Question

Why would Old Stone Age humans bury the dead with tools and weapons?

Answer 1

Old Stone Age humans likely buried the dead with tools and weapons due to beliefs in an afterlife or as a marker of the deceased's community status, reflecting their cognitive and social development.

Step-by-step explanation:

The practice of burying the dead with tools and weapons during the Old Stone Age, also known as the Paleolithic era, is thought to have had significant symbolic or ritual meaning. This tradition suggests that these early humans may have held beliefs in an afterlife or had deep respect for the deceased. The inclusion of tools and weapons with the burials could have been intended to equip the dead for the journey after death, indicating a belief that such items were needed in the 'next world' or to sustain the spirit. It might also be reflective of the status of the individual within the community; valuable items placed with the deceased could signify their importance or the role they played in life. Moreover, this practice reflects the cognitive development of early humans, including their religious beliefs and social customs.

Answer 2

People from the Old Stone Age were burying the dead with the tools and weapons they used for few reasons:

- They used them throughout their lives and now they were supposed to serve them in the afterlife; people in this period already had beliefs of the afterlife, so they put the tools and weapons of the dead with them so that they can use them in their next life.

- They represented their status; very often the type of tools and weapons were representing the status in the tribe that the dead one had, so they were put with him/her as a representation of the status they had.

- People in this period were still oriented towards hunting more than towards agriculture; in this period, people were still mostly hunters, so the weapons they were using for hunting and the tools they were using for the devouring of the kill were of great importance to them, so the dead ones got the ones they used with them in the grave as they were important to them when they were alive.