22.09.2019

How ancient people made tools. Tools of ancient man

Macroliths or stone tools are the labor tools of primitive people, which were made from various types of stone, pebbles using the stone upholstery method.

The first stone tools

The first stone tools were pebble tools. The earliest find is a chopper found, dating back to 2.7 million years BC. e. The first archaeological culture to use stone tools was the Olduvai archaeological culture. This culture existed in the period from 2.7 to 1 million years BC. e.

Choppers were also used by Australopithecines, but their disappearance did not stop the production of such tools; many cultures used pebbles as a material until the beginning of the Bronze Age.

Australopithecines made tools in a primitive way: they simply smashed one stone against another, and then simply selected a suitable fragment. Australopithecines soon learned to process such axes using bones or other stones. They used the other stone as an axe, making the sharp end even sharper.

So Australopithecines developed something like a cutter, which was a flat stone with one sharp edge. The main difference between it and a chopper was that such a cutter did not chisel, but cut, for example, wood.

Revolution in the making of stone tools

Around 100,000 years ago, people realized that it was more efficient to first shape a large stone into simple geometric shapes and then chip off thin slabs of stone.

Often such a plate no longer required further processing, since the cutting side became sharp after chipping.

Breakthrough in weaponry

Around 20 thousand BC. e. The ancestors of people realized that stone tools would become more effective if wooden handles, or handles made of bone, or animal horns were attached to them. It was during this period that the first primitive axes appeared. In addition, people began to make the first spears with stone tips; they were significantly stronger than ordinary wooden tips.

When they came up with the idea of ​​attaching stone to wood, then the size of these tools decreased significantly, and so-called microliths appeared.

Microliths are small stone tools. Macroliths, in turn, are large stone tools, size from 3 cm, everything up to 3 cm is microliths.

In Paleolithic times, a primitive knife was made from a long piece of stone that was sharp at one or both ends. Now the technology has changed: small fragments of stone (microliths) were glued to a wooden handle using resin, so a primitive blade was obtained. Such a tool could serve as a weapon, and was much longer than a regular knife, but it was not durable, since the microliths often broke upon impact. Such a tool or weapon was very simple to manufacture.
At the time when the last ice age began on Earth, or rather when it was already coming to an end, many tribes had a demand for a partially sedentary life, and this way of life required some kind of technical revolution, tools had to become more advanced.

Mesolithic tools

During this time period, people learned new methods of processing stone tools, including grinding, drilling and sawing stone.

They polished the stone in the following way: they took the stone and rubbed it on wet sand, this could last for several tens of hours, but such a blade was already lighter and sharper.

The drilling technique also significantly improved the tools, since it was easier to connect the stone with the shaft, and this design was much stronger than the previous one.

Polishing spread very slowly, with widespread use of such technology only taking place in the fourth millennium BC. At the same time, in Egypt they were already using tools made of copper; the Egyptians did not master the grinding technique.

Stone tools in the Neolithic era

During this period, the production of microliths - small stone tools - was significantly improved. Now they already had the correct geometric shape; they formed even blades. The sizes of such guns became standard, meaning they were very easy to replace. To make such identical blades, the stone was split into several plates.

When the first states appeared in the Middle East, the profession of a mason appeared, who specialized in the professional processing of stone tools. So in the territory of Ancient Egypt and Central America, the first masons could even carve long stone daggers.

Soon microlites were replaced by macrolites, and now plate technology was forgotten. In order to take stone tools somewhere, it was necessary to find accumulations of stone on the surface; primitive quarries appeared in such places.

The reason for the emergence of quarries was the small amount of suitable stone for creating tools. To make high-quality, sharp and fairly light tools, obsidian, flint, jasper or quartz were needed.

When population density increased, the first states began to be created, migrations to stone were already difficult, then primitive trade arose, in places where there were deposits of stone, local tribes took it to places where this stone was not enough. It was the stone that became the first item of trade between tribes.

Obsidian tools were especially valuable because they were sharp and hard. Obsidian is a volcanic glass. The main disadvantage of obsidian was its rarity. The most commonly used materials were quartz and its varieties and jasper. Minerals such as jade and slate were also used.

