260 THE COMING OF MAN 



mankind. Perhaps, too, from watching the birds 

 weave straw and grass into their nests, those early 

 men tried themselves to plait grass into small 

 mats, just as you learned first, in kindergarten, to 

 plait the colored strips of paper into a little square 

 mat. 



In some way those early men and women did 

 learn to plait grass and then weave it. Later they 

 learned to use the fibers of the flax in making cloth. 

 That was a most useful discovery. They have 

 handed it down from generation to generation even 

 to our own time, and we still make from the flax 

 fiber our much-prized linen cloth. 



Now when these cave people found what they 

 could do with their hands, and in how many ways 

 they could use the things that were growing about 

 them, they were not content to live in caves as 

 their ancestors had done. They wanted to make 

 homes that would be lighter and drier and more 

 comfortable. Where did they get the idea? We 

 do not know. Perhaps it was from seeing the birds 

 build their nests, or from using some shelter made 

 by trees that had fallen against each other. Be 

 that as it may, the cave men learned to make huts 

 for their homes, placing poles in a circle, one end of 

 each upon the ground while the upper ends met in 

 a point above, much like an Indian's tepee. 



When they learned to do this they were no longer 

 like wild men, because they could live in separate 

 families then, not all crowding together in a cave, 

 as many as it would hold. They scattered around 

 in tribes, no longer dependent upon the place where 



