These fields
were usually enclosed with a hedge to keep animals from eating the
crop and to define the territory of the settlement from that of
its neighbors. Flax was grown and made into linen cloth. Beyond
the fields were pastures for cattle and sheep grazing. There was
often an area for beehives. This was subsistence level farming.
Pottery was given symmetry when formed with use of a wheel and
heated in increasingly hot kilns. From kilns used for pottery, it
was noticed that lumps of gold or copper ore within would melt and
assume the shape of what they had been resting on. These were the
first metals, and could be beaten into various shapes, such as
ornaments. Then the liquid ore was poured into moulds carved out
of stones to make axes and daggers, which were reheated and
hammered to become strong. Copper-tipped drills, chisels, punches
and awls were also made.
The bodies of deceased were buried far away from any village in
wood coffins, except for kings, who were placed in large stone
coffins after being wrapped in linen. Buried with them were a few
personal items, such as copper daggers, flat copper axes, and awls
[small pointed tool for piercing holes in leather, wood, or other
soft materials.]. The deceased was buried in a coffin with a stone
on top deep in the earth to keep the spirit of the dead from
coming out to haunt the living.
It was learned that tin added to the copper made a stronger metal:
bronze.
Pages:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25