Tools And Time: The Evolution Of Technology In The Genus Homo - Essay Example

? Tools and time: The Evolution of Technology in the Genus Homo Human evolution is a complex and puzzling process that many scholars have dedicated their efforts to unravel. The transformation of animals to human is a puzzling issue that attracts attention of the scientists to study systematic development of brains in genus Homo. Scientists suggest that the modern man developed from simple forms of life. Scientists reveal that that Homo sapiens emerged from the ape-like creatures that existed in some parts of the world. The scientists believe that the apes and Homo sapiens belong to same ancestor. Other evolutionary changes occurred in the activities of the early man. There is a connection between human biological and technological innovations (Price & Feinman, 2007:57). Archaeologists use the behaviour of the chimpanzees to study stone tool technology. The researches reveal that tool-making technology has advanced over a period. This paper will explore the advancement of tool making in the genus Homo. The genus Homo comprise of the Homo habilis (handy man), Homo erectus (upright man), and Homo sapiens (wise man). This genus shares characteristics that include, large brain and cranial vault, prominent nose, short base of the skull, and throat that aid in speech. The Homo species evolve in a linear sequence from each other. This happens through increasing of brain capacity in the species. The Archaeologists have endeavoured to study the characteristics of early man through observing the behaviour of the chimpanzees. The Homo sapiens share similarities with the Homo erectus. They have a cranial vault that is thick-boned, and have a low sloping forehead. In addition, they have a robust face with heavy bridges. The species in this genus walk bipedal. The artefacts in Zaire reveal that of Bonobo and chimpanzees reveal that the species walk on their two legs. The analysis of the chimpanzees and the Bonobos of Zaire shows that there is a genetic relationship between the two species. Biologist studies indicates that there is female bonding, sexual equality, and have recreational sex. In addition, the scientific evidence asserts that the Bonobos evolved from the chimpanzees. The Bonobos behave like human beings. They have male figures that are solve disputes in the chimpanzee society through discouraging fights and threat displays. Sex in these creatures is strictly for reproduction purposes (Scothem). The Chimpanzees demonstrate skills to use tools in there daily activities. For instance, they can travel very long distances looking for the right stone or stick to use. The Chimpanzees utilize the tools to crack nuts and open the shells of seeds using hammer. They chimpanzees put seeds against a hard surface and struck them to extract the contents. Other primates such as the Bonobos are more intelligent in use of tools to such for their food. For instance, they utilize sticks to scoop algae from water (Scothem). Studies reveal that there the tool making technology evolved over time. The archaeological records show that the origins development of technology occurred with major changes in the evolution within this genus. In addition, the prehistoric artefacts reveal that develop species within the genus Homo had their way of making tools. Mostly, stone was the principal material that the early people used to make tools. Archaeologists place the tool making technology into different categories. The artefacts shows that stone tools that come from the same species in the genus Homo display many similarities. However, tools from varied species in the same genus reveal disparities. This implies that there is advancement in the prowess of making tools within the genus Homo (Aldenderfer et al. 2011:334). Archaeologists divide the evolution of the tool making technology into three categories. These include the early, middle, and the late stone ages. The ages reveal that the stone making is an ancient human skill. There are multiple levels of organisations and development of the skill from one period to the other. The researchers have directed their efforts to find whether there is there is brain expansion in the development of the tools. The paleontological and Archaeological early studies reveal that there is a correlation between the brain increase within the species in genus Homo and development of tools. However, the relationship is a source of controversy because the studies do not provide sufficient evidence on was involved in the coordination of making the tools (Steele & Uomini, 2005:219). The current research with macaques and human reveals the involvement of parietofrontal in the tool usage in the species in the genus Homo. Scientists have conducted other experiments to study the human skills in the stone period. The studies include fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) that studies the Oldowan tool making technology. The results of the research show that anterior parietal premotor, sensorimotor, and posterior parietal activations of the brain played a role in tool making in Stone Age period. This match with fossil evidence that indicates there was expansion in posterior parietal lobes in the early man that led to tool making (Stout et al 2008). A non-human primate shows a great deal of use of the tools. The chimpanzees demonstrate their prowess in handling tools. The tools enable these animals to handle sticks in shaping and scooping of termites and ants. In addition, other activities include the utilization of stones or wood to crack the nuts, and the employment of chewed leaves for cleaning and soft sponges of dipping in drinking waters. Moreover, the chimpanzees apply the tools to shape implements. The behaviour of chimpanzee gives important hints on the tool-making technology and their usage. To get a deeper meaning of the advancement of tool making technology the succeeding section discusses the early, middle, and