Many Aboriginal tribes still use stone tools. In places where he did not reach, mollusk shells and bones were used as tools; in worst cases, people used only wooden tools.

The most ancient tool very easy to meet. Go out into the yard, find any large stone that is comfortable to hold with one hand - and here it is, the very first ancient tool. Initially, when ancient man needed something heavy and hard, he simply took any stone. It is impossible to reliably determine the period of use of such tools, since they are practically no different from natural ones. A breakthrough in processing came when people realized that by beating the edges of one stone with another, they could get a sharp edge, convenient for chopping.

This is how the first axes and pebble processing appeared. Several signs of this can be identified tools:

• comfortable rounded butt without protrusions for one-handed grip;
• the number of intentional chips on the side opposite the butt is small or insignificant. The chips themselves are large and uneven;
• the tools of this time are usually quite large, about the size of an axe.

Methods for processing ancient tools improved over time. Plates or scales, so-called flakes, removed from the processed piece of flint, became small and of the same type. This method of processing ancient tools is called by archaeologists retouching.

Retouching has undergone several changes during its development. The easiest way to remove a flint flake is to hit it with another flint or an equally hard stone. The disadvantages of this method are obvious - it is difficult to accurately calculate the force and direction of the impact, which can lead to complete breakdown of the entire workpiece, and as a result, a waste of many hours of work. However, even in this way, ancient people managed to create a new type of tools - pointed points. This type includes tools with two cutting edges - for example, spear tips or knives.

Rice. 1 - Ancient tools

It should be clarified that the names of the tools are arbitrary, since they did not come down to us from antiquity, but were given by archaeologists who discovered them during excavations and proposed options for their use. Later it turned out that not all names were given correctly. For example, the scraper was used not only for dressing animal skins, but also as a knife for cutting carcasses and as a woodworking tool. This versatility of use was largely due to two factors - on the one hand, the nomadic lifestyle required carrying all the tools with you, since it was quite difficult to find high-quality material for making tools, and on the other hand, a large number of stone tools in the absence of convenient methods of transportation had to cause great inconvenience.

The emergence of such methods of tool processing as push-pull and counter-punch retouching made it possible to achieve a finer finish. With this method, flakes were removed by point pressure with a stick or bone on the edge of the processed blade. The tools after this treatment look rough, with numerous notches. This method is more precise and allowed the production of thin, miniature tools - such as arrowheads.

Some tribes found themselves in more favorable territorial conditions, for example, people who lived near volcanoes gained access to obsidian or volcanic glass. The processing of this material was much more convenient due to its natural properties. Those tribes that lived far from the source of high-quality material had to travel long distances to them and prepare prismatic materials on the spot. cores(Fig. 2) - special blanks from which flakes were subsequently made.

Rice. 2 - Nuclei and obtaining flakes

Along with the improvement in stone processing, the processing of other materials also improved - wood, horn and bone or tusk. Methods for drilling stone and bone appeared. Bone and horn were processed by scraping, cutting and sawing. Often the handle of the instrument was made from these materials, a longitudinal groove was carved into it, sharp flint plates were inserted into it and filled with resin.

Ancient tools were made from bone - awls and needles, which were practically no different from modern ones, except for the absence of an eye in them. Subsequent improvements in the processing of tools made it possible to apply various ornaments and designs to the surface of the tools. Such decoration of tools spoke of their importance: a well-made knife in ancient times could be passed on from generation to generation.

THE FIRST TOOLS OF LABOR

Australopithecines, using stones, noticed that it was best to pick up sharp stone fragments from a stream rather than smooth pebbles. After all, the sharpened edges could be used to cut branches, crush durable turtle shells, and dig up roots. If a predator attacked, it was wounded with a stone point.

Therefore, Australopithecus looked for crushed pebbles near the stream. But the streams did not throw out enough
x comfortable stone blades. And Australopithecines themselves learned to extract sharp fragments - they hit stones with stones. This is how the first tool of labor.

Making tools from pebbles. Drawings of a modern scientist

Remember: tools of labor are things that people make specifically so that they can later work with them.

