Pre-scientific and pre-scientific technical knowledge. Historical stages in the development of technology Knowledge and technological capabilities of the prehistoric era

Goals and objectives of the history of science as a discipline: in scientific research; V educational process; in creating a museum (historical) exhibition. The place of the history of science in the system of both the humanities, natural sciences, and technical sciences. Understanding new knowledge in the history of science. Subject of the history of science. Methods of the history of science. Source base for the history of science and technology. Monuments of science and technology. Limits of rational reconstruction. The history of science as empathy, as immersion. New information environment for the history of science and technology. The relationship between the history of science and science studies. The significance of the works of V. Vernadsky, A. Bogdanov, K. Popper, I. Lakatos, T. Kuhn, P. Feyerabend, A. Koyre, M. Foucault, R. Merton, M. Polanyi for scientific research.

Part II. Science and technology in their historical development

Topic 1. Knowledge and technological capabilities of the period of pre-civilizational development of mankind

Inadequacy of the classical scheme of the history of the emergence of man and society. The role of knowledge in traditional society. Mythological forms of knowledge. Modern research approaches to the analysis of myth. The concept of structural anthropology of K. Lévi-Strauss. From structural anthropology to poststructuralism. Modern traditional societies as a “historical laboratory”. Possibilities of dating and reconstructing the appearance of complex tools. Neolithic revolution. Mastering the first technological processes; modern assessment of their effectiveness. The evolution of simple and complex tools.

Topic 2. Knowledge about the world and man, the level of technical and technological development in ancient civilizations

Source base for studying the history of scientific and technical knowledge of ancient civilizations. Problems with confident dating. Existing chronologies and periodizations. Conceptual models of the world characteristic of ancient civilizations. The sacredness of knowledge, the sacredness of power. Knowledge as a path, as revelation, as initiation. Gaining knowledge. Knowledge coding systems, mechanisms for its transmission. The possibility of modern interpretation of ancient knowledge. Reconstruction of the canons of ancient civilizations. Geometric version of the “golden ratio”. The “suddenness” of ancient Egyptian and Babylonian knowledge and technology. The problem of language: origin, development, understanding. Modern versions of the reconstruction of knowledge and individual technological solutions (pyramids, ziggurats, irrigation, etc.). Specifics of knowledge and technological level of development of ancient civilizations. Understanding time; cyclicality as a form of life. The special role of the calendar. Types of calendars. The uniqueness of the Mayan calendar. Predictions of astronomical and natural phenomena in ancient times are the highest form of rational knowledge.

Topic 3. Scientific and technical culture of antiquity

Periodization of antiquity. Main centers of culture and science. A fundamentally new conceptual vision of the world: “lowering the level” of sacredness and “raising the level” of personality. Pantheon of ancient gods. Culture hero. Semantic load of the myth of Prometheus. Basic codes and sign system antiquity. Transition from Myth to Logos. The recorded process of development of scientific ideas is the emergence of history itself. Source base for the history of science in antiquity. The main feature of the intellectual life of antiquity is a new culture of thinking and substantiation of knowledge. The relationship between polis democracy and the emergence of science. Desacralization of knowledge, its evidence. Fundamentality of the ancient understanding of manifestation. The concept of harmony, the forms of its manifestation in the world and man, methods of searching for it as the meaning of existence. Interconnection problems Greek science with knowledge of the East, characteristic motives and forms of borrowing. The main ancient schools, thinkers, scientific trends and achievements. Milesian school. Thales. Anaximander. Anaximenes. "Pythagorean Union". Fundamental pairs of opposites. Heraclitus: the idea of ​​universal variability. Empedocles: the concept of the four elements and the ether. Evolutionary cosmology and “structure of the cosmos”. Theory of matter and cosmology among atomists. The role of the principle of causality. The concept of multiple worlds. Plato and his picture of the world. Athens Academy. Principles of ancient education. Aristotle's system. The universality of scientific synthesis in the humanities and natural sciences in the works of Aristotle. The extraordinary stability of the Aristotelian paradigm in the history of science and philosophy. The doctrine of matter and form, Creation of classification as a scientific principle. Doxography and the emergence of the history of science. Alexandria School; museum, library. Features of Hellenistic science as a whole.

The emergence of early forms of research in the public sphere. Similarities and differences between the Greek states, as well as between them and other regions of the ancient world. Reformative thought of Solon.

social studies. The conditional nature of the application of the concept of “discipline” to the history of ancient social thought.

The views of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle in the field of social structure, economics, theory of the historical process, pedagogy, theory of art and literature, management and law. The formulation of theoretical questions of jurisprudence in ancient Greek thought as an example of early scientific thinking.

Scientific knowledge and technological achievements of Rome. Decline of science in Rome compared to Hellas. The development of methods of medical observation and dissection of the human body in the works of Galen and his school; description of the muscular, digestive and other systems of the human body.

Problems of the lecture

general characteristics historical period. Chronology and geography of the era. Paleolithic. Mesolithic. Neolithic. Bronze Age. Mythology and magic as the first approaches to systematization and transmission of knowledge in primitive society. Technology of the primitive era. Stone processing technology. Use of fire. Driven hunting techniques. Invention of the bow. Invention of the boat. Fishing techniques. Plant domestication is the first technological revolution in human history. Technology of ancient agriculture. Hoe farming. Farmers' tools. Microlithic technique. The appearance of ceramics. Weaving. Construction of housing. The emergence of copper metallurgy. Copper and bronze smelting technology. Invention of the wheeled carriage. Social consequences of the development of agriculture. Agricultural settlements and communities. Organization of labor in slash-and-shift farming. Plow farming. Development of sedentary cattle breeding. Domestication of sheep, goats, cattle. The role of cattle breeding in the farming economy. Domestication of the horse. Invention of the war chariot. Nomadic cattle breeding. Development of distant pastures. Improvement of horse harness. Social consequences of the development of nomadism.

The primitive era covers a huge period of historical time from the appearance of man on earth to the emergence of the first state entities(from 2.6 million years ago to the 4th thousand BC). Of all the special periodizations, the archaeological one is the most important. It is based on the analysis of differences in the material and technology of manufacturing tools and household items. Stone (Early Paleolithic: 2.6 million years ago - 80th thousand BC, Middle Paleolithic: 80 - 40th thousand BC, Late Paleolithic: 40 - 12th thousand) are distinguished BC, Mesolithic: 12th – 7th millennium BC, Neolithic: 7th – 4th millennium BC), bronze

(2 – beginning of the 1st millennium BC) and iron (from the middle of the 1st millennium BC) centuries, which in turn are divided into periods and stages.

The process of separating man from the animal world is an extremely long process. The path of human development separated from the path of development of individual primates approximately 22 million years ago. Anthropoids of the Miocene (22 - 5 million years ago) were common animals. In principle, they differed little from modern monkeys. They lived in the forest, lived on trees and the ground. Thanks to collective labor activity, the entire body of our anthropoid ancestors gradually changed - primarily their hands and brain.

Modern science has archaeological materials that provide insight into the processes of formation of the Homo species in both physical and intellectual aspects: Homo habilis (skillful person) - Homo erectus (homo erectus) – Homo sapiens (reasonable person). These processes basically ended about 40 thousand years ago (Late Paleolithic). Geographically, centers of primitive culture have been found on all continents of the planet. Dispersal of humans from the “cradle” (East Africa) across the territory globe began about 1.5 million years ago.

The most important events of the era: the emergence of thinking and speech; mastering fire; the emergence and technical and technological improvement of appropriating types of management (hunting, gathering, fishing, beekeeping), then the transition to producing types (agriculture, cattle breeding) as a result of the Neolithic revolution; development of forms of organization of human society (primitive human herd, community, clan, tribe, family, marriage); the emergence and spread of the first ideological ideas (early forms of religion, myth, magic); the beginning of artistic activity. Knowledge of the surrounding world and its technical development were syncretically included in the life activity of ancient people.

Apparently, man's first invention was the creation of a hand ax - a sharpened pebble that made it possible to chop wood or cut meat. The chopper was the first primitive tool, the use of which distinguished man from the world of primates. Somewhat later, about 100 thousand years ago, man learned to use fire. Fire served not only for cooking or heating, but was primarily a weapon for hunting. The fire made it possible to organize a driven hunt: waving torches, a chain of beaters drove a herd of animals to an ambush, where hunters with spears and clubs were hiding. Archaeological data indicate the extreme effectiveness of driven hunting. For example, at a site in Solutre in France (about 18 - 15 thousand BC), the bones of 10 thousand horses were found, which were driven to a steep cliff during a hunt. Driven hunting was the main factor determining the lifestyle of Stone Age people. They lived in small, close-knit clans. Collective hunting required collectivism in Everyday life. Primitive people did not know what private property was. They lived in the same cave and ate at the same fire, without dividing the spoils. All men of the clan were considered brothers, and all women were considered sisters. The family had a different character than in our time. In addition to the first wife, each man had other wives - all the brothers' wives, i.e. all women of the clan were considered his second wives.

