Page 17 - J. C. Turner - History and Science of Knots

Pleistocene Knotting 5

There have been some exciting recent findings in archaeology and anthro-
pology concerning the dispersal of peoples, ancient (Homo habilis or Homo
erectus), archaic (Homo sapiens), or modern (Homo sapiens sapiens), around
various parts of the world, and about the number of species or subspecies
involved and their relations to modern humans. These findings have not yet
been integrated with all previous ones; some are unexpected, such as that
anatomically modern humans appear to have arrived in Australia twenty to
thirty thousand years before they arrived in Europe. The findings will have
to be confirmed and extended before any clear picture can emerge.
However, this turmoil does not seem to apply to the dates of the various
artefacts discussed here, though our ideas on just who was responsible for
them may have to be modified. And it is far from certain how much technique
was transmitted between the various populations of Homo, and how much
developed independently when new people arrived.

Modern Apes

Modern apes cannot be considered as necessarily similar to our remote ances-
tors, but it is of interest to know that they have some very elementary skills
at knotting and ropework. Sanderson [27] noted that some wild gorillas made
complete knots, mostly Granny Knots [3, #1405] but also (rarely) Reef Knots
[3, #1402] when constructing their nests. On the other hand, Schaller [28]
claimed he saw no interlacing, weaving or knot-tying whatever, though exam-
ination of his photographs and diagrams suggests that some Half Knots [3,
#471, have been formed. The two gorilla populations were widely separated
and may have differed culturally. MacKinnon [18] noticed a captive orang-
utan make some sort of rope out of its bedding material and swing from it.
Chimpanzees also interlace branches for their nests, though no definite knots
have been reported; however, their technical culture is known to vary signif-
icantly in different local populations [15, pp. 15, 48]. There are anecdotes of
captive chimpanzees untying and retying knots already tied in rope. All this
at least suggests that the beginning of knot tying may well have preceded the
evolution of the genus Homo.

Homo habilis

The `handy man' Homo habilis who lived some 2.5 to 1.6 million years ago
in eastern Africa (Koobi Fora, Olduvai) is credited with making the rather
crude Oldowan stone tools and perhaps also bone tools. Tools similar to the
Oldowan occur also in Asia, including even Siberia, though the age and the
responsible species are unknown.