Are the beaks of birds, the fangs and teeth of animals more convenient than the tools of labor of people? No! Not a single animal, not a single bird can change the claws or beaks with which they were born for better ones. And our ancestors constantly tried to change their tools to another, more convenient one. They
noticed: the longer and sharper the stone blade, the better it is. Our ancestors sharpened the edges of pebbles, breaking off small pieces. Only one side of the pebble was left unbeaten so as not to damage the palm.

Pebble tools. Archaeological finds

The first stone tools reached 20 cm in length and weighed up to 100 g. They were constantly carried with them. But pebble tools were not the only ones. Heavy clubs and sharpened sticks were made from the branches. The split bones made strong points.

Skillful people. Stills from the scientific film "Walking with a Caveman" (UK).

Leader. Drawing by a contemporary artist

Over many tens of thousands of years, the most developed descendants of australopithecines became accustomed to making tools and constantly using them. The stone was stronger and sharper than any fangs, claws, and
the club is heavier than the paw of the strongest beast.

A skillful man. Drawings by a contemporary artist

Although the first tools were crude and imperfect, they did a great job. Two and a half million years ago labor finally turned the descendants of Australopithecus into P first people . Scientists decided to assign these to our distant ancestors scientific name "skillful people" .

THE HUMAN HERD

Of course, the first people could not live alone. They would be destroyed by predators. But it was also impossible to live in large groups - there was not enough food. Usually 25-30 people gathered and wandered from place to place along the banks of lakes and rivers. In convenient and safe places, skilled people set up camps, made tools, rested, and ate.

Skulls of skilled people. Archaeological finds

Skillful people lived in Africa and, perhaps, in South Asia, where it was warm. There one could do without clothes, shoes, or durable housing. People hid from the hot sun and rain in caves and huts made of branches. The group of people was led by leaders. The leaders were the most experienced, attentive and courageous.

Skilled people could not yet speak, but they were already making individual dull sounds that conveyed their feelings: pain, fear, pleasure. With sounds they warned of danger and called everyone together.

Quarrels sometimes broke out among people, but they did not lead to fights. After all, now everyone was armed, the fight could end in the death of a person. And the death of one weakened the whole group. Therefore, people resolved disputes among themselves not by force, like animals, but by yielding to each other.

WORK OF SKILLED PEOPLE

The most ancient people rarely lived to be 30 years old; most died from hunger, disease, and attacks by predators. In a harsh struggle with nature, many groups of skilled people died out. Other groups survived, grew larger, split apart and dispersed, just as packs of animals do. Remember: wandering groups of ancient people, in many ways similar to packs of animals, scientists called human herds . The most important thing that distinguishes a human herd from a pack of animals is, of course, labor with the help of tools.

Come up with a title for a drawing by a contemporary artist

What is labor? Do animals work? When wolves catch up with a deer, their paws work, their vision, hearing and smell work. When beavers build their dams and houses on rivers, they spend a lot of energy. But it's not work!

The work of animals differs from the work of people in that animals do not set any goal for themselves. They are not at all going to remake nature for their own benefit. A pack of wolves depends on whether there is game in the forest. And if there is not enough prey, the wolves simply move to the neighboring forest. Beavers depend on having suitable trees nearby. If there are no trees, beavers do not build dams and log houses, but settle in dug burrows.

Come up with a title for a drawing by a contemporary artist

For people, everything happens differently. Remember: when the first stone tools appeared, people stopped adapting to nature, as animals do. On the contrary, with the help of tools people began to change nature and adapt it for themselves.

The main occupation of people was gathering . They were looking for edible herbs, berries, roots, and nuts. This was the main food. Sometimes people got eggs of birds and turtles. They were engaged in collecting from morning to evening.

Distribution of spoils by skilled people. Drawings of modern scientists

Hunting became a second occupation. At first, people killed small animals that could not run away or defend themselves. They killed birds and lizards. Then they learned to surround sick or wounded antelopes and monkeys and throw stones at them. There was much less meat food than plant food, but it was much healthier and gave more strength. When eating meat, more nutrients enter the brain and it works better. In addition, hunting united the human herd and forced people to be more friendly. Skilled people slowly developed themselves and developed their tools.

1. 2.

