The Story of Mankind [7]
who fill the Zoo with their
strange noises, early man liked to jabber. That is to say, he
endlessly repeated the same unintelligible gibberish because it
pleased him to hear the sound of his voice. In due time he
learned that he could use this guttural noise to warn his fellow
beings whenever danger threatened and he gave certain little
shrieks which came to mean ``there is a tiger!'' or ``here come
five elephants.'' Then the others grunted something back at
him and their growl meant, ``I see them,'' or ``let us run away
and hide.'' And this was probably the origin of all language.
But, as I have said before, of these beginnings we know
so very little. Early man had no tools and he built himself
no houses. He lived and died and left no trace of his existence
except a few collar-bones and a few pieces of his skull.
These tell us that many thousands of years ago the world was
inhabited by certain mammals who were quite different from
all the other animals--who had probably developed from another
unknown ape-like animal which had learned to walk on
its hind-legs and use its fore-paws as hands--and who were
most probably connected with the creatures who happen to be
our own immediate ancestors.
It is little enough we know and the rest is darkness.
PREHISTORIC MAN
PREHISTORIC MAN BEGINS TO MAKE
THINGS FOR HIMSELF.
EARLY man did not know what time meant. He kept
no records of birthdays or wedding anniversaries or the hour
of death. He had no idea of days or weeks or even years.
But in a general way he kept track of the seasons for he had
noticed that the cold winter was invariably followed by the mild
spring--that spring grew into the hot summer when fruits
ripened and the wild ears of corn were ready to be eaten and
that summer ended when sudden gusts of wind swept the leaves
from the trees and a number of animals were getting ready
for the long hibernal sleep.
But now, something unusual and rather frightening had
happened. Something was the matter with the weather. The
warm days of summer had come very late. The fruits had
not ripened. The tops of the mountains which used to be covered
with grass now lay deeply hidden underneath a heavy
burden of snow.
Then, one morning, a number of wild people, different
from the other creatures who lived in that neighbourhood, came
wandering down from the region of the high peaks. They
looked lean and appeared to be starving. They uttered sounds
which no one could understand. They seemed to say that
they were hungry. There was not food enough for both the
old inhabitants and the newcomers. When they tried to stay
more than a few days there was a terrible battle with claw-like
hands and feet and whole families were killed. The others fled
back to their mountain slopes and died in the next blizzard.
But the people in the forest were greatly frightened. All
the time the days grew shorter and the nights grew colder than
they ought to have been.
Finally, in a gap between two high hills, there appeared a
tiny speck of greenish ice. Rapidly it increased in size. A
gigantic glacier came sliding downhill. Huge stones were
being pushed into the valley. With the noise of a dozen thunderstorms
torrents of ice and mud and blocks of granite suddenly
tumbled among the people of the forest and killed them
while they slept. Century old trees were crushed into kindling
wood. And then it began to snow.
It snowed for months and months. All the plants died and
the animals fled in search of the southern sun. Man hoisted
his young upon his back and followed them. But he could not
travel as fast as the wilder creatures and he was forced to
choose between quick thinking or quick dying. He seems to
have preferred the former for he has managed to survive the
terrible glacial periods which upon four different occasions
threatened to kill every human being on the
strange noises, early man liked to jabber. That is to say, he
endlessly repeated the same unintelligible gibberish because it
pleased him to hear the sound of his voice. In due time he
learned that he could use this guttural noise to warn his fellow
beings whenever danger threatened and he gave certain little
shrieks which came to mean ``there is a tiger!'' or ``here come
five elephants.'' Then the others grunted something back at
him and their growl meant, ``I see them,'' or ``let us run away
and hide.'' And this was probably the origin of all language.
But, as I have said before, of these beginnings we know
so very little. Early man had no tools and he built himself
no houses. He lived and died and left no trace of his existence
except a few collar-bones and a few pieces of his skull.
These tell us that many thousands of years ago the world was
inhabited by certain mammals who were quite different from
all the other animals--who had probably developed from another
unknown ape-like animal which had learned to walk on
its hind-legs and use its fore-paws as hands--and who were
most probably connected with the creatures who happen to be
our own immediate ancestors.
It is little enough we know and the rest is darkness.
PREHISTORIC MAN
PREHISTORIC MAN BEGINS TO MAKE
THINGS FOR HIMSELF.
EARLY man did not know what time meant. He kept
no records of birthdays or wedding anniversaries or the hour
of death. He had no idea of days or weeks or even years.
But in a general way he kept track of the seasons for he had
noticed that the cold winter was invariably followed by the mild
spring--that spring grew into the hot summer when fruits
ripened and the wild ears of corn were ready to be eaten and
that summer ended when sudden gusts of wind swept the leaves
from the trees and a number of animals were getting ready
for the long hibernal sleep.
But now, something unusual and rather frightening had
happened. Something was the matter with the weather. The
warm days of summer had come very late. The fruits had
not ripened. The tops of the mountains which used to be covered
with grass now lay deeply hidden underneath a heavy
burden of snow.
Then, one morning, a number of wild people, different
from the other creatures who lived in that neighbourhood, came
wandering down from the region of the high peaks. They
looked lean and appeared to be starving. They uttered sounds
which no one could understand. They seemed to say that
they were hungry. There was not food enough for both the
old inhabitants and the newcomers. When they tried to stay
more than a few days there was a terrible battle with claw-like
hands and feet and whole families were killed. The others fled
back to their mountain slopes and died in the next blizzard.
But the people in the forest were greatly frightened. All
the time the days grew shorter and the nights grew colder than
they ought to have been.
Finally, in a gap between two high hills, there appeared a
tiny speck of greenish ice. Rapidly it increased in size. A
gigantic glacier came sliding downhill. Huge stones were
being pushed into the valley. With the noise of a dozen thunderstorms
torrents of ice and mud and blocks of granite suddenly
tumbled among the people of the forest and killed them
while they slept. Century old trees were crushed into kindling
wood. And then it began to snow.
It snowed for months and months. All the plants died and
the animals fled in search of the southern sun. Man hoisted
his young upon his back and followed them. But he could not
travel as fast as the wilder creatures and he was forced to
choose between quick thinking or quick dying. He seems to
have preferred the former for he has managed to survive the
terrible glacial periods which upon four different occasions
threatened to kill every human being on the