The primitive (pre-class) era in the development of mankind covers a huge time period - from 2.5 million years ago to 5 millennium BC. e. Today, thanks to the work of archaeological researchers, it is possible to restore almost the entire history of the emergence of human culture. In Western countries, its initial stage is called differently: primitive, tribal society, classless or egalitarian system.
What is the era of the primitive world?
Class societies appeared in different territories at different times, so the boundaries that outline the primitive world are very blurred. One of the largest anthropologists who was interested in primitive history is A. I. Peppers. He proposed the following division criterion. Societies that existed before the appearance of classes, the scientist calls apopoliteic (that is, those that arose before the appearance of the state). Those that continued to exist after the emergence of social strata are synpolitane.
The era of the primitive world has given rise to a new kind of man whodifferent from the preceding Australopithecus. A skilled person could already move on two legs, and also use a stone and a stick as tools. However, this is where all the differences between him and his ancestor ended. Like Australopithecus, a skilled man could only communicate using shouts and gestures.
The primitive world and the descendants of Australopithecus
After a whole million years of evolution, the new species, called Homo erectus, still differed very little from its predecessor. It was covered with hair, and the parts of the body looked like monkeys in everything. He also still looked like a monkey in his habits. However, Homo erectus already had a large brain, with the help of which he mastered new abilities. Now a person could hunt with the help of created tools. New tools helped the primitive man to carve animal carcasses and hew wooden sticks.
Further development
Only thanks to the enlarged brain and acquired skills, a person was able to survive the Ice Age and settle in Europe, Northern China, the Hindustan Peninsula. About 250 thousand years ago, Homo sapiens, or Homo sapiens, first appeared. From that time on, primitive tribes began to use animal caves for housing. They settle in them in large groups. The primitive world begins to take on a new look: this time is considered the era of the birth of family relations. People of one tribe begin to be buried according to special rituals, to enclose their graves with stones. Archaeological finds confirm that a person of that era already sought to help relatives in illnesses, shared food and clothing with them.
The role of fauna in human survival
A big role for the evolution, development of hunting and animal husbandry was played in the primitive era by the environment, namely the animals of the primitive world. This category includes many long-extinct species. For example, woolly rhinos, musk oxen, mammoths, big-horned deer, saber-toothed tigers, cave bears. The life and death of human ancestors depended on these animals.
It is authentically known that primitive man hunted woolly rhinos already about 70 thousand years ago. Their remains were found on the territory of modern Germany. Some animals did not pose a particular danger to primitive tribes. For example, despite its impressive size, the cave bear was slow and clumsy. Therefore, the primitive tribes easily defeated him in a fight. Some of the first domesticated animals were: the wolf, which gradually became a dog, as well as the goat, which gave milk, wool and meat.
What did evolution really prepare man for?
It should be noted that the multimillion-dollar evolution of man prepared for survival precisely as a hunter and gatherer. Thus, the main goal of the evolutionary process was the primitive that exists in man. The new world, with its class stratification, is a completely alien environment for people.
Some scholars compare the emergence of the class system insociety with exile from paradise. At all times, the social elite could afford better living conditions, better education and leisure. Those who belong to the lower class are forced to be content with minimal rest, hard physical labor and modest housing. In addition, many scholars are inclined to believe that in a class society, morality acquires very abstract features.
The decline of the primitive communal system
One of the reasons why the primitive world was replaced by class stratification is the overproduction of material products. The very fact of overproduction indicates that at a certain moment society reached a high level of development for its time.
Primitive people learned not only to produce tools and household items, but also to exchange them among themselves. Soon, leaders began to appear in primitive society - those who could manage the process of producing products. The tribal community gradually began to be replaced by a class system. Some primitive tribes already by the end of the prehistoric period were structured communities in which there were leaders, assistant leaders, judges and military leaders.
