Primitive Technology: A Book of Earth Skills (Paperback)

~ (Editor) "Experimental archeology may be defined as "that branch of archeology which seeks to interpret material culture, technology, or lifeways of the past by means of..." (more)
Key Phrases: lineal edge, coal extender, experimental archeology, Errett Callahan, Great Basin, Steve Watts (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

8 3/16 X 10 7/8 In, 232 Pp, 100 Black & < White Photographs, 150 Line Drawings < Have You Ever Longed To Return To A < Past Where Humanity's Greatest Concern < Was Survival, When Our Hands Created < Life's Necessities, When The Land's < Raw Provisions Were The Materials With < Which We Created Warmth, Shelter, Food, < and Tools--A Time Before We Lost Our < Bond With The Wilderness? Primitive < Technology Helps Build A Bridge Between < The Ancient Past and Our Modern Lives, < Putting Us In Touch Again With Nature < and Ourselves. < This Volume--A Selection of Articles < Within The Bulletin of Primitive < Technology--Portrays The History, < Philosophise, and Personal Journeys of < Authorities On Primitive Technology, < Imparting Skills That Built The Success < of Mankind. From Views On Primitive < Technology and "New" Archaeology To < Making Fire and Tools of Bone, This Book < Is Informative and Enlightening

From the Inside Flap

Contents Foreword Section 1--Primitive Technology Section 2--Fire--Where We Begin Section 3--Bone, Stone & Wood--Basic Elements Section 4--Fibers--Holding The World Together Section 5--Projectiles--Power From The Human Hand Section 6--Art & Music--Discipline and Meaning

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Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: Gibbs Smith; 10 edition (March 26, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879059117
• ISBN-13: 978-0879059118
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #40,156 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THINK: 10,000 years worth of do-it-yourself instruction..., November 15, 2002

By	bsher8365 "bsher8365" (United States) - See all my reviews

This is, in my humble opinion, the BEST single source for Primitive Skills out there - PERIOD. If you've ever looked through a scientific journal or periodical, that is the basic layout for this book: a compendium of articles, each one detailing a different tool, task, method, or application of a primitive skill. It isn't a high-cut, Ph.D.-required-to-understand kind of book - you can take this out in the backyard and follow right along, AND SUCCEED! That doesn't mean it isn't chock full of data and information - plenty here to satisfy any skeptical practitioner of primitive skills. Learn from the leaders in each skill area as they share with you their tips and techniques that they've learned over time (the hard way). This is essentially a "best of" compilation of skill articles from the Society of Primitive Technology's bulletins over the past 10+ years. I challenge you to read it without wanting to get your hands dirty right then and there.

CONTENTS

Section 1 - PRIMITIVE TECHNOLOGY
Section 2 - FIRE - Where We Begin
Section 3 - BONE, STONE, & WOOD - Basic Elements
Section 4 - FIBERS - Holding the World Together
Section 5 - PROJECTILES - Power From the Human Hand
Section 6 - ART & MUSIC - Discipline and Meaning

40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book on the subject yet., August 1, 2000

By	J.R.R.Abrahão (aka) "Mad Abe" "jrra" (São Paulo, SP, Brazil) - See all my reviews

This is the best work ever done, under one single cover, on the subject. For all the people that goes to the wilderness (hunters, fishers, backpackers, outdoorsmen), this book is a muust-have. For the people that want to really know the evolution of technology from the early, say "stone-age", standpoint, it's a fascinating work. Specially good the chapter on primitive weapons, with some of the best instructions on the atlatl (spear-thrower or, more preciselly, dart-thrower), the weapon that men of yore used to hunt big game in the stone-age days. I loved it, and I know you'll love it, too.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Authenticity, underground, safety, and human education., May 20, 2006

By	Orion Sandstorrm - See all my reviews

This is a collection of selected articles from a desktop-published magazine, and this shows in its irregularity of design, and its tendency to refer to other articles that weren't included in the collection. (Darn!) As is the case with some 'zines, though, this is the Real Deal, the Serious Stuff, these are the People Who Actually Know What They're Talking About. There's a bit of philosophizing throughout, about things like how there is some commonality of background amongst all human beings when you start looking at neolithic skills, and of the importance of human beings knowing how to make fire by rubbing sticks together. (I have to agree; knowing how to make fire is part of what made us human, but how many guys know how to do it nowadays? Can you?) All the instructions are saturated in safety precautions, making sure you know of the dangers and legal problems that you might get yourself into if you take risks with these crafts. (A relieving change of pace, after reading a few countercultural 'zines of the sort that tell how to blow things up, without giving much information about how to put them out again.) They strive for accuracy and authenticity, and respect for the cultures from around the world that they're learning from, as well as interest in innovation based on the concepts they learn. This is even better than I expected! I'm going to have to try a whole bunch of these crafts next time I'm camping. Thanks, guys!