Caveman Facts Versus Archaeological Folly (revised - 3rd edition)

chest of gold

Empirical revelations concerning the intelligence of the caveman

(3rd edition - February 2006) by A.O. Kime
a conditional 'free-to-reprint' article (see below)

Ever since the 19th century when archaeologists first began uncovering evidence of our most ancient ancestors, which archaeologists dubbed ‘cavemen’, and since they appeared to have been extremely primitive... therefore, archaeologists reasoned, they were slovenly and dimwitted. This has been the opinion held by academia which has never changed. It has been the picture given us in every classroom. Conversely, this article will demonstrate cavemen weren’t so ignorant after all. It is also doubtful they were even slovenly.

Considering the caveman overcame his primitive circumstances, a situation which was cast upon him, is actually proof he was intelligent… perhaps highly intelligent. After all, the first humans had no guidance, no books... from scratch they had to assess absolutely everything for themselves. With that said, let’s start an analysis thusly:

Since apparently the caveman could neither read nor write, it would be interesting to know how intellectually limiting this might have been… if at all. We might even wonder to what degree his limited mathematical skills might have affected his ability to function effectively. His lack of knowledge in chemistry, biology and the other sciences comes to mind as well. It is commonly agreed however than his language skills quickly developed. It is believed languages have been around for perhaps a million years or more.

Even though it is commonly believed cavemen did not read nor write, not at all, that isn't enough reason to summarily assume they had absolutely no knowledge of the sciences… nor assume they had no knowledge of physics. We can only safely say the caveman’s knowledge was limited… albeit limited only from a scientific point-of-view. For example, he did not know at what temperature water boils, yet he could still boil water. Just because the caveman didn't use modern scientific methods to substantiate his beliefs, although as a result he probably attributed a particular cause for something in error occasionally, or perhaps frequently, that doesn’t equate to zero knowledge. We should understand trial and error produces knowledge as well.

Stone Age hieroglyphs

Yet to some extent he could read and write. It should be safe to assume the caveman would have developed a few marks or signs which others in his clan could recognize the meaning of… like say, what a pile of rocks meant, “x” marks on a tree or arrows scratched in the dirt. But no matter how crude these ‘signs’ were, it was something which could be ‘written’ and ‘read’.

Towards the beginning, dozens of recognizable signs and marks would have been utilized, and as time passed, it grew to hundreds. This could have quickly developed into long distance messaging using smoke fires as well. Drums and horns could have been used. Easily, this could have been possible in the very beginning… and developed as quickly as languages did. It seems apparent symbolic messaging occurred almost everywhere initially and naturally evolved over time. The Egyptian hieroglyphs demonstrate just how complex and sophisticated these message systems became. No, hieroglyphs were not as good as a pronounceable alphabet but they could still convey messages.

In order to determine the caveman’s rudimentary mathematical skills, but those prior to the Egyptian pyramids which demonstrated man’s level of knowledge at that point in time, we should first establish whether the caveman could count. He probably could because counting up to ten could easily be accomplished by ‘finger-counting’. To expand on this… by giving each finger a temporary name, as any innovative caveman surely did, would enable them to state verbally in their particular language any number up to ten. Beyond ten, for some individuals double-digit accounting may not have been a problem at all … for those not content in settling for answers such as “many” or “much”. Anything to represent the units in question, the use of beans or pebbles could easily serve as a substitute for a written number. For example, the number of beans in a bag could represent the number of days in a year, or how many cavemen there were in a clan. One need only look at the contents to get a visual idea... and visual estimations, that is, without a precise number attached, is something we still do today. From these methods, albeit cumbersome at first, we can easily see how mathematics began.

The ability to express a number up to ten could have quickly developed including the ability to add and subtract even double digit numbers. For example, by flashing all ten fingers twice (representing 20) could have been given a name and from that simple process mathematics grew in complexity. So, how limiting would that have been at first? Well, even today we don’t bother counting the number of animals in a herd for example. We would commonly use the terms “herd”, “several”, “many” and so forth. By not expressing the exact number of animals in a herd does not diminish the message we are trying to convey. In this case, it often doesn’t matter whether there are 54 animals or 72… only that it was a herd. The necessity to know the precise number of something isn’t always critical, not even today. Our usage of the terms such as “many”, “much”, “a lot” and “several” is proof of this and actually identical to prehistoric thinking… ancient forms of expression modern man still utilizes. Yes, it is lingo from the Stone Age… and often quite sufficient.

Ancient discoveries

Leverage of course would have been discovered during the Stone Age as well… although the various ways in which leverage could be utilized was discovered exclusively by experimentation and by accident. During the course of a single lifetime many things would have been discovered by accident however and that would include things related to biology and even chemistry. In fact, almost every single law of physics would have been recognized by any caveman in the very beginning… gravity and centrifugal force just to name two. Modern science only determined their properties more precisely and gave them names. But even without a scientific explanation, the caveman was still able to utilize these forces. It wasn’t Isaac Newton who 'discovered' gravity, but the very first humans. Cavemen were also the first astronomers, the first navigators, the first mathematicians and first to discover countless other things… the rest of mankind was left only to fill in the blanks. Most all discoveries therefore were made during the Stone Age.

