First Inventions Prehistory To 1200BC

What could Stone Age man have possibly done for us? One of the most crucial discoveries for human development was the harnessing of fire - the source of warmth and security. This volume tells the fascinating story of the inventiveness that fuelled man's migration outwards from Africa and led to the great civilisation of Ancient Egypt. Starting with fire and primitive weapons, the need to hunt led to the spear, harpoon, fish hook and, it is thought around 7500 BC, the boat. From Sumeria came the wheel and the plough. Imhotep, the great Egyptian architect, built the first pyramid from stone and his successors created the first known dam. Bronze and iron smelting were invented and also welding, as revealed by one of the finds in Tutankhamun's tomb.