Katharine Elizabeth Dopp

“ Encourage the child to invent ways of getting a cave from a wild animal, but hold him responsible for the use of only such means as the cave-men had. The child who would use a gun, or even a bow and arrow, must learn that these devices were not yet invented, and that man had to use his mind to devise some way of conquering the wild beasts without the aid of such weapons. ”

“ The need of practical activity, which for long ages constituted the entire education of mankind, is at last recognized by the elementary school. It has been introduced in many places and already results have been attained which demonstrate that it is possible to introduce practical activity in such a way as to afford the child a sound development—physically, intellectually, and morally—and at the same time equip him for efficient social service. ”

“ After he has considered man’s life under such conditions, tell him of the conquest of fire, and of the changes effected in social life by its use. Help him to see that fire was man’s best means of protection at that time, for it was greatly feared by wild animals. By means of a free conversation about the points that the child may have difficulty in understanding, he will get a conception of man’s life before he lived in [167] caves, and this is the best basis for understanding why people wanted a cave for a home. ”

“ Lesson XXXIII. The capture of such a large animal as the mammoth was the occasion for calling all of the people who were represented in the capture of it to the spot for a feast. The tusks at this time were prized as trophies; later they were used in the manufacture of tools and weapons. The examination of a mammoth’s skeleton will convince one that the tusks were not removed without many hard blows. An idea of the size of the head may be gained from the fact that a single tooth weighed seventeen pounds. ”

“ Play that you are the Cave-men, and let some one tell Sharpeyes’ story while the others listen to it.
See if you can find some punk. Why do you think that the men put punk in their tool bag?
Tell all that you know about the fire country. ”

“ Lesson VIII. If the cave-men wanted to keep such trophies as teeth and claws of animals, it is evident that they would have to bore holes through them. To pierce bright and shining natural forms, fossil shells, etc., for beads, was an easy matter. To bore holes through such hard objects as the teeth and claws of wild animals taxed the cave-man’s ingenuity. The different devices for drilling represented in this lesson doubtless required ages for their development. ”

“ Lesson IV. Use this lesson to help the child get the meaning of the contrast between the crude implements that the cave-men used in securing food and in protecting themselves from their enemies, and the devices that we use for a similar purpose. In spite of the great contrasts that will be discovered, the child will find points of likeness between the implements of the cave-men, rude counterparts of which he can fashion for himself, and those that are still in use. ”

“ To select from the monotony of the ages that which is most vital, to so present it as to enable the child to participate in the process by which the race has advanced, is a work more in keeping with the spirit of the age. ”

“ As long as a simple organization of society prevailed, the school was not called upon to take up the practical work; but now society has become so complex that the use of practical activity is absolutely essential. Society to-day makes a greater demand than ever before upon each and all of its members for special skill and knowledge, as well as for breadth of view. ”

“ Lesson II. Although the main point of interest in this lesson is the way the fire clan takes possession of the cave, this social interest may be used as a means of learning various facts regarding the changes that take place in the natural world during late autumn. When such phenomena are seen as forces affecting the activities of man and of animals, they become interesting to the child. But if isolated from all social interests, if learned at all, they are carried as a dead weight. ”

“ If the child is allowed to crack the marrow bones of a chicken or turkey and make soup of them, he will understand the liking [170] of the cave-men for marrow bones. The conversion of bones into musical instruments played by striking, or into bone whistles, may also furnish a delightful occupation which may yield results of no mean value. ”

“ The question that is perplexing educators at the present time is, therefore, not one regarding the value of practical activity, but rather one of ways and means by which practical activity can be harnessed to the educational work.
The discovery of the fact that steam is a force that can do work had to await the invention of machinery by means of which to apply the new force to industrial processes. The use of practical activity will likewise necessitate many changes in the educational machinery before its richest results are realized. ”

“ If the child, at this early period, can learn that the hunting peoples killed only enough to supply themselves with food and skins for clothing, and that even beasts of prey rarely kill more than they need for food, they will be in a position to treat many problems in a more rational way than they are usually treated.
The modeling of Sabre-tooth in clay is suggested for the sake of cultivating the habit of observing the beauty of form and movement in animals, and turning the interest that may have been generated by the lesson into artistic channels. ”

“ Can you think of any colors that the Cave-men could use in their weaving before they learned to color reeds and splints?
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Can you think how they might have found a way to stain their baskets? Do you ever get stains in your clothing? What stains will wash out most easily? What stains do not come out easily? Which ones would you like to use to stain a basket? Do we have anything in our houses that we stain on purpose? What do we use to stain with?
Have you ever seen colored earth? Can you think what it is used for? Why do you think the Cave-men liked to find colored earth? ”

“ An old fire drill works best because the wood becomes charred and it is easier to keep a charred drill dry. In working any drill, care must be taken to keep up a steady and rapid motion with a downward pressure. The wood meal which is ground from the hearth by the drill must be allowed to collect in a little heap near which dry tinder is placed. It must be protected from strong drafts, but it may be fanned gently with the hand. As the spindle becomes warm from twirling, the wood meal becomes warm, then it begins to smoke, and at last it is fanned into a flame. ”

