
Hunting
The basis of the diet of an ancient man was meat. He still did not know how to grow cereals and garden crops, and wild edible plants come across not so often and do not grow densely. In addition, they ripen once, maximum - twice a year.
Therefore, hunting was the main craft that the ancient people were engaged in. The tools for this were appropriate. You ask how we know this. Indeed, most materials are simply not able to lie in the ground for so many years and survive. This is true, but bone and stone are little susceptible to destruction, especially in frozen or dry soil.
In addition, today there are many tribes that still live in the primitive communal system. These are hunters and gatherers of southern Africa, Australia, the islands of the Pacific Ocean and the Amazon. Studying them, ethnographers reproduce things that existed hundreds of thousands of years ago.
In particular, they hunted with sticks and stones. Later appeared knives, pointed jails and harpoons, the likeness of a spear. Over time, darts and a bow with arrows were created.
All these ancient tools of labor helped man become faster and stronger than the surrounding fauna. After all, neither our ancestors had sharp teeth or claws.
Gathering
When they examine ancient tools, they come up with names along the way. So, for example, the term "digging stick" appeared. How else to say about the subject, which takes roots from the earth, but it does not remotely resemble a shovel?
In general, the ancient people used most of the items to the maximum. That is, a knife replaced a shovel, a fork, a weapon, sometimes a scraper. Since producing such utensils was difficult, things were much appreciated. Names were especially good and successful, and they passed by inheritance.
For example, to obtain the plates necessary for one knife, sometimes it was necessary to make more than a hundred strokes on the workpiece - the nucleus. After all, flint does not always flake off in the right direction even when using modern technologies, what can we say about the impact of an ordinary stone?
To collect fruit from the branches, sticks, stones were used, for digging out - bone fragments, knives, digging sticks.
First production
The ancient implements of primitive man were extremely practical. They were intended for rough action and basic processing. About any jewelry trifles and filigree work of the masters it was not yet discussed.
Today we know the cores and scrapers, knives, which were first made from whole pieces, and later assembled from flakes. Chisels, axes and other tools appeared later.
What primarily worried people in those difficult times? Safety, food, heat. For life, they arranged natural shelters - caves, ledges, hollows. Over time, we learned to build huts and make fire.
We talked about ways of providing food above. What about the heat? What were the ancient tools in this case and how were they used? Immediately, we notice that improvised objects were used. Scrapers and skin knives were made of silicon. This mineral has an amazing property. On the one hand, it exfoliates well, on the other - it is very strong.
Needles were made from bone fragments of animals or fish. Although initially it was just awl. The ear appeared in it much later.
A chisel, a hammer, a drill arose when the need arose. These tools were used, as today, for housing, gouging boats and other works.
The role of tools in human development
Scientists today are not only interested in ancient people. Tools themselves also carry a lot of information.
Firstly, judging by the complication of subjects, we can conclude that the development of relations in society, the formation of collectives from among individuals. One can hunt, for example, an antelope. But to kill and eat a mammoth alone, even with the help of close relatives, will be difficult.
And the tribe had traditions that put the interests of the group above the aspirations of single people. Therefore, spear throwers preceding bows indicate the development of speech and the organization of actions. So, at that time leaders were already beginning to stand out, who managed to rally the team and lead the group to the goal.
Secondly, when studying the ancient tools of labor, we can notice that they are similar to each other even after millennia. That is, there was a learning process on how to produce them.
Ancient tools today
Today, of course, we are spoiled by the level of technological development, but nobody has yet canceled the role of a knife and a pole in campaigns. But this is a retreat.
Modern realities are such that in order to meet a person professionally handling a spear thrower or bow, you need to go to remote areas of the planet. Bushmen, for example, in the African savannah still live in the Stone Age. They do not really understand the objects that we use. Therefore, nowadays they are no longer traumatized by the forced planting of "the benefits of civilization." Researchers simply study their lifestyle and way of life.
Spears and boomerangs, bows and bolas today are successfully used on different continents. However, the level of development of the tribes is indicated by their set of tools.
For example, Australian Aborigines do not know the onions that they already know how to use in Africa. In the Amazon basin and on the prairies, bolas are common (two weights fastened with a leather strap) - a prototype of slings. And they don’t really need onions yet.
Museums - visual aids for students
Now imagine that your child at school was asked to draw such instruments on paper. And he turned to you for help. How to draw ancient tools? For this, do not go to Australia to see a digging stick.
Today it is completely unnecessary. You can admire the vast collections of finds in any local history, historical, archaeological or ethnographic museum.
Good luck, dear readers!