The Early Cave-Men

by Katharine Elizabeth Dopp

[Lesson VII.] Let the children dig cooking-pits and caves of various sorts in the ground and experiment with them to discover where the smoke goes and why, and the effect of the form of the cave or cooking-pit upon the draft. The invention of a means of carrying off the smoke, and the attempt to regulate the draft in these crude contrivances, will lead to an interest in the fireplaces and chimneys in the child’s own house. Make use of this interest in such a way as to lead the child to observe the materials used and forms adopted in the construction of modern fireplaces and chimneys, and encourage him to seek reasons for the same.

Show the child a picture of the interior of a cave that has stalagmites and stalactites, and illustrate their formation by dissolving rock salt or lime in water and letting it drip until a deposit is made.

[Lesson VIII.] If the cave-men wanted to keep such trophies as teeth and claws of animals, it is evident that they would have to bore holes through them. To pierce bright and shining natural forms, fossil shells, etc., for beads, was an easy matter. To bore holes through such hard objects as the teeth and claws of wild animals taxed the cave-man’s ingenuity. The different devices for drilling represented in this lesson doubtless required ages for their development. It has seemed best, however, to represent them together, since they are all sufficiently simple for the child to understand. The advantage of the use of the strap or the bow in turning the drill will be appreciated by the child after trying to twirl it by the use of the hands alone. To get the best results from this work it should be carried on by the child for several days. He will probably enjoy doing such work outside of school hours. Horizontal drilling upon the thigh, and vertical drilling with or without the strap or the bow, may be carried on in actual boring or as mere games. Such exercises serve to give an insight into related industrial processes of the present, and to establish physical coördinations which can be turned to account in a variety of ways. Let the child try to bore a hole through a hard substance by using a soft spindle with sand and water. Such a device works better than the flint point without the sand. Although much of the experimentation with awls and drills may be made outside of school hours, the results of these experiments should be discussed during the recitation period. In this way the interest that the child takes in play is transferred to his school work.

References: J. D. McGuire, “A Study of Primitive Methods of Drilling,” Smithsonian Report, 1894, pp. 623-756. 201 figs.

Katharine E. Dopp, The Place of Industries in Elementary Education, pp. 27, 133. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

[Lesson IX.] Encourage the child to make a collection of the natural objects in his vicinity that can be used for tools or weapons, and encourage him to make such changes in the natural forms he has collected as he thinks would make them better fitted for the use to which he wishes to put them. Help him arrange them in some part of the schoolroom where they can be referred to easily from time to time. If the child can visit a museum where primitive implements and weapons are exhibited, it will be easier for him to understand the function that such crude implements have fulfilled in the life of the race. Where a museum is not available, the text, together with its illustrations, will supply sufficient data for the child to get an appreciation of the social significance of such implements. But in no case should the observation of the implement or the story about its use be made to take the place of actually making it.

The child will soon learn where to look for the best stones for implements and weapons, and how to choose forms that the river has worn into shapes that require but little work to fit them for use. It is worth while for the child to chip off a few flakes from the stones he selects, for the sake of the practical acquaintance that he gets with the properties of stones.

The name of the stone is a secondary matter, but if the teacher knows the names or can learn them from some person in the community, she can readily make the child familiar with the names of the more common varieties of stones.

In selecting suitable sticks for handles, the child will soon learn that he can save work by choosing a straight branch, and that it is worth while to cut it so as to have a forked end, or a shoulder to which he can bind the weapon. The need of a strong, tough handle furnishes a motive for studying the properties of wood. In rejecting the soft and brittle varieties, the child becomes acquainted with these as well as with the kinds that serve his purpose.

The selection of suitable material for binding the working part to the handle is a matter of considerable difficulty. No doubt the child who uses cord will find it impossible to bind the parts together as firmly as he desires. If after trying different materials no one thinks of the use of a material that will shrink, tell the children of the use of rawhide, and get enough from the meat market to illustrate its use. As the child tries different ways of winding the lashing, he will undoubtedly discover that the most effective binding is secured when the straps are wound symmetrically.