Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
7. Sewing
Flax fibers more than 34,000 years old have been discovered that had been spun to make
thread. Our ancestors fashioned needles from animal bones and used the thread to sew animal
hide and fur into clothes, shoes and packs and to create string or yarn that had many uses
including hefting and being used in making baskets and other domestic pieces.
But what was particularly interesting about these fibers, found in the Republic of Georgia,
was their color. Among black and natural fibers were those colored pink and turquoise. Pink
and turquoise! So much for Stone Age people walking around in dull variations of beige, here
is evidence that they made an effort to introduce color into their lives.
Perhaps even a sense of fashion? Hmmm, probably not.
6. Flute / Music
Although whistles that only produced a single note have been found from as long as 100,000
years ago, it was the discovery of a bone flute from 45,000 years ago that had four finger
holes in it that gives us real proof that our Stone Age ancestors had incorporated music into
their lives.
This flute was broken at either end so the number of holes in the full flute would have been
more than four enabling a wide variety of notes to be played.
Interestingly this flute was found in a cave (in Slovenia) that had been occupied by
Neanderthals, not Homo sapien. Indeed Neanderthals and Homo sapien were known to have
existed in the same areas of ancient Europe together up until the Neanderthals disappeared
around 35,000 years ago.
Music. Art. Body decoration. Life was perhaps a bit more colorful for Stone Age man than
we might have thought.
3. Stone Axe
Our Stone Age ancestors made a giant leap when they invented the stone axe somewhere
between 250,000 and 1.2 million years ago. Someone at some point intuitively saw the value
in attaching a sharp stone to the end of a stick, a process called hafting, and using leverage
to increase power at the axe head.
This was a ground breaking tool that gave the user the ability to kill prey faster and easier
than before, fight aggressors (or be a better aggressor), open nuts or seeds for food, chop
wood for fire and shape wood in order to build better shelters.
The axe remains a commonly used tool across the globe today making it one of the oldest and
most valuable inventions ever.
2. Shelter
Amazingly, the earliest evidence that our ancestors built fixed shelters is from around
2,000,000 years ago. Naturally stone age man sheltered under trees and in caves where
possible, but the first evidence of a man-made structure specifically created to provide shelter
comes from a site in Central Africa all those years ago.Some shelters were made of stone and
wood, others used the bones and tusks of mammoths to provide the structure and we assume
all would have used animal hide and fur to provide a floor and walls.
Other examples of early shelters have been found in Europe and Asia dating back around
500,000 years. These shelters showed evidence of a hearth or fireplace and separate rooms
representing a major improvement in living conditions for people using the shelter. Warmth,
light, staying dry, cooking, flooring and fur hide bedding. A most luxurious existence.