Before we cooked, processed, farmed, or butchered, we needed to hunt. Hunting is an absolutely ancient profession that was a primary driving force in innovation for early human history. While the spear and bow would later become the rulers of the battlefield, their origins lie in a much more primal scene.
The earliest evidence of hunting in our history stems before we were even human. 1.7 million year old hunting tools show that our direct ancestor, Homo erectus, practiced hunting before Homo sapiens evolved. Before Homo erectus, previous ancestors likely transitioned from herbivory to omnivory by scavenging carcasses in the wild.
Primitive Hunting
A few unique evolutionary adaptations allowed us to become master hunters.
1. Humans are the only animals that sweat in great amounts; most animals can only sweat through their paws or eyelids, or, in some other primates, on the chest. Humans can sweat anywhere on the body, and it is a massive boon to human endurance. While humans are not as fast as other animals, the ability to sweat along with our body plan make us superb distance-runners. Humans can track prey for great distances and follow them until they collapse from exhaustion.
2. Humans maintain much more elaborate and deep social bonds than many other animals. Hunting in groups is a common practice among animals, but humans have the intelligence necessary to take advantage of their numbers. Humans are capable of working together to chase or pin prey in a single location where thrown spears and stones dispatch them. While one human can hunt deer, hunting in large groups allowed humans to hunt mammoths (And many other animals) to extinction.
3. The invention of the spear was the most important step in hunting. While we lack a hunter's teeth or claws, the ability to throw objects is a very uniquely human evolution that few other animals sharenote . Primitive javelins with flint, bone, or glass tips could be thrown by primitive humans with great precision. Spears were also essential for hunting predatory animals that charge the hunter, remaining standard for this practice up until the invention of firearms.
Humans only became better hunters from here. Other important developments include:
- The invention of the bow and arrow, which allowed us to take down prey from even greater distances than throwing spears and granted us additional avenues such as poisoned arrowheads.
- The domestication of the dog caused both species to skyrocket in hunting success. Humans hunt primarily by eyesight, either by directly observing animals or searching for visual cues in the environment such as prints or tree marks. Dogs also do this, in addition to their fantastic hearing and scenting abilities which allowed humans and dogs together to track prey with greater precision. Dogs also often aided in killing the prey, and in later history, retrieving it if it was in water.
- The invention of baited traps allowed us to better hunt smaller game that's hard to see or catch in the wilderness, but these traps were limited and very primitive, typically limited to tied snares or pitfalls.
- The invention of the fishing line and fishing pole revolutionized the way to hunt fish.
Middle History
After humans spread around the world thanks to agriculture and farm-living, hunting became a much less essential profession. However, while it became less common, it did not lose its prestige. Hunting ceased to be solely about food, and skins, furs, and bones became luxury commodities for much of human history. Hunting with spears stalled except for some niche cases, and the bow became the primary weapon of the hunter while a hatchet/tomahawk and knife would be carried as sidearms.
- The domestication of horses increased the ground a hunter or ranger could cover considerably. With greater ranges at their disposal, and the ability to travel to farther, exotic locations, rare skins and pelts found their way into the upper class of society. Hunting directly from horseback was relatively rare, since horses don't make for good stalking, but horses allowed hunters to hunt in larger territory, carry more supplies, and bring back more resources.
- Despite hunting being less essential of a practice, it remained in high prestige. Religions around the world built gods and goddesses dedicated to hunting, such as Artemis for the Greeks and Skaði for the Vikings. Hunters of different religions would often invoke these gods before beginning their hunts.
- Living high off of the domestication of the horse and dog, hunters taming other animals started to arise. Falconry has it's roots in ancient history, but took off greatly later on. Raptors trained by their falconers would be used to hunt mostly small game like foxes or weasels. Other animals were also tamed in attempts to strengthen the hunter; Egyptians would tame cheetahs for the purpose, while Native Americans would sometimes befriend coyotes.
Later Periods
Advances in simple technology completely changed hunting forever. While smaller countries or communities that relied on hunting for food kept using the ways of old, hunting grew into a luxury passtime for higher class citizens.
- New technology included more advanced traps. Some, such as the iconic jaw trap, were designed to kill or maim quarry outright, while trapped cages intended to hold animals without harming them allowed quick, humane kills on preynote .
- Higher quality steels allowed for robust and powerful melee hunting weaponry. Spear hunting made a return somewhat. In China, where tigers were a big problem for smaller villages, steel tridents allowed hunters to fight tigers one-on-one, while elsewhere, winged spears, known today as Boar Spears, were used to hunt boar that charge hunters when enraged. Meanwhile, European aristocracy carried Hunting swords, although they weren't used to hunt directly, instead used to finish a trapped or shot prey.
- Oh, did we forget something? ... Oh yeah, guns. Firearms turned the act of hunting completely on it's head, and even the smaller societies who used more antiquated practices to reliably hunt within their means would try to get their hands on a rifle or shotgun. Firearms allowed for hunts from much further distances than a bow and allows hunters to more easily fight tougher prey, such as large herbivores. Killing something like a bison or bear became possible by a single hunter instead of requiring a group hunt. Firearms also made it much easier to hunt flying animals, which spawned the tradition of hunting waterfowl.
Modern Times
Hunting today is a polarizing profession to undertake. Rarely a real profession, hunting is done as a hobby or as a path to self-sufficiency. Many methods of hunting persist today, and animal rights concerns allows it to be a much more humane practice than in previous times. In modern times, hunting is subject of much debate; some say it is an outdated, inherently cruel practice that should be outlawed, and others say it is required for conservation and to help offset damage done by human colonizationnote . Hunting remains a divisive topic, and laws abound in different countries on how to do it correctly and humanely.
- Bows returned to the forefront with the invention of the compound bow. Compound bows are easier to draw, and have greater power and range available to them. Recurve bows made from modern materials also continue to see use, but require what modern hunters call the 'spot-and-stalk' which is more or less how hunting has been practiced for hundreds of years.
- Jaw-based traps are typically outlawed, and while cage traps continue to see some use, they have largely been supplanted by stands and blinds. A hunter, with a bow or firearm, sits in an elevated or camouflaged position with a baited spot in view. When prey comes to investigate the bait, the hunter shoots.
- Modern, advanced rifles can take down prey from obscene distances. The advent of the internet also allows for unprecedented human surveillance of the wilderness. No small amount of controversy arose when someone hunted with an internet-connected, remotely controlled rifle and camera setup for the first time. In the opposite direction, modern revolvers allow for bullets of massive caliber, and things like Elephant Guns are capable of taking down large prey in a single-well placed shot.
- Modern vehicles allow hunters to travel even farther from their homes, and coolers or refrigerated boxes allow to transport meat fresh from far-off locations. While hunting from vehicles is outlawed in most places, a vehicle remains a valuable tool for hauling even more gear, and is often used to easily hang carcasses for field dressing.
- Notably, hunting for food has become a primary goal for the first time since ancient times. Small families with a hunter can rely on a steady supply of meat, and modern studies have shown that wild game meat is healthier in most circumstances than farm-grown meats. As few as 1 hunt every 4 months, depending on the quarry, can keep a family supplied with game-meat for a year.
