Man, as a creature producing tools of labor, has existed for about two million years, and for almost all this time, changes in the conditions of his existence led to changes in man himself - his brain, limbs, and so on improved. And only about 40 thousand (according to some sources more than 100 thousand) years ago, when man arose modern type - « homo sapiens”, he stopped changing, and instead, society began to change - at first very slowly, and then more and more rapidly, which led about 50 centuries ago to the emergence of the first states and legal systems. What was the primitive society like and how did it change?

Economy this society was based on public property. At the same time, two principles (customs) were strictly implemented: reciprocity (everything that was produced was handed over to the “common pot”) and redistribution (everything handed over was redistributed among everyone, everyone received a certain share). On other grounds, primitive society simply could not exist, it would be doomed to extinction.

For many centuries and millennia, the economy was appropriating in nature: labor productivity was extremely low, everything that was produced was consumed. Naturally, neither private property nor exploitation could arise under such conditions. It was a society of economically equal, but equal in poverty, people.

The development of the economy proceeded in two interconnected directions:

Improvement of labor tools (rough stone tools, more advanced stone tools, tools made of copper, bronze, iron, etc.);

Improving the methods, techniques and organization of labor (gathering, fishing, hunting, cattle breeding, agriculture, etc., division of labor, including major social divisions of labor, etc.).

All this led to a gradual and ever more accelerating increase in labor productivity.

Structure primitive society. The main unit of society was the tribal community - an association based on family ties of people leading a joint economic activity. For more late stages development, tribes arise, uniting close clans, and then alliances of tribes. The enlargement of social structures was beneficial to society: it made it possible to more effectively resist the forces of nature, use more advanced methods of labor (for example, hunting with a paddock), created opportunities for the specialization of management, made it possible to more successfully repel the aggression of neighbors and attack them themselves: there was an absorption of weaker, ununited . At the same time, consolidation contributed to more rapid development new tools and methods of labor

However, the very possibility of unification depended to a decisive extent on the level of economic development, on labor productivity, which determined how many people a certain territory could feed.

Management, power. All the most important issues in the life of the clan were decided by the general meeting of its members. Every adult had the right to participate in the discussion and resolution of any issue. For implementation operational management an elder was elected - the most respected member of the family.

This position was not only elective, but also replaceable: as soon as a stronger (at the early stages of development), more intelligent, experienced person (at later stages) appeared, he replaced the elder. At the same time, there were no special contradictions, since, on the one hand, not a single person separated himself (and his interests) from the clan, and on the other hand, the position of an elder did not give any privileges (except respect): he worked together with everyone and received his share, like everyone else. The power of the elder was based solely on his authority, respect for him by other members of the family.

The tribe was ruled by a council of elders representing the respective clans. The council elected a tribal leader. This position is also in the early stages community development was replaceable and did not give privileges. The tribal union was governed by a council of tribal leaders who elected the leader of the union (sometimes two, one of whom was the war chief).

With the development of society, the importance of good management, leadership was gradually realized, and its specialization gradually took place, and the fact that persons exercising management accumulate relevant experience gradually led to a lifelong departure public positions. The emerging religion also played a significant role in the consolidation of such orders.

Regulatory regulation. No community (animal, and even more so human) can exist without a certain order in the relations of its members. The rules of conduct that reinforce this order, inherited to some extent from distant ancestors, are gradually formed into a system of norms regulating production and distribution, family, kindred and other public relations. Based on the accumulated experience, these rules fix the most rational relations of people, the forms of their behavior, a certain subordination in collectives, which are beneficial for the clan and tribe, etc. There are stable customs that reflect the interests of all members of society, are passed down from generation to generation and are observed in the vast majority voluntarily, out of habit. In case of violation, they are supported by the whole society, including coercive measures, up to the death or equivalent expulsion of the perpetrator. Initially, apparently, a system of prohibitions (taboos) is fixed, on the basis of which customs gradually appear that establish duties and rights.

Changes in society, the complication of social life lead to the emergence and consolidation of new customs, an increase in their number.

The development of primitive society. Primitive society has remained practically unchanged for many millennia. Its development was extremely slow, and those significant changes in the economy, structure, management, etc., which were mentioned above, began relatively recently. At the same time, although all these changes occurred in parallel and were interdependent, nevertheless leading role the development of the economy played a role: it created opportunities for the enlargement of social structures, the specialization of management and other progressive changes.

The most important step in human progress has been neolithic Revolution, which took place 10-15 thousand years ago. During this period, very perfect, polished stone tools appeared, cattle breeding and agriculture arose. There was a noticeable increase in labor productivity: a person finally began to produce more than he consumed, a surplus product appeared, the possibility of accumulating social wealth, creating reserves. The economy became productive, people became less dependent on the vagaries of nature, and this led to a significant increase in the population. But at the same time, the possibility arose of exploiting man by man, appropriating accumulated wealth.

It was during this period, in the Neolithic era, that the decomposition of the primitive communal system and the gradual transition to a state-organized society began.

Gradually, a special stage in the development of society and a form of its organization arises, which was called the “proto-state”, or “chifdom” *.

* From English. “chief” - chief, leader (chief) and “dom” - possession, domination; cjk. "kingdom" - a kingdom.

