The artifacts of modern humans went far beyond the needs of survival. Whereas the artifacts of Homo erectus and Neanderthals were purely practical, humans made objects with no known practical application, which were created, instead, for religious, magical, or esthetic reasons. As early as 70,000 years ago, they made bone spearpoints smoother than was needed for hunting and even engraved them. They made musical instruments, such as a flute carved out of bone, 32,000 years ago. They sculpted figures of animals out of bone or ivory. Small sculptures of women show them wearing string skirts, some with metal beads at the ends. They used pigments and dyes to paint pictures of animals drawn with great artistic talent on the walls of caves, sometimes hundreds of yards underground. They carved stone spearpoints in the shape of a leaf so thin they could not possibly have been used for hunting. They decorated themselves with beads and perforated seashells and animals’ teeth. They also buried their dead with ornate objects, like the 60-year-old man buried in Russia 28,000 years ago with pendants, bracelets, necklaces, and a tunic on which hundreds of ivory beads had been sewn. They had something new in the world: a sense of beauty. What happened to transform archaic Homo sapiens into modern humans? Their bodies and brains were identical, so the change must have been purely cultural. Of their culture, we know only the material artifacts that have survived. So we have to make some educated guesses. The creation of objects that were not immediately practical or necessary for survival gives us a clue. These objects—cave paintings, musical instruments, sculptures, and adornments—are symbols that represent ideas such as beauty, control over animals, or life after death (Source: Technology A History of World).
The Ice Man and Growing Technological Sense in Early Human Society