1 .Distribution of spoils by skilled people. Drawing of a modern scientist 2. Food distribution. The modern artist deliberately made a grave mistake. Find her!

summary of other presentations

“The Lifestyle of Ancient Man” - Mastery of Fire. The most ancient tools. Fire. The most ancient people. Human Origins. Flakes. Ancient people. Animal bones. Mastery of fire changed human life. Tribes. Austalopithecus. Pithecanthropus. Teacher's story. Small pieces. Hunting of ancient people.

“People of the Ancient World” - Together it was not only easier and safer to hunt, but also to survive in difficult conditions. Primitive people already walked on two legs. Primitive human herd. Our most ancient ancestors were very similar to monkeys. The herd consisted of 25 - 40 individuals. Not every stone was suitable for chopping. Everything was divided equally. Hunters came up with various cunning traps, for example, holes covered with brushwood. Alone, man was powerless in the fight against large animals.

"The Life of Ancient Man" - The Origin of Man. How did ancient people differ from animals? Pithecanthropus. Hunting of ancient people. Friction. Fire. Austalopithecus. Flakes. The most ancient people. The most ancient tools. Mastery of fire. People lived in herds. Chopped. Needles and awl. Use of fire.

“Ancient people on Earth” - A method of producing fire. The most ancient tools. The use of fire changed people's lives. Animal bones. Flakes. Tribes. Hunting of ancient people. Choose the correct answer. Human Origins. Chopped. Lesson assignment. Austalopithecus. The most ancient people. Mastery of fire. Place of your home.

“Types of ancient people” - Stone tools found along with human bones in Dmanisi. Paranthropus robustus. Homo sapiens. Neanderthal culture. Sahelanthropus tchadensis. Height and width are about 10 cm. There has been some confusion in popular literature. Paranthropus, or. Sapiens Invasion. The Heidelbergers, apparently, already owned throwing weapons. Homo habilis. Genetic analysis. Australopithecus garhi.

"The First Ancient People" - The Use of Fire. Many tribes. If the fire went out, the culprits were expelled. Pithecanthropus. Austalopithecines were small in stature. Australopithecus lived in trees. The most ancient people. The first people appeared in East Africa. Human Origins. Tools. The choppers were fragile. The most ancient tools. Hunting of ancient people. Mastery of fire. Flakes. Lesson assignment. Needles and awl.

Tools of the Stone Age - this, simply and clearly, is the name of the most ancient department in the museum. The exhibits presented in it, a modern person, with slight indifference and obvious superiority, simply examines and passes by. But perhaps it’s worth taking a closer look at the world of the past, listening to the silence of centuries and discovering new facts from the life of primitive people.

Listen to how the stones come to life, how they become not silent and empty witnesses of the past, but interesting interlocutors who know exactly what tools ancient people used. The narrative may take you far back, but it will open up an understanding of the modern world and find out what kind of labor the stone tools of primitive people required and how they became the basis of the struggle for survival.

The first tools of primitive man

A tool sounds normal for modern humans, but not for primitive apes (human ancestors). The path to understanding labor and the need to apply labor lasted more than one century and began with a simple understanding that collected stones and sticks, processed by nature, are effective in fighting animals and in protection. Human ancestors simply picked up the necessary stones or sticks as needed, and threw them away after use. Over time, it became clear that finding a suitable stone processed by nature is not always easy, and sometimes even impossible. I had to accumulate suitable stones or, using my own labor, modify existing stones and sticks. So, slowly and gradually, the process of accumulating knowledge and applying one’s own work in practice took place.

Listen, because you can hear how the museum exhibits tell how stones, hitting stones, turn into a universal tool of ancient people. The ancient chopping tool or stone ax became the first and most universal. The stone ax appeared in the early Paleolithic, when primitive man began to make leisurely and inaccurate blows to the stone.

The chopper is the first human tool, which was an almond-shaped stone with one thickened end at the base and a second pointed end.

It was very difficult to make a convenient ax out of a small stone. The slow movements of the first people were not always precise and correct, and the chips on the stone were not of the required shape. In the silence of the museum, the panorama of the creation of the first tools comes to life, which changed not in hours or days, but for centuries. To trace the appearance of the first tools, the ancestors of modern man, more conveniently based on the chronology of the development of primitive people: from Australopithecus and Pithecanthropus, to Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon man. Let the stones speak...

