Prehistoric Men
The Project Gutenberg eBook, Prehistoric Men, by Robert J. (Robert John) Braidwood, Illustrated by Susan T. Richert
ROBERT J. BRAIDWOOD
RESEARCH ASSOCIATE, OLD WORLD PREHISTORY
PROFESSOR ORIENTAL INSTITUTE AND DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
Drawings by SUSAN T. RICHERT
CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM POPULAR SERIES ANTHROPOLOGY, NUMBER 37
Third Edition Issued in Co-operation with The Oriental Institute, The University of Chicago
Edited by Lillian A. Ross
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BY CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PRESS
Copyright 1948, 1951, and 1957 by Chicago Natural History Museum First edition 1948 Second edition 1951 Third edition 1957 Fourth edition 1959
Like the writing of most professional archeologists, mine has been confined to so-called learned papers. Good, bad, or indifferent, these papers were in a jargon that only my colleagues and a few advanced students could understand. Hence, when I was asked to do this little book, I soon found it extremely difficult to say what I meant in simple fashion. The style is new to me, but I hope the reader will not find it forced or pedantic; at least I have done my very best to tell the story simply and clearly.
Robert J. Braidwood
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Prehistoric Men
HOW WE LEARN about Prehistoric Men
SCIENTISTS WHO FIND OUT ABOUT PREHISTORIC MEN
ARCHEOLOGISTS
SOME OTHER SCIENTISTS
HOW THE SCIENTISTS FIND OUT
ARCHEOLOGICAL INFORMATION
EVERYTHING BEGINS TO FIT TOGETHER
THE CHANGING WORLD in which Prehistoric Men Lived
CHANGES IN ENVIRONMENT
GLACIERS CHANGE THE WEATHER
OTHER CHANGES
Prehistoric Men THEMSELVES
DO WE KNOW WHERE MAN ORIGINATED?
MEN AND APES
BRAINS, HANDS, AND TOOLS
WHEN SHALL WE CALL MEN MEN?
THE EARLIEST MEN WE KNOW
PEKING MEN AND SOME EARLY WESTERNERS
WHAT HAPPENED TO JAVA AND PEKING MEN
TWO ENGLISHMEN WHO WEREN’T OLD
TYPICAL “CAVE MEN”
OTHER MEN CONTEMPORARY WITH THE NEANDERTHALOIDS
EARLY MODERN MEN
THE FIRST MODERNS
DIFFERENCES IN THE EARLY MODERNS
WHAT THE DIFFERENCES MEAN
SUMMARY OF PRESENT KNOWLEDGE OF FOSSIL MEN
Cultural BEGINNINGS
WHAT IS CULTURE?
SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURE
PREHISTORIC CULTURES
WHY LITTLE HAS LASTED FROM EARLY TIMES
“EOLITHS”
THE ROAD TO STANDARDIZATION
PEBBLE TOOLS
CORE-BIFACE TOOLS
FLAKE TOOLS
CHOPPERS AND ADZE-LIKE TOOLS
DIFFERENCES WITHIN THE TOOL-MAKING TRADITIONS
THE MEANING OF THE DIFFERENT TRADITIONS
AN OLDER INTERPRETATION OF THE WESTERN TRADITIONS
TRADITIONS ARE TOOL-MAKING HABITS, NOT CULTURES
LIFE IN EARLIEST TIMES
WHAT THE PEKING CAVE-FINDS TELL US
MORE EVIDENCE of Culture
THE CAVE LAYERS
AN “INDUSTRY” DEFINED
THE EARLIEST EUROPEAN CAVE LAYERS
THE ACHEULEAN INDUSTRY
FLAKE INDUSTRIES FROM THE CAVES
THE LEVALLOISIAN AND MOUSTERIAN
THE MIXING OF TRADITIONS
OTHER SUGGESTIONS OF LIFE IN THE EARLY CAVE LAYERS
TOOLS FROM AFRICA AND ASIA ABOUT 100,000 YEARS AGO
CULTURE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE LAST GREAT GLACIAL PERIOD
EARLY MODERNS
A NEW TRADITION APPEARS
BLADE TOOLS
THE EARLIEST BLADE TOOLS
SPECIAL TYPES OF BLADE TOOLS
OTHER KINDS OF TOOLS
THE BEGINNING OF ART
CAVE PAINTINGS
LIFE AT THE END OF THE ICE AGE IN EUROPE
MICROLITHS
LATER BLADE-TOOL INDUSTRIES OF THE NEAR EAST AND AFRICA
NETHER AFRICA
THE FAR EAST
THE NEW WORLD BECOMES INHABITED
THE NEW ERA
End and PRELUDE
CHANGES AT THE END OF THE ICE AGE
THE READJUSTMENTS COMPLETED IN EUROPE
SOUTH AND CENTRAL EUROPE PERHAPS AS READJUSTED AS THE NORTH
HOW MUCH REAL CHANGE WAS THERE?