Driven hunting led to the complete extermination of many species of large animals, such as mammoths and woolly rhinoceroses. Trying to survive in the eternal struggle for existence, people improved their hunting methods. About 13 thousand years ago, the bow was invented, which made it possible to hunt birds and small animals. At this time the dog was domesticated. People “concluded an alliance” with the ancestors of dogs, jackals, and began to help each other in the hunt. The harpoon appears and fishing spreads. Hunters create the first fishing dugout boats. Along with hunting, gathering is becoming more common. Gathering of edible plants was usually done by women, while hunting was the occupation of men.

The meaning of all the technical achievements of ancient man ultimately came down to attempts to expand his ecological niche. The size of an ecological niche is determined by the size of existing food resources. Technical advances, say, the development of fishing, lead to an increase in these resources, i.e., to an expansion of the ecological niche. However, under favorable conditions, the population could double in 50 years; in a hundred years the population can increase 4 times, in 200 years - 16 times, in 400 years it can increase 256 times! Thus, the human ability to reproduce is such that new resources are soon exhausted, the ecological niche is filled to the limit, and food shortages begin to be felt again.

Stone Age people almost always lived in conditions of regularly recurring famine. Famine led to clashes between hunting clans, and archaeologists have found abundant evidence of these clashes, including crushed and hollowed-out human bones - signs of cannibalism.

Improvements in hunting methods had a significant impact on people's lives, but they were not comparable to the revolutionary changes that occurred during the Neolithic period.

Achievements in economic life - obtaining surplus food, the emergence of new tools and the construction of settled settlements - made a person independent from surrounding nature. During the period lasting from the 8th to the 4th millennium BC, i.e. Before the advent of the first civilizations, fundamental changes took place in the material and spiritual life of people. Agriculture technology was mastered, people learned to sow wheat and harvest crops. If previously 20 km² of hunting land was required to feed one hunter, now this territory could feed tens and hundreds of farmers - the ecological niche expanded tens, hundreds of times. Unprecedented abundance suddenly came to hunters, forced to constantly fight for existence, and a “golden age” began in the history of mankind. This made it possible to call this period neolithic revolution .

The term was introduced in the 30s. XX century English archaeologist Gordon Childe to characterize the process of transition from an appropriating economy to a producing one. Neolithic Revolution characterized by a transition to new social relations in society in conditions of transition from hunting to cattle breeding, from gathering to farming and the development of new technological operations.

The Neolithic received its name due to the widespread introduction of new methods of processing large stone tools: grinding, drilling and sawing. These techniques allowed man to move on to processing new, harder rocks: jade, jadeite, jasper, basalt, diorite and others, which began to serve as the raw material for creating large axes, adzes, chisels, and hoes. Using polished stone axes, rigidly attached to a wooden handle through drilled cylindrical holes, man began to cut down forests, hollow out boats, and build houses.

Conditions that allowed the transition from appropriating forms of farming to producing , arose almost everywhere, but this transition did not take place simultaneously. Back in the 30s. XX century Russian biologist and geneticist Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov identified seven independent centers of origin of cultivated plants and, at the same time, seven probable independent centers of the origin of agriculture. These are Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Central Asia, Pakistan, Hindustan and Indochina. Irrigated agriculture arose. Conclusions N.I. Vavilov were largely confirmed by archaeologists.

Human settlement of the Urals began about 100 thousand years ago. It happened with different directions and was not constant due to periodic glacier advances. Paleolithic monuments have been discovered throughout the Ural region. At the end of the Late Paleolithic, the formation of the Ural (mixed) anthropological type took place. The main occupations of the ancient “Uralians” were hunting, fishing and gathering. Silicon, jasper, and animal bones were used to make tools and household items. The stone was processed using the technique of chipping long knife-like plates and the technique of fine retouching. Along with seasonal stops, long-term warm dwellings arose, with large animal bones (mammoth, reindeer) at their base. In the caves of the Ural Mountains, archaeologists have found images of animals.

In the period from the 8th to the 6th millennium BC. (the transition from the Mesolithic to the Neolithic), new technical techniques began to be used in the processing of stone, bone and wood: trimming, grinding, sawing, drilling, longitudinal and transverse cutting and dividing, planing, etc. Microlithic tools appeared.

As a result of the Neolithic revolution, the plate industry in combination with secondary processing - pressing retouching and grinding - became widespread in the Urals. The discovered stone-processing workshops indicate the beginning of specialization of economic activity (quarrying and processing of stone). New types of stone began to be used: quartz, granite, slate, rock crystal, etc. New tools appeared: axes, chisels, chisels, adzes, bone hoes. Along the banks of rivers and lakes, communal tribal settlements were built from several dwellings (semi-dugouts), where collective complex farming was carried out. Along with hunting, fishing and gathering, animal husbandry was developed, but the prerequisites for the transition to a productive economy were just taking shape. The man mastered various means transportation: skis, sleighs, sleds, boats. During the Neolithic era in the Urals, they began to make pottery using the tape-patterning technique and decorate it with various compositional patterns. The early forms of religions of the Ural population included totemism, fetishism and magic. They had a pronounced anthropo- and zoomorphic orientation.

The communities of the first gatherer-farmers were “led” by women. Women were predominantly involved in gathering, and were therefore closer to the “invention” of agriculture. At the same time, the “supremacy” of women ( matriarchy ), or rather, its central position in the clan community was explained, first of all, by the tradition of establishing maternal kinship, characteristic of the primitive era.

Initially, the main tool of the farmer was a digging stick or hoe. In the 4th millennium BC. a plow was invented that harnessed oxen. Using the plow required great physical strength, and from that time on, plowing became the work of men. Now the man has become the breadwinner of the clan, the time has come for patriarchy.

The development of agriculture was a great fundamental discovery, which led to a sharp expansion of the ecological niche and to a rapid increase in the agricultural population. The original center of agriculture was in the Middle East. Already in the 8th millennium BC. There was a shortage of land here and the settlement of farmers began on the lands of the surrounding hunting tribes, which meant the spread of the agricultural cultural circle. In the 7th millennium BC. farmers appeared in the Balkans in the 6th millennium BC. - in the valleys of the Danube, Indus and Ganges, and by the end of the 5th millennium BC. - in Spain and China. The hunting tribes, the former inhabitants of these territories, were either exterminated and displaced by the newcomers, or submitted to them and adopted their culture. More and more migration waves emerged from the old farming areas. The Phoenicians and Greeks explored the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, and the Indians explored the shores of Indochina.

During the Neolithic Revolution, cattle breeding appeared. The first to be domesticated were small animals - pigs, sheep, goats. At a later stage of the Neolithic, cattle were domesticated, and even later, horses. Shepherd tribes stood out, for whom nomadic cattle breeding became the main occupation. This was the first major social division of labor. In the process of domestication of animals and plants, man changed his activities in accordance with growing needs. After a period of mixed agricultural activity, there was a gradual division of people into farmers and pastoralists.

With the development of agriculture, the history of adobe architecture begins. For the construction of houses, adobe blocks (mud bricks) of elongated, oval shape, 20–25 cm wide, 60–70 cm long. They were sculpted from clay mixed with coarsely chopped straw.

Matriarchy ceased to correspond to the increased level of productive forces and new forms of production. Men played the main role in cattle breeding and agriculture. Homework women has lost its primary importance. The transition from matriarchy to patriarchy is taking place. The man becomes the head of the family. A large patriarchal family emerges. Their totality forms a patriarchal clan - a collective that owns land and tools. The totality of clans constitutes a tribe. It was governed by a council of clan heads.

Currently, most experts believe that cattle breeding was developed at the same time or slightly later than agriculture. Having surplus food, farmers were able to feed the cubs of animals killed in hunts - thus, gradual domestication took place. In the 9th – 8th millennium BC. In the Middle East, goats and sheep were domesticated, and, somewhat later, cattle. When settling into new territories, agricultural tribes brought with them the skills of integrated farming and livestock farming. In the 4th - 3rd millennium BC. agricultural settlements spread to vast areas of the northern Black Sea and Caspian regions. These steppe expanses were inhabited by wild horses, tarpans, which were soon tamed by the population of these places.

In the Caspian region and modern Kazakhstan, only a few lands were available for cultivation with a hoe, and farmers settled on fertile areas in the floodplains of a few rivers. However, the surrounding steppes were abundant pastures on which large herds of livestock grazed, so cattle breeding clearly predominated in the economy of the local population. On one square kilometer of feather grass-forb steppe, it was possible to feed 6–7 horses or bulls, and to feed one family of 5 people, a herd of approximately 25 heads of cattle was required, therefore, the density of the pastoral population in the steppe could reach 1.3 people/ km 2.

Thus, pastoral population densities were only slightly greater than the maximum densities for hunter-gatherers. It is 5–10 times less than that of hoe farmers, and hundreds of times less than that of farmers using irrigation. The ecological niche of pastoralists is very narrow, and overpopulation occurs quite quickly. Trying to bring remote pastures into economic circulation, the inhabitants of the steppes gradually switched to yailazh cattle breeding, in which the main population remained in the village, and the shepherds, along with their herds, went to distant pastures for the whole summer. The next step in this direction was nomadic cattle breeding. The inhabitants of the steppes began to wander with their herds.

