The toiler. [volume] (Cleveland, Ohio) 1919-1922, 1920-04-23
OUTLINE CHART FOR MIDDLE sAvAGERv.
SAVAGERY.
Middle Age.

Middle Age
The second age of human history is known as the
age of middle savagery and dates from the discovery Of
The utility of fire.
We know practically nothing of the circumstances
under which man discovered the utility of fire We can
only speculate upon the probable circumstances 1t is
highly probable that the utility of fire was discovered
and lost and discovered again by various tribes OF
primitive man before it's ability became generally known.
While we may never know just HOW the use Of fire
originated we CAN know that all the advancement Of
later civilization rests upon the mrecorded srvngs OF
primitive man through the amounted ages of the past
Curiosity was the probable cause OF primitive mans
discovery of the utility of fire. Curiosity is marked
characteristic of all primives, and the supposton is
that in examining the smolderlng embers left from
forest fire the discovery made.
Whatever the method first used, fire from lava or
volcanoes fire set while playing with pieces of trans
parent quartz fire by friction fire by spontaneous
bustion fire from lightning stroke, know that
man the only animal which build fire and keep
it burning.
All of the methods by which fire may be produced
may be summed up under three heads, electrical chem
ical and tacte.F)
All animals except man dread fire. Without fire,
man was the prey of all the predatory animals Of the
night The campfire was mans first real home, his first
cefuge of safety from the teeth of the dark The love of
fire is instinct which has down the ages to Us
from the period Of middle savagery This instinct had its
origin in the safety and comfort which the fire afforded
An instinct is a race memory-things we do because
our ancestors HAD to do them in order to survive.
The lure of the n)-fire cntces all who are human,
but it has ON especial lure for children who bogenetca
y are passing thru that stage Of their development
which corresponds with middle savagery in phylo-
genetic history.**)
Fire gave man an eon>mous advantage in the strug
gle for existence 1t gave him protection from beasts OF
prev and in addition it enabled him to increase his food
supply Cooked food added to his daily menu Fire
also enabled man to widen his range of travel.
Early migratiols we're doubtlessly due to several
causes Fire by making fish diet palatable, enabled
him to travel along the shores and seams. Forest or
prairie fires by desroing the available food suppy
would force man to migrate in search of other sources OF
GOOD Fecundity would also force migration. The
fiction existence the beginning of the fire
number of individuals becoming greater than the food
supply of the territory not yet having learned artificial
means of production migration the only other alter
native.""*"
Migration caused primitives of various groups to
meet and by the law of imitation to copy the language
and methods of each other This is the basis OF primitive
education
The primitives who were adaptabel and learned the
utility of fire had an enormous advantage over Their
nonfre-using brothers. An opportunity for an ul-
disturbed rest and sleep at night thus conserving energy
for the acquisition OF loou uurlhS uie uo!lSht ho'
made stronger race and made the fre-users the do
ninant race.
knowledge of the utility of fire is a SOCIAL
HERITAGE and is inseparaby interviewer with every
phase of human progress No civilization is possible with
out fire No metals no engines, electrical devises nc
teegraphs or telephones mills mines OF factories are
possible without knowledge of the uses of fire.
If one individual throughout the ages had collected
one cent from each individual who benefited from a
knowledge of the utility of fire (as we today, Though
patents set aside for great inventors) that In
dvidual would today be the economic master Of the
world
During the age of middle savagery the primitive sun
dance took on religious character out OF which some
auhors') claim the decorative idea evolved. Primitive
clothing was a development of this idea.
IL was during the age OF middle savagery that the
rdiments of most of our institutions took form. Print