Coming of Man, Pre-Man and Prehistoric

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA LIBRARY COLLEGE LIBRARY UNIVERSITY COLLEGE Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2013 http://archive.org/details/comingofmanpremaOOmacc THE COMING OF MAN Pre-Man and Prehistoric Man r By George GrantMacCurdy,Ph.D. RESEARCH ASSOCIATE IN PREHISTORIC ARCHEOLOGY AND CURATOR OF ANTHROPOLOGY, EMERITUS, YALE UNIVERSITY; HONORARY COL- LABORATOR, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM; DIRECTOR, AMERICAN SCHOOL OF PREHISTORIC RESEARCH Highlights of Modern Knowledge r PREHISTORIC ANTHROPOLOGY r THE UNIVERSITY SOCIETY INCORPOR/VTED , N'jTvv Tor:!'" .,„ 57/ til 33 c c-3 Copyright, 1932, 1935, by THE UNIVERSITY SOCIETY INCORPORATED First Trade Edition 1935 Maivifuctuned Jn 'the ,U. S. A. — —— CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I Earth and Life 1 II Life and Man 4 III Man's Nearest of Kin 5 Primate Characters—Distinctions Between Man and the Other Primates—Other Proofs of Relationships Summary IV Man's Ascent 12 V Fossil Man—I 18 The Java Man—The Peking Man—The Piltdown Man—The Heidelberg Man—The Ehringsdorf-Tau- bach Man—The Krapina Man—The Neandertal Man—The Discoveries at Gibraltar—The Discoveries in Neander Valley—The Discoveries at Spy, Bel- gium—The Discoveries at Le Moustier, France—The Discoveries at La Chapelle-aux-Saints—The Skeletons from La Ferrassie—The Discoveries at La Quina—The Discoveries in Rhodesia—The Discoveries in Galilee Summary , VI Fossil Man— II 37 The Cro-Magnon Race—The First Cro-Magnon Dis- coveries—The Grimaldi Skeletons—The Paviland Skeleton—The Finds at Predmost and Brno, Mo- ravia—Other Discoveries—Summary VII Beginnings of Culture 42 Cultural Chronology—Correlation of Ice Age and Pre- historic Chronology—The Evidence of Human Evolu- tion—Chronology Based on Stratigraphy VIII The Culture of the Paleolithic Period 49 The Chellean Epoch—The Acheulian Epoch—The Mousterian Epoch—The Aurignacian Epoch The 8954 Z — iv CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE Solutrean Epoch—The Magdalenian Epoch—Inter- esting Achievements in Non-lithic Materials—Cave Art IX The Culture of the Mesolithic Period 61 The Phases of the Period—The Azilian Phase in Western Europe—The Tardenoisian Phase in Western Europe—The Maglemosean Phase in Scandinavia The Asturian Phase in Spain—The Shell-Heap Phase The Campignian Phase in France X The Culture of the Neolithic Period 66 The Factors Which Produced a Change from the Mes- olithic Period—Satisfying the Artistic Impulses—The Pile Villages—The Megalithic Monuments—The Cen- ters of Neolithic Culture XI The Culture of the Bronze Age 72 The Most Revolutionary Step Ever Taken by Man Copper and Gold the Earliest Metals Used—The Origins of the Terms Bronze, Copper, and Tin—The Four Epochs of the Bronze Age XII The Culture of the Iron Age 77 Its Beginnings—The Hallstatt Epoch—The Type Center—Hallstatt Weapons—Vases, Pottery, and Metal Vessels—Dress and Ornamentation—The Epoch of La Tene—The Type Station—La Tene Weapons and Tools—La Tene Coins—La Tene Articles of Adornment—La Tene Razors and Other Toilet Arti- cles—La Tene Amulets—La Tene Burial Customs The Center of La Tene Culture XIII Elements and Growth of Prehistoric Culture .... 91 XIV Food Getting 92 Resorting to Magic for Food—Winning Against Brute Strength—Man Begins to Produce Food XV Habitations 96 Natural Caves and Rock Shelters—Moor Villages Pile Villages—The Terramare of Italy and the Cran- nogs of Ireland — CONTENTS v CHAPTER PAGE XVI Fortifications 98 Earth Fortifications—Stone Forts XVII Clothing, Ornament, and Toilet 101 Garment Making—Early Costumes—Jewelry—Toilet Articles XVIII The Taming of Fire 105 XIX Art and Religion 107 Art the Handmaid of Religion—Cave Man's Art Still Being Discovered—The Primitive Art of the Nean- dertal Man—How Man First Came to Be an Artist The Problems of the Cave Artist—Adorning the Javelin Thrower—Animal Models—Human Models Significance of Cave Art—Changes in Culture—Burial Rites—Monuments to the Dead—Other Monuments Megalithic Art and Symbolism—The Ax the Most Frequent Symbol—The Sun as a Symbol XX Language, Music, and Writing 123 Language Connects Mind with Mind—Music as Ancient as Language—Writing Is an Eye Language The Beginning of Systematic Writing XXI Labor and Industry 125 Labor Not a Curse—Division of Labor—Grinding Grain, Woman's Work—Agriculture—Flax the Chief Textile Material—Mining—Flint Mining an Impor- tant Industry—Salt Mining—Ore Mining Begins in the Bronze Age XXII Domestication of Animals and Plants 129 XXIII