The time previous to the discovery of the art of working in metal was the Age of Stone. It was a natural transition period during which men began to learn to make use of the malleable metals, which could be hammered and beaten into various shapes, and finally discovered how to work in iron. Iron, by being placed in the fire, brought to a white heat, and smelted, was rendered capable of being put to such uses as were impossible in the case of brittle materials—bone or stone, for example. Many races never acquired the art of working even in the softer metals, and procured metallic implements from other peoples. The great importance of metal-working is borne out by the fact that the position of the smith, even in legendary times, has been of the utmost significance. The Ages of Stone and of Metal belong to the most important stages of civilisation.
Having made himself weapons, man did not employ them in fights with animals only; he also used them on his fellow-men, and at the same time arose the necessity for protective coverings—that is, the need for a means of neutralising the effect of weapons on the body. Thus followed the invention of the shield as a portable shelter, of the coat of mail and of the helmet, and of armour in general in all its different forms and varieties.
Together with weapons, utensils are characteristic of material culture. Utensils are implements used in the arts of peace, domestic and industrial; they are instruments which enable us to increase power over Nature. Some utensils have undergone the same transformations as have weapons; others have their own independent history. Just as the edges of shells served as patterns for knife-blades, so did hollow stones, the shells of crustaceans or of tortoises, become models for dishes and basins. From the discovery of the imperviousness of dried earth, the potter’s art developed; it became possible to mould clay into desired shapes while moist, and then, when dry, to employ it in its new form as a vessel for holding liquids; for that which has always been of the greatest importance in the making of utensils has been the taking advantage of two opposite characteristics displayed by a material during the different stages of its manufacture—plasticity, which admits of its first being moulded into various forms, and another quality, which causes it afterward to stiffen into solidity and strength.
Mansell
THE MAN WITH THE HOE
From the painting by Millet
Underwood & Underwood
THE WONDERFUL ADVANCE IN AGRICULTURE
These pictures present a striking contrast: the sullen clod with his primitive
hoe, and the great Canadian reaper drawn by thirty horses, both in use to-day.
LARGER IMAGE
Growth of the Textile Arts
A further acquisition was the art of braiding and plaiting, the joining together of flexible materials in such a way that they held together by force of friction alone. Thus coherent, durable fabrics may be produced, and by joining together small parts into an aggregate it is also possible to give a definite form to the whole and to adapt it to various uses. The quality of adaptability is especially developed in the products of plaiting, but the quality of imperviousness is lacking. Wickerwork was used not only in the form of baskets, but also in other shapes, as means for protection and shelter, as material for sails, as well as for tying and binding. The art of weaving arises from plaiting, and along with it come methods for spinning thread. It thus becomes possible to make an immense number of different useful articles out of shapeless vegetable material. Fibres are rendered more durable by being bound together, and textures formed from threads are adapted to the most various uses of life. This has an influence on the development of weapons also: bow-strings, slings, and lassos presuppose a rudimentary knowledge, at least, of the textile arts; and as knowledge increases, so are the products improved in turn.