THE FIRST MINERS
By 4000 BC deep shafts are cut into the hillside at Rudna Glava, in the Balkans, to excavate copper ore. This robbing of the earth's treasures is carried out with due solemnity. Fine pots, that hold produce from the daylight world, are placed in the mines as a form of recompense to propitiate the spirits of the dark interior of the earth. By about 3800 BC copper mines are also worked in the Sinai peninsula. Crucibles found at the site reveal that smelting is carried out as part of the mining process.
Yoke and harness: from 4000 BC
The harnessing of draught animals is a major technological advance in agriculture as well as transport. The ox is the first to be harnessed, conveniently provided by nature with a fleshy hump above the shoulders. A yoke that is laid in front of the ox will remain in place even when a heavy load is pulled. A lighter yoke is sometimes attached to the horns as well. Oxen are used to drag heavy objects or loaded sledges by about 4000 BC. The camel has an even more convenient hump however. Its height makes it less suitable for draught purposes than the ox, but it is used in Asia and north Africa for wagons and for plowing. But harnessing the horse proves problematical. A traditional yoke can only be kept in place on a horse by passing thongs in front of its chest. However these must be placed very carefully because they must pass in front of the animal's windpipe. The heavier the weight it attempts to pull, the less air it will breathe. For many centuries, horses are not very effectively used as draught animals. The solution, discovered in China by the 5th century AD, is to provide a firm collar, fitting round the neck and shoulders of the animal to hold the weight. These collars reach Europe by the 9th century AD, causing the horse to become the main draught animal of the region for both ploughing and haulage.
The plough and draught animals: from 3000 BC
The plough is the first implement for a source of power other than the use of ones own muscles. When planting seeds, it is needed to break up the ground. In the early stages of agriculture, hacking and scraping with a suitably pointed implement would be the way to go. But a useful furrow can more easily be achieved by dragging a point along the surface of the ground. The first ploughs have a sharp point of timber projecting downwards at the end of a long handle. In the light soil of Egypt and Mesopotamia, where ploughing is first undertaken, a simple pointed implement of this kind is needed to break up the earth and form a shallow trench. A plough can be dragged by a couple of men. But the use of draught animals such as oxen, from at least 3000 BC, greatly speeds up the process. In northern Europe, with heavier soil, this type of plough is very ineffective. A more elaborate machine is then developed by the Celts in the 1st century BC where a sharb blade cuts into the earth and an angled board turns it over to form a furrow.
By 4000 BC deep shafts are cut into the hillside at Rudna Glava, in the Balkans, to excavate copper ore. This robbing of the earth's treasures is carried out with due solemnity. Fine pots, that hold produce from the daylight world, are placed in the mines as a form of recompense to propitiate the spirits of the dark interior of the earth. By about 3800 BC copper mines are also worked in the Sinai peninsula. Crucibles found at the site reveal that smelting is carried out as part of the mining process.
Yoke and harness: from 4000 BC
The harnessing of draught animals is a major technological advance in agriculture as well as transport. The ox is the first to be harnessed, conveniently provided by nature with a fleshy hump above the shoulders. A yoke that is laid in front of the ox will remain in place even when a heavy load is pulled. A lighter yoke is sometimes attached to the horns as well. Oxen are used to drag heavy objects or loaded sledges by about 4000 BC. The camel has an even more convenient hump however. Its height makes it less suitable for draught purposes than the ox, but it is used in Asia and north Africa for wagons and for plowing. But harnessing the horse proves problematical. A traditional yoke can only be kept in place on a horse by passing thongs in front of its chest. However these must be placed very carefully because they must pass in front of the animal's windpipe. The heavier the weight it attempts to pull, the less air it will breathe. For many centuries, horses are not very effectively used as draught animals. The solution, discovered in China by the 5th century AD, is to provide a firm collar, fitting round the neck and shoulders of the animal to hold the weight. These collars reach Europe by the 9th century AD, causing the horse to become the main draught animal of the region for both ploughing and haulage.
The plough and draught animals: from 3000 BC
The plough is the first implement for a source of power other than the use of ones own muscles. When planting seeds, it is needed to break up the ground. In the early stages of agriculture, hacking and scraping with a suitably pointed implement would be the way to go. But a useful furrow can more easily be achieved by dragging a point along the surface of the ground. The first ploughs have a sharp point of timber projecting downwards at the end of a long handle. In the light soil of Egypt and Mesopotamia, where ploughing is first undertaken, a simple pointed implement of this kind is needed to break up the earth and form a shallow trench. A plough can be dragged by a couple of men. But the use of draught animals such as oxen, from at least 3000 BC, greatly speeds up the process. In northern Europe, with heavier soil, this type of plough is very ineffective. A more elaborate machine is then developed by the Celts in the 1st century BC where a sharb blade cuts into the earth and an angled board turns it over to form a furrow.
