1 The First Materials (Stone Age and Copper-Stone Age) Materials have accompanied mankind virtually from the very be- ginning of its existence.Among the first materials utilized by man were certainly stone and wood,but bone,fibers,feathers,shells, animal skin,and clay also served specific purposes. Materials were predominantly used for tools,weapons,uten- sils,shelter,and for self-expression,that is,for creating decora- tions or jewelry.The increased usage and development of ever more sophisticated materials were paralleled by a rise of the con- sciousness of mankind.In other words,it seems to be that ad- vanced civilizations generally invented and used more elaborate materials.This observation is probably still true in present days. Materials have been considered of such importance that his- torians and other scholars have named certain ancient periods after the material which was predominantly utilized at that re- spective time.Examples are the Stone Age,the Copper-Stone Age (Chalcolithic!Period),the Bronze Age,and the Iron Age.The Stone Age,which is defined to have begun about 2.5 million years ago, is divided into the Paleolithic (Old Stone Age),the Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age),and the Neolithic (New Stone Age)phases. We will consider on the following pages mostly the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods.Surprisingly,these classifications do not in- clude a Ceramics Age,even though pottery played an important role during extended time periods(see Chapter 15). Chalcos (Greek)=copper;lithos(Greek)=stone.1 Materials have accompanied mankind virtually from the very be￾ginning of its existence. Among the first materials utilized by man were certainly stone and wood, but bone, fibers, feathers, shells, animal skin, and clay also served specific purposes. Materials were predominantly used for tools, weapons, uten￾sils, shelter, and for self-expression, that is, for creating decora￾tions or jewelry. The increased usage and development of ever more sophisticated materials were paralleled by a rise of the con￾sciousness of mankind. In other words, it seems to be that ad￾vanced civilizations generally invented and used more elaborate materials. This observation is probably still true in present days. Materials have been considered of such importance that his￾torians and other scholars have named certain ancient periods after the material which was predominantly utilized at that re￾spective time. Examples are the Stone Age, the Copper–Stone Age (Chalcolithic1 Period), the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age. The Stone Age, which is defined to have begun about 2.5 million years ago, is divided into the Paleolithic (Old Stone Age), the Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age), and the Neolithic (New Stone Age) phases. We will consider on the following pages mostly the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods. Surprisingly, these classifications do not in￾clude a Ceramics Age, even though pottery played an important role during extended time periods (see Chapter 15). The First Materials (Stone Age and Copper–Stone Age) 1Chalcos (Greek)
copper; lithos (Greek)
stone