Australopithecus: tools

Australopithecus is an interesting species of ancient hominin. This is an ape that is the most ancient ancestor of modern humans.

Hominids are a family of advanced primates that includes the great apes and humans.

The main occupation of Austrolopithecus is gathering. To make the process of collecting berries and roots more productive, and protection from wild animals effective, the ancient ancestors of man began to master stone, pebbles, bones and sticks. Titanic efforts had to be made to make a small chip of the correct shape on the stone, but when the first ax appeared, which was convenient to hold in the hand, extract roots with it and kill animals, a new stage began in the life of primitive man.

In addition to the stone chopper, Austrolopithecines made scrapers, cutting tools, knives, and pointed points. To make tools, they collected sharp stones near reservoirs and rivers, which had already been sharpened by nature and gave them the desired shape (eoliths). To make the tool convenient and not cut your hands, one edge was left unsharpened. Each weapon was made with great difficulty, because more than 100 blows had to be struck on the stone. All the work took a lot of time, and the first tools weighed more than 50 kilograms, but it was a huge step forward towards understanding oneself and the need not to be content with the gifts of nature, but to take everything you need yourself.

Pithecanthropus: tools

Pithecanthropus belonged to the genus “Humans” and was an early form of Homo erectus. It is difficult for archaeologists to talk about the tools of this period, since there are very few finds and they all belong to later periods of the Acheulean culture.

Historical fact: Acheulean culture is a term commonly used to describe stone tools of the Early Paleolithic. The most striking representative of the culture is the hand ax.

Pithecanthropus used bone, wood and stone to make tools. All source materials were amenable to very primitive processing, because the chips on the stones are random and completely devoid of regularity. Pithecanthropus and eoliths (stones split by nature) continued to be used. Labor tools of this period are represented by hand axes made of stone, flakes with cutting edges and sharp plates.

Neanderthal: tools

The tools of the Neanderthals were slightly different from the tools used by Pithecanthropus, but they became lighter and more professional. Over time, new forms appeared and gradually replaced the old and inconvenient ones. All tools of this period are usually called Mousterian.

Neanderthal tools are called Mousterian because of the name of the Le Moustier cave in France, where numerous tools were found.

Neanderthals lived in a climatically complex period, the Ice Age. And all the tools of labor were aimed not only at the ability to obtain food, but also at the production of clothing. Therefore, the spear, scraper and needle were very popular. Tools continued to be made from flint, but in a new form and more complex technique. They became diverse, but belonged to three main types of tools: scrapers, pointed points, and hewers. The ax is a smaller hand ax of Pithecanthropus. Scrapers were used as a tool for cutting animals, for tanning hides and in wood processing. Pointed tips served as a knife for meat, wood, leather, or were used as tips for darts and spears.

The bone tools that archaeologists were able to find are not perfect and rather resemble primitive tools: spatulas, awls, clubs, points, daggers. It is worth remembering that the tools of the Neanderthals were very different based on the geography of their settlement. Some items predominated in the European set of tools, while others predominated in the African one.

Cro-Magnon: tools

In the Late Paleolithic, completing all stages of the development of primitive man, the Cro-Magnons entered the world stage. These were men of great stature, with well-developed physiques and skills. It was the Cro-Magnons who successfully used all the achievements of their predecessors and came up with new ones. They continued to use tools from stone, learned to make all kinds of tools from bone, weapons and devices from tusks, antlers and wood, and also continued to collect berries and roots. On the new path of development, the tools of labor became perfect and diversified. The Cro-Magnons were the first to come up with the idea of ​​firing pottery, which made it possible to use pottery in everyday life. Masterful processing of tools made it possible to make them more convenient, smaller, and of better quality and led to the emergence of new tools. The Cro-Magnon arsenal widely used: scrapers, cutters, knives with pointed and blunt blades, scrapers with a protrusion, sharp blades, arrowheads, piercings, harpoons made of deer antler, fishhooks made of bone, tips.

Conclusion

The stones fell silent... silence settled in the museum again. Yes, now we know which human tool was the most ancient and what efforts our ancestors had to face. Now, walking near the long shelves with museum exhibits, we know for sure that they are not silent. They tell you, you just need to learn to listen...