Ancient tools: names

Today on the screens sometimes there are films about the life of primitive man. But what was it like? What did the Cro-Magnon man do in his spare time? What ancient tools can you see in our time?

For all these questions, you will find answers by reading this article.

Term meaning

This concept first appeared in the writings of Karl Marx. He defines it as a "mechanical means of labor". It is through the classification of finds and the compilation of a periodization of the increasingly complicated production of objects that the German scientist confirmed his theory of social evolution.

That is, speaking in a more understandable language, a tool is any object by which we act on natural materials and get the things we need. For example, if you take a spear and kill a mammoth, the entire tribe will be full and dressed. In this case, the spear is a tool for hunting and labor.

Classes of ancient man

Judging by the theory of Darwin, man came 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 man.
Ramapithecus, Australopithecus, Pithecanthropus, Neanderthal ... These are the transitional stages from the animal world to man.

Our modern form is called Homo sapiens (a reasonable person), or Cro-Magnon. Its origin is attributed to the period of 40,000 years ago.

A feature distinguishing people from animals, then there was 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 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 skins - to dress people and warm houses.

Hunting

The basis of the ancient man's diet was meat. Growing cereals and garden crops, he still could not, and wild edible plants do not come across so often and grow not densely. In addition, ripen times, a maximum - twice a year.

Therefore, hunting was the main industry, which was practiced by ancient people. The tools of labor for this were appropriate. You will ask how we know this. After all, most of the materials simply can not lie in the ground for so many years and survive. This is true, but bone and stone are not susceptible to destruction, especially in frozen or dry soil.

In addition, today there are many tribes that live even under the primitive communal system. They are hunters and gatherers of southern Africa, Australia, the Pacific Islands and the Amazon basin. Studying them, ethnographers reproduce things that existed hundreds of thousands of years ago.

In particular, they hunted with the help of sticks and stones. Later, knives, sharpened spears and harpoons appeared, like spears. Over time, darts and a bow with arrows were created.

All these ancient tools of labor helped a person to become faster and stronger than the surrounding fauna. After all, our ancestors did not have sharp teeth or claws.

Collecting

When exploring the ancient tools, the names they come up with in the process. So, for example, the term "stick-digger" appeared. How else to say about the subject, which get root from the ground, but it is not remotely similar to a shovel?

In general, most of the items ancient people used as much as possible. That is, the knife replaced the shovel, fork, arms, sometimes a scraper. Since it was difficult to produce such utensils, things were very appreciated. Particularly good and successful were given names, and they passed by inheritance.

For example, to obtain the plates needed for a single knife, sometimes it was necessary to make more than 100 strokes on the blank - the nucleus. After all, not always flint flakes in the right direction, even with the use of modern technology, what can we say about the impact of ordinary stone?

To harvest fruits from the branches used sticks, stones, for digging out - fragments of bones, knives, stick-diggers.

First production

The ancient tools of primitive man were extremely practical. They were intended for rough handling and basic processing. About any jewelry trivia and filigree work of the masters it was not yet.

Today we know the nucleuses and scrapers, knives, which were first made from solid pieces, and later collected from flakes. Later there were chisels, axes and other tools.

What first of all worried people in those difficult times? Safety, food, warmth. For life they arranged natural shelters - caves, ledges, hollows. Over time, they learned how to build shelters and obtain fire.

We spoke about ways of providing foodstuffs above. What about heat? What were the ancient tools of labor in this case and how were they used? Just note that in the course were improvised items. Scrapers and knives for skins were made of silicon. This mineral has an amazing property. On the one hand, it is well dissipated, on the other - very strong.

Needles were made from bone fragments of animals or fish. Although initially it was just awl. The eye appeared much later.

A chisel, a hammer, a drill arose when the need arose in them. These tools were used, as it is today, for housing construction, gouging of boats and other works.

The role of tools in human development

Scientists today are not only interested in ancient people. Tools of labor in themselves also carry a lot of information.

First, judging by the complexity of the subjects, it is possible to draw a conclusion about the development of relations in society, the formation of collectives from among individuals. One can hunt, for example, an antelope. But alone, to kill and eat a mammoth, 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 singles. Therefore, the spearheads preceding the bows testify to the development of speech and the organization of actions. Hence, at that time leaders were beginning to stand out, from whom it was possible to rally the collective and lead the group towards the goal.

Secondly, studying ancient tools, we can see that they are similar to each other even after thousands of years. That is, there was a process of learning how to produce them.

Ancient tools of labor today

Today we are, of course, spoiled by the level of technology development, but in the campaigns the role of the knife and pole still has not been canceled. But this is a retreat.

Modern realities are such that to meet a person professionally handling a spear or onion, you need to travel to remote areas of the planet. Bushmen, for example, still live in the African savannah in the Stone Age. They are not very clear about the items we use. Therefore, these days they were no longer traumatized by the forcible planting of "the benefits of civilization". Researchers simply study their way of life and life.

Spears and boomerangs, bows and bolas today are successfully used on different continents. However, the level of development of tribes is indicated by their set of tools.

For example, Australian aborigines do not know onions, which they already know how to use in Africa. In the Amazon basin and in the prairies, bolas (two weights, fastened with a leather strap) are distributed - a prototype of a sling. And they do not really need the onions yet.

Museums - visual aids for students

And now imagine that your child was asked to draw similar instruments on paper. And he turned to you for help. How to draw ancient tools? Do not go the same for this in Australia, to see a stick-digger.

Today it is absolutely not necessary. You can admire the extensive collections of finds in any local history, historical, archaeological or ethnographic museum.

Good luck, dear readers!