A 35,000-Year-Old Ivory Tool Reveals the Lost Art of Stone Age Rope Making
Rope, twine and thread: Invisible technologies of the Stone Age
Archaeologists long overlooked rope, string, and twine because they decay, yet these soft technologies were essential. A 35,000-year-old perforated ivory baton from Hohle Fels, with spiral grooves around its holes, was used to twist cattail fibers into five meters of strong rope in just ten minutes. Such cordage enabled hafting, snares, nets, and rope ladders, reshaping daily life for prehistoric hunter-gatherers.
We're missing 90 percent-plus of what is happening during a prehistoric day, and a lot of that uses technology that we don't think about.
- Terr_
There are certain bodies of human knowledge and practice which aren't usually referred to as "technologies", and I think that leads us to underestimate their complexity and importance.
In particular, I'm thinking of textiles and agriculture. It's no coincidence that both were prime targets of industrial mechanization, occupying a huge proportion of all human labor.
- kqr
Not mentioned in TFA: cordage is a critical component in slings, an early, powerful ranged weapon.
With some sort of pulley, rope allows a single human to excert large amounts of force trough leverage, often in ways more convenient than other forms of mechanical leverage. (Such as actual levers.)
Rope can also be used for 1:1 power transfer.
- alexpotato
Knots and lashings were one of those things that "just made sense" to me as a child/teenager. So much so that even though I never took pioneering merit badge as a Boy Scout, people who were taking it had me double check their project knots before they were submitted for final evaluation.
Had a similar experience with SQL e.g. I finished a 3 hour exam in <45 minutes for a DB class in grad school.
I've always wondered if the "3d modeling" aspect of both skills overlapped and why this was easy for me (I once tested very highly in mental 3d rotation skills on an aptitude test so maybe?)
- rinconrex
The TFA mentions wood, along with string, twine, rope, etc. Soft technologies surely would also include leather, and other animal products as well.
Cordage can be a force-multiplier as well, in addition to what others have said about pulleys and slings. One could tie many strings/ropes to a tree or animal and pull with multiples of a singular force.
- INTPenis
With just wood and rope they could probably accomplish amazing things. I'm convinced on a personal level that stone age people had cranes to lift boulders with.