The body of primitive man, a faraway
and primitive man called Homo
sapiens, so far as we can reconstruct
from the fragmentary evidence we
have, was exactly like our own, and his
brain was as big as that of modern
man and quite as complicated in
structure. His intelligence and his
ability to learn were probably as great
as that of the average man today, but
he had a very meager inheritance of
knowledge.
The use of tools and weapons of a
primitive sort was probably passed on
from the subhuman creatures, who
had learned how to break stones and
use the sharp-edged pieces for cutting
and scraping, and how to use a short
heavy stick for a club and a long,
pointed one for a spear. The
subhuman creatures knew how to
make use of fire when they found it,
but they did not know how to make it.
They had probably also discovered the
advantages of social living; that
several families living together in a
tribe could offer each other help and
protection, and that hunters killed
more game if they banded together
and had a leader to direct the hunt.
The discovery that social living
increased the odds in favor of survival
was, perhaps, primitive man's greatest
discovery greater than either the
discovery of fire or the invention of the
wheel.
1: What we know of primitive
man is based upon what?
2. How much knowledge did he receive from his ancestors?
3. Why did he become a social being?
4. What, according to the author, was his greatest discovery?
5. Could he make fire?
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