Hw d yu suppse I knw abut all these things that tk place s lng ag？
I dn"t.
I"mnly guessing abut them.
But there are different kindsf guesses. If I hldut my tw clsed hands and ask yu t guess whichne has the penny in it， that isne kindf a guess. Yur guess might be rightr it might be wrng. It wuld be just luck.
But there is anther kindf guess. When there is snwn the grund and I see tracksf a bt in the snw， I guess that a persn must have passed by， fr bts dn"t usually walk withut smene in them. That kindf guess is nt just luck but cmmn sense.
S we can guess abut a great many things that have taken place lng ag， even thugh there was nne there at the time t see themr tell abut them.
We have dug dwn deep under the grund in different partsf the wrld and have fund there-what d yu suppse？
I dn"t believe yu wuld ever guess.
We have fund the headsf arrws and spears and hatchets.
The peculiar thing abut these arrws and spears and hatchets is that they are nt madef irnr steel， as yu might expect， butf stne.
Nw， we are sure thatnly human beings culd have made and used such things， fr birds and fishrther animals d nt use hatchetsr spears. We are als sure that these peple must have lived lng， lng years ag befre irn and steel were knwn， because it must have taken lng， lng years fr these things t have becme cvered up s deep by dust and dirt. We have als fund the bnesf the peple themselves， wh died several millin years ag， lng befre anyne began t write dwn histry. Theldest bnes we have ever fund were in East Africa. We knw that peple lng ag were wrking and playing， eating and fighting-ding manyf the same things we are tday-especially the fighting.
This time in the prehistryf the wrld， when peple used such things madef stne， is therefre called the Stne Age.
Life was hard fr Stne Age peple. They didn"t have all the things we are used t having tday.
Sme wild animals make huses. Fxes dig hles， beavers make husesf sticks and mud. These first peple prbably had n husesf any srt in which t live. They simply fund any shelter they culd. They fund caves in the rcksr in the hillsides where they culd get away frm the cld and strms and wild animals. S men， wmen， and childrenf this time were called Cave Peple.
They spent their days hunting sme animals and running and hiding frmthers. They caught animals by trapping them in a pit cveredver with bushes，r they killed them with a clubr a rck if they had a chance，r with stne- headed arrwsr hatchets. They even paintedr cut picturesf these animalsn the wallsf their caves. Smef these pictures we can still see tday.
They livedn berries and nuts and seeds. They rbbed the nestsf birds fr the eggs， which they ate raw， fr at first they had n fire with which t ck. They liked t drink the warm bldf animals they killed， as yu wuld a glassf milk.
They talked t eachther by sme srtf gruntsr very simple wrds. They made clthesf skinsf animals they killed， fr there was n such thing as clth.
These early peple must have spent mstf their time hunting fr fdr trying t get away frm animals hunting them fr fd. They had n thick hide like an elephant t prtect them； they did nt grw a catf fur like a bear t keep them warm； they culd nt run very fast， like a deer t escape their enemies； they were n match fr an animal with sharp teeth and claws and strng muscles like a lin. It"s a wnder anyf them lived t grw up.
Stne Age peple had tw things that helped them mre than sharp claws，r strng muscles，r tugh skins. They had better brains than the animals. And they had hands insteadf frnt feet. With their brains they culd think. They culd thinkf waysf ding things better.
With their brains they culd thinkf using tls. With their hands they culd make tls and use them. Insteadf sharp teeth， men culd use spears. In placef a furry skin t keep them warm， men culd use the skinsf animals.
Suppse yu had been a byr a girl in the Stne Age. I wnder hw yu wuld have liked the life.
When yu wke up in the mrning， yu wuld nt have bathedr even washed yur hands and facer brushed yur teethr cmbed yur hair.
Yu ate with yur fingers， fr there were n knivesr frksr spnsr cupsr saucers，nlyne bwl-which yur mther had madeutf mud and dried in the sun t hld water t drink-n dishes t wash and put away， n chairs， ntables， n table manners.
There were n bks， n paper， n pencils.
There was n Saturdayr Sunday， Januaryr July. Except thatne day was warm and sunnyr anther cld and rainy， they were all alike. There was n schl t g t.
There was nthing t d all day lng but make mud piesr pick berriesr play tag with yur brthers and sisters.
I wnder hw yu wuld like that kindf life！
"Fine！" d yu think？-"a great life-just like campingut"？ But I havenly tld yu partf the stry.
The cave wuld have been cld and damp and dark， withnly the bare grundr a pilef leaves fr a bed. There wuld prbably have been bats and big spiders sharing the cave with yu.
Yu might have hadn the skinf sme animal yur father had killed， but as thisnly cvered partf yur bdy and as there was n fire， yu wuld have felt cld in winter， and when it gt very cld yu might have frzen t death.
Fr breakfast yu might have had sme dried berriesr grass seedr a piecef raw meat， fr lunch the same thing， fr dinner still the same thing.
Yu wuld never have had any breadr cheeser griddlecakes with syrup，ratmeal with sugarn it，r apple pier ice cream.
There was nthing t d all day lng but watchut fr wild animals-bears and tigers； fr there was n dr with lck and key， and a tiger， if he fund yuut， culd g wherever yu went and "get yu" even in yur cave.
And then sme day yur fatherr brther， wh had left the cave in the mrning t g hunting， wuld nt return， and yu wuld knw he had been trn t pieces by sme wild beast， and yu wuld wnder hw lng befre yur turn wuld cme.
