What Can Be Learned From the Study of The Prehistoric Era?

The study of the prehistoric era has resulted in many findings, which has opened the door for many sciences. There have been great strides made in the exploration of prehistoric humans, in that modern day society has gained insight into the past. This should not be judged as having been an easy feat. Earlier researchers would have had us believe that prehistoric intelligence was not possible among “savages.” However, humankind’s natural instinct is to pursue knowledge and move forward. All the advances made throughout history testify to that. How could it be that intelligence was not a factor in the ability of prehistoric humans to sustain life as they knew it? The unearthing of bones, stone tools and fossils provides the evidence of early man’s existence. The evidence gathered led to the knowledge that prehistoric people were able to sustain life by creating their environment to meet their needs. This assumption is made “because of their uniquely human ability to gain and apply an immense body of knowledge of nature.” The authentication of scientific advances made in prehistoric times is based on a combination of conjecture and logic due to no written documentation. Scientists such as anthropologists study modern day foragers and collect specifics on their culture to consider it as a model of how earlier humankind survived.

During the Stone Age, man like species dwelled the earth for over tens of thousands of years as hunters and gatherers exploiting their surroundings. Their mere existence involved the participation of male and female, which hunting considered to be the male role and gathering the female role. In an essay written by Karl Marx, Why are Women Oppressed, he states “the earliest societies are usually...

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...e hands of women as they used digging sticks to “procure food from the ground and evidently enhancing a systematic way of cultivating the soil.” Because of their close relationship with the soil they learned how to plant seeds and ultimately perfect the technique of farming. The presence of human’s are not accepted well by wild animals, therefore the women would skillfully hunt young animals and use their maternal instincts to domesticate animals by nurturing them and keeping them in captivity.

In sum, many of today’s technologies have been built upon from our ancestors. New developments continue to surface and researchers have approached the study of humankind from prehistoric time by studying every tool, artifact and modern day cultures. The quest to gain knowledge of our past to understand our present and enhance our future will be a continuous journey.