Transportation 131 Man Can Carry More Than His Own Weight—The Invention of the Wheel XXIV Commerce 133 Commerce First Tempts, Then Rewards—Flint as an Exchange Commodity—Amber Valuable and Impor- tant—Sources of Salt Supply—Metals the Greatest Stimulus to Commerce—Commerce Increases Culture How and Where Treasures Were Stored vi CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE XXV The Healing Art 137 Prehistoric Diseases— Surgery Practiced in Neolithic Times—The Fire Cure XXVI Textiles and Pottery 139 XXVII Metallurgy 143 An Accidental Discovery—The First Metallurgical Furnace—The Discovery of Alloys—Casting of Metals Paves Way to Modern Era Suggestions for Further Reading 145 Glossary 146 Index 149 THE COMING OF MAN Pre-Man and Prehistoric Man By George Grant Mac Curdy, Ph.D. research associate in prehistoric archeology and curator of anthropology, emeritus, yale university; honorary collaborator united states national museum; director, american school of prehistoric research To My Wife Figures 4, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 17, 18, 19, 27, 29, 31, 37, 38, 39, 42, 46, 48, 54, and 57 appeared in the author's book, Human Origins, and are used in this book with the courteous permission of the publishers, D. Appleton and Co. PREFACE After having written a two-volume work of more than a thousand pages in 1924* the author has had to labor under great difficulty, as the reader can readily understand, in order to cover practically the same ground within the limits of the present Series. On almost every page one is faced by the problem of where to eliminate, what to abridge, and to what should be given additional space. In a rapidly growing science values are con- stantly changing and new points of view arising. The task would have been serious enough had there been no new discoveries during the years since 1924. These have been so many and of such outstanding importance that an entire volume could be devoted to them alone. They have to do with various phases not only of man's physical but also of his cultural evolution. In some of these the author has had a humble part, both directly and indirectly, thanks to his position as Director of the American School of Prehistoric Research. It would be ungrateful of him, therefore, not to acknowledge in this place his debt to all those on this side of the Atlantic who have helped the School financially, and to his colleagues on the other side, who have given him and his students assistance in various ways, especially in opening gates of opportunity leading to fresh fields of prehistoric endeavor. If the help of any one person is to be given special mention, it should be that of the author's wife, who has been constant in service in field and in office, at home and abroad. New Haven November, 1931 * Human Origins, D. Appleton & Co. Courtesy of American School of Prehistoric Research TOOLS OF SPANISH TOPAZ AND ROCK CRYSTAL From Abri des Merveilles at Castel-Merle, near Sergeac, Dordogne About 4/5 actual size : CHAPTER I EARTH AND LIFE The earth seems to have been a child of the sun and as such was born about 2000 million years ago. There may still be sun stuff at its center. It began to wear a solid crust some 1500 million years ago.* This time can be apportioned into eras as follows Archeozoic 500 million years Proterozoic 500 Paleozoic 330 Mesozoic 110 Cenozoic 60 The Archeozoic era has been called the age of larval life, and the Proterozoic era the age of primitive marine inverte- brate life. Marine invertebrates were the highest type of fauna throughout the early Paleozoic era. With the middle of the Paleozoic era there appeared the first forests and the first verte- brates represented by fishes; before its close, the rise of amphibians occurred. But the true era of amphibians came in the upper Paleozoic time which was also the age of spore-bearing plants. Gymnosperms (plants whose seeds are uncovered) appeared here and persisted throughout the early Mesozoic. Before the close of the Mesozoic era angiosperms (plants whose seeds are enclosed in a seed vessel) appeared and have con- tinued to flourish until the present. The Mesoz^'? era is pre- eminently an age of reptiles. During this era the curtain both rose and fell on dinosaurs, pterodactyls, and toothed birds; before its close there appeared true birds and small archaic mammals. The Cenozoic era is first and foremost an age of mammals * The author uses the chronology of Prof. Charles Schuchert of Yale ; compare with that used by Dr. Chester A. 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