D yu think yu wuld like t have lived then？
【中文阅读】
你猜我怎么会知道如此久远以前发生的事情呢？ 我并不知道。
我只是猜测罢了。 可是猜测有很多种。如果我伸出两只握紧的拳头，让你猜猜哪只手里有硬币，这是一种猜想。你可能猜对，可能猜错，全凭运气。 可是，还有一种猜想。如果地上有雪，看到雪地上靴子的印迹，我就会猜：一定有个人从这经过，因为靴子通常不会自己走路。这种猜想不只是靠运气，而且靠常识。
所以，我们能猜出很久以前发生的很多事情，即使当时没人看到，也没人告诉 我们什么。
我们在世界各地向地下挖了很多深坑，在那里发现了--你猜是什么？ 我想你一定猜不出来。
我们发现了箭头、矛尖和斧头！ 这些箭啊，矛啊，斧啊，有什么不同寻常的吗？你可能已经猜出来了，它们不是用铁或钢做的，而是用石头做的。 现在，我们确信，只有人才能制造、使用这些东西，因为鸟类、鱼类或其他动物不使用斧头或长矛。我们还确信，这些人一定生活在很多很多年以前，早在人们 知道钢和铁以前，因为这些东西要深埋在尘土下一定需要很长的时间。后来，我们 也发现了这些人的骨头，他们在几百万年前就死去了，那时候还没有人记载历史呢。 最古老的人类化石发现于非洲东部。我们知道远古人类和现代人做的很多事情都是 一样的--劳动、玩耍、吃饭、打仗，尤其是打仗。
人类使用石制工具的史前时期因此被称作"石器时代"。 对于石器时代的人类而言，生活是艰辛的，我们今天已经习以为常的东西他们一样也没有。
有些野生动物会做窝。狐狸会打洞，海狸用树枝和泥做窝。而早期的原始人可 能没有任何一种房子居住，他们只要找个遮风避雨的地方就行了。他们在岩石上或 山坡上找到洞穴，在里面既可以躲避严寒、暴风雨，又能躲避野兽。因此，这个时 期的男人、女人和小孩被称为"穴居野人"。
他们整天不是捕猎一些动物，就是逃离和躲避另一些动物。他们在地上挖个陷 阱，陷阱上面盖上树枝，以此来捕猎动物；如果有机会，就直接用棍棒、石头打死 动物，或者用石制的箭或斧头猎杀动物。他们甚至在他们居住的洞穴墙上画上或刻 上这些动物，有些图画至今还清晰可见。
他们以浆果、坚果和植物的种子为食，有时也从鸟窝里掏鸟蛋生吃，因为刚开 始，他们还没有烧饭的火。他们喜欢喝刚刚猎杀的动物的热血，就像你们喜欢喝杯 牛奶一样。
他们口中发出咕哝、咕哝的声音，或者用非常简单的词语交谈。他们用自己猎 杀的动物的皮做衣服，因为当时还没有像布这样的东西。
早期的人一定把大部分时间都用来猎捕动物为食，或者躲避动物以免成为动物 的猎物。他们没有大象那样的厚皮保护自己，他们没有熊身上的厚毛保暖，他们无 法像鹿儿躲避敌人时那样快速地奔跑，他们更比不上像狮子那种有着尖牙、利爪和 强健肌肉的动物。他们中任何人能活着长大就是一个奇迹了。
石器时代的人有两样东西帮助他们胜过利爪、强健肌肉和坚硬皮毛。他们有比 动物聪明得多的头脑和替代了前掌的双手。有了头脑，他们就可以思考，就可以想 出更好地做事的方法。
有了头脑，人就可以想到使用工具。有了双手，人就可以制造和使用工具。没有尖牙，人可以使用长矛。没长毛皮，人可以用动物的皮毛来保暖。 假设你就是一个生活在石器时代的男孩或女孩，我不知道你觉得这样的生活怎么样。
每天早晨起床，你都不洗澡，甚至不洗手、不洗脸、不刷牙、不梳头发。 你用手指抓东西吃，因为既没有刀叉，也没有勺子、茶杯或茶碟，只有一个碗--你妈妈用泥做的、放在阳光下晒干后用来盛水喝--也没有需要清洗和收拾 的盘子，没有桌椅，更不需要餐桌礼仪了。
没有书，没有纸，没有铅笔。 没有周六、周日，也没有一月、七月，除了暖和的晴天、阴冷的雨天这样的区别，所有的日子都一个样。当然，也没有去上学的学校。 除了捏捏泥团，摘摘浆果，和你的兄弟姐妹玩玩捉迷藏，你会整天无事可做。 我很想知道你喜欢这样的生活吗！ "很好！"你这样想吗？--"真棒--就像露营一样"？ 但是，我告诉你们的只是生活的一部分。 山洞又冷又湿又暗，仅有光秃秃的地面或一堆树叶作床，可能还有蝙蝠和巨型蜘蛛与你分享山洞。 你身上可能裹着你父亲猎杀的某种动物的毛皮，但因为它只遮住身体的一部分，也因为没有火，所以冬天你会觉得冷，天气特别寒冷时，你甚至会冻死。 早餐可能只是一些干果、草籽或一片生肉，午餐同样如此，晚餐还是同样如此。 你吃不到面包、奶酪、煎饼加果汁、加糖麦片、苹果派或冰激凌。 整天你都会无事可做，但时刻要提防野兽--熊啊，老虎啊；没有配了锁或钥匙的门，所以，如果一只老虎发现了你，就可能跟着你到任何地方，甚至就在你住 的山洞里也能"把你逮到"。
说不定有一天，你的父亲或兄弟早晨出了山洞去狩猎，就再也没回来，你知道 他是被某个野兽撕成了碎片，你不知道还有多久这样的厄运就会降临在你身上。
你还觉得你喜欢生活在那个时候吗？