late stone tool The Early Stone Age Tools This is a prehistoric period when the hominids used stone tools in all their daily activities. Archaeological records reveal that this period occurred before 2.0 my ago. The Early Stone Age incorporates roughly 90 % of human prehistory. During this period, the hominid brain capacity increased from the high range of that of chimpanzee to low range of that of modern man. This reveals that human brain structure and function of modern man have evolved from the early Stone Age period. Oldowan is the name of the tools that early man made in this period (Jurmain, 2008:321). The technology that manufactured these tools involved designing of stones to make the implements. Homo habilis and the Homo rudolfensis were the sculptors of the stone implements. The earliest identifiable stone artefacts exist in the archaeological sites of African continents. Oldowan is the name that refers to these sites. These regions of the stone artefacts comprise of Omo Valley, Gona, and Fejej in Ethiopia; West and East Turkana in Kenya. Other archaeological sites include Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, Ain Hanech in Algeria, and Sterkfontein and Swartkrans in South Africa. The materials for the manufacturing of these stone tools came from the stone. Blade core was a source of stone for making various types of tools through flaking off from the core. The result of the encrusting was a stone tool that had thin and parallel-sided. These tools had the same length and width (Haviland et al, 2010:186). Tool Types The Oldowan artefacts comprise of battered hammer stones, spheroids, flaked cores, sharp-edged flakes, and fragments. The retouched flakes exhibited cutting and chipping along one or more edges. The flaked cores comprise of the choppers, discoid, polyhedrons, and scrappers. The source of the raw materials for making these tools were cobbles, or chunks of lava, quartz, quartzite, ignimbrite, and chert. Other materials include bone, wood, hide, shell, and horn. Archaeologists distinguish the old stone tools on basis of retouch and the technique of carving (Stefoff, 2009:57). Production Techniques The technology involved the simplest knapping methods. People produced sharp-flaked tools through striking of one stone with another. The early people used burin, scraper, and backing for retouching of the tools. The technique of the manufacture of these tools was either Levallois or the disk core. The chopping technology was the easiest and it involved reduction of the stones to manageable sizes that acted as tools. The flakes struck off were in small in comparison with that of the cores. This resulted in small diversity of tool types that lacked organisations of the carving platforms. It was not easy to distinguish fabricated tools from the natural stone because they almost looked the same (McNeil, 2002:388). The Homo erectus started the industries to make these tools in China and various parts in Europe. Uses of the Old Stone Tools People used the Oldowan tools for various functions. The early man utilised the end scrappers for scouring fur from the skins of animals. In addition, man applied the scrapers in scrapping the wood and bones. Once the people removed the skin from animals, they used the scrappers to extract the fatty layer that lay under the hide. The scrapers had a wooden handle or un-handled. The Burin was a tool that man employed in carving of wood, antler, and bone. This tool had a sharp, angled point for sculpturing other tools. The early man exploited the awl to slice fibres of the plants and the hides of the animals. The main purpose of slivering the plant barks was to make clothes. In addition, the threads from the plant barks made fishing nets. Furthermore, the Awl nudged holes in wood and leather. The source of the Awl was from either stones or bones. Awl had sharp points for punching the skins and plant barks (McNeil, 2002:390). Antler Harpoon was another crucial tool that the species in the genus Homo used. The Homo erectus applied this tool in hunting of large marine animals. These animals included whales, seals, and reindeer. The early man used wooden launchers together with the Antler Harpoons to infiltrate the animals’ hide with more force. The sharp-edged Antler Harpoons dismembered and de-fleshed the animal carcasses. The heavy and strong stone hammers crushed animals’ bones to obtain the bone marrow. Clovis Point was a tool that people used for killing mega fauna and mammoths. The genus Homo used stones to make necklaces and other ornaments. Moreover, they used the tools to make ritual statuettes of the bone (Aldenderfer et al, 2011:338). Middle Stone Age Middle Stone Age spans the period between the Old Stone Age and the New Stone Age. The domestication of animals and plants characterises this period. Other activities of this period included hunting, food gathering, and fishing. This period started with the end of glacial period over 10,000 years ago. The tools in this period include the Acheulean and Mousterian tools. Sophistication characterised these tools. There was advancement in the technology of making the implements (Grine et al. 2009:142). The Acheulean Tools The genus Homo made these tools in the Middle Stone Age. The Acheulean tools were advancement and merging of the technology used in the Oldowan tool making. The Homo heidelbergensis Homo neanderthalensis are associated with the making of these tools. There were key changes in terms of innovations that comprised of carving the stones from both sides to produce a proportioned cutting edge. The technology also encompassed the shaping of an entire stone into noticeable and repeated tool types. Moreover, the variations of the tools meant that people could use tools for different functions. The production of tools changed from flakes hit from a stone core to forming a massive tool through skilful repetitions in encrusting. The principal materials in the manufacture of the Acheulean tools