This form is characterized by: a social form of poverty, a significant increase in labor productivity, the settling of accumulated wealth in the hands of the tribal nobility, the rapid growth of the population, its concentration, the emergence of cities that become administrative, religious and cultural centers. And although the interests of the supreme leader and his entourage, as before, basically coincide with the interests of the whole society, however, social inequality gradually appears, leading to an ever greater divergence of interests between the rulers and the ruled.

It was during this period, which did not coincide with different peoples, that the paths of human development were divided into "Eastern" and "Western" **. The reasons for this division were that in the “east”, due to a number of circumstances (the main of them is the need for large irrigation works in most places, which was beyond the power of a single family), communities and, accordingly, public ownership of land were preserved. In the "west" such work was not required, the communities broke up, and the land was in private ownership.

** These terms are conditional, since the "Western" path is typical only for Europe, while in all other regions of the world, states arose according to the "Eastern" type.

). As sources of prehistoric times of cultures, until recently devoid of writing, there may be oral traditions passed down from generation to generation.

Since data on prehistoric times rarely concern individuals and do not even always say anything about ethnic groups, the main social unit of the prehistoric era of mankind is archaeological culture. All terms and periodization of this era, such as Neanderthal or Iron Age, are retrospective and largely arbitrary, and their precise definition is the subject of discussion.

Terminology

A synonym for "prehistory" is the term " prehistory”, which is used less frequently in Russian-language literature than similar terms in foreign literature(English) prehistory, German Urgeschichte).

To denote the final stage of the prehistoric era of any culture, when it itself has not yet created its own written language, but is already mentioned in written monuments other peoples, in foreign literature the term "protohistory" is often used (eng. protohistory, German Fruhgeschichte). To replace the term primitive society characterizing the social structure before the rise of power, some historians use the terms "savagery", "anarchy", "primitive communism", "pre-civilization period" and more. In Russian literature, this term has not taken root.

Non-classical historians deny the very existence of communities and primitive communal system, interconnection, identity of power and violence.

From the following stages of social development primitive society distinguished by the absence of private property, classes and the state. Modern research primitive society according to neo-historians who deny the traditional periodization of development human society, refute the existence of such a social structure and the existence of communities, communal property under primitive communal system, and in the future, as a natural result of the non-existence of the primitive communal system - the non-existence of communal agricultural land ownership until the end of the 18th century in most countries of the world, including Russia, at least since the Neolithic.

Periods of development of primitive society

At different times, various periods of the development of human society were proposed. So, A. Ferguson and then Morgan used the periodization of history, which included three stages: savagery, barbarism and civilization, and the first two stages were broken by Morgan into three stages (lower, middle and higher) each. At the wild stage human activity hunting, fishing and gathering dominated, there was no private property, there was equality. At the stage of barbarism, agriculture and cattle breeding appear, private property and social hierarchy arise. The third stage - civilization - is associated with the emergence of the state, class society, cities, writing, etc.

Morgan considered the lowest stage of savagery, which began with the formation of articulate speech, to be the earliest stage in the development of human society, the middle stage of savagery, according to his classification, begins with the use of fire and the appearance of fish food in the diet, and the highest level savagery - with the invention of the bow. The lowest stage of barbarism, according to his classification, begins with the advent of pottery, the middle stage of barbarism - with the transition to agriculture and cattle breeding, and the highest stage of barbarism - with the beginning of the use of iron.

The most developed periodization is archaeological, which is based on a comparison of man-made tools, their materials, forms of dwellings, burials, etc. According to this principle, the history of mankind is mainly divided into stone age, bronze age and iron age.

Epoch	Period in Europe	periodization	Characteristic	human species
Old Stone Age or Paleolithic	2.4 million - 10,000 BC e.	Early (Lower) Paleolithic 2.4 million - 600,000 BC e. Middle Paleolithic 600,000-35,000 BC e. Late (Upper) Paleolithic 35,000-10,000 BC e.	Time of hunters and gatherers. The beginning of flint tools that gradually become more complex and specialized.	Hominids, species: Homo habilis, Homo erectus, Homo sapiens präsapiens, Homo heidelbergensis, Middle Paleolithic Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens sapiens.
Middle Stone Age or Mesolithic	10,000-5000 BC e.		Begins at the end of the Pleistocene in Europe. Hunters and gatherers developed a highly developed culture of stone and bone tool making, as well as long-range weapons such as arrows and bows.	Homo sapiens sapiens
New Stone Age or Neolithic	5000-2000 BC e.	Early Neolithic Middle Neolithic Late Neolithic	The emergence of the Neolithic is associated with the Neolithic Revolution. At the same time on Far East appear ancient finds pottery around 12,000 years old, although the European Neolithic period begins in the Near East with the Pre-Pottery Neolithic. New ways of managing the economy appear, instead of the gathering and hunting economy (“appropriating”) - “producing” (agriculture, cattle breeding), which later spread to Europe. It is not uncommon for the Late Neolithic to pass into the next stage, the Copper Age, Chalcolithic, or Chalcolithic, without a break in cultural continuity. The latter is characterized by the second industrial revolution, the most important feature of which is the appearance of metal tools.	Homo sapiens sapiens
Bronze Age	3500-800 BC e.	Early history	The spread of metallurgy makes it possible to obtain and process metals: (gold, copper, bronze). First written sources in Asia Minor and the Aegean.	Homo sapiens sapiens
iron age	the juice. 800 BC e.	Early history OK. 800-500 BC e.		Homo sapiens sapiens

Stone Age

Stone Age - ancient period in the history of mankind, when the main tools and weapons were made mainly of stone, but wood and bone were also used. At the end of the Stone Age, the use of clay (dishes, brick buildings, sculpture) spread.

