A Bit of History

Weapons and Tools of the Neolithic

This is the era where weaponry goes from tools primarily intended to bring down game, to items crafted for killing people. The traditional spear remains a favorite, as it will in various forms throughout human history (spear, lance, pike, bayonet). The simple bow sees development, not only is it a superior hunting tool than the atlatl (though some archaeologists disagree), it is also a superior weapon, capable of being used in a broader range of environments, with greater stealth, and with a higher rate of fire. Adding to this mix of weaponry is the axe, a tool originally used to fell trees and work wood. From the lowly hand axe, the tool has evolved into a hafted stone head that can be swung and carried with ease. Axes become more elaborate in the Upper Neolithic, and can be seen as signs of wealth and authority. There is even some evidence that axe heads became a popular trade good: they were small (though heavy) and required careful working of specific types of stone. Thus your heroic leader PC will be carrying a decorated axe of exotic manufacture. There is also some evidence that shields came into use during the Upper Neolithic, as well as cane and leather body armor. All this points to one thing, namely that inter-tribal or inter-village warfare had become enough of a factor that the development and production of specialized tools became necessary. You don't need a war axe, cane breastplate, or leather shield to hunt game, unless it is of the two legged kind.

At the end of the Upper Neolithic we see the invention of metalworking. It was a long road from the first bits of metal to usable tools, and it's one that starts here. The earliest worked metal was in the form of jewelry, mostly necklaces and other large items. Ceremonial use of early metals was a certainty, as was the denotation of wealth and status, after all metals are shinny and pretty. Gold and copper were the first worked metals, as both are soft and easy to manipulate in their natural forms. Gold makes a poor tool, and it wasn't until recently that it was used for anything besides ornamentation. Copper, on the other hand, moved from jewelry to tools with ease, especially after means were discovered to smelt copper from the ore bearing rocks. The early orange smiths (as opposed to iron working black smiths) moved slowly from copper jewelry to tools, and those earliest tools were likely high status items, copper is too soft of a metal to make into everyday items. If you put the above chapter on weapons with this, you end up with copper war axes. These axes were more status symbol than anything else, but as the technology matured better blades and tools were created, thus ending the Neolithic and beginning the Copper Age.

Finally, at the very end of the Upper Neolithic, the chariot develops. At first it was a simple cart pulled by oxen or asses. As it developed towards the two wheeled classical design, it passed through a four wheeled box chariot phase. To have such an item was a sure sign of high station, and the mark of a true warrior hero.

The Growth of Cities

The first cities served as religious and economic centers. There is some debate as to rather or not they were inhabited year round, or only seasonally. Evidence exists pointing to both theories, and the debate will no doubt continue. What we do know is that small settlements that could be called cities formed during the Upper Paleolithic. These cities had small populations compared to modern cities, but some developed to great size, numbering tens of thousands of inhabitants. Improvements in agriculture and animal husbandry allowed these cities to form, and often they survived on a knife's edge. One bad crop could lead to massive famine, rapidly depopulating a city.

As cities grew, their governance grew in complexity as well. Priest-kings were still common, but a division between the priesthood and the ruling class began to form. This naturally would lead to a power struggle between the government and the temple, one that continues to this day. Cities themselves struggled against one another, and against the wild men who followed older ways. One recurring theme from surviving literature of the time is the conflict between the settled farms and the wild semi-nomadic herders. You need look no further than this to set up your own Upper Neolithic range wars.

Writing

Not only does the Upper Neolithic see the end of the Stone Age and the Birth of the Copper Age (and thus the march through the various 'metal ages') but it also sees the end of prehistory. There is no set line of demarcation for this event as it happened in different places at different times. The factor that ends prehistory, and begins history, is the invention of writing. The earliest writing took many forms and experienced several starts and stops. Each culture that developed writing used it for different purposes, at least at first. Writing appears to have been first used to simply keep track of things. Some of the oldest writing is little more than an invoice detailing how many sheep are owed to whom. Basically, a clay ball or tablet was inscribed with marks that signified the parties involved, what their arrangement was, and how many of what items were changing hands. Some clay balls merely had 'ownership marks' on them, and inside were clay figures that represented the items in question. From there writing moved to use as inventory sheets, and eventually someone had the bright idea that these marks could be used to record religious and governmental information. By this point the marks had become more complex, with abstract ideas and a systematic means of creating new marks in place. The media also matured, with tortoise shells, wood, bone, stone, and eventually paper being put to use. All this leads to today, where the most popular medium for writing may well be the electron.

Religion

In the Upper Neolithic religion changes greatly, and the concept of deity becomes firmly established. Alongside, we also see the growth of priesthoods and dedicated religious structures. The nature of religion also changes, as the gods of hunting and forests are replaced by the gods of field and hearth. Many of the religions of classical antiquity can be traced to this era, and some rivalry between the older supernatural forces of the hunters and gathers and the newer gods of the farms and herders would be expected. Priesthoods developed theologies of great complexity and also found ways to marginalize or demonize earlier supernatural beliefs.

People began during the Upper Neolithic to fear the wilderness. After all, if you lived in a small farming village or even a city, the wilds would be a strange and spooky place. Evil began to take the form of creatures and people who lived in the wilds: wolves, beast men, dark forests, and savage nomads. These new forms of evil became the subject of theological scorn, dark folklore, and supported a xenophobic fear of the wild outsider.

Being tied so closely to the field and herd, Upper Neolithic man favored gods who could provide the fertility that the community needed to survive. Without a doubt, these early theistic religions were very open about sex and even celebrated it as a well spring of fertility. Nudity, ritual sexual acts, and temple prostitution were popular, and would remain so for thousands of years. Crops, livestock, even people were encouraged to be as fecund as possible.

Mighty Heroes

The dreaded Habiri nomads have been coming down from the mountains and raiding the farms and villages of the cities. You and your fellows are heroes, men and women born of the union of gods and men (or at least that's what you tell folks) and tasked with protecting civilization from monsters, demons, and lesser tribes. You must also uphold the honor of your city, even if that means making war on other civilized peoples, but if that is to be, that is to be. Mighty Heroes is a heroic historic fantasy set during the Upper Neolithic. The PCs are a mixed group of heroes, preferably from one city, though heroes from different cities allows for more intra-party conflict (and drama, do you stand with your city against your blood brothers?). Use your favorite fantasy rpg, tone down the magic a bit, and throw in some monsters and savage barbarians. There won't be very many dungeons to explore, though the occasional monster lairing in a cave is acceptable. This is a larger than life style of game, and just combine the best parts (and maybe the silliest) of action movies and ancient myth. Think the Epic of Gilgamesh with your favorite action star in the title role. The monsters should be ones either drawn from myth, or created with an eye towards the setting, i.e. monstrous natural creatures, demons, mixed and matched patch work horrors, giants, and even the occasional godling. Your PCs should likewise be grand, with passions and triumphs bigger than mortal man. When they love, they love fiercely, when they hate, they hate majestically. Their feats should also be monumental, villages saved, kings toppled, cities conquered, and even gods challenged.

I hope you have enjoyed this four part series on prehistory; it's been a long journey from the earliest humans to the mighty cities of yore. We'll be back next month with a new column looking at the end of the world, and in two months the First Anniversary Edition. So heft your ox hide shield, get a firm grip on your war axe, mount your box chariot, and ride off to make your own bit of prehistory.