Prior to the discovery and use of copper, humans relied primarily on natural materials such as stone, wood and bone tools to make tools and weapons. This period is known as the Stone Age and is divided into the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods.
1. Palaeolithic (about 2.5 million years ago – about 10,000 years ago)
Tool materials: Stones (e.g. flint, quartz, etc.) were mainly used to make simple tools, such as stone axes, stone knives and stone hammers.
Lifestyle: Humans lived a nomadic life by hunting and gathering.
Technical characteristics: tools were made roughly, mainly by hammering stones to form sharp edges.
2. Neolithic Age (about 10,000 years ago – about 5,000 years ago)
Tool materials: Apart from stones, human beings began to use grinding techniques to make finer stone tools, such as ground stone axes and stone sickles.
Lifestyle: Agriculture and animal husbandry gradually developed, and humans began to settle down and form villages.
Technological features: tools were made more finely, and new technologies such as pottery and weaving appeared.
3. Use of other materials
Wooden tools: Wood was widely used to make tools, weapons and building structures, such as wooden spears, sticks and wooden houses.
Bone tools: Animal bones and horns were used to make tools such as needles, fishhooks and arrowheads.
Natural fibres: plant fibres were used to make ropes, nets and simple clothing.
4. Society and Culture
Social organisation: Relatively simple social structure in the form of small tribes or families.
Art and Religion: Primitive rock paintings, carvings and rituals appeared, reflecting the artistic and religious consciousness of early man.
5. Transition to the Copper Age
Discovery of Copper: With the deepening of mankind’s understanding of natural resources, copper was gradually discovered and used to make tools and weapons, marking mankind’s entry into the Copper Age.
Technological innovation: The use of copper brought about more efficient tools and weapons, and facilitated the development of agriculture, handicrafts and military.
Overall, before the discovery of copper, human beings relied mainly on stone tools and other natural materials for survival and development. The technological and social advances of this period laid the foundation for the later Copper Age.