Periodization of the Stone Age:

• Paleolithic:
  • Lower Paleolithic - the period of appearance ancient species people and widespread Homo erectus .
  • Middle Paleolithic - the period of displacement of erectus by evolutionarily more advanced species of people, including modern man. Neanderthals dominated Europe during the entire Middle Paleolithic.
  • Upper Paleolithic - the period of domination modern look people all over the place the globe during the last glaciation.
• Mesolithic and Epipaleolithic; terminology depends on how this region affected the disappearance of megafauna as a result of the melting of the glacier. The period is characterized by the development of technology for the production of stone tools and common culture person. Ceramic is missing.
• Neolithic - the era of the emergence of agriculture. Tools and weapons are still stone, but their production is brought to perfection, and ceramics are widely distributed.

copper age

Copper Age, Copper-Stone Age, Chalcolith (Greek. χαλκός "copper" + Greek. λίθος "stone") or Eneolithic (lat. aeneus"copper" + Greek. λίθος "stone")) - a period in the history of primitive society, a transitional period from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age. Approximately covers the period 4-3 thousand BC. e., but in some areas it exists longer, and in some it is absent altogether. Most often, the Eneolithic is included in the Bronze Age, but sometimes it is also considered a separate period. During the Eneolithic, copper tools were common, but stone tools still prevailed.

Bronze Age

The Bronze Age is a period in the history of primitive society, characterized by the leading role of bronze products, which was associated with an improvement in the processing of metals such as copper and tin obtained from ore deposits, and the subsequent production of bronze from them. The Bronze Age is the second, late phase of the Early Metal Age, which replaced copper age and pre-Iron Age. In general, the chronological framework bronze age: 35/33 - 13/11 centuries BC e., but different cultures are different. In the Eastern Mediterranean, the end of the Bronze Age is associated with the almost simultaneous destruction of all local civilizations at the turn of the 13th-12th centuries. BC e., known as the bronze collapse, while in the west of Europe the transition from the bronze to the iron age drags on for several more centuries and ends with the appearance of the first cultures of antiquity - ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.

Bronze Age periods:

1. Early Bronze Age
2. Middle Bronze Age
3. Late Bronze Age

iron age

Treasure of Iron Age coins

The Iron Age is a period in the history of primitive society, characterized by the spread of iron metallurgy and the manufacture of iron tools. For civilizations of the Bronze Age, it goes beyond the history of primitive society, for other peoples, civilization develops in the era of the Iron Age.

The term "Iron Age" is usually applied to the "barbarian" cultures of Europe, which existed simultaneously with the great civilizations of antiquity (Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Parthia). The “barbarians” were distinguished from the ancient cultures by the absence or rare use of writing, in connection with which information about them has come down to us either according to archeology or references in ancient sources. On the territory of Europe in the era of the Iron Age, M. B. Schukin identified six "barbarian worlds":

• proto-Germans (mainly Jastorf culture + southern Scandinavia);
• mostly Proto-Baltic cultures of the forest zone (possibly including Proto-Slavs);
• Proto-Finno-Ugric and Proto-Sami cultures of the northern forest zone (mainly along rivers and lakes);
• steppe Iranian-speaking cultures (Scythians, Sarmatians, etc.);
• pastoral-agricultural cultures of the Thracians, Dacians and Getae.

History of the development of public relations

The first tools of human labor were a chipped stone and a stick. People obtained their livelihood by hunting, which they conducted jointly, and by gathering. Human communities were small, they led a nomadic lifestyle, moving in search of food. But some communities of people who lived in the most favorable conditions began to move towards partial settlement.

The most important stage in human development was the emergence of language. Instead of the signal language of animals, which contributes to their coordination in hunting, people got the opportunity to express in language the abstract concepts of “stone in general”, “animal in general”. This use of language has led to the ability to teach offspring with words, and not just by example, to plan actions before the hunt, and not during it, etc.

Any booty was shared among the whole team of people. Tools of labor, household utensils, decorations were in the use of individual people, but the owner of the thing was obliged to share it, and in addition, anyone could take someone else's thing and use it without asking (remnants of this are still found among individual peoples).

The natural breadwinner of a person was his mother - at first she fed him with her milk, then she generally took upon herself the responsibility of providing him with food and everything necessary for life. This food was to be hunted by men - the mother's brothers, who belonged to her family. Thus, cells began to form, consisting of several brothers, several sisters and the children of the latter. They lived in communal dwellings.

Specialists now generally believe that during the Paleolithic and Neolithic times - 50-20 thousand years ago - social status women and men were equal, although it was previously believed that at first matriarchy dominated.