“ Find stones that will make good hammers. Tell why they are good for hammers.
Find stones that are good for knives, axes, and spears. Tell why they are good for such weapons.
Find bones, horns, or sticks that are good for handles. See if you can put handles on hammers or spears.
Notice how handles are put on tools nowadays.
Show as many ways as you can of fastening handles to tools and weapons.
See if you can find a tool whose handle is fastened in a way that the Cave-men did not use.
Tell where you can find the best stones for tools and weapons.
Why do people not use stones for tools nowadays? ”

“ In this volume the child is helped to realize that it is necessary not only to know how to use fire, but to know how to make it. Protection from the cold winters, which characterize the age described, is sought first in caves; but fire is a necessity in defending the caves. The serious condition to which the cave-men are reduced by the loss of fire during a flood is shown to be the motive which prompts them to hold a council; to send men to the fire country; to make improvements in clothing, in devices for carrying, and in tools and weapons ”

“ Yet the conditions that attend the introduction of practical activity as a motive power in education are very different from those that attended the introduction of the use of steam. In the case of steam the problem was that of applying a new force to an old work. In the case of practical activity it is a question of restoring a factor which, from the earliest times until within the last two or three decades, has operated as a permanent educational force. ”

“ Sometimes people have dug deep down into the earth, and sometimes they have found the Cave-men’s weapons.
There are pictures of some of them in this book.
Can you see that they tell what the Cave-men did?
Bones, too, have helped to tell something of the Cave-men.
A great many bones have been found in the caves.
Most of the marrow bones were split.
Animals do not know how to split bones, so we know that they must have been split by men.
These bones have been taken to great museums, where wise men have studied them carefully.
The wise men have learned to read their story. ”

“ Lesson XXXI. Most of the primitive methods of carrying have survived to the present day and may be seen if one will take the trouble to look for them. The cave-men carried the smaller animals that they killed on their backs. The larger ones were too heavy to be carried in this way, and so the custom arose of dividing the carcass. The most desirable portions were cut out and carried home, while the remainder was left for the wolves and hyenas. [181] Encourage the child to make a carrying strap that he can use in carrying his books or other objects. ”

“ To help the child who has not had such a preparation understand this fact, ask him to think of a time when people had no shelter except the trees, no clothing except the skins of wild animals, no food except wild roots, fruits, and nuts, and no fire. ”

“ Encourage the child to make a basket of branches whose bark has not been removed, and then to peel enough twigs for a basket, using his teeth, finger nails, or other natural tools in doing the work. Be sure that he notices the difference in flexibility between dry twigs and those that have been soaked in water.
Lesson XXVIII. Let the child make such splints as he can without the aid of tools, or with such tools as he invents without suggestions from any person. Notice the rhythmical devices that are used by children when engaged in any kind of work. ”

“ Lesson XXXII. Until man had gained a mastery of the more dangerous animals, it is not likely that he hunted the mammoth. The cave-man must have longed, however, to capture one of these powerful beasts, and it is very probable that he would be quick to take advantage of a situation that offered him the opportunity for so doing. ”

“ Lesson XXIX. If the child has made splints and has already tried to weave them into baskets, he will readily see that the women got a variety in their weaving through the use of splints of different width. He may find it to his advantage to sort his splints, putting those of the same width together. The relation of the different styles of weaving to the need which caused them to be invented should be emphasized. Economy of time and material led primitive people to use the open style of interlacing for baskets intended for carrying coarse materials. ”

“ Encourage him to experiment in natural methods of dyeing straw, grasses, reeds, and splints, by burying them in mud or in mud mixed with charcoal, by soaking them and exposing them to the warm sunshine, or by covering them in leaf mold. Let him test the natural materials in his environment that will yield color and invent ways of extracting it. If red chalk, ochre, hematite, or other mineral matter that may be used as a paint is found in its native state in the vicinity, let the child procure a small quantity and grind it to a fine powder. ”

“ If the child does not know what punk is, tell him that it is decayed wood which, when lighted, holds fire for a long time without making a blaze. For that reason it was much valued as a means of preserving fire, and for tinder. Help the child to find punk in natural woods or along the shores of a lake or stream.
Lesson XXV. If the cave-men had not succeeded in getting fire, their social organization in the form of a clan would have broken up. ”

“ Not a man on the hills had ever before been able to get such a skin.
They all wished that they might have it, but they knew that it belonged to Strongarm.
They examined the two large sabre teeth.
They felt of the smaller teeth and claws.
At length the men began to quarrel about the trophies, but Strongarm waved them back.
He claimed one sabre tooth for himself and allowed the other to go to the brave old man.
When Strongarm spoke the men kept silent, for they knew that the trophies belonged to the bravest men. ”

“ If the child can visit a museum where primitive implements and weapons are exhibited, it will be easier for him to understand the function that such crude implements have fulfilled in the life of the race. Where a museum is not available, the text, together with its illustrations, will supply sufficient data for the child to get an appreciation of the social significance of such implements. ”

“ Since the sticks for making an effective fire drill should be chosen with care and dried thoroughly, the child should select them at this time, although he may not use them until he studies Lesson XXXIV.
Lesson XXVI. The thanksgiving of the cave-men may well be used to give new meaning to our own thanksgiving festivals. The practice of giving food to the fire arose from the belief that it was alive. This belief and the worship of the fire is readily understood when it is remembered that fire was man’s greatest blessing at this time. ”