The impetus for these changes occurred in the 8th century. BC, there was a new fundamental discovery - the creation of strict bits. The creation of strict bits was followed by the development of horsemanship (horse riding). Horsemanship is no longer the art of the few. It became available to everyone. The nomads of Central Asia usually wintered in areas south of the Syr Darya, and in the summer they drove their herds 1.5 - 2 thousand km to the rich pastures of northern Kazakhstan (due to the harsh climate, these pastures could not be used in winter). Nomadism helped to develop the northern steppes and mountain meadows, but it required a change in lifestyle. The nomads abandoned plant foods. They ate mainly milk and dairy products. The most important inventions of the nomads, without which life in the steppes was impossible, were cheese and felt. With the transition to nomadic cattle breeding, the entire appearance of the steppes changed dramatically. Numerous villages disappeared, life now took place in carts, in the constant movement of people along with herds from one pasture to another. Women and children rode in wagons placed on wheels, but there were tribes where women also sat on horses. The ancient Greek historian Herodotus, in the first systematic description of the life and everyday life of the Scythians, testified that nomadic women “together with their husbands and even without them, go hunting on horseback, go on campaigns and wear the same clothes as men.” Archaeologists have discovered that women's graves - as well as men's graves - often included a bridle, a symbol of a horseman.

Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus in the 4th century. wrote about the Huns that they seemed to have grown to their horses, going about their usual activities while sitting in the saddle. They spend day and night on the horse, engaged in buying and selling, eating and drinking, and, leaning on the steep neck of the horse, they fall asleep. When they have to confer about serious matters, they conduct meetings while sitting on horses.

Nomadism made it possible to develop new pastures, but the population density in the steppe remained low. The ecological niche of pastoralists was very narrow, and hunger was a constant occurrence. Chinese chronicles are replete with reports of famine among the nomadic Xiongnu (Xiongnu) people.

“In the same year, there was a famine in the lands of the Xiongnu, from which 6-7 people died out of every ten people, and 6-7 heads out of every ten livestock died. Instead of bread, they used bones ground into powder, and widespread diseases raged, from which a great many people died...”

The way of life of the nomads was determined not only by the limited resources of the nomadic economy, but also by its instability. The ecological conditions of the steppes were changeable, favorable years alternated with droughts and icing of pastures. In the Central Asian steppes, this happened once every 7–11 years. Snowstorms or ice conditions led to massive deaths of livestock. In some years, more than half of the livestock died, which led to terrible famine. The nomads had no choice but to die or go on a raid. “We wage constant wars,” says the Scythian Toksaris in the work of the ancient Greek satirical writer Lucian, “we either attack others ourselves, or withstand attacks, or engage in fights over pastures...” “Among these tribes... all people, without distinction, are warriors,” says A. Marcellinus about the Arabs.

The nomads were tempered in the fight against the elements and in constant clashes with each other. Each clan had a rider who was distinguished by courage and physical strength. Constantly proving himself in battles, he gradually became a “batyr”, “hero”. Batyrs led clans in battles; they were the main characters of the local epic.

The cult of war found expression in the worship of the sword. Herodotus reports the worship of the sword among the Scythians, A. Marcellinus among the Alans.

In endless battles, the strongest and bravest survived. Thus, the nomads were subjected to natural selection, which consolidated such qualities as physical strength, endurance, and aggressiveness. Ancient and medieval authors repeatedly noted the physical superiority of nomads over residents of cities and villages. “The Kipchaks are a strong, strong, healthy people,” noted in the 14th century. Arab merchant traveler Ibn Battuta. “They are so hardened that they do not need either fire or food adapted to the taste of man; they feed on the roots of herbs and half-raw meat of all kinds of livestock,” says Marcellinus about the Huns. “They skilfully shoot from a bow from a horse, they are fierce by nature, merciless...” writes a Chinese historian about the Turks. In China and Muslim states, the inhabitants of the steppes were considered the best warriors, and selected military units were recruited from them.

Wars between nomadic tribes often led to the unification of the Great Steppe and the creation of nomadic empires. The unified state put an end to inter-tribal wars, but did not reduce demographic pressure in the steppe. If earlier, during the years of “climate stress,” nomads went on a raid on a neighboring tribe, and the population decreased due to military losses, now the only way to escape hunger was to unite the forces of the steppe and invade agricultural countries. Thus, the unification of nomads gave rise to a wave of invasions.

The invasion became especially formidable when new weapons fell into the hands of the nomads. The first new weapon created by the nomads was a light war chariot drawn by a pair of horses. This was followed by mastering horseback archery. A heavy bow, a saddle and a stirrup were invented, allowing the use of a saber. All these fundamental discoveries upset the military balance between nomads and farmers. A wave of invasions by cruel conquerors hit agricultural civilizations.

Conquest led to the creation of class societies in which the bulk of the population, the descendants of defeated farmers, was exploited by the descendants of the conquerors. In the new society, nomads constituted the military “knightly” class. They divided the conquered country into “fiefs,” built castles and enslaved the peasants.

It is also necessary to say a few words about the environmental aspect of life in a nomadic society. Constant wars in the steppe made the nomads natural-born cavalry warriors, strong, brave, hardy and aggressive. In their physical and psychological characteristics, and in their way of life, the nomads were unlike peasant farmers. These differences were a consequence of living in a different ecological niche, a consequence of adaptation to other environmental conditions. According to the laws of biology, living in a different ecological niche leads to the formation of species differences. It can be assumed that the process of the formation of nomadism was also the beginning of the emergence of a new species of people (just as farmers were a new species in relation to hunters). Thus, we can observe how a fundamental technical discovery - the invention of the harsh bit - led to such dramatic changes in people's lives that we can talk about the formation of a new species (or subspecies) of Homo sapiens.

The history of material production of primitive man is quite rich. For the first time, the production and use of fire was mastered. First primitive and then more complex tools appeared.

Archaeological evidence suggests that initially the ancient people did everything they needed for themselves within the confines of their household. The transition to agriculture led to the transition to a sedentary lifestyle. The need to store agricultural products and prepare food gave rise to the need for utensils. The most ancient vessels were made of wood or stone. Later, pottery appeared. The earliest pottery made by hand molding dates back to the end of the 7th millennium BC.

Weaving spreads among agricultural tribes. The raw materials were wool, silk, cotton, and flax. In the 5th millennium BC. a loom appeared.

Early agricultural tribes met in the 7th millennium BC. with metal. The first copper objects were awls, piercings, and beads. Gradually, crafts arose and artisans appeared, i.e. people who specifically did this. The profession of a miner stood out. Minings of flint from the Neolithic period are known throughout Europe.

The patriarchal clan concealed within itself the beginnings of the disintegration of the primitive communal system. With the advent of new tools, labor productivity increased. This created the possibility of a transition to individual family farming as the most productive. If former labor required social ownership of the means of production, then individual labor demanded private ownership. All this is connected with the social division of labor and the development of product exchange. There was a need for instruments of exchange. They were cattle and other tools. All this contributed to the emergence of intercommunal relations.

Images appeared - sculptural, graphic, pictorial geometric signs. Mastering a new type of activity – artistic creativity – greatest invention humanity. The images indicate that a highly symbolic concept of the world arose, the result of abstract thinking and reflected in mythological form.

Myth, religious ideas and accompanying art did not solve problems in scientifically, created an illusory world. The creation of magic expressed not only man's fear of the mysterious forces of nature, but also faith in the ability to control such forces. A picture of the world was created, consisting of real and supposed (fantastic) elements that satisfy people with their completeness and completeness.

In the Upper Paleolithic, the development of fine art has a number of features that make it possible to identify the rather complex plots of myths about people, animals, and heavenly bodies reflected in them. During the Mesolithic period, the focus of attention of the primitive artist becomes man instead of animal. All attention is absorbed by the action, the images are multi-figured. In the Neolithic, realism gave way to schematism.

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Lecture 3

1

An assessment was made of the stages in the history of the development of technology: the stage of the emergence of technical devices; stage of craft development of technical devices; machine technology stage; stage of information-rich technology (automated control systems / information technology systems). The concept of technology has ancient Greek etymological roots and has become widespread in both ordinary and scientific consciousness. Technology is understood as a set of mechanisms and machines created by man on the basis scientific achievements, intended for the implementation various types activities. Features of the development of technology contributed to the emergence of six technological structures of society.

technical devices

craft equipment

machine technology

information technology systems

technological structure.

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3. Al-Ani, N.M. Philosophy of technology: essays on history and theory: textbook. – St. Petersburg, 2004.

4. Glazyev, S.Yu. Strategy for advanced development of Russia in the context of the global crisis. – M., Economics, 2010.

5. Petrov, V.P. Social and philosophical analysis of the peculiarities of personality formation in modern Russia. – N. Novgorod, NNGASU, 2011.

Etymology of the word technique has an ancient Greek history - τεχνῆτιο (techne), which determined the widest range of human activities at that time in the existence of the Hellenes - from the simplest craft to high art. It is assumed that this word appeared in the time of Homer and was interpreted as τέκτων (tekton), having the Indo-European root tekp, meaning carpentry, and was originally used to refer to the art of a master of construction - a carpenter, and then began to be used in the meaning crafts or arts generally.

