Page:A General Sketch of Political History from the Earlist Times.djvu/19

 PREHISTORIC HISTORY 7 of the beasts by taming and breeding them, and that he could make food grow out of the ground instead of having to hunt about to find where it was growing already. And he went on finding out that he could make improvements in his weapons and tools. At last a time came when he found out that he could make use of copper and harden it into bronze ; and when once he had learnt the use of metals, his advance went on much quicker. This progress became most marked when he had found out how to use iron. A tribe armed with iron weapons found it easy to conquer those who had nothing better to fight with than bronze or bones or stones. But man cannot be called primitive man at all when he had got on so far as to use metal. Primitive man hunted and fished and fought with primitive weapons, and 4. Growth of perhaps scraped the soil with a primitive hoe. Communities. From the earliest times about which anything is known men were living in groups ; not in single separate families, but in com- munities of people, who supposed themselves all to be descended from some common ancestor. The tribes moved about from place to place to find new hunt- ing-ground or to steal the hunting-ground of another tribe which was weaker than their own ; or to escape the attacks of another tribe which was stronger. When they began to breed sheep and cattle for the sake of meat and wool and hides and milk, they moved their flocks and herds with them. This is what is called the nomadic or wandering stage. Then it was not so much to find new hunting-ground as to find new pasture that they kept on moving. Of course they fought with other tribes, making slaves of those of the conquered enemy whom they did not kill ; and sometimes they made friendship and alliance with other tribes whom they agreed to regard as brothers. But if they found themselves in particularly fertile land, they would be inclined to settle down and make the most of the soil. When this happened the community, that is the settling tribe or collection of tribes, became agriculturists j down, they were in what is called the agricultural stage. But when they had settled down they set about trying to make themselves more comfortable ; to make better shelters to sleep in, more convenient