Ancient Human Development

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The history of mankind can be characterized as turbulent or tumultuous, migrating through different climates, experiencing harsh natural disasters, suffering from new diseases and protecting themselves from other opportunistic human beings. But the one thing that remained constant throughout the history of man is the unrelenting and insatiable desire to create, discover and better their lives. The advent and development of technology can aptly describe the chronology of the human experience from its inception to this very day. The discovery of fire approximately one million years ago, allowed human beings to see in the dark and to unlock more energy from food sources by cooking them, which ultimately led to humans needing a permanent source…show more content…
By dating the tools, archaeologists are able to map the development of technology and to classify the level of technology with the era in which they belong. Major technological developments in human society can be categorized by four major eras namely, the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic and the Bronze era. Each of which is characterized by the level of technological advancements. Humans in the 21st century may find it hard to appreciate the level and pace of advancement of early humans as the rate of technological expansion today, dwarfs that of early humans. However, the rates of advancement in the aforementioned eras were indeed significant for the lives of people. Tools were used in early human societies for a myriad of functions from plowing agricultural lands to construction of structures to even defending themselves against invaders and marauders. Tools were of paramount importance for the everyday lives of early humans and remain so to this very…show more content…
However, most archaeologists agree that the era stretched from 10,000 BCE to 5000 BCE. (20,000 BCE to 9500 BCE in the Levant, Natufian culture). Humans in the Mesolithic era were still nomadic and relied heavily on hunting and scavenging as a means of survival. However, it was during this period that domestication began to take root, as more and more people started living in groups. Domestication is a vital aspect of human civilization and without grouping and organization, civilization as we know it would not have been possible. The tools that define the era are distinct in it's manufacture, the microlith is most notably belonging to the mesolithic era. The microlith is unique to other previous stone tools even though it is carved out of the same material, flint. The microlith employs a v-shape cutting and never exceeds a size larger than 2 centimeters in length and 1 centimeter in width. The microlith is also defined by its intricate grooves and curvatures which suggest potent workmanship. The small size of the microlith gives it a form of versatility that gave rise to a whole myriad of different forms of tools and weaponry. By simply sticking a microlith in the front of a tree bark or wooden twig, useful tools such as harpoons for fishing, spears and arrows for hunting were

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