Aristotle considered this concept more comprehensively, giving it the meaning of knowledge. In the treatise “Nicomachean Ethics,” he drew attention to the difference between other types of knowledge, such as ουράνιος (empeireia: experimental knowledge) and της επιστήμη (episteme: theoretical knowledge). Although the meaning of knowledge among the Hellenes was close to the meaning of knowledge, they still did not unite them, realizing that there are things that have not yet received their explanation. Knowledge in the broadest sense of the word meant turning to the still unknown. Techne (τεχνῆτιο) represented that area of ​​knowledge that is directly related to human activity, connected with it, reflects its result, that is, generated by human thought and labor in accordance with existing needs. This was the area of ​​​​technological knowledge. Its subject was the sphere of what was being created, i.e. in the process of becoming. Theoretical knowledge was addressed to what directly exists, that is, to what was already given by nature or the gods and required understanding.

Technical knowledge was, as it were, a connecting link between experimental knowledge and theoretical knowledge. Technoscience intuitively combined experimental data and theoretical conclusions to explain what is happening and the present.

A feature of technical knowledge was its focus on design, construction and production. The process of future production in technical knowledge consists of a number of stages: ideal modeling of the object, its design and direct development of the structure. This is an essential feature that allows us to see technical knowledge as a means to achieve goals that meet the real needs of society and people.

Comparing the processes of production in technical knowledge and the processes of emergence in nature, Greek thinkers believed that they were similar in many ways, although the production process was more complex. Unlike nature, technical knowledge through technology is capable of modeling and improving what it creates in accordance with emerging needs. Technoknowledge has the power to change natural processes, so technology, on the one hand, acts similarly to natural processes, and on the other, can change the world around us in accordance with the emerging needs of people.

Thus, in the word technology, from the moment of its verbal use, two aspects were combined: Firstly, tools, i.e. tools with which a person carries out activities, realizing his needs; Secondly, accumulated knowledge, skills, methods of work necessary in the use of tools, as well as those used to improve them. Although the word techne was first used in Hellas, it does not prove that technical devices originated there. This fact emphasizes the peculiarity of the development of knowledge among the Hellenes, based on the spiritual understanding of the phenomena of reality. The technology itself, or rather the primary tools for economic use, dates back to 4-3 millennia BC, that is, to the time of the birth of human civilization. Therefore, they could not yet be considered technology in its essential understanding and engineering application. This was only a prototype of technology for initial designation“human techno-making”: the creation of tools (scrapers, hoes, axes, shovels, spindles, wheels), the organization of primary production (in construction, agriculture, metalworking). These were the first steps of humanity in the development of technology, and later in conceptual justification.

Technology as an essential element of the culture of society and the development of civilization historically includes four stages of its existence. I. The origin of technical devices. II. Craft formation of technical devices. III. Machine technology. IV. Information-rich technology [automated control systems / information technology systems (ACS/ITS)].

Chronologically, the first stage included the entire prehistoric era and lasted until the emergence of the first ancient civilizations of 4-3 millennia BC. At this time, primitive communal relations formally took shape and then gradually transformed. The socio-economic formation had a primitive appearance, and human activity was limited to his family and tribal needs. Primitive household devices were used, necessary for domestic needs. They were often random in nature, because weren't invented a person, and were by chance them. According to the Spanish philosopher and publicist J. Ortega y Gasset, this technique was the “technique of chance.” At the very early stage of his existence, primitive man did not understand the meaning of a tool and, naturally, could not imagine how to make it. He limited himself only to using suitable natural objects for his needs. For example, an empty shell served him as a natural drinking vessel that replaced his palms (L. Geiger, German researcher). A random stone or animal bone was used as a primitive “knife,” “axe,” or “hammer.” But even here the “case” was not for everyone, but only for the most developed, that is, those who were able to comprehend what they saw for their primary needs. And only after millions of years did repeated accidents begin to turn among primitive man into a tendency to conscious, and later to expedient his use of natural objects as economic devices, which gave impetus to their technical production and use.

The range of technical and economic means was limited, and the operations for their production were simple and passed on from generation to generation. Man has not yet realized himself as a subject of his activity, and, consequently, as a creator of technology. He “does not yet feel like homo faber,” so he accepts technology as part of nature with which he is in unity (H. Ortega y Gasset).

The pace of development of technical devices during this period was the longest in human history, since ancient man created devices using the “trial and error” method, accidentally came across the right solution, and only with the advent of the first civilizations in Egypt, India, China And Mesopotamia (states of Ur, Uruk, Lagash in the two rivers Tigris and Euphrates) A new stage in the development of technical devices begins to take shape.

Chronologically, it can be defined from the stage of the emergence of the first ancient civilizations (4-3 millennia BC) until the advent of modern times (late 16th - early 17th centuries).

Technical devices during this period began to differ significantly from primitive ones, but they could not be called technology due to the fact that scientific knowledge was just emerging and people had not yet learned to apply it in practice. True, household equipment is becoming more diverse, and the methods of its manufacture are becoming more complicated, and not every person can make the device he needs himself. Moreover, the very use of complex objects of labor required knowledge and serious training to engage in a specific craft with the manufacture of production tools in various types of household activities.

For these reasons, a social layer of artisans gradually began to emerge, people who combined technology and workers (J. Ortega y Gasset). Their tools of labor still acted as a simple addition to man, who, although he was the “driving force” of the technical process (K. Marx), the relationship “man - tool” has not fundamentally changed since the time of the primitive communal system. This will happen much later with machine technology, the use of which will significantly increase labor productivity and qualitatively change the technological process.

The point was that the craft of an artisan as a special form of technical activity was not based on science, no theoretical calculations were made. The basis was the traditional knowledge and practical skills of generations. This meant that the craft could only be mastered empirically, which is why it remained within the framework of tradition. This circumstance imposed natural restrictions on all inventive activity. The emergence of new technical devices was, as before, a matter of great time. And although the pace technical development accelerated in comparison with the pace of development of the “technique of chance,” but they also could not satisfy the growing needs of mankind. Only with the advent of the Renaissance, or more precisely with the beginning of the New Age, in Europe did technology acquire the content that corresponded to its form. This content of technology was science. Craft technology has historically exhausted its potential and opened the way to machine technology.

The chronological framework of the third stage includes several centuries: from the modern period to the middle of the 20th century.

Machine technology was based on engineering activity , which, as a more developed form of technical activity, is oriented towards science, that is, theoretical and applied natural science.

This is the social essence of the fact that machine technology could not appear as an alternative to craft technology at the same historical time. There were no real conditions for the free development of natural science, as well as engineering activities, which were later brought to life by the objective needs for the development of productive forces. Society began to realize this fact precisely in modern times, along with the end of the era of primitive accumulation of capital and the beginning of the era of bourgeois revolutions in the countries of Western Europe.

At the same time, it is worth noting that engineering activity has its own background. It naturally fits into the chronological framework of those eras that preceded the New Age. This was facilitated by the circumstances and activities of a number of unique representatives of the human race, in particular, Archimedes (287-212 BC), Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), Nicolaus Copernicus ( 1473-1543), Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), Francis Bacon (1561-1626), Isaac Newton (1643-1727), Christian Huygens (1629-1695). However, connections scientific knowledge and production had not yet occurred, the time of scientific and technological revolutions was ahead.

As M. Heidegger noted, humanity was still allotted time for the continuous evolution of production and the associated development of theoretical and practical natural science knowledge, before the industrial revolution that began in England in the 60s of the 18th century (which swept Europe and the USA) led to the need formation of separate technical sciences(for example, theoretical mechanics).

Significant events along this path were: the invention by the Englishman James Watt (1736-1819) of a steam engine and a universal heat engine; the Frenchman Etienne Lenoir (1822-1900) of the internal combustion engine; Russian inventors, father and son Cherepanovs, steam locomotive and construction railway, 3.5 km long (the Cherepanovs - Efim Aleksandrovich (1774-1842) and his son Miron Efimovich (1803-1849) were serfs for the Demidov breeders); opening physical properties electricity and the invention of the electric motor - the dynamo in 1867; Yablochkov Pavel Nikolaevich (1847-1894) electric candle (1876), which resulted in a whole series of world electrical inventions that marked the beginning of the fourth stage in the development of technology. Scientific discoveries played a decisive role in the transition from crafts to machine technology, and then to machine production.

The transition from manufacture to industrial production required vocational training engineers. In Paris in 1794, the famous mathematician and engineer Gaspard Monge (1746-1818) opened the Polytechnic School, which combined scientific-theoretical and technical-practical training. This training system began to spread throughout Europe and the USA. Russia is also taking specific measures to train technical specialists. In 1830, a vocational school was opened in Moscow, which in 1868 was transformed into the Imperial Moscow Technical School (higher educational institution), since 1917 it is the Moscow Higher Technical School, a university, and the largest research center for mechanical and instrument engineering. Nowadays MSTU named after. N.E. Bauman.