At first, neighboring clans and tribes exchanged what nature gave them: salt, rare stones, etc. Gifts were exchanged both by entire communities and individual people; This phenomenon is called gift exchange. One of its varieties was "silent exchange". Then the tribes of farmers, pastoralists and those who led the agricultural and pastoral economy stood out, and between the tribes with different economic orientations, and subsequently within the tribes, the exchange of products of their labor developed.

Some researchers believe that the tribes of hunters, who did not adopt an agrarian lifestyle, began to "hunt" for peasant communities, taking away food and property. So it happened dual system producing rural communities and squads of former hunters robbing them. The leaders - the leaders of the hunters gradually moved from raiding robbery of peasants to regular regulated requisitions (tributes). Fortified cities were built for self-defense and protection of subjects from the raids of competitors. The last step pre-state development society became the so - called military democracy .

Power and social norms in primitive society

The emergence of religion

The primitive tribes did not have special clergymen; religious and magical rites were performed mainly by the heads of tribal groups on behalf of the whole clan or by people who, by personal qualities, gained a reputation those who know the tricks influence on the world of spirits and gods (healers, shamans, etc.). With the development of social differentiation, professional priests stand out, arrogating to themselves the exclusive right to communicate with spirits and gods.

see also

• Early history (protohistory)

Notes

Links

• Alekseev V.P., Pershits A.I. History of primitive society: Proc. for universities on special "Story". - M .: Higher. school, 1990

• "The transition from primitive to class society: ways and options for development." Part I

Periodization of primitive society. Humanoid creatures appeared on earth more than 2 million years ago. These were representatives of the human race, which we call homo habilis - homo erectus (handy man - upright man), and we - representatives of homo sapiens (thinking man) - appeared at least 200 thousand years ago.

Years ago.

The primitive system was the longest stage in the history of mankind. This era ended approximately 7 thousand years ago. It is believed that the emergence of early class societies and the emergence of the first states occurred in China in the 5th millennium BC, in Africa in the 4th millennium BC, in the Mediterranean in the 3rd millennium BC, in America - in the 1st millennium AD, and in other regions of the globe - even later.

We know little about primitive people, but still a general impression of their life can be made.

The primitive communal system is divided into several epochs (periods). Scholars are unanimous here, and no matter what terms they use to designate them, they distinguish three periods: early (or the era of the ancestral community, the stage of formation), middle (or the era tribal community, stage of maturity) and late (or the era of class formation, the stage of the collapse of primitive society) periods. At a late stage of its development, a bureaucratic apparatus is formed, private property is born, society is differentiated into ruling and ruled, and the state appears1.

Consider the life of primitive people, focusing on the first two stages primitive history, leaving the third for a separate, closer study later.

The period of the formation of the primitive system (the era of the fore-community). In that distant period, people lived in small related groups of 20-30 people, randomly moving from place to place, and by no means in herds, as some researchers of primitive society imagined. The reason for this is simple: gathering served as a source of food, during which everyone collected for himself, and from this it is obvious that you cannot gather much in a herd. Gathering requires a lot of time, and food gives little, moreover, most often low-calorie. Hunting also does not require huge teams, although it is associated with great difficulty. Big number people here are more likely to be harmed, not beneficial. In addition, it was accompanied by many victims and was not always successful.

So, gathering and hunting were the sources of food for primitive people. But how exactly did this happen?

With a digging stick in hand, our distant ancestors wandered through forests, forest-steppes and semi-deserts. They remembered the properties and attributes of many edible fruits and vegetables, herbs and roots. They also knew the habits of animals very well. If animals relied only on fast legs, then the mind and knowledge of the habits of animals replaced speed for a person. His bodily organization is such that it allows him to successfully implement knowledge in hunting. The resilience of people is simply amazing. If the hunter knows the usual paths for animals, or he is at least sure that the animals, escaping, will run in an arc, the person will go straight, saving strength, to the intended meeting place.

But the most reliable was battue hunting. People discovered this type of hunting 300-400 thousand years ago. Then they also invented a wooden spear, which made it possible to attack formidable bulls and even elephants. Animals were driven into the swamps, and where they were not, they began to dig pits-traps for animals.

The hunters and gatherers were energetic and inquisitive. Any new knowledge about animals and plants, about the phenomena of the surrounding world gradually increased the efficiency of hunting and gathering. Man in this period only took from nature, and with each millennium he learned to take more and more. Hunters and gatherers were so adapted to life in those conditions that it was they who settled most of the planet long before their distant descendants threw the first seeds into the ground or learned how to tame animals.

And yet primitive people had to often and for a long time to live from hand to mouth. After all, hunting is an unreliable business. Man ate almost everything - birds and fish, animals and insects, fruits on trees and tubers in the ground were eaten. But feeding was not easy. The accumulated experience showed that it is much more profitable to hunt not everything that can be found in the nearest district, but to master specialized hunting. This, of course, does not mean that a person neglected other species of animals "that came to hand". But specialization, many thousands of years ago, made it possible to better work out techniques, improve weapons, find better ways use of prey. True, the specialization of hunting sometimes led to sad consequences. In the disappearance of the mammoth, cave bear and some other animals, according to some scientists, ancient hunters also played a role.

