History
|
History
|
|
|
The discovery of fire by primitive man lead to big advantages and has been very important in shaping humanity's progress. In modern times, industry, transport and many other daily activities would not have been conceived without fire. However, despite the familiarity people of all ages have with fire, it is not always well understood. The burning of coal, which is difficult to light and burns slowly with a small flame, is very different from gunpowder, which burns much faster, so fast that in fact it is explosive. From: http://library.thinkquest.org/27767/ingles.htm Fire is so beautiful on one hand, yet so dangerous on the other, so it's no doubt that when primitive man discovered it, he adored it like a god. There have been lots of myths and practices relating to fire, probably due to its mysterious nature. Fire could be used as a weapon to repel wild animals, for heat to be warm even at the coldest times and for light to be able to see at night. Primitive man would have occasionally seen fire, from lightning and other rare circumstances, before knowing how to make it. A possible theory for the discovery of fire can be explained as follows: primitive man discovered that by rubbing his hands together forcedly together, he could generate heat, and tried to make heat by rubbing two sticks together. After much effort (you'll know this if you've ever tried to make a fire without matches or a lighter) he rubbed the sticks with enough force that the dry wood began to burn. He then could discover some uses: to scare animals, to add branches to sustain it, to protect the mouth of the cave from wild animals at night, to keep warm, to produce light to see at night and to cook food. Fire could spread to many different people groups from ones that were already lit, which would mean that the fire would have to be started less often.
From: http://library.thinkquest.org/27767/ingles.htm Humankind would most probably be primitive today if fire had not been discovered, since many of the every day things we take for granted are either directly or indirectly possible because of fire. However the discovery of man-made fire is not all good- fire also has the potential to be dangerous. There has been much more problems from fire originating from man than from nature. |
|
Send mail to sn2218@bris.ac.uk with
questions or comments about this web site.
|