Unlike craft practice, where man continued to be the main driving force of the technical process, in machine technology the driving principle is the force of nature transformed into a machine. Machine technology created the prerequisites for the transition to the fourth stage of technical development of society.

Chronologically, the fourth stage - the stage of information-rich technology - begins to take shape in the mid-twentieth century and continues to this day. ACS/ITS contribute to design improvement, scientific research, production and process management.

Major scientific discoveries in the field of atomic physics and quantum mechanics, the development of chemical physics and electronics (nanoelectronics), technological developments (biotechnology, membrane, vacuum, laser technologies) and the use of traditional and non-traditional energy carriers contributed to the emergence of new generations of technology. The creative scientific and technical process among scientists and specialists, inventors and engineers in various fields Oh human life goes in parallel with the creation and use of new technology. There are multiple research institutes, design bureaus, design bureaus, laboratories, institutes, factories, and enterprises of various types of property to create new equipment and apply new technologies in the production of a wide range of products.

Machine technology has been replaced by machine production, automated control systems, and information technology systems. Electronic computer technology, computerization of production and intellectual processes have made it possible to reduce the time for the development and implementation of products by tens, hundreds and thousands of times. A person in this process is represented at three levels: engineer, programmer, technologist.

The problem of the historical formation and development of technology, its theoretical vision has been substantively developed in a number of countries and scientific schools, including Russia. Western theorists and philosophers of technology include a galaxy of German thinkers of the 19th-21st centuries - E. Kapp, F. Dessauer, E. Bloch, M. Heidegger; French philosopher and sociologist J. Ellul; American scientists L. Mumford, T. Veblen, D. Bell, A. Toffler, J. K. Galbraith, W. Rostow; Spanish philosopher J. Ortega y Gasset. In Russia, among the thinkers of this trend is P.K. Engelmeyer - the first theorist of the philosophy of technology, A.A. Bogdanov. IN modern Russia deserve a decent assessment of the work of V.G. Gorokhova, V.M. Rozina, E.A. Shapovalov, the work of the St. Petersburg philosopher N.M. is very relevant. Al-Ani, whose ideas are used in the article.

The historical emergence of technology led to the development of six technological structures, differing in production technologies. The beginning was laid by the industrial revolution of the 18th century in Europe. In the first technological structure (1770-1830), textile machines became a key factor in the development of production. In the second (1830-1880) it was a steam engine. In the third (1880-1930), the electric motor played a leading role, significantly increasing the flexibility of production. In the fourth (1930-1970), a technical and technological breakthrough in industry was provided by the internal combustion engine, which made it possible to move to mass production of various classes of cars, tractors, and airplanes. The fifth technological structure (1970-2010) was based on achievements in the field of microelectronics, computer science, biotechnology, genetic engineering, new types of energy and materials. There was a substantive exploration of outer space and the development of satellite communications. The core of the technological structure consisted of the electronics industry, computer technology, robotics, software, telecommunications, information Technology, fiber optic technology. The sixth technological structure has been developing before our eyes since 2010. The key factor is nanotechnology and cellular technologies. The advantage of the sixth technological structure, compared to the previous one, according to the forecast, will be a sharp reduction in energy and material intensity of production, in the design of materials and organisms with advance given properties. Its core is nanoelectronics, molecular and nanophotonics, nanomaterials and nanostructured coatings, nanobiotechnology, nanosystem technology. The rationale for this approach was laid by S.Yu. Glazyev, and it can be noted with a sufficient degree of optimism that the forecasts of the Russian economist are quite realistic, as is his identification of six technological structures. Modern technology- this is technology of the fifth, sixth and even seventh generations, its operation is possible only with the use of advanced technologies. The relationship between engineering and technology gives a real impetus to the development of both industrial production and society as a whole in all spheres of its life: economic and environmental, managerial and scientific, pedagogical and artistic, medical and physical education, defense and public safety.

Reviewers:

Kulakov A.A., Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Head. department national history and culture FSBEI HPE NNGASU, Nizhny Novgorod.

Kozhevnikov V.P., Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Professor of the Department of Philosophy and Political Science of the Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education NNGASU, Nizhny Novgorod.

Bibliographic link

Petrov V.P. HISTORICAL STAGES OF FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF TECHNOLOGY: FEATURES OF THE PROBLEM AND THE DEGREE OF ITS STUDY // Contemporary issues science and education. – 2014. – No. 2.;
URL: http://science-education.ru/ru/article/view?id=12679 (access date: November 26, 2019). We bring to your attention magazines published by the publishing house "Academy of Natural Sciences"

A wide range of issues related to the analysis of such phenomena of human culture as science and technology are considered. The main periods in the development of science and technology are revealed, from the primitive era to the present day. A general picture of the state of modern technical civilization is created, and the contribution of previous generations to its development is assessed. After each topic, control questions, assignments, and tests are offered. At the end of the book there is information about famous scientists and researchers. Teachers, students, anyone interested in issues of science and technology.

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The given introductory fragment of the book History of science and technology (E. S. Luchenkova, 2014) provided by our book partner - the company liters.

The accumulation of knowledge and the emergence of engineering and technology in the primitive era

2.1. Character traits primitive culture

Primitiveness is the longest era in human history. It begins with the separation of man from the animal world and ends with the emergence of the first class societies. In primitive history there are:

paleolithic(ancient stone) – ancient stone Age(before the 12th millennium BC), the period of the existence of fossil man, who used stone, wood and bone tools;

Mesolithic(middle stone) - the Middle Stone Age (before the 7th millennium BC), the time when the bow and arrows, microscopic tools appeared, the plow was invented;

Neolithic(new stone) - the last era of the Stone Age (before the 4th millennium BC), characterized by a settled population, the emergence of cattle breeding and agriculture, the invention of ceramics, the emergence of spinning and weaving.

Based on data from archaeology, ethnography and linguistics, we can identify the main features of primitive culture: syncretism, anthropomorphism, traditionalism.

Syncretism primitive culture means the indivisibility of various spheres and phenomena of culture. The clan and community were perceived in this era as concepts identical to the Cosmos. They repeated the structure of the Universe. Primitive man was an organic part of nature and felt his kinship with all living beings. Individual sensation in primitive man was determined by instinct, biological feeling. On a spiritual level, he identified himself not with himself, but with the community to which he belonged; found himself in the feeling of belonging to something non-individual. Man initially became human by displacing his individuality. His actual human essence was expressed in the collective “we” of the family. Leaving a person in the community who did not want to follow its norms meant completely destroying the social order, letting chaos into the world, therefore everything that happened to each member of the tribe was important for the entire community, which was presented as an inextricable connection of people. Art, religion, medicine, productive activities, and obtaining food were not isolated from each other. Art objects (masks, drawings, figurines, musical instruments, etc.) for a long time were used mainly as magical means. Treatment was carried out using magical rituals. And even practical activities were associated with magical rituals.

In the thinking of primitive man there were no clear oppositions between such categories as subjective - objective, observable - imaginary, external - internal, living - dead, material - spiritual, single - many. In his language, the concepts of “life” - “death” or “spirit” - “body” were often denoted by one word. An important feature of primitive thinking was also the syncretic perception of symbols, that is, the fusion of a symbol and what it means.

Anthropomorphism(from the Greek anthropos - man + morphe - form) - endowing objects and inanimate natural phenomena with human properties, celestial bodies, plants and animals. Primitive man not only did not separate himself from nature, but also viewed nature in his own image and likeness. In this regard, he endowed nature (both living and inanimate) with consciousness, will, and feelings. Anthropomorphism as a principle of worldview made it possible to master natural reality, explaining various natural phenomena using the principle of analogy. In such a world, a person could feel much more confident: enter into negotiations with various phenomena and even demand that they perform some important actions. It was anthropomorphism that led to the fact that primitive forms of religion combined not only admiration and veneration, sacred fear and awe, but also treatment of spirits on equal terms. After all, spirits were not outside the boundaries of the single natural-human world.

Traditionalism plays an important role in any culture, acting as a channel for transmitting accumulated experience. But in primitive times, traditions had a special meaning, since it was around traditions and in connection with them that the very existence of the community was possible. Tradition, which in archaic culture is understood as the initially established order, brought society out of a state of chaos. Forgetting traditions led the tribe to death. This resulted in the rigidity of observance of traditions characteristic of primitive times. The accumulated experience was transferred “one to one”, in the exact reproduction of all details, regardless of whether it was about making a knife or utensils, hunting, cooking or breastfeeding a child. In this regard, primitive culture was characterized by hostility to innovation and dissent. True, this did not mean that new things did not appear. Innovation may have occurred through inaccurate interpretation of rituals or due to intertribal interactions. Nevertheless, no matter how many changes actually occurred, the representative of this culture perceived them as unchanged. The psychological significance of traditionalism was that tradition gave primitive man a sense of stability and stability. However, such an unambiguous reproduction of skills and knowledge hampered the development of society.

From point of view social organization characteristic features of primitive culture were the absence of a state, as well as pronounced property inequality and weak social differentiation.