Consider this... only by observation could it be known initially that leverage, gravity and centrifugal force exist. They would have never been discovered in a purely scientific fashion. One must know such things exist first. For example, if leverage hadn't been discovered accidentally, it would still remain unknown to this day… unless someone like Einstein was to conclude, in theory, that leverage existed. Cavemen would have been absolute experts in the use of leverage too... in fact, all men before the 20th century were experts compared to modern man. Powered machinery made us no longer experts. From this accidental Stone Age discovery, only later would science determine its qualities in precise detail.

The point is… these forces were effectively utilized by man long before science came along. Ancient man may not have utilized 100% of what modern science and a greater understanding would later demonstrate… but the caveman knew enough to serve his needs. And as his needs grew, so did his knowledge in how to apply these forces. It was as if ancient man was siphoning from apperception only the information he needed.

The caveman's dependence on health

Gaining medical knowledge would have been a long drawn-out process however. The recognition of body organs would have began from butchering animals but in order to acquire just a rough idea the function of each organ took tens of thousands of years. This lack of medical knowledge would not greatly impede a healthy caveman however… if he was fortunate enough to avoid serious injury and illness. Nonetheless the caveman knew many things still. Experience would have told him the importance of a balanced diet for example. Bowel movements and stomach aches would have dictated to him what he should and shouldn't eat. And thousands upon thousands of biological remedies were discovered within a wide range of plants.

Besides lacking advanced medical knowledge, the caveman knew all he really needed to know for a man of his circumstantial environment. One’s circumstantial environment is the stage of development (in the surroundings) one must contend with. In the caveman’s case, it was to live in a world which had not yet collectively advanced beyond mere survival. Yet he could utilize almost every law of physics, he could communicate with others and, because he wasn’t yet a notable builder, he had enough mathematical skills for the tasks at hand. In order to survive, he had enough chemical knowledge as well… like how water reacts with and affects other elements. He knew, for example, how certain soils would react with water in order to make durable mud pots. He learned a multitude of these things by trial and error however, not scientifically. But compared to an outdoorsman today, the caveman had more useful knowledge because he dealt with nature in-the-raw everyday.

Back to the Stone Age

If, for example, a highly educated outdoorsman could propel himself back in time, his advanced knowledge wouldn’t do him much good at all. Not unless he could live a dozen lifetimes or more… long enough to set the stage in order to utilize his knowledge. After all, he would first need to find, dig and smelt ore in order to make himself the tools he wanted. In that he would also need to make shoes, clothes and cooking utensils would be just a few of the hundred other things he would need to do. Being low on the priority list, paper and pencils would have to wait and generating electricity would remain a pipe dream for millennia. No, not even a Rhodes Scholar could live better than the average caveman… that’s because progress requires the collective effort of hundreds just to begin. And one field is often dependent on another. After all, there couldn’t be dentists without dental tools or typewriters without paper. The best a scholar could do is to try living like the Swiss Family Robinsons... and we can't rule out that some, or most, cavemen did exactly that. That evidence would be long gone however... just as evidence has already disappeared as to how the American Indians once lived.

Yet with only wooden and stone tools, and without any ‘how-to” books or a formal education, the caveman flourished. Under these circumstances, one must recognize just how resourceful a caveman needed to be… and resourcefulness equates to intelligence. In a sense, if not entirely, resourcefulness IS intelligence.

Delving into the mind of a caveman

So, it’s not individual knowledge but collective knowledge and inventions upon which living standards depend. Besides cultural wars and language barriers which greatly impeded progress, an idea or invention had to be ripe for the times as well. Premature ideas are almost always useless. What good is a chariot if harnesses had not yet been devised? Or if it was still unknown whether horses could be tamed.

What good would it be to know powered flight was possible in the Stone Age without engines, tools, gears, plywood, belts and wire? And cavemen surely thought of flight. Even wire, the simplest of these, would take millennia to ultimately produce. Food and shelter must come first however, and for just one individual, building and then maintaining a shelter plus obtaining food would be a full-time job… leaving little time to concoct amenities.

The physical evidence that cavemen were just as intelligent as modern man is lacking only because of their circumstantial lifestyle. Like the American Indians, the caveman didn't have iron or other such durable materials in which to creatively fashion an object, something to serve as lasting testimony. Their wooden structures, tools and devices would have long since turned to dust. Those items which did survive, their stone tools, were merely 'heavy construction' equipment, like a sledge hammer would be considered today. This is what archaeologists and anthropologists have failed to recognize and point out… leaving us with the mistaken notion that cavemen were ignorant. I suggest instead this demonstrates the shallow mentality of archaeology... often incapable, it seems, of accurately deciphering what their finds represent.

If anthropology were to approach the questions concerning the life of a typical caveman by first trying to establish what the caveman should have known, or could have known, and with that information project his capabilities, then schools would be teaching something entirely different. Such a study should only be done by those scholars who are also dedicated outdoorsmen however… who can also fathom the juxtapositional logic within the sphere of primitiveness. I’ve tried to do just that. Strangely, as a result, I feel as if I've been appointed spokesman for the caveman... commissioned to wrest away from the clutches of academia the fate of their legacy.

A.O. Kime

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Resource Box: © A.O. Kime (2003)
A.O. Kime is the author of two books plus 70+ articles on ancient history,
spiritual phenomena, political issues, social issues and agriculture which
can be seen at http://www.matrixbookstore.biz
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Go back to (or see more) articles on ancient history
Also see Before the First Pyramids
For an interesting article about the possible origins of North American cavemen see Baboquivari
For another estimation on the life of cavemen see Early Religion
See Stone Age man wasn't so dumb (a "New Finds at Blombos Cave" article)

Last modified: 09/03/10