The life of primitive people was very difficult. Means of subsistence, despite the skills acquired gradually, were very scarce. Men went hunting, guarded the beast, drove and killed with a club, a stake, a sharp bone or a stone. Women stayed near dwellings, gathered berries, wild-growing fruits and seeds, dug up roots from the ground. This is how the life of primitive people is most often represented. scholarly historians, not forgetting to emphasize the biological (depending on gender) division of labor. However, I think this picture is true in relation to the later stage of human life. It is unlikely that the first human collectives were characterized by such an organized character. The main content of the stage of formation of a primitive society is the overcoming of the remnants of the animal state inherited from herds of anthropoid apes, and at the same time the completion biological development the person himself.

The living conditions in that distant period determined the specialization of the tribes as a whole: some tribes (mostly living in northern latitudes or in areas with an arid climate), they were forced to choose hunting as a means of subsistence, while in areas with a favorable climate, gathering served as the main source of subsistence. The first steps of specialization may have been unconscious and directed natural selection. Different populations already then specialized in different directions, and this process went in parallel. In particular, in the savannah, hippos, wild bulls, antelopes, elephants were the object of hunting, and in the north - horses, wild boars, bison, cave bears. In the process of hunting, the driven method was used. They frightened animals with noise, stones, etc. Hunting was the most effective source of food. The meat contained the most important substances for the human body, accelerated growth and increased human vitality.

Hunting rallied people, contributed to the complication of their relationships, the emergence of cooperation between them and the improvement of the language. Sign language developed first kinetic speech), then sound speech replaced it. Sound speech began with the vocalization of sounds expressing rage, anger, fear, etc. First of all, actions began to be realized and verbal nomination appeared, then subject (objective), only much later did it appear. working part language.

Sheds, caves, grottoes and other shelters served as dwellings. However, the idea of ​​some researchers of the history of primitive society that people originally lived on trees is completely wrong. This opinion is refuted anatomical structure person. On the trees they could build shelters for habitation.

The caveman didn't know clothes. From the cold, he hid himself with a skin torn from an animal. A person living in a hot climate did not need it.

Unlike animals, people gradually learned how to make fire. The fire, built in the middle of the cave, gathered the family after a difficult hunt: they warmed themselves around it, cooked food on the fire.

The tools of labor that man had at his disposal were very primitive. These were sharp and strong bones of animals and fish, antlers of a large deer, pointed stones. by the most in a simple way primitive he also tried to process the stones himself, for example, by numerous blows on the edge of the stone with another stone, thus trying to sharpen the stone in order to use it in the future for a stronger impact on other objects. It turned out something like an ax, a knife, a scraper. These guns were more effective.

The period of maturity of primitive society (the era of the tribal community). Many centuries have passed. Gradually increased the technical equipment of people. In the dressing of stone, man has achieved great skill. However, now in his hands was not only the processed stone. He began to use a spear, a harpoon, a hook. Man has mastered such labor operations as grinding, sawing, drilling. He could already make a hoe, a boat, a net, a bow for hunting, an ax.

The human habitation has also undergone changes. He no longer looked for an accidental refuge in rocks or trees, but began to build houses like those shelters that he found in nature, for example, he built a cave from large stones or dug a hole, a dugout and put a round roof over it, built huts, wind barriers.

Then there were wooden, bamboo dwellings on stilts.

The experience of using complex labor tools and their further improvement required transfer and continuity, which led to the formation of permanent economic groups: clans or tribal communities, i.e. difficult social formations, based on consanguinity, where each of its members was already quite complex system relationships with other relatives, among whom there was not only biological, but also industrial specialization, for example, sewing, making dishes, maintaining a source of fire, making shelters for housing, fishing, hunting, etc.

It is here that specialization in the activities of people included in the collective of the tribal community receives its initial development, which in subsequent epochs (including the modern one) reaches fantastic proportions. The man became mainly a hunter, and later usually a fisherman, the woman was engaged in the manufacture of clothes, dishes, focused on household, became the guardian of the hearth. Old people helped able-bodied members of the community, and in addition, they were usually the keepers of collective experience and actively participated in the manufacture of tools. Such a division of labor or specialization based on biological factors led to an increase in the productivity of the entire team.

At the same time, the deepening and specialization of human collectives, associated with natural, natural factors, which took place in the era of the formation of the primitive system, is getting deeper. Thus, the tribes that were engaged in hunting and, due to the gradual disappearance of large animals, were forced to hunt smaller and smaller ones, began to use a wind arrow-throwing tube, a spear thrower. Along with driven hunting, individual hunting with ambushes and hiding has become widespread, i.e. inconspicuous approach to prey. At this time, the dog was tamed.

Relatively sedentary communities appeared, mainly engaged in fishing and sea hunting.

So many millennia passed by. The climate on earth has changed: it has become warmer and damper. Many breeds of large animals disappeared (mammoths, cave bears, ancient big bulls), animals characteristic of our time multiplied. People began to live in open places, in river valleys, along the shores of the seas rich in vegetation, on the outskirts of forests. They began to move to a settled life, having stocked up on hungry time years, and subsequently man gradually learned to produce the food he needed.

However, it is curious how the hunters and gatherers of antiquity made the transition to agriculture and animal husbandry, how did the producing economy appear, how did the purposeful transformation of nature begin?