The lack of writing meant that knowledge and skills could be transmitted in such a culture only through direct contact (in the form of apprenticeship). At the same time, the experience merged with the personality, was transparent and continuous. Old people who have seen a lot in their lives and have a good memory were especially valued in such a culture, as they were “walking libraries.” But a culture dependent on human memory and the oral transmission of cultural patterns was forced to remain extremely simple.

The traditionalism of primitive culture led to the fact that everything significant forms behavior was a socially sanctioned, strictly regulated symbolic system of actions - a ritual. Hunting and farming, war, marriage, communication, manifestations of grief and joy - all were accompanied by certain symbolic actions. Apparently, ritual became the first way to impart mental states, biological needs and abilities to a person the nature of cultural activity itself.

2.2. Myth as the main form of archaic consciousness

Features of myth as a way of perceiving the world associated with the figurative-sensual, symbolic, syncretic nature of ideas about natural phenomena and social life. In myth, the essence of a phenomenon or object is presented in the form of a figurative model (and not as a logical explanation of the world). The language of myth is metaphor - a special system of figurative representations that is built without cause and effect. Metaphor in this case is not just a phenomenon of language. It refers to the universals of consciousness (when we think of one sphere in terms of another sphere). Myth is characterized by versatility, multiple semantics, and reversibility. The peculiarity of the myth is also that there is no evidence here, but nevertheless its authority is unquestionable. Mythological thinking contains in embryo all types of human consciousness. This is a universal structural form of consciousness as such, therefore myth and modern society is present as a hidden deep field of meanings. Since myth expresses syncretic consciousness, it needs a special complex of undivided symbolic means. A living intoned and sung word, gesture, dressing up, the use of a sculptural mask, ritual painting is the syncretic language of myth. Thus, myth is associated with magic and ritual. In its narrative form, myth tells how reality, thanks to the exploits of gods, supernatural beings, and heroes, became what it is now (the world in general, natural phenomena, human behavior, government). A myth is always a story about some creation. In myth we are always at the origins of its existence. A person of a culture where myth is a living phenomenon resides in an “open” world, albeit encrypted and full of secrets. Nature speaks to man, and to understand its language, it is enough to know myths and be able to unravel symbols. The world is no longer a chaotic impenetrable mass of objects, but a living Cosmos, ordered and full of meaning. A person finds himself involved in a world that becomes close and understandable to him. In such a world, a person does not feel confined within the framework of his existence. He is open to communication with the world. The world “understands” a person and accepts him. Myth is a dynamic structure: its content has changed over the centuries. The primitive myth included cosmogony; later myths had a wide variety of themes. The main functions of a myth are:

d) aesthetic, which consists in the fact that myth acts as a unique type of artistic creativity, in the process of which memory is improved and imagination develops;

e) compensatory, consisting in the creation by myth of an illusory and hopeful picture of the world (a perfectly organized Cosmos and a person inscribed in it), which gave rise to a feeling of comfort and predictability.

2.3. Ancient equipment and technologies

Man is not the only creature that uses tools: representatives of many species of animals use various objects, stones, and sticks to obtain food or for other purposes. Young chimpanzees learn this behavior by imitating their older counterparts. However, chimpanzees can do without tools, while the use of tools is the most important condition human existence. We can only offer a hypothetical reconstruction of the process of the formation of tool activity. The first step on this path was to free the hand. The constant struggle with various enemies forced a person to use stones and sticks for self-defense and thus enhance the effect of his “natural tools” - his hands. Before a stone became a knife, the human hand had to acquire the ability to perform hundreds of operations inaccessible to an animal. By mastering more and more new movements, developing more and more flexibility, passed on by inheritance and increasing from generation to generation, the hand became suitable for performing complex operations. This was a prerequisite for processing stone with stone using cleaving. Stone tools made hunting more productive and opened up the possibility of processing wood, leather and bone.

The origins of the formation of modern man should be sought in the African past of people (2–3 million years ago). The lack of comparative information makes such a study very difficult: ancient hominids (representatives of the family to which modern man) cannot be completely identified with either modern people, nor with chimpanzees or other apes. Almost every one of the early mechanical achievements (skills) of man (even weaving and sewing) was already inherent in certain species of animals, birds or even insects, except for one - the use of fire. Fire in natural conditions found in special places (for example, in the vicinity of volcanoes, near sources of natural gas, or, which happened quite rarely, during forest fires). Its preservation and dissemination was a dangerous and difficult task, as evidenced by myths and legends. They began to cook food over fire only when maintaining a fire in camp sites became commonplace. Artificial fire production dates back to a later time - probably to the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic. Several ancient methods of making fire are known: scraping, drilling and sawing, based on the friction of two pieces of wood against each other, as well as striking sparks from flint. The latter method was improved at the beginning of the Iron Age with the help of flint and was used until its invention in the 19th century. phosphorus matches. Fire played a significant role in the formation and strengthening of social ties within the primitive horde: firstly, its maintenance required continuous, coordinated collective action from its members; secondly, the fire (hearth) was the place around and near which all the life activities of the primitive community took place. Subsequently, people learned to use fire for various technical purposes - flint mining, wood processing, clay firing, etc.

Making fire has become one of the important steps towards the development of mankind. Its appearance was attributed to the efforts of ancient heroes who stole fire from the sky, which gave it the character of divinity (the myth of Prometheus). Methods of making fire were reproduced in sacred round dances, circular dances, that is, they were part of many religious rituals. Judging by the literary data, fire first attracted the attention of our ancestors with its color and brilliance, then with its destructive actions, and then with its beneficial properties.

By cutting up a carcass (including one abandoned by predators), man learned to open the bones. The bones contain high-calorie marrow (the energy value of fats in one bone of an ungulate animal exceeds the daily energy requirement of an adult). However, getting it from there is not easy: not every predator can cope with tubular bones. Lewis R. Binford found that hominids used their first stone tools specifically for breaking bones, giving them a shape that was convenient for breaking.

Joint work, a common home, a common fire that warmed people - all this, with natural necessity, rallied and united them. In his activities, man began to use a large number of simple tools. From this time on, a new stage began in the development of human society, which lasted from the 40th to the 12th millennium BC. e. – Upper Paleolithic. This stage was characterized by the accumulation of simple tools that were created by modern humans (homo sapiens). These were sets of special devices for cutting: pointed points tied to a shaft or glued with a viscous resinous substance - for piercing; scraper for scraping and cleaning skin, cutting tendons; scraper for cleaner scraping of the skin. Thus, man, endowed with neither fangs nor claws, not protected by anything like a tortoise shell, not able to fly like a bird, or run like an antelope or a cheetah, found his own way of survival, relying on the power of the mind.

The use of special tools led to the development of techniques for working with them and the improvement of the activity process. To make a stone tool, a person first took flint or obsidian of a certain size and quality, which served as the core of the product (the so-called “core” - usually disc-shaped), and with the help of a second hard stone (chipper) he obtained flakes. The flakes were blanks that were subjected to secondary processing. To obtain the desired shape, they were beaten and corrected using a special technique - “retouching”. Retouching was a subtle adjustment of a weapon to increase the effectiveness of its action as a whole or to strengthen the working parts of the weapon (especially the tip). Further improvement of technology was expressed in the use of an increasing number of simple differentiated tools, the use of fire, the invention of bows and arrows with stone tips, and the creation of pottery. The appearance of the bow and arrow, and then its widespread use, dates back to the era Mesolithic And early neolithic(12th to 4th millennium BC). At the same time, a method was found for firing pottery, which gave the clay mass a stone-like appearance, water resistance and fire resistance.

No less significant in the life of primitive man (and for the history of science) was the creation of mechanical devices for hunting. The spear, dart, very original boomerang, sling and bolas, the action of which depends on the rather complex dynamic and aerodynamic movement of systems in space, are a consistent improvement in the simple art of throwing sticks and stones. The bow is an example of man's use of a mechanical store of energy. Energy accumulates in the bow when the bowstring is slowly drawn and is quickly consumed when the arrow is released. For the history of science, the bow is interesting as one of the first machines. The study of arrow flight stimulated the emergence and development of dynamics. The bow drill freed up one hand for drilling, replacing the action of the hands when twisting the tinder - this is the first example of a supported rotational movement. The sound of a drawn bow is believed to have led to the creation of stringed instruments. In the Old Stone Age, a method of extracting musical sounds arose. This method subsequently served to create wind instruments. From his experience, primitive man knew quite well that air and wind are material. Pneumatics began with breathing. Air could be directed by exhaling or inhaling through hollow bones or reeds. Air could be filled into bubbles to get across to the other side, and it could be used in blacksmith bellows to fan a fire. Its power was used in a blowgun for hunting and in a bamboo air pump for starting fires. The movement of a free or controlled piston in a cylinder was to lead to the invention of the cannon and the steam engine.

The most important reason for the dramatic changes in the development of mankind in the period 10-3rd millennium BC. e., called Neolithic (New Stone Age), the beginning of land cultivation began. It had such a significant impact on human life that it is referred to as the Neolithic revolution in human history. It was the cultivation of the land that allowed Neolithic man, for the first time in history, to begin large-scale adaptation of the natural habitat to his own needs.

