THE MIDDLE STONE AGE 
of his own experience to his children and grandchildren. 
Then he learned to use tools—sticks and stones—and, still 
later, to shape them into more efficient forms. Then came 
the use of fire, of string, and of skins for clothing. 
These fundamentals comprised the sum of man’s 
achievements up to the beginning of the Old Stone Age. 
During that period he made more noticeable progress, the 
tempo of advance increasing slightly toward its end, so 
that we see great improvements in the shape and variety 
of his tools and implements. During the Aurignacian and 
Magdalenian phases of his Old Stone Age life his artistic 
powers developed remarkably, though from different 
motives. from those we understand. 
With the gradual close of the Old Stone Age, we lose 
sight of some of the advances in culture which took place, 
although probably most if not all of them survived in 
parts of the world as yet unexplored by the archeologist. 
For it is important to remember the very uneven rate of 
progress in civilization in different regions of the globe 
and among various peoples. 
Finally the Mesolithic or Middle Stone Age witnessed 
the development of many inventions of primary impor- 
tance. Then, apparently, mankind first discovered effec- 
tive means of making clearings and building huts and 
canoes. Crude pottery, a rudimentary agriculture, and 
probably the domestication of the dog also then first 
appear. Man still remained in great part a hunter and a 
fisherman, such as he had been for hundreds of thousands 
of years. But he had at last escaped from total de- 
pendence upon natural products. Henceforth he was able 
in ever-increasing measure to produce food for himself, 
both animal and vegetable. 
yeas | 