I must say that here nature helped a lot to a person, she seemed to tell him where the path to the future lies. So, for example, in North America the Indians, who did not even know agriculture yet, harvested crops off the shores of lakes wild rice. In Asia Minor, on the Iranian Highlands, in some other places, whole fields of wild wheat were found. The man who spent so much time looking for food eventually noticed that plants grow from seeds, and for millennia unconsciously and consciously followed the path of cultivating them.

In the emergence of agriculture natural conditions in which people lived, played a lot important role. It is no coincidence that the early centers of agriculture arose in one zone of the globe, approximately between the 20th and 45th parallels, i.e. in the most favorable natural environment for this.

The transition to agriculture was gradual. At first, people only guarded crops where useful plants grew on their own - they drove birds away from eared cereals, did not allow herds of wild ungulates to enter the fields, sometimes they deliberately left part of the harvest not harvested so that next year the field was restored by self-sowing. Periodic droughts, when the earth turned to stone and did not accept the seeds that fell into it, led people to the idea that the soil should be loosened ... Slowly, step by step, over the course of many generations, agriculture was born - the extraction of plant food by man own labor. From collecting fruits and plants, people moved on to breeding them near the house. But how did it happen? It is hard to believe that primitive man was aware of the whole chain of transformations of a seed into a plant or into a fruit-bearing tree. Everything went gradually. The collector hid the excess grains, from which the plant then grew, fenced the tree with sticks, thorny branches, which then bore fruit, transplanted shrubs closer to the house, etc. The main food was cereals, but in order for them to grow better, they began to loosen the earth with a hoe. Gradually learned to grind grain and bake bread.

It took hundreds of discoveries and inventions, large and small, to turn the digging stick of the collector into a hoe, and the collector himself became a peasant. The cultivated agricultural crops were already able to feed humanity. It was only necessary to take care of them: to properly cultivate the land, take care of cereals, vegetables, fruits, develop irrigation systems, etc. And people took up all this and with considerable success.

Man turned animals into his servants and helpers. As in the case of agriculture, the "soil" for the revolution here was prepared by nature long before the time came for actual animal husbandry. Primal hunters and gatherers, if they found themselves in more favorable conditions, did not kill all the young animals captured in the hunt. They tamed many animals and birds that they needed, kept at home - first on a leash or behind a light fence, and then sometimes in freedom. At first, a person kept them for slaughter, but then he learned to get offspring from these animals.

So did the tribes, who had already mastered some agricultural skills, and therefore were spared the need to think every day about the fight against hunger. Of course similar image life brought up the skills of communication with animals. The hunters were well aware of the habits and characteristics of their varied prey. Sooner or later, these skills were to become the basis of a new type of economy. Until now, scientists have been arguing whether animal husbandry appeared independently and independently of agriculture, so to speak, in parallel with it, or whether agriculture preceded animal husbandry. Indeed, in order not only to turn caught animals into "live canned food", but also to obtain wool, milk from them, to raise offspring and educate them, two things were required: a reliable source of food and the absence of game, since this eliminates the need for meat production. Then it turns out that those who were already engaged in agriculture could domesticate large and small cattle and pigs.

As you can see, human skill has steadily developed. Tools of labor were also improved: hoes, saws, daggers, arrows, spears, spindles, etc. Their processing turned into a difficult task that required skill and strength. Both men (turners, gunsmiths, masons, etc.) and women (weaving baskets, making dishes from clay, making fabrics) began to engage in it.

Primitive society is a period in the history of mankind before the invention of writing, after which there is the possibility of historical research based on the study of written sources.

The first written chronicles appeared over 5000 years ago, but there is evidence of the existence of the first human race in Africa about 2.5 million years ago.

The evolution of primitive people took place against the backdrop of ice ages. About 15,000 years ago, the ice caps began to melt, and the climate became more favorable. The earth began to bear fruit, covered with vegetation, trees and herbs, appeared various representatives flora and fauna, and in the communities of primitive people various lifestyles began to take shape.

The state did not always exist, it was formed gradually, from the moment of the formation of the socialization of mankind.

Scholars and political scientists agree that economic basis primitive communal system was the collective ownership of the means of production. In other words, all tools, food, clothing belonged to everyone, or rather to a generalized group of people. Forms social organization in that period, such a human hostel was different, such as a tribal community, tribe, human herd, etc.

Considering that the society arose much before the state, it is necessary to characterize the social power and norms that existed in primitive society.

The primitive communal system was the longest in time (more than a million years) stage in the history of mankind.

The primitive communal system is characterized by a collective character

labor, division of labor, by sex and age, men - warriors and hunters, women and children - gatherers of fruits and berries.

A member of each gender and age group played a certain social role, that is, performed in public life certain function the fulfillment of which society expected from him. An adult man had to hunt and deal with prey in a certain way, and by no means at his own discretion. Each child, upon reaching a certain age, underwent an initiation rite (initiation into adults, associated with rather cruel trials), after which he immediately received status an adult, receiving all the corresponding rights and obligations.

In primitive society, power came from all adult members of the clan (elders, military leaders, priests), who were appointed by a meeting of members of the clan.