comprised of quartzite, flint, chert, and glassy lava (Price & Feinman, 2007:63). Largely, the technology which this species used considered symmetry and regularity in making of the tools. The tools comprise of the hand axes and cleavers that had a bifacial appearance. The technology that the genus Homo employed in making of these implements involved removing of the flakes from the two sides of the core. The flaking process followed and extended to the whole periphery of the core. This made the tools durable and therefore could stay for a long time. Later, the technology advanced and the species of Homo employed the Levallois technique and disc core technology to manufacture the Acheulean tools. This technique entailed the shaping of the core through chopping out of many flakes around the circumference of the core. This resulted to a flake structure that was large and oval (Grine et al. 2009:148). Levallois Technique This technology encompasses four stages. The first stage entails sprucing the edges of a cobble into a irregular shape. The process that follows involves getting rid of the cortex from the upper surface of the initial rough shape. This results to a core that has a ridge running through its length. The third level of this technique entails the removal of the flake from one of the ends of the core to produce flat structure. The final process include smacking flat structure and thereby getting the rid of flake from the core. This method produced a variety of shapes. The structures comprised of sub-circular central flakes, blade-like flakes, and triangular pointed flakes. This is an indication that Middle Palaeolithic toolmakers had advanced knowledge for modification of the flakes. The species in the Genus Homo could then use the manufactured stone tools (McNeil, 2002:392). Disc Core Technique This technique does not differ markedly with the Levallois technique. The technique entails skilful carving and good preparation to produce ready to use tools. The technique enabled the species in genus Homo to remove many flakes from one core. Disc Core Technique is therefore a modification of the Levallois technology. This makes the technique more efficient because it can manufacture more utilizable tools from a single piece of raw materials. This means the species of Homo could produce many copies of tools in a in a single carving (Price & Feinman, 2007:60). The species in this genus chopped a flint nodule around the edges of the stone to form a disc shaped core. The people struck the core of the stones to a small size. The Homo heidelbergensis and Homo neanderthalensis and discarded the small cores. This enabled them to get more flakes than the Homo erectus got in the Oldowan tools. To get the durable stone tools, these species refined the flakes into many forms. These included knives, points, and scrapers. The tools that the Neanderthals produced were very sophisticated as compared to the Oldowan tools. This is because there was diversification of traditional methods. This strategy enabled the species in genus Homo to develop specialized tools, which they used to skin, de-flesh, hunt, haft, and in woodwork (Aldenderfer et al, 2011:336). Acheulean Tool Making Process Acheulean tool making process needed both prowess and skill. This is because the process involved hitting of large flakes with huge rocks and boulders. The Homo heidelbergensis Homo neanderthalensis carved the blades into bi-faces and later refinement of the edges followed. This involved the use of bones or the antler tools manufactured in the early Stone Age (Lewis et al, 2008:245). The application of the shaping tools resulted to refined tools with distinct variations and different uses. Mousterian Tools These tools are associated with Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens. The technology that these species employed encompassed a preliminary designing of the stone core and striking of the actual blade. The toolmakers either whittled a rock into a rounded surface. They then struck this rounded structure into wedge-shaped tools. The process of making of these tools entailed distinct stages. The initial stage encompassed the basic flaking of the stone. The cutting of the stones into small sizes followed. The species in the genus Homo cut the stones in rough figures that did not have a distinct shape. The last stage entailed the refinement of the rough stone tools to get a final finished figure (Stefoff, 2009:64). The simple technique that the tool makers employed resulted to variation of the tools produced. The aim of the manufacturing activities was to increase the cutting edge on each blade. This eased the sharpening and the reshaping of the Mousterian tools. The Mousterian industry produced strong cutting tools such as notched flakes and denticulate flakes. The species in genus homo used the scrappers in skinning of the animals, and carving other tools. The toolmakers combined the Mousterian tools with other components such as spear shafts and handles. This advancement in tool technology saw the tools gain a wide application in hunting of huge animals, shaping of wood tools, and dressing of the hides. The tools were generally portable and lighter than those of Old Stone Age were. The toolmakers of sourced for many small flakes which they expertly renovated and sharpened. Some of the tools the toolmakers made included scrapers, borers, notched flakes, and hand-axes (Lewis et al, 2008:247). The Late Stone Age Period This period experienced expansion of technology in the manufacture of tools. Archaeologists refer to this period as the Neolithic. This is the period between 2,500 B.C and 5,500 B.C. The domestication of plants and animals characterises this period. This led to increase in food production and people stopped food foraging. The period called for more work than hunting, gathering, and fishing. There was increased production of tools. Homo sapiens were the manufacturers of these tools. The toolmakers used the core