Working with wood has been around for hundreds and thousands of years. It is one of the construction methods that has led to the growth of civilisation as we know it. Whilst we now have access to numerous wood styles from companies like Southampton Timber Merchants, Timbco, in the past early humans would have had to use whatever wood they could find lying around or easily cut from the trees that surrounded them.
Here are some snippets from the history of working with wood.
- Hunter Gatherers – these early humans relied very much on the land and what they could find and make for themselves. Primitive weapons that were used both to protect them from harm and to hunt for food were created from wood and pieces of stone that they would carve into a point. As their skills developed they were then able to make other tools from wood including axes and tools to help them work the land and grow crops. This helped to lead to the advancement of man and the development of early civilisations.
- Noah’s Ark – one of the most well known stories in the Bible is that of Noah and his Ark. It is one of the earliest recording writing where man’s skills with wood design are noted. The ark was reportedly built of Cypress wood and is thought to have taken numerous years and the work of lots of skilled men to build.
- Ancient Egyptians – much of what we know about the Ancient Egyptians comes from drawings and artefacts that have been found. Some of the drawings that date back to before 2000 BC have shown chairs, beds, tables and numerous other furniture items that have all been made from wood. This shows how advanced the Egyptians were in their creative skills and their ability to use natural materials to create all of the items that are needed.
- Romans – we have a lot to thank the Romans for in terms of our development, in particular that of the road networks that we have today. They also had incredibly skilled woodworkers who developed everything from the aquaducts that you see in pictures of the time, right through to furniture items that were proudly on display in the villas around the country. Archaeologists, who were excavating areas of Pompeii came across a furniture shop that had been perfectly preserved by the falling ash. This indicates how important woodwork was to the Romans as a society.
