Early man of the stone ages is often referred to as a “Cave Man“. The definition of fire is the active principle of burning, characterized by the heat and light of combustion; And cultivating it was perhaps one of the biggest technological leaps humans ever surpassed. Early man was considered hunters and gatherers. This means they have no modern conveniences that we have today; in fact, most of their food was eaten raw.
Fire affected the ancient man in many ways through cause and effect, and every effect created a cause, which resulted in another effect. It allowed the food to be germ-free because it was cooked and since it was cooked it was more digestible and that resulted in more nutrients for the body allowing brain and brain capacity to increase. The fact that food was cooked, the jaw and teeth experienced a decrease in size since meat wasn’t so hard to eat through. Fire also allowed the creation of better and stronger tools thus resulting in hunters having more success with the big game and the food supply to increase. It was also used as a defence against the big carnivorous animals that preyed on humans for food. Fire in all was a great discovery made by a hominid species Homo erectus that was first to create fire and control it.
At first fire was rarely seen or used because humans could not develop it and the only source of fire would have been from lightning, volcanoes, and piles of dry leaves suddenly igniting. Although fires were rare “phenomena” at the time, Paleolithic peoples still found use to it. They used the fire to keep their shelters warm and cook their food, and scare away wild animals. This was of course before Homo erectus cultivated fire. Homo erectus learned how to make and control fire as early as 1.4 million years ago. They made fire by rubbing one stick back and forth against another, or by turning a stick rapidly in a hole in a dry log. When Homo erectus discovered fire they had adapted many uses to it, one of them was to cook food. “As they began to cook their food-a much faster process. Later man invented new and improved methods of hunting. They also discovered fire and agriculture. They began to build huts and moved out of caves and valleys and tree shelters. They began to find means of protection against wild animals.Still later, early men started domesticating certain animals for carrying loads. With the discovery of wheel, the means of transport were revolutionized. Man’s implements, tools and weapons also changed from clay, stone, wood to copper and then iron. Civilization kept progressing till it reached the modern level.
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