The creation of dwellings by ancient man can be considered a small-scale adaptation. Stone Age people did appropriating economy(gathering and hunting), so they were inextricably linked with nature and dependent on it. In the Neolithic era there is producing farm. The receipt of surplus food led to the emergence of new types of tools, and the construction of settlements made people relatively independent of the surrounding nature.

The emergence of agriculture is a very complex process. At the end of the Late Paleolithic the end ice age man has occupied all the hunting grounds on the planet and the hunting-gathering economy has reached its limit. Man is faced with an increase in the number of hunters and gatherers, i.e., with a reduction in the food obtained. These circumstances pushed humanity to develop new forms of behavior and forced them to gradually move to agriculture. Back in the 30s. XX century N.I. Vavilov identified seven independent centers of origin of cultivated plants and, at the same time, seven probable independent centers of origin of agriculture - Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Central Asia, Pakistan, Hindustan and Indochina. Vavilov’s conclusions were largely confirmed by archaeologists. Farming was not something that was invented right away; it was the result of many individual advances in this field. To develop agriculture, people had to invent special tools - a wooden hoe for loosening the soil, a wooden or bone sickle with a flint attachment for harvesting cereals, a flail for threshing them, a hand millstone for grinding grain.

Microliths are considered to be the first evidence of the systematic collection of food plants in large volumes, i.e., the beginning of their cultivation. (The idea of ​​a microlith is clear to anyone who has used a safety razor - when the blade becomes dull, it is replaced with another one.) Microliths (from the Greek mikros - small + lithos - stone) are small, regular geometric shapes and standard sizes products made of flint, obsidian and others hard rocks that give a sharp cutting edge. Microliths served as inserts into wooden and bone tools (in particular, reaping tools). They were fixed in special grooves using natural asphalt, bitumen, ozokerite, mountain wax, etc. Thanks to the standard shape and size, lost or dull microliths were easily replaced, which made it possible to effectively use all available sickles during the harvest period. However, agriculture (as the basis of life) could not completely replace hunting and food gathering if there were not a number of auxiliary innovations.

Special tools were required to make a wooden hoe and sickle. Land for crops had to be cleared, so people improved carpentry tools that appeared in the Mesolithic era, and also created new ones - hand mills, pottery, spinning machines and a loom. Relatively long residence of a person in one place (at least when high level development of agriculture) allowed him to create, accumulate and use tools that would be a heavy burden for a hunter. Man developed the habit of subjugating nature for his own benefit - a habit that encouraged him to seek further improvements in life. This was manifested in the “cultivation” of plants and animals, which had a significant impact on human life. In almost all parts of the Old World, wheat, barley, oats, lentils and peas began to be grown; in America they cultivated pumpkin, avocados, beans (beans) and corn; V East Asia- almonds, beans, cucumbers, peas, wheat and millet, which until the 2nd millennium BC. e. was more important than rice in China. Due to the fact that there was enough food, hunters took less risks and died. They no longer killed their newborns (which was inevitable for the survival of nomadic hunters). As a result, the population increased significantly. Often there were so many people in a certain area that they could not feed themselves, so separate groups went in search of new habitats.

People gained knowledge about animal breeding already in the Upper Paleolithic, when individual wild animals were not killed, but were left to reproduce. Finds in modern Iran in the northern Persian Gulf indicate that domesticated goats and sheep existed from approximately the mid-7th millennium BC. e. They were raised not only for meat, but also for milk and wool. Pigs, domesticated by the beginning of the 6th millennium BC. e., were bred in small quantities because they required a lot of food and were carriers of diseases. Until recently, it was generally accepted that the horse was domesticated in the Middle East in the 2nd millennium BC. e., but the discoveries of archaeologists “pushed back” this date to the turn of the 7-6th millennium BC. e.

Agriculture served as the basis for the emergence of villages and cities: the initial settlements and camps of Stone Age hunters turned into villages of farmers - a new type of settlement in different parts globe. They first appeared in the Middle East at the beginning of the 7th millennium BC. e. In developed Neolithic cultures big cities numbered hundreds and even thousands of inhabitants. The first homes of sedentary people were circular structures that resembled the temporary dwellings of hunters and gatherers. A frame of sticks was placed on the foundation in the form of a circle and covered with leather or straw. Settled settlers soon began building houses out of mud and later laying solid stone foundations. When building a new home on the site of a destroyed or burned one, the site for the foundation was leveled, coated with clay. Thus, typical elevations (in Arabic “tell”) arose, on which villages still stand. Tells reached a height of 20 m. Instead of round buildings, rectangular ones appeared, to which it was easier to make extensions and thereby increase the living space. The doors, as a rule, were located above ground level. Sometimes the entrance was located in a flat roof and the house was entered via a wooden staircase. The floor was made of compacted clay and the walls were whitewashed with plaster. They were often decorated with red stripes or other designs. The inhabitants of these houses slept on the floor (on matting) or on a raised bed-bench; food was prepared in a specially designated place.

Already in ancient times, settlements were fortified. Usually a ditch was dug around the village and a rampart was erected. One of the most famous fortified cities was ancient Jericho. It was surrounded by a wall 1.75 m wide and 3 m high. It was made of stones laid on top of each other. This was followed by a clay rampart, and outside there was a three-meter ditch, reaching nine meters in width in some places. Adjacent to the wall was a cone-shaped tower 9 m high and the same width at the bottom.

The main achievements of the Neolithic era are new way stone processing, clay and stone construction, carpentry and pottery, and technical inventions such as the potter's wheel, ceramic firing, and metalworking. The beginning of metal processing dates back to the 7th millennium BC. e. The transition from stone tools to metal ones and, accordingly, from the cultivation of plants to agriculture was of enormous importance in the history of human society. Archaeological materials indicate that man first began to use copper to make tools and weapons, although he apparently knew gold even earlier. In any case, archaeological excavations show that the first copper tools (a pickaxe, a dagger and a small axe), similar to stone ones, date back to the Eneolithic, i.e., the transition period from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age (from 4-3rd millennium BC e.).

It is assumed that native copper was found during the search for stone raw materials. At first, primitive man used forging to process it. Iron and copper are found in nature in a native state; people already at one of the early stages of their development learned to melt and use them. They mistook these metals for a high-quality “stone” that was less fragile than other stones from which tools were usually made. Such a “stone” could be shaped into the desired shape with a hammer, instead of beating and grinding down the corners and edges, as with ordinary stones. Two key discoveries made a big leap forward. Firstly, it turned out that the calcination of certain types of stones together with charcoal makes it possible to obtain copper, which predetermined the process of smelting metals. Secondly, copper could be smelted in special furnaces and poured into a special vessel of a pre-selected shape, where the solidifying metal reproduced the shape of the internal cavity of this vessel; This is how the foundry process was discovered and metallurgy was born. These discoveries were made, in all likelihood, in Mesopotamia or somewhere nearby around the 4th millennium BC. e. The smelting of metals from ores was an important step also because the natural reserves of native metals were insignificant and their use could not be significant for people’s lives. Moreover, without the discovery of casting, the most valuable properties of copper would remain untapped.

Stone tools were made by man when he needed them. The situation was different with metal smelting - a highly organized production system was required here. Mining ore in open pits (and later in underground mines) required a lot of different equipment to work with blocks of hard rock. For the practical use of copper, new auxiliary devices were needed. In addition, labor operations required specialist artisans who were freed from food production (receiving it from the communities).

Early Neolithic societies were more or less economically autonomous, and trade was limited to luxury goods, jewelry and amulets. But as soon as these societies began to produce more products than were necessary to satisfy immediate needs, a tendency arose to exchange the produced surplus for goods delivered from afar, the most important of which were copper and copper ores.

Next to irrigation, the greatest innovation in agriculture was the use of the plow. Another important invention is associated with the plow - harness for animals (primarily for bulls). Thus, for the first time, people began to use a “non-human” source of energy to relieve themselves of the burden of physical work. Food had to be delivered to the cities. For transportation, villagers used runners, which they inherited from their Mesolithic ancestors. Then they took the plunge and came up with the wheeled cart, which was essentially a sleigh on wheels that was attached to the shaft of an oxen plow. Wheeled carts were used in Sumer as early as 3500 BC. e. By 3000 BC. e. they were widespread in Mesopotamia, Elam and Syria, reaching by 2500 BC. e. banks of the Indus. In Egypt they remained unknown for a very long time. When animals were harnessed first to a plow and then to a cart, this was the first example of work being done by force other than human muscle. The first attempts to use wind power to propel sailing ships date back to approximately the same time. Sailing ships used in Egypt after 3500 BC. e., and by 3000 BC. e. The Egyptians already sailed freely in the eastern Mediterranean and, apparently, in the Arabian Sea.

The Neolithic Revolution came a necessary condition genesis of civilizations.