The armed force consisted of all men capable of carrying and using weapons (spears, sticks, stones).

Also, the following features were characteristic of the primitive communal system:

• 1) the presence of primitive tools, in connection with which, without the help of the whole family, a person was unable to survive and provide himself with food, clothing and housing. The economy of the primitive community was based on primitive manual labor who did not even know the help of pets. economy tribal system was extractive (i.e., receiving the finished product from wildlife by hunting, gathering fruits, fishing). The needs grew every day, the community grew, and they consumed exactly as much as they got, there were no surpluses and reserves, and therefore, according to economic signs, everyone was equal. The subsequent stages of social development are characterized by an already producing economy. For example, for an agrarian society, this is agriculture, cattle breeding and crafts, and for an industrial society, this is primarily industry. All booty items were divided among all members of the community, depending on the efforts made by them;
• 2) economic equality also led to political equality. The entire adult population of the clan - both men and women - had the right to participate in the discussion and resolution of any issue related to the activities of the clan;

The public (social) power that existed in the pre-state period had the following main features. This power:

• 1) was based on tribal (family) relations, because the clan (tribal community) was the basis for the organization of society, i.e. association of people by consanguinity, as well as the community of property and labor. Each clan acted as an independent unit, possessing common property, a tool of labor and its result. Clans formed larger associations, such as phratries, tribes, tribal unions. The genus played a decisive role in the formation of primitive society, power, basically, was distributed only within the genus, expressing its will;
• 2) was directly public, built on the principles of primitive democracy;
• 3) relied on the authority, respect, traditions and customs of members of the clan;
• 4) was carried out both by society as a whole (tribal meetings, veche) and its representatives (elders, councils of elders, military leaders, leaders, priests, etc.), who decided critical issues vital activity of primitive society;

Thus, power in primitive society in its original form did not give any advantages and was based only on authority. Later, it began to change and acquire new features.

The structure of primitive society. The primitive communal system consists of several stages of its development. Stone Age most peoples survived about 30 thousand years ago. At that time, people appropriated the finished products of nature, which were mined with the help of primitive tools (stick, stone, sharpening, etc.). The social structure of this period is characterized as a herd society, or rather a human herd. It was during this period that the skills of collective labor and collective consumption of extracted products and meat began to form. Separate groups lived, apparently, in isolation, the connections between them were random. Marriage relations in the herd were initially disorderly. Gradually, sexual relations in the herd acquired a limited character, certain prohibitions on marriage relations were established (between brothers and sisters, mothers and children, fathers and children, and other blood close relatives). Over time, animal husbandry, agricultural activities develop, tools of labor are improved (a kopte, an ax, a kind of knife, a bow and arrowheads appear). Gradually, the human tribe accumulates certain experience in all areas of activity (hunting, fishing, animal husbandry, agriculture), which improves the skills of any field of activity and makes it most effective (techniques accumulated with experience help to catch a certain animal, fish, preserve crops of vegetables and fruits ). are changing and relations of production, there are the beginnings of collective labor, public property. Also at this period, the beginnings of marital relations between different members herds. At this stage, the herd is already transformed into a genus. The most stable form was the tribal community, which was an association of people based on consanguinity, as well as on the commonality of running a joint household. Labor played a primary role in the formation of a social person and the emergence of the genus. Genus played a decisive role in social development primitive people. He acted as a genuine public association, united by a single goal of the production and consumption of vital products. There was a common property of the clan on the land, tools of labor, objects of prey. All members of the genus free people connected by blood ties. Their relationship was built on the basis of mutual assistance, no one had any advantages over others. The genus as the original cell of human society was a universal organization characteristic of all peoples. In its original form, in a tribal organization, power belonged to the entire clan and was exercised in the interests of all its members. Most significant issues the life of society, the resolution of significant disputes, the distribution of responsibilities, military strategies, religious ceremonies, etc. were allowed to general meeting(council) of all adult members of the genus - men and women. This assembly, which arose along with the clan, was the highest authority in it. The decisions of the assembly were absolutely binding on everyone and were perceived as an expression of the general will. For direct control, the assembly chose the “best among equals”, that is, the most experienced and intelligent head of the clan (elder, sorcerer, leader). The leader (head of the clan) did not have any advantages over other members of the clan, worked on an equal footing with others, did not differ in material resources, however, he had unshakable authority and respect. The above forms of organization of power in the tribal community give every reason to say that this power acted as self-government, a kind of primitive democracy. Primitive customs are rooted in ancient times passed down from generation to generation for thousands of years. Customs were indisputable prohibitions (taboos), stories (myths) projecting behavior in a given situation, as well as magical signs, rites and rituals. Observance of customs was obligatory for each member of the clan. Customs were inviolable and sacred, therefore they were not amenable to revision and condemnation. Customs have played an important role in regulating production processes, life, family and other social relations. Customs were a natural product of the most primitive system, the result and necessary condition his life activity. Society directed the behavior of each member of the genus so that it corresponded to the collective interests. Many important customs flowed directly from existing social relations. They were closely connected with the norms of primitive morality (morality), religious decrees, and often coincided with them. Various rituals and ceremonies associated with the aesthetic ideas of the people of that era also had a religious coloring. Numerous prohibitions (taboos) were of great importance. The indisputability of the custom was based on the blood connection and community of interests of the members of the tribal community, the equality of their position, the absence of irreconcilable contradictions between them. Thus, characteristics primitive customs can be formulated as follows:

• 1) they came from the clan and expressed its will and interests;
• 2) were performed out of habit on a voluntary basis, and if necessary, their observance was carried out by force;
• 3) there were no bodies punishing non-compliance with customs, but instead of them there was a general condemnation of fellow tribesmen;
• 4) there was no difference between rights and duties: the right is perceived as a duty, and duty as a right.

