The difficulty of studying the culture and life of ancient people is that during this period of history there was no written language, and, accordingly, the testimonies of contemporaries have not reached our days. Nevertheless, historians can reconstruct the economic activities of ancient people, including hunting, using archaeological finds.
Instructions
Step 1
During the early history of mankind - in the Paleolithic and Mesolithic - hunting and gathering were the main economic activities. Hunting made it possible not only to get meat for food, but also to obtain skins from which clothes and dwellings were made, as well as bones that served as the basis for some tools of labor, and sometimes even material for kindling. Hunting technique changed along with the general development of economic skills and the complication of social life.
Step 2
The hunting technique largely depended on the type of game. To catch small animals and birds, the ancient people set traps. Most likely, these were technically simple devices, which, however, were very effective - archaeologists find many remains of birds at the sites of ancient people. When hunting medium-sized game - small mammals such as gazelles - ancient people used spears and bows and arrows that appeared closer to the Middle Paleolithic. It should be borne in mind that at that time the effectiveness of these weapons was limited by the specifics of the materials. The people of the Stone Age did not know how to work metals - the points were made of small stones or bone, which reduced the force of the impact of spears and arrows.
Step 3
Large animals - mammoths, elephants - were hunted by ancient people collectively. The researchers drew these data from rich cave paintings with detailed hunting scenes, as well as from observations of modern tribes that partially preserved old customs. Precisely because of hunting, Paleolithic people lived in groups - the capture of a large animal gave them food for a short time, which was not guaranteed with small game. The way of hunting depended on the locality and traditions of a particular tribe. Sometimes the hunt was carried out simply with the help of persecution: a group of primitive people, armed with spears, chased the animal until the latter was tired, and then dealt with the prey. The easiest way was to watch the animal at the watering hole. In mountainous terrain, the animal could be driven to a cliff and forced to fall off it. Also, the more advanced tribes eventually learned to build traps for big game. One example of such traps was a deep hole covered with foliage and branches into which an animal could be lured or driven.
