Stone Age And Iron Age

Introduction

The prehistoric of man in South Africa goes back many years in the past. Researchers have uncovered archaeological findings which indicate that man had his origin in Africa. There are so many interesting facts about the Stone and Iron Age. There are three successive periods or ages namely Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age, each age being technologically more complex than the one before. In the following essay I will only discuss the economic, social and political structures of the Stone Age and the Iron Age. The Stone Age begins with the first production of stone implements and ends with the first use of bronze. The Iron Age followed after. These periods of history are identified by the way people made tools and weapons. Different ancient civilizations developed at different speeds. Thus there were one group of early people using bronze tools while another was still using stone tools. Those with the better tools conquered other groups. There happened a lot in the 19th century. Christian J. Thomsen did this and came up with a framework for the study of human past. A lot of evidence was shown about the activities they participated in during these periods. I will discuss the social, economic and political structures of the people inhabiting South Africa in the period preceding the establishment of the refreshment station in the Cape in the light of the statement below:

“The Stone and Iron Age societies were classless societies in which every person had the same