334 KANSAS ACADEMY OF SCIENCE. 



furnished him with these resources to supplement the waning powers 

 of his natural organs, which were being rapidly modified in the proc- 

 ess of his evolution. Primitive man utilized the simple things that 

 nature furnished ready to his hand and they were sufficient for his 

 needs. The primeval life of the human race must therefore be con- 

 sidered first in the light of what nature provided for practical use 

 and which was of vital importance in the struggle for existence. But 

 these were sufficient to give him the balance of power, and he lived. 

 To this primeval man nature was kind and beneficent, and nursed 

 and nurtured him to the full development of the maturity of the race. 

 in his civilized descendants. From a mere animal she enabled him to 

 develop into the godlike being who dominates the earth. 



The arboreal life of primitive man taught him the uses of the club. 

 The club, either for throwing or striking, was a natural weapon, and 

 his survival as a species probably depended more upon his discovery 

 of the club and its uses at this critical stage of his existence than 

 upon any other agency. The evolution of the club down to our own 

 times, with all of its modifications, is a most interesting history, and 

 shows the eventful role that this great weapon has played in the de- 

 velopment of the race. Conversely, the uses of the club stimulated 

 initiative powers which led to greater brain and mental growth, and 

 this to further advancement and evolution of the race. 



Next to the club came the stick for throwing, which would early 

 suggest itself by accidental discovery in the first place, in the first 

 struggles with wild beasts and wilder men. From this was evolved 

 the boomerang, the knob-kerrie, and other throwing sticks, which are 

 constructed on scientific principles that are surprising among the 

 primitive peoples where they are found. Primitive man would soon 

 discover the difference between a sharp stick and a blunt one. With 

 a sharp stick he could better pierce animals to kill them, and dig in 

 the ground to reach roots and grubs. With a very slight advance in 

 intelligence he learned to sharpen the stick, but that important step 

 placed him beyond the stage even of the man-apes, and he was a man. 

 The very first step in the direction of the artificial modification of 

 natural products indicated his complete emergence from the animal 

 stage of life. With further advancement he hardened the point of 

 the stick in fire, and still later attached to it harder points of stone, 

 and from this simple weapon were developed the spear and arrow and 

 their relatives, but all originated from the sharp stick found ready to 

 the hand. Stones of various forms were furnished by kind nature 

 ready to the hand of the primitive man, which could be used for ham- 

 mers or for missiles. These ready-made weapons he necessarily 

 adopted at a very early stage, and when he attained the power of 



