A short history of hunting game for food and clothing
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Man has been hunting animals such as deer and buffalo for the purposes of food, clothing and shelter for a very long time. Hunting actually predates the civilized world as we know it today and there are many archaeological discoveries that confirm this fact.
An Asian spearhead has been carbon dated as being over 16,000 years old and there is some evidence that we used larger game as food as much as 2 million years ago. That doesn't seem likely to me but I suppose it's not impossible. Archaeologists think it's the case, tho. The most likely weapons first used were probably rocks thrown to kill small game with hunting spears coming soon after. Easy to sharpen a long piece of wood and make the point. Also a very effective close in weapon that could bring down large animals. Some of our earliest ancestors also used running down animals to get their food. Animals may be faster than men but a determined man could run down almost anything. They just plain wore the animal out until it couldn't run to get away and then they killed it. Now you might think that's far fetched but hunting this way is still used in some parts of Southern Africa, today. Finally the bow and arrow were developed but they probably weren't much like anything we use today. Quite probably the throwing stick and arrow predates the bow. It was a simple tool. A piece of wood a few feet long with a groove in it to hold the arrow and it could cast an arrow far enough to bring down game at longer ranges. However the bow and arrow became the first, true, long range weapon, that men used. It gave them a decided advantage over those who didn't know how to use one and enabled them to better provide meat for their families or clans. Eventually society evolved into a group that stayed in one place and grew their own food. Hunting became more of a specialized job. Not for everyone anymore but a specific duty with people being trained to do just that. Hunt for meat. Eventually hunting became a sport and the upper classes got involved because they had the leisure time to indulge themselves in hunting animals for the fun of it. It was then that the word 'game' evolved into meaning hunted animals. Various different animals were used during the hunt but none was more important than the dog. It took thousands of years of breeding to domesticate the wild wolves into what we now know as dogs. It was also a remarkable accomplishment. Man and dogs hunting together goes so far back that the word for hunting, in ancient Greek, is evolved from the word for dog. While it may be hard to believe now, Poodles were actually first bred for hunting and not the prissy things they've become now. Everyone has probably heard of the African Safari which was made famous by Hemingway. Safari is a Swahili word and it means long journey. It would be a few days to a few weeks of hunting big game while camping at the same time. In modern times we now use guns to hunt and for most of the world hunting is a sport rather than a necessity. We no longer need to hunt for our food but rather we grow it. Hunting has evolved even further than before with what are now called bloodless hunts. You can actually go on a safari where the sole purpose is to capture pictures of big game with a camera. So there you have it. A short history of hunting that started with rocks and now ends with humans being able to bring down animals at ranges as far as two miles away, with specialized rifles. As far as hunting goes we've come a very long way. Disease, Hunting and Hunters > > < < Hunting first aid |
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