Posted by Chester Morton / Tuesday, 2 May 2017 / No comments
The discovery of fire by the early farming man and how it benefited his time
THE DISCOVERY OF FIRE
BY THE EARLY FARMING MAN AND HOW IT BENEFITED HIS TIME
Introduction
At a certain point in the life of the early farming man,
something spectacular happened. There was the discovery of fire. The early
farming man discovered that by picking two volcanic pebbles and striking them against
each other, he could generate fire. This discovery changed his way of like
completely. The early man put fire to
various kinds of uses and his life was greatly enhanced. Discussed below are
some of the ways fire impacted his life.
Ability to protect himself with fire
The discovery of fire, coming on the heels of man’s decision
to live a settled life, was a great relief. Man used the fire as a defense mechanism
to ward off wild animals, which he could hitherto not do. He lit fire in front
of his cave or place of abode at night and this prevented the animals from
coming close to them to prey on them at night. They rather turned away upon
seeing the fire. This created a safe haven for him in the forest at night.
Provision of warmth
Not until fire was discovered, the early man had to endure cold weather conditions without any remedy. One of the benefits man derived
from the discovery of fire was that he was able to keep his body and that of
his entire family warm at any time of the day. It was and still is a common
practice among the Zulus of South Africa, to gather around a lit fire during
extremely cold weather conditions to keep their bodies warm.
Enhancement of tools-making
The discovery of fire also helped the early farming man to
create more efficient tools for his needs than he could do earlier. With fire, the
early man could shape and reshape his tools after heating it with fire. With the
same fire, he could make the tools stronger than he was ever able to before
this time. Any model of tool he could conceive, he was able to create. This
greatly enhanced how game was hunted from then forward.
Food processing
The discovery of fire also led to a shift from the eating of
food in its raw state to the concept of processing before eating. With fire,
man could now smoke, boil or roast cereals, nuts, roots and tubers, etc before
he ate them. This ability also came with the idea of preservation of food. Thus man’s food
lasted longer on the shelves than before.
SAMPLE QUESTION(S)
1.In which four ways did the discovery of fire enhance the living
standard of the early farming man in Africa?
