All through the evolution of us humans, we been leanin' mighty heavy on discovery and innovation just to survive down here. Dem ancient societies used stone and eventually metals to rig up tools and weapons, and figurin' out how to refine and use dem metals was a huge turnin' point for what we could build. Dese innovations brought about advances for all sorts of work and paved the way for our modern society.
Now historians use dat natural link between industrial development and materials to sort out certain periods of big social and technological advancements. We're startin' off with the Stone Age and we'll be movin' right quick into the ages that come after. Just bear with us now.
Stone Age
Long 'fore folks was usin' metals everywhere, ancient man used stone for all his craftin', and dat's why this big ol' stretch of time is called “The Stone Age”. Dat Stone Age lasted millions of years and is known for the evolution of the genus Homo (Dat’s us! Well, kind of…) and the use of dem primitive stone tools.
Even though they call it the Stone Age, not every tool was made out of just stone, no sir. Different folks tinkered with different materials like wood, bone, or even antlers. One of the very first and simplest stone tools they had was dem hammerstones.
Dem prehistoric humans used hammerstones to chip other stones down into sharp-edged flakes. They also used 'em to bust apart nuts, seeds, and bones, or to grind up clay into pigments for paintin'.
Over time, early man started riggin' up more sophisticated stone tools like hand axes, spear points for huntin', scrapers to get animal hides ready, and awls for shreddin' plant fibers to make clothes. Dese tools might've been simple, but I tell you what, they did a mighty important job for our ancestors and paved the way for all the innovations to come.
You want to know the most important “invention” of dat era? Fire. Or rather, figurin' out how to control dat fire. With a good blaze going, prehistoric man could make heat and light, two things we reckon are basic human needs today.
Findin' dat out let 'em cook their food, make a spot for the community to gather 'round in the dark, and it let 'em figure out how to bend reality to suit what they needed. Recent evidence, goin' back around 164,000 years, shows dat early humans livin' down in South Africa was usin' fire as a downright engineering tool.
What do I mean by dat? Well, they'd use fire to change up the mechanical properties of the stone they used for makin' tools and utensils. Once they got 'em heat treated, dem stones was shaped into crescent blades, arrowheads, skinnin' tools, and such… Dis here technique would end up pioneerin' the early forms of metallurgy.
Dem first experiments with metalworkin', along with figurin' out smeltin' and alloyin', would become the official markers for movin' on from the Stone Age to the next era of man: The Bronze Age. From there, all dem improvements and innovations just kept pilin' up into the wonderful world we're livin' in today.
BUT we ain't gonna get ahead of ourselves just yet. There's a whole mess of other metals, processes, alloys, and industrial innovations to talk about before we can draw a line from sticks and rocks all the way to modern refinin' processes and industrial flanges.
Is dat Stone Age not far back enough in the history of metal for ya? Go on and check out our Star Flanges blog! Dat is literally as far back as it goes in the timeline and it sure helps explain where ever'thing came from!
Y'all got a sudden mighty thirst for knowledge and need to know what happens next in this thrillin' saga of the industrial romance between mankind and metal? *ANNOUNCER VOICE* Check it out next time on The Bronze
