New-York tribune., 1873-05-06


A very clear account is here given of the
nrogress Of man from the unknown time of his appear
ance upon the earth TO the commencement OF historical
writing The book is intended for the use OF schools or
for domestic instruction, aud is Of strictly elementary
character Although primarily intended for the young
il is ADAPTED 10 the wants Of more mature readers VINO
wish TO be informed concerning the light winch has been
thrown bv modern research the primitive condition
of man. The author first states the grounds Of the beef
that man was once wild naked, and arrived by slow
degrees at clothes and civilization. For example,
weapons and have been found in all parts OF the
world which were used by men in remote Ses precisely
similar 20 the weapons and tools that arc now used ny
sayages in various countries and among whom not
trace Of past civilization be found The first wants
of man. of course were food warmth, and shelter lie
would have little trouble quenching his thirst at the
running His first food would be wild fruits and
brrries his fret shelter tree Overhanglng
rock lie might desire to eat Of the fish that glided past
him in the ryer or the deer that bounded into the
aepths of the forest But these not to be had with
out weapons TO kill them One of his earliest needs
accordingly was sharp-edged tool. lie knew
nothing Of the metals, and therefore made use OF the
stones which lay around him on the surface OF the
eround. Fliuts were much used, because by hard
blow fakes like the blade Of knife could be broken OF
Other fints were shaped to point, or into rough sort
of hammer by chipping them with Founded pebble or
! other stone. Many OF them are In tine form Of an
almond with a cutting edge all round They are Of diff
fereut sizes some OF them being six inches long, by
three wide while others are rather larger The oldest
stone weapons. unsharpened by grinding aud unpol-
| ished, have been chiefly found buried beneath the
gravel and clay, aud stones, which have been carried
down by the rivers in their ceaseess flow. In these
carly days of mans history huge wild animals shared
the soil with him. Their bones have been found under
LAYERS Of earth side by side with his and with the
weapons he made and hence we know that they lived
! at the came time. During this period which is called
! the stone age" men lived wild aud roaming life,
eating raw the flesh of ANIMALS which they killed, and
clothing themselves little much they needed in
their skins which they sewed together with bone
1 dies usng the sinews forp thread. They gradually
learned the use Of fire and the art OF cookery. With
their stone hatchets they constructed dwellings on piles
driven into the bed Of lake. the remains of which have
been found In Switzerland, and other lake countries: In
course OF time, more sagacious than his fell
lows discovered metals which lie beneath the surface
of the Garth The first metal used by man probably
| gold His eye was attracted by It's glitter unlike
some other metals, It found on the surface, and
lay on various rocks Copper came into early use
account Of ts sOftness II could bC worked into various
shapes Where It scarce, and tin could be had the
two metals were n.clted and mixed together, forming
the hard and useful metal called bronze This period
Was the "ags Of bronze" IL long time before
iron was seted Then IL took the place OF bronze for
making weapons and tools, while bronze used for
the handles and ornaments This was the ogo OF iron"
How many years passed between tho shaping VI the rst
flint and the moldDg Of the first bronze weapon Is
| k,owu ~ cannot bc doubted that men used
stone before they usod bronze and iron, and thar
tribe. were HI the stone age when other tribes had
foupd ont the value of nctals The three ages into
one another Ike the throe chief cOOrs OF the rainbow.
A. may lie asked how We know that the traces OF man In
early times ars 90 ycy old TIe auction IL peTtneut
The answer o. the author IN bef, Is as ollows Zones
have beep disc0yered In caves la various parts of the
| world. belonging " animals that are now extinct.