Control questions

1. What periods does primitive culture include?

2. What are the features of primitive culture?

3. What does the concept of “syncretism of primitive culture” mean?

4. What does the concept of “anthropomorphism” include?

5. How can you characterize the concept of “traditionalism”?

6. What is the main feature of the myth?

7. What are the main functions of myth?

8. What is the significance of the use of tools for humans?

9. What did the ability to make fire mean for a person?

10. What stage of development of human society is characterized by the accumulation of simple tools?

11. Which invention of the Mesolithic and Early Paleolithic era was the most important in human history?

12. How has human life changed since the beginning of soil cultivation?

13. When did agriculture originate?

14. What are microliths?

15. What significance did the invention of the plow have for man?

16. When was the wheel invented?

Fill in the blank:

The main functions of a myth are:

a) social, consisting of substantiating the existing structure of society, maintaining social order, and regulating behavior;

b) the function of preserving, accumulating and transmitting social experience, which lies in the ability of myth to convey value orientations, technologies of activity and patterns of behavior, consolidating the cultural identity of society;

c) cognitive and ideological, reflecting the ability of myth to explain the world in a sensory and figurative form and discover the meaning of human life;

d) aesthetic, which consists in the fact that myth is a type of artistic creativity, in the process of which memory is improved and imagination develops;

Fill the table:

Complete the definitions:

a) The period that covers the Paleolithic and Mesolithic is called....

b) The period covering the Neolithic is called….

Correctly match the term and its definition:

1. The period in the development of human society between the Paleolithic and Neolithic is called:

a) Bronze Age;

b) Mesolithic;

c) Iron Age;

d) Chalcolithic.

2. The main source of subsistence for people of the Paleolithic period was:

a) collecting “gifts of nature”;

c) agriculture;

d) livestock farming.

3. Bows and arrows with flint tips appeared during the period:

a) Paleolithic; c) Neolithic;

b) Mesolithic; d) there is no correct answer.

4. Ceramic production appeared in the era:

a) Mesolithic; c) Paleolithic;

b) Neolithic; d) there is no correct answer.

5. The first animal domesticated by man. This:

a) cow; c) dog;

b) horse; d) cat.

6. The main occupations of the population of the Neolithic period include:

a) fishing; c) beekeeping;

b) hunting; d) gathering.

7. The main materials for the manufacture of tools in primitive society were:

a) stone and wood; c) shells;

b) iron and copper; d) all of the above.

8. Harpoon - a fishing tool:

a) fish; c) birds;

b) animals; d) all of the above.

9. The first professional artisans were:

a) blacksmiths;

b) potters;

c) coopers;

d) there is no correct answer.

10. Bronze is:

a) an alloy of copper and silver;

b) an alloy of copper and tin;

c) an alloy of copper and iron;

d) there is no correct answer.

11. Archaeological sources for the study of primitive knowledge and technologies are:

d) all of the above.

12. K written sources for the study of primitive knowledge and technologies include:

a) buildings, sites, burials;

b) significant symbols left on the walls of caves;

c) bone remains of people, muscle structure of animals and birds;

d) all of the above.

13. Anthropological sources for the study of primitive knowledge and technologies include:

a) buildings, sites, burials;

b) significant symbols left on the walls of caves;

c) bone remains of people, muscle structure of animals and birds;

d) all of the above.

14. Bone and stone circles and disks with radiating rays, circles with a dot in the center are examples of:

a) solar symbolism;

b) cosmological symbolism;

c) mythological symbolism;

d) all of the above.

15. Sacred action based on endowing things with special (symbolic) properties. This:

a) ritual;

c) writing;

d) there is no correct answer.

Literature

1. Virginsky, V. S. Essays on the history of science and technology from ancient times to the middle of the 15th century / V.S. Virginsky, V.F. Khoteenkov. M., 1993.

2. History of Europe: in 30 volumes. Ancient Europe. M., 1988. T. 1.

3. History of primitive society. The era of the primitive tribal community. M., 1986.

4. Larichev, V.E. Wisdom of the snake. Primitive man, Moon and Sun / V.E. Larichev. Novosibirsk, 1989.

5. Lévi-Strauss, K. Primitive thinking / K. Levi-Strauss. M., 1994.

6. Markov, G.E. History of economy and material culture / G.E. Markov. M., 1979.

7. Pergiits, A.I. History of primitive society / A.I. Pershits [et al.]. M., 1982.

8. Semenov, S.A. Origin of agriculture / S.A. Semenov. L., 1974.

9. Shnirelman, V.A. Origin of cattle breeding / V.A. Shnirelman. M., 1989.

10. Toporov, V.N. Primitive ideas about the world: a general view / V.N. Toporov // Essays on the history of natural science knowledge in antiquity. M., 1982.

Primitiveness is the longest era in human history. It begins with the separation of man from the animal world and ends with the emergence of the first class societies. In primitive history there are:

• paleolithic(ancient stone) - the ancient Stone Age (before the 12th millennium BC), the period of the existence of fossil man, who used stone, wood and bone tools;
• ;Mesolithic(middle stone) - Middle Stone Age (before the 7th millennium BC), the time when the bow and arrows, microscopic tools appeared, the plow was invented;
• Neolithic(new stone) - the last era of the Stone Age (before the 4th millennium BC), characterized by a settled population, the emergence of cattle breeding and agriculture, the invention of ceramics, the emergence of spinning and weaving.

Based on data from archaeology, ethnography and linguistics, we can identify the main features of primitive culture: syncretism, anthropomorphism, traditionalism.

Syncretism primitive culture means the indivisibility of various spheres and phenomena of culture. The clan and community were perceived in this era as concepts identical to the Cosmos. They repeated the structure of the Universe. Primitive man was an organic part of nature and felt his kinship with all living beings. Individual sensation in primitive man was determined by instinct, biological feeling. On a spiritual level, he identified himself not with himself, but with the community to which he belonged; found himself in the feeling of belonging to something non-individual. Man initially became human by displacing his individuality. His actual human essence was expressed in the collective “we” of the family. Leaving a person in the community who did not want to follow its norms meant completely destroying the social order, letting chaos into the world, therefore everything that happened to each member of the tribe was important for the entire community, which was presented as an inextricable connection of people. Art, religion, medicine, productive activities, and obtaining food were not isolated from each other. Objects of art (masks, drawings, figurines, musical instruments, etc.) have long been used mainly as magical means. Treatment was carried out using magical rituals. And even practical activities were associated with magical rituals.

In the thinking of primitive man there were no clear oppositions between such categories as subjective - objective, observable - imaginary, external - internal, living - dead, material - spiritual, single - many. In his language, the concepts of “life” - “death” or “spirit” - “body” were often denoted by one word. An important feature of primitive thinking was also the syncretic perception of symbols, i.e. the fusion of a symbol and what it stands for.

Anthropomorphism(from the Greek antropos - man + morphe - form) - endowing objects and phenomena of inanimate nature, celestial bodies, plants and animals with human properties. Primitive man not only did not separate himself from nature, but also viewed nature in his own image and likeness. In this regard, he endowed nature (both living and inanimate) with consciousness, will, and feelings. Anthropomorphism as a principle of worldview made it possible to master natural reality, explaining various natural phenomena using the principle of analogy. In such a world, a person could feel much more confident: enter into negotiations with various phenomena and even demand that they perform some important actions. It was anthropomorphism that led to the fact that primitive forms of religion combined not only admiration and veneration, sacred fear and awe, but also treatment of spirits on equal terms. After all, spirits were not outside the boundaries of the single natural-human world.

Traditionalism plays an important role in any culture, acting as a channel for transmitting accumulated experience. But in primitive times, traditions had a special meaning, since it was around traditions and in connection with them that the very existence of the community was possible. Tradition, which in archaic culture is understood as the initially established order, brought society out of a state of chaos. Forgetting traditions led the tribe to death. This resulted in the rigidity of observance of traditions characteristic of primitive times. The accumulated experience was transferred “one to one”, in the exact reproduction of all details, regardless of whether it was about making a knife or utensils, hunting, cooking or breastfeeding a child. In this regard, primitive culture was characterized by hostility to innovation and dissent. True, this did not mean that new things did not appear. Innovation may have occurred through inaccurate interpretation of rituals or due to intertribal interactions. Nevertheless, no matter how many changes actually occurred, the representative of this culture perceived them as unchanged. The psychological significance of traditionalism was that tradition gave primitive man a sense of stability and stability. However, such an unambiguous reproduction of skills and knowledge hampered the development of society.

From the point of view of social organization, the characteristic features of primitive culture were the absence of a state, as well as pronounced property inequality and weak social differentiation.

The lack of writing meant that knowledge and skills could be transmitted in such a culture only through direct contact (in the form of apprenticeship). At the same time, the experience merged with the personality, was transparent and continuous. Old people who have seen a lot in their lives and have a good memory were especially valued in such a culture, as they were “walking libraries.” But a culture dependent on human memory and the oral transmission of cultural patterns was forced to remain extremely simple.

The traditionalism of primitive culture led to the fact that all significant forms of behavior were a socially sanctioned, strictly regulated symbolic system of actions - ritual. Hunting and farming, war, marriage, communication, manifestations of grief and joy - all were accompanied by certain symbolic actions. Apparently, ritual became the first way to impart mental states, biological needs and abilities to a person the nature of cultural activity itself.