C. N. Starcke, Primitive Family in its Origin and Development.
G. L. Gomme, “The Primitive Human Horde,” Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. XVII., pp. 118-33; “The Evolution of the Family,” Popular Science Monthly, Vol. XI., p. 257.
Ch. Letourneau, The Evolution of Marriage and the Family.
Lesson VI. This lesson is important as marking the beginning of the textile industry. Undoubtedly the motive that prompted the first weaving was the love of the mother for her child, and her desire to keep it safe from harm. The materials were inevitably such as the immediate environment could afford—vines, slender branches, or other fibrous plants. The process at first must have been crude, but savage women very early developed a skill in basketry that we are not able to find among civilized peoples. By encouraging the child to think of the different articles that he uses that were made by weaving, and by examining the beauty of the work, he will be prepared to grasp something of the significance of the simple act of Sharptooth, which was an expression of the same kind of mother love which he enjoys, but which he accepts as a matter of course.
Explain to the child that the Tree-dwellers did not have such music as we have. But mothers as they held their babies in their arms would gently sway back and forth, uttering a soothing sound. The little girls will no doubt enjoy making such a lullaby in their hours of play.
Lesson VII. If no child in the class knows what kind of banks a river has at the drinking-places, and if there is no opportunity to go to a brook or river to find out, do not state that the banks are low. The fact presented in that way would be almost devoid of meaning. But let the child model a river valley in the sand box or out on the playground showing steep banks in places and in others banks that slope gently. Then let him think of a herd of cattle feeding on the hillsides. The cattle need water. Suppose that they come up to the steep banks. Can they reach the water? How can the cattle get down to the stream? When the cattle have found a good drinking-place will they be apt to come to it again? By means of such questions as these the child can picture the conditions and the relation of living creatures to them. Such knowledge as this means something to him. He need not try to remember it, for it is his.
Give the child plenty of time in reading the short sentences that picture the cattle in the stream to allow him to actually see the different steps in the process. By considering each point by itself, but yet in relation to the preceding step, the child can get a vivid picture. (For information concerning the wild cattle, see The Urus, p. 145.)
Lesson VIII. This lesson is introduced to give the child a faint suggestion of the struggle for existence among wild animals. It also suggests something of the dangers to which the Tree-dwellers were exposed. Pass lightly over these dark pictures and emphasize the fact that it was possible even in those times for Sharptooth and her baby to sleep safe from harm. In contrast to this wild life let the children draw pictures that will illustrate the security and comfort of their own homes.
Lesson IX. If possible let the child visit a cave; if not, he may take advantage of the tiny streams that may be seen everywhere after a heavy rain or during the thawing of snow. A careful examination of such a miniature stream will enable the child to get all the experience he needs in order to understand the geographical phase of this lesson.
Do not try to teach the child much more than he can observe regarding the way in which caves were formed. A much better opportunity to teach him this lesson is presented later.