Archaeology -- Juvenile literature; Cave dwellers -- Juvenile literature
_Lesson III._ Knowing that Sabre-tooth is waiting for a chance to get
into the cave, the child can understand why the first evening at the
cave will be spent in planning ways of getting rid of him.
Perhaps the child may not realize at first why the cave-men were so
careful to keep the fire burning, but if the use that they made of fire
is emphasized, gradually he will appreciate something of what its loss
might mean to the cave-men.
_Lesson IV._ Use this lesson to help the child get the meaning of
the contrast between the crude implements that the cave-men used in
securing food and in protecting themselves from their enemies, and
the devices that we use for a similar purpose. In spite of the great
contrasts that will be discovered, the child will find points of
likeness between the implements of the cave-men, rude counterparts of
which he can fashion for himself, and those that are still in use.
Focus his attention upon the needs of the people that called forth the
mechanical inventions of the period, and the use to which they were put
in making the earth a safer place in which to live. By so doing, the
killing of wild beasts, which, when considered as an end in itself,
arrests the development of the finer feelings by fixing attention upon
suffering without any purpose, becomes transformed into an act of great
social significance; for we must not forget that the cave-men, by
exterminating the most dangerous of the wild beasts, made the earth a
more fit dwelling place for all succeeding ages. If the child, at this
early period, can learn that the hunting peoples killed only enough
to supply themselves with food and skins for clothing, and that even
beasts of prey rarely kill more than they need for food, they will be
in a position to treat many problems in a more rational way than they
are usually treated.
The modeling of Sabre-tooth in clay is suggested for the sake of
cultivating the habit of observing the beauty of form and movement in
animals, and turning the interest that may have been generated by the
lesson into artistic channels.
_Lesson V._ No doubt the flesh of the sabre-toothed _felis_ was not an
attractive food, but in early times nearly everything was tested for
food and used unless it was found to be injurious. Even though the
cave-men had plenty of food, they no doubt would enjoy feasting upon
the flesh of their enemy. Perhaps they believed that through eating
Sabre-tooth’s flesh they might acquire something of his strength and
courage.
The first cooking was undoubtedly the result of an accident. The
invention was made only when man consciously controlled the process.
At first, no doubt, animals were roasted in their skins, but as people
began to prize skins for trophies, for clothing, and for thongs, they
formed the habit of removing the skin. The fear that Sabre-tooth
inspired would insure the removal of his skin for a trophy. The same is
true of the sabre teeth.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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