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Technology Videos 160 videos

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History of Technology 1: Early Tools and Simple Machines 652 Views


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Description:

What tools did prehistoric humans use to get things done? Yes, we're talking about even before Windows Vista.

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:03

Let's imagine we're Paleolithic humans, we're traveling

00:08

around with our posse of cave homies killing stuff sleeping in caves rocking [Group of cavemen]

00:13

that whole you know Paleolithic lifestyle oh and following the [Cavemen sleeping]

00:18

Paleo diet obviously. Well back in those days humans spent

00:21

all their energy chasing down animals gathering nuts and berries and building [Man chucks a spear at a boar and misses]

00:25

fires yep we have to spend energy to get energy but with all that going on how

00:31

does a cave homie managed to invent agriculture or build Stonehenge or [Cavemen plowing a field]

00:38

construct a giant pyramid or you know create an entire elaborate civilization

00:43

where does a cave homie find the time and the energy well here's the thing it [Caveman at a McDonalds drive-thru]

00:47

wasn't about working harder it was all about working smarter well here are some [Caveman chops a boulder in half with a lightsaber]

00:51

strategies that early humans used to make their energy go further alright well [Teacher in a classroom]

00:56

first there were tools and by tools we mean lumps of rock not all that impressive [Cavemen with modern tools, then the modern tools disappear]

01:01

but hey, better than nothing while early tools helped make human muscle power go

01:06

further by getting work done more efficiently the first human who figured [Caveman chopping logs with an axe]

01:10

out that sharpening a rock and sticking it into an animal was a great start for

01:14

barbecue he was definitely the most popular caveman around historical fact [Cavemen BBQing a mammoth]

01:19

well fire was also a lifesaver for early humans literally early human beings [Caveman lights a fire and looks shocked]

01:24

unlocked some of the sun's energy by burning wood creating essential light

01:29

and heat and once they got a taste of fire while they couldn't stop well not

01:34

literally they watched Grunk, they learned from his mistakes so fire good eating [Grunk jumps into a lake because his hair is on fire]

01:39

fire bad. Well early humans also had simple machines these are different from [Pulley wheel turning]

01:45

tools tools are basic things like you know hammers and axes we hit things with

01:50

tools sometimes we hit other with them not a good idea and yeah as a species we're [Cavemen hitting each other with tools]

01:55

not always that chill well point is that simple machines are more complex than [Cavemen having a disco party]

01:59

tools they change the amount of energy we need to get something done we're

02:04

talking about the lever like this and the pulley here the ramp, the wheel

02:10

and axle and the wedge well think pyramids can be built without simple

02:15

machines? Oh think again of course some people think the building of the [Caveman using a pulley]

02:19

pyramids required UFOs not just a slave hebrew but those people are probably

02:23

simpler than simple machines...

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