Lunar Calender (c. 15,000 B.C.E.)

Early humans record the passing of time. The earliest known lunar calendar is in the caves at Lascaux, southwest France, and dates from around 15,000 B.C.E. Various series of spots represent half of the moon's near-monthly cycle, followed by a large empty square, which perhaps indicate a clear sky.A lunar calendar counts months (a period of 29.5350588 days) and is based on the phases of the moon....

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Ancient Braide Rope (c. 17,000 B.C.E)

Fibers are twisted into a valuable tool. One of the oldest artifacts in the world, rope is still extensively used in many environments. It seems unlikely that it will be replaced for many years. Traditionally made from the natural fibers such as hemp, jute, or coir, rope is now also made from synthetic materials such as nylon and even steel. Rope is a braided fiber, twisted to form a supple, strong...

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Ancient Boomerang (c. 18,000 B.C.E.)

The advent of an easily retrievable weapon. The oldest boomerang so far found was discovered in a cave in the Carpathian Mountains in southern Poland and is believed to be date form 18,000 B.C.E. The practice of throwing wood has also been illustrated in North African rock paintings tha date from the Neolithic Age (approximately 6000 B.C.E) The wood thrown consists variously of a "throwing club,"...

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Ancient Bow and Arrow (c. 20,000 B.C.E)

Distant target come within deadly reach for the first time. Evidence of the early use of bows and arrows has been found in cave paintings in Western Europe and North Africa. Its development probably arose in the Upper Paleolithic (old stone age) around 20,000 B.C.E., when people realized that the weapon would enable hunters to kill outside their throwing range. Bows and arrows were portable, easy...

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Ancient Atlatl (c. 23,000 B.C.E.)

Early humans extended spear-throwing range. When Spaniards first met the Aztecs in around 1500, the explorers were horrified when their armor was easily penetrated by the Aztec throwing darts. The Aztecs achieved this feat with the atlatl, a simple device used by many ancient peoples for long-range hunting, It probably dated from around 23,000 B.C.E.  The atlatl consists of a throwing...

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Ancient Sewing (c. 25,000 B.C.E)

Clothing is fitted using needle and thread. The history of sewing is closely allied to the history of tools, The earliest needles ever discovered date from the paleolithic era ( the earliest stone age) around 25,000 B.C.E., key finds from that period include needles in south west France and near Moscow in Russia. These were made of ivory or bone, with an eyelet gouged out. Some have been found...

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Ancient Sharp Stone Blade (c. 30,000 B.C.E)

Stone Age humans progress to sharpening their tools and weapons. The use of stone instruments more than two million years ago heralded what we call the Stone Age and the very origins of humankind. While it is impossible to date when distinctly worked (rather than simply found) stone blades first appeared in the world, it seems to have occurred circa 30,000 B.C.E. The technique that evolved to...

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Ancient Drills (c. 35,000 B.C.E)

Early humans learn how to bore small holes. It is thought that early man used a primitive drill - perhaps a modified spear - to pierce wood and animal skins. Much later, the woodworker of ancient Egypt refined this technique by making any necessary holes with a bow drill. Adapted from the fire-stick, it had a cord wrapped round it and was held taut with a bow. Holding the drill vertically, the operator...

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Ancient Tally Stick (c. 35.000 B.C.E)

Counting makes its debut in Swaziland. Tally sticks, or tallies batons of bone, ivory, wood, or stone into which notches are made as a mean of recoding numbers or even messages, The archeological and historical records are rich in tallies, with the Lembombo bone as the earliest example. Found in a cave in the Lembombo Mountains in Swaziland and made form a baboon's fibula, it dated back to 35,000...

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Ancient Fishhook (c. 35,000 B.C.E.)

Early humans discover how to retain their caught fish. The major problem with dating inventions earlier than the written word is that there are no first-hand accounts documenting their conception or use. Paleoarcheologists have the difficult task of piecing together the prehistory of man based on scraps of physical evidence left behind by our ancient ancistors. The fishhook is one such ingenious...

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Ancient Spear - (c. 400,000 B.C.E)

Humans learn to skill with sharpened poles. The earliest example fo a sharpened wooden pole, or spear, comes from Schoningen in Germany. There, eight spears where dated to 400,000 B.C.E. The ancient hominid hunters who sharpened each pole used a filnt shaver to cut away the tip to form a pont and then signed the tip in the fire to harden the wood, making it a more effective weapon. A similar technique...

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Ancient Clothing - (c. 400,000 B.C.E)

Early humans cover their nakedness. Around 400,000 years ago, Homo sapiens devised a solution to protect the vulnerable naked human body from the environment - clothes. Anthropologists believe the earliest clothing was made form the fur of hunted animals or leaves creatively wrapped around the body to keep out the cold, wind and rain. Determining the date of this invention is difficult, although...

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Ancient Built Shelter - (c. 400,000 B.C.E)

Homo heidbergensis builds the first hut. The earliest evidence of built shelter appears to have been constructed by "homo heidbergensis", who lived in Europe between around 800,000 B.C.E. Anthropologists are uncertain whether these were ancestors of Homo sapiens (Humans) or Homo neanderthalensis (Neanderthals) or both. At the french site of Terra Amata, which dated back around 400,000 years, archeologists...

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Ancient Controlled Fire - (c. 1,42,000 B.C.E)

Homo erectus harness lightning Fire is an essential tool, control of which helped tostart the human race on its path to civilization. The original source of fire was probably lightning, and for generation blazes ignited in this manner remained the only source of fire. Initially Peking man, who lived around 500,000 B.C.E, was believed to be earliest user of fire, but evidence uncovered in Kenya...

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Ancient Stone Tools - (c. 2,600,000 B.C.E)

Every humankind ushers in the age of inventions. The very first human invention consisted of sharp flints, found and used in their natural state by primitive peoples, who then went on to purposely sharpen stones. The practice reaches back to the very dawn of humankind; stone tools found in 1969 in kenya are estimated to be 2,600,000 years old. The principal types of tools, which appeared in the...

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