technique to make these tools. The technique had a very noticeable improvements and efficiency. It produced numerous implements with cutting edges that were straight. The technique allowed for modification of the tools into numerous tools. The modified tools consisted of the burins, points, and end scrapers. The tools had wooden or bone handles (Abbott, 2009). Industries that emerged manufactured outstanding stone blades, needles, carved and engraved artwork, and bone and antler tools. The advancement of this technology encompassed the use of metals in the manufacture of tools. There was development of tools such as flint points, axe, and weapons, such as spear, bow, and arrow. Other tools comprised of the fishing hooks. The toolmakers manufactured the tools from the stone. This involved careful planning of the carving processes. The tools were of varied in shape and gained various applications in the in farming activities. In this period, the technology that the toolmaker used demonstrated complexity. This technology spread into distinctive regional styles. The tool manufactures designed styles that responded to manufacturing needs of different people. Moreover, they tools catered for varied food sources thereby corresponding to the requirement of the size of human beings that was increasing (Price & Feinman, 2007:60). This period was the advent of increased use of delicate carved stones for bows and spears. Advancement in technical skills of contributed to appearance of sophisticated tools. The tools comprised of end scrapers, burins, tooth necklaces, bone points, and ivory beads. In addition, there was refinement in clothing, utensils, shelters, ornament, and rituals. Stone and bone tools were the biggest supporters of the manufacturing processes in the industry. The industries employed them in cutting and scrapping purposes (Lewis et al, 2008:246). The increasing pace of innovations of tools in this period led to production of strong implements. The hunters used these implements to kill wild animals. This drove many animals to extinction to create space for farming and human settlement. With the decline in hunting activities, the species in genus Homo turned into farming activities. The Homo sapiens practised agriculture that produced enough food for consumption. This led into domestication of plant and animals. People depended on rich agricultural economies (Lewis et al, 2008:245). The Metal Age The discovery of metal was a huge leap towards the manufacturing of tools. This period spans between 2000 BC and 300 AD. The first metal that the toolmakers used included the copper. The copper metal was extremely soft and therefore the toolmakers used to work into tools with relative easiness. However, the tools made from copper were of poor quality. The cutting tools were very malleable and could not de-flesh animals properly. The Homo sapiens used copper to make beads, and jewels. The malleability of copper elicited Homo sapiens to seek alternative. This led to discovery of bronze. This is an alloy of copper and tin. Tin and copper are soft but they are strong when combined to constitute bronze (Lewis et al, 2008:255). The Homo sapiens used bronze to make strong farm implements for cultivation. In addition, bronze manufactured tools that that modern man employed in seasonal grazing, de-fleshing of animals, and preparation of hides. Industries utilized the sharp bronze tools for scrapping, cutting, and boring of the skins of animals. The only shortcoming of the bronze tools was that it was brittle and therefore cracked easily. This led to discovery of metal to make durable tools (Marlowe, 2005:64). The Iron Age dates back in about 1200 B.C. This was the final Age of Metal. Iron is immeasurably better quality than any other metal. This metal is not malleable like copper or cracks like bronze. The modern man used iron for making of weapons and farm implements. People such as the Hittites employed iron weapons in their military. The Hittites heated and stuck the iron into different shapes rather than cast. This made the tools stronger, less frail, and more dependable than Bronze weapons. With the discovery of iron, the Homo sapiens utilized iron to make all the objects of every day life (Staker et al). It is evident that the evolution of tools has happened over a period. This ranges from early Stone Age when the species in the genus Homo used simple stone tools to carry out their daily activities. These tools advanced to tools that are more sophisticated in the Middle Stone Age. It is clear that this was a build up of technology from the simple form that Homo sapiens employed to a more complex in the middle stone age. The observation of the behaviour chimpanzees and bonobos to utilize tools effectively has enabled scientists to describe the evolution of tool making technology. This is because the chimpanzees, Bonobos, and human belong to the same order. The discovery of metal revolutionized the tool technology. The Homo sapiens have used the iron technology to make great and durable tools. This has resulted to big leaps of developments. (Words=3690) References Abbott, A. 2009. Neolithic Man. Available from http://www2.drury.edu/menhirchronicle/paper1/aAbbot.pdf [Accessed 27 Apr 2012] Staker, V., et al. Later Bronze Age and Iron Age Environmental Background. Available from http://www1.somerset.gov.uk/archives/hes/downloads/swarf_5.pdf [Accessed 27 Apr 2012] Scothem, N. A Comparison of Tool Using Behaviour between Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and Bonobos. Available from http://www.biolog-e.leeds.ac.uk/Biolog-e/uploads/Nicola_Scothern.pdf [Accessed 27 Apr 2012] Jurmain, R. 2008. Essentials of Physical Anthropology. New York: Cengage Learning. Haviland, W., et al .2010. Evolution and Prehistory: The Human Challenge. New York: Cengage Learning. Price, T. & Feinman, G. 2007. Archaeology at the Millennium: A Sourcebook. New York: Springer. 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