CHANGES IN OTHER AREAS?
REAL CHANGE AND PRELUDE IN THE NEAR EAST
QUESTIONS ABOUT CAUSE
PRECONDITIONS FOR THE REVOLUTION
CULTURAL “RECEPTIVENESS” AND PROMISING ENVIRONMENTS
AN OLD THEORY AS TO THE CAUSE OF THE REVOLUTION
THE OLD THEORY TOO SIMPLE FOR THE FACTS
ABOUT STAGES AND ERAS
THE TWO EARLIEST ERAS OF THE FOOD-PRODUCING STAGE
NUCLEAR AREAS
THE NUCLEAR NEAR EAST
THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT OF THE NUCLEAR NEAR EAST
THE ERA OF INCIPIENT CULTIVATION AND ANIMAL DOMESTICATION
INCIPIENT ERAS AND NUCLEAR AREAS
ARCHEOLOGICAL DIFFICULTIES IN SEEING THE INCIPIENT ERA
SITES WITH ANTIQUITIES OF THE INCIPIENT ERA
THE NATUFIAN, AN ASSEMBLAGE OF THE INCIPIENT ERA
NATUFIAN ANTIQUITIES IN OTHER MATERIALS; BURIALS AND PEOPLE
THE KARIM SHAHIR ASSEMBLAGE
WERE THE NATUFIAN AND KARIM SHAHIR PEOPLES FOOD-PRODUCERS?
SUMMARY
THE First Revolution
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FOOD-COLLECTORS AND FOOD-PRODUCERS
THE FOOD-PRODUCING ECONOMY
WAS FOOD-PRODUCTION A “REVOLUTION”?
GAPS IN OUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE NEAR EAST
EARLIEST SITES OF THE VILLAGE FARMERS
THE GAP BETWEEN KARIM SHAHIR AND JARMO
JARMO, IN THE KURDISH HILLS, IRAQ
ARCHITECTURE: HALL-MARK OF THE VILLAGE
HASSUNA, IN UPPER MESOPOTAMIAN IRAQ
OTHER EARLY VILLAGE SITES IN THE NUCLEAR AREA
THE IRANIAN PLATEAU AND THE NILE VALLEY
SPREAD IN TIME AND SPACE
THE SPREAD OF THE VILLAGE-FARMING COMMUNITY WAY OF LIFE INTO EUROPE
THE WAYS TO EUROPE
THE EARLIEST FARMERS OF ENGLAND
THE EUROPEAN ACHIEVEMENT
THE Conquest of Civilization
WHAT “CIVILIZATION” MEANS
CIVILIZATION IMPOSSIBLE WITHOUT FOOD-PRODUCTION
WHY DIDN’T CIVILIZATION COME TO ALL FOOD-PRODUCERS?
WHERE CIVILIZATION FIRST APPEARED IN THE NEAR EAST
THE HILLY-FLANKS ZONE VERSUS THE RIVER LANDS
THE RIVERS MUST BE CONTROLLED
CONTROL OF THE RIVERS THE BUSINESS OF EVERYONE
THE GERM OF CIVILIZATION IN EGYPT AND MESOPOTAMIA
THE ARCHEOLOGICAL SEQUENCE TO CIVILIZATION IN IRAQ
CLASSIC SOUTHERN MESOPOTAMIA FIRST OCCUPIED
THE UBAIDIAN ACHIEVEMENT
THE WARKA PHASE IN THE SOUTH
THE DAWN OF CIVILIZATION
ART AND WRITING
FROM PREHISTORY TO HISTORY
End of PREHISTORY
METAL USERS REACH ENGLAND
MORE INVASIONS
“THIS ENGLAND”
CREMATION BURIALS BEGIN
REVERBERATIONS FROM CENTRAL EUROPE
THE COMING OF IRON
HILL-FORTS AND FARMS
THE SECOND PHASE
THE THIRD PHASE
THE END OF PREHISTORY
BRITAIN AS A SAMPLE OF THE GENERAL COURSE OF PREHISTORY IN EUROPE
Summary
THE DRAMA OF THE PAST
THE SECOND ACT
THE FIRST GREAT CLIMAX OF THE SECOND ACT
THE THIRD ACT
WHY BOTHER WITH PREHISTORY?
List of Books
BOOKS OF GENERAL INTEREST
GEOCHRONOLOGY AND THE ICE AGE
FOSSIL MEN AND RACE
GENERAL ANTHROPOLOGY
GENERAL PREHISTORY
THE NEAR EAST
Index