From this it follows that each society is characterized by a certain system of management and regulation of people's behavior with the help of certain general norms. So, in the face of the community and the tribal organization, there are clear demarcated social institutions, the behavior of members of the tribes is already regulated not only by instincts, but also by certain social norms and rules. The most important step in the social human development came neolithic revolution, which took place 10-15 thousand years ago. During this period, perfect tools of labor appeared, cattle breeding and agriculture improved. People began to produce more than they consume, there were surpluses, and subsequently stocks of food, and as a result, inequality appeared (who has more stocks). The economy has become productive, people have become less dependent on natural phenomena leading to significant population growth. The exchange of goods also appeared, the beginnings of the provision of services appeared, a person began to use not only animals, but also human labor in industrial activities (for example, in exchange for part of the product produced), the beginnings of slavery appear. It was during this period, in the Neolithic era, that the decomposition of the primitive communal system and the gradual transition to a state-organized society began. Gradually, a special stage in the development of society and a form of its organization, which was called the “proto-state”, or “chifdom”, arises. During the period of the appropriating economy, the presence of a surplus product was not noticeable, and with the advent of pastoralism and agriculture, exchange becomes necessary for survival. Some members of society who have surpluses have the right to "bargain" for their sale (exchange), in connection with which they further increase their stock and become economically independent from other members of the tribe. There are people who are engaged in the exchange of products between communities. This leads to a new division of social labor, the emergence of merchants who do not participate in the production process, but are only engaged in the exchange of consumer goods. Appears private property, and in connection with its appearance and the material difference of the members of society. The gradual transition from pair marriage to monogamous leads to the economic independence of the family. It becomes a social form of material isolation, all private property is concentrated within the framework of one family and is inherited. The emergence of private property caused a stratification into rich and poor. At this stage, the primitive communal organization begins to experience a crisis of power, because it became necessary to regulate economic relations, inequality, and there was a need to protect private property. The organs of the primitive communal system are gradually degenerating into the orgs of military democracy for waging war with neighboring tribes, for the defense of their territory and population. At this moment, the imposition of the will of strong and wealthy members of the tribe on all fellow tribesmen is born.

Thus, the degeneration of the organs of primitive society gradually leads to the emergence of the state.

There was a period when there was no state - it is called the "pre-state" period or the primitive communal period.

Primitive communal society is just such a period.

Economics of primitive society appropriating: gathering, hunting.

With the depletion of natural resources, a person begins to engage in agriculture and cattle breeding. The exchange begins.

neolithic revolution

neolithic revolution– the transition from an appropriating economy to a producing economy. As a result, farmers, cattle breeders and merchants appear. Thus, property inequality begins to appear, and then social inequality. From that moment on, society ceases to be primitive.

This creates the conditions for the emergence of the state.

The division of labor is based on gender and age.

The clan and tribe are the main cells of primitive society:

Genus - less large association which is based on consanguinity or supposed kinship, collective labor, common property and social equality.

A tribe is a larger association (a union of clans). It is necessary to protect your territory, it is more convenient for everyone to exist together. Own territory, language, religious and everyday rituals.

Institutions of power in primitive society

The peculiarity of the power of primitive society is that in primitive society there is a special kind of power - potestary power. Such power is not cut off from society and does not stand above it. It is carried out by the society itself (clan assembly) or by selected persons (leaders, elders) who do not have privileges other than authority and can be replaced. There is no apparatus of coercion and control.

Law in primitive society

There is no right, the rules of behavior are expressed in the form of mononorms. These rules of conduct include religious, corporate, moral norms.

The main theories of the origin of the state

1. Theological theory of the origin of the state. The state is the product God's will. The sovereign is the viceroy of God on earth. The state is eternal like God himself. It is the official theory of the Vatican.

2. Patriarchal theory of the origin of the state. The state is a product of the growth and development of the family.

3. Class theory of the origin of the state. The state arises as a result of the division of society into classes and is a machine for the suppression of one class by another.

4. The contractual theory of the origin of the state. The state arises as a result of an agreement or contract between people who, being in natural state forced to wage war of all against all. By virtue of the contract, people delegate part of their rights in exchange for their protection and patronage.

5. Violent theory of the origin of the state. Conquest of one by another. There is a theory of external (one tribe conquers another tribe) and internal violence (a group of people is formed who, by force, suppress the rest of the population, which are in the majority).

6. Psychological theory of the origin of the state. The state is the result of the peculiarities of the human psyche, his drives and instincts.

7. Historical school of origin of the state. The state is a product of the development of the national spirit, an organic manifestation of the people. It is formed in the course of historical development (as a language).

The concept, features and essence of the state