Humans have been eating seafood for hundreds of thousands of years.
But when exactly was fishing invented?
Because it was invented somehow, and lakes and rivers
as a reliable food source might seem obvious to us now
but i'm sure you would think otherwise if you were one of the early humans and had no other tools but your hands.
Believe it or not (homosapiens) humans, were not really the first fishermen though.
Homo Erectus was the first human species to engage in the crudest form of fishing
dating back to 700,000 years ago, they caught freshwater fish without the use of tools.
(practice) - This bare handed method of fishing was unproductive and was likely
practised only a few times per year - probably in the dry season when mammals were underweight,
malnourished and fish were left stranded in shallow waters.
But still, this primitive method of fishing did provide early humans with a decent source
of fat and protein during the frequent droughts which occured in their home region of Africa.
Five hundred thousand years ago, the invention of spears has led to a new type of fishing
Spear fishing is not to be confused with modern harpooning though,
the tool was ordinary long stick with a sharp end.
Poking fish with sticks was probably not the best way to feed an entire tribe of 50 people,
but it did open a more consistent way of utilising shallow lakes and rivers,
for not just drinking water but this time also… food.
The problem with prehistory and looking this far back is lack of evidence for details.
The intricacies of their fishing methods might forever be unknown.
It's also hard to say why for the next 300,000 years fishing has played such a small role in early humans' way of life.
Four hundred thousand years ago was also when anatomically modern humans began dominating Africa.
The only continent with a human population at the time.
With their big brains, dexterous hands and complex social structures humans were on a path to change fishing drastically.
Big changes did not start to occur until around seventy thousand years ago, this was when Earth’s
climate had begun reaching the peak period of the ice age and Africa was going through
an increasingly cooler weather in the north and an ever worsening drought in the South.
The combination of these two changes has resulted in a steep decline of Africa's vegetation.
The situation was dire and humans were pressured to innovate at a much faster rate than ever before.
It was during these moments that humans invented sea travel,
warm clothing, bows and more sophisticated methods of fishing.
The earliest evidence for harpoon fishing was dated back to 70,000 years ago which is around
the time humans began crafting smaller and more specialised tools. The harpoon was a simple spear
with a specialised bone tip. Barbed so that larger and faster fish can no longer escape once pierced.
This simple advancement as well as most likely some type of bait has allowed humans to hunt huge
freshwater African catfish which were commonly 1.5 metres in length
and weighed 60 kilograms. That is enough to feed 70 people for an entire two days.
They also fished for Nile Perch which grew even larger, measuring 2 metres long they weighed up to
150 kilograms which is enough to feed an entire tribe for close to 5 days.
Around 50,000 years ago humans invented canoes. A canoe of this type would look
like an ordinary large log with a human sized hole burned into it. They were primarily used
for sea travel but were probably also used for deep lake harpoon fishing.
It has also been claimed that early Australians, 40,000 years ago, have been using stone fish traps.
They were a complex network of stones arranged to form ponds and channels
that catch fish as they travel downstream. These fish traps are often called the oldest man made
structures in the world and some of them, although displaced, still stand to this day.
Thirty five thousand years ago the combination of sea travel as well as harpooning has led to a new
type of fishing that proves ancient humans’ maritime skills to be incredibly advanced.
They engaged in deep sea fishing, an incredibly difficult but extremely rewarding pursuit.
It is clear to archaeologists that humans of those times were experts
at catching fish that are even challenging today.
Tuna for example is one of the hardest fighting fish in the world,
it can be as large as 4m long and can weigh up to 900kg. It has also been found that amongst tuna,
sharks and rays were also a regular catch for these ancient fishermen.
Even the smaller species of tuna are extremely fast and fierce,
so how they managed to catch them without hooks or nets is a huge mystery to us today.
They clearly used some form of bait, smaller fish or tethered logs could work but evidence
for such techniques dating back to 35,000 years ago might never be discovered.
With the invention of hooks 30,000 years ago we are now getting to
more conventional ways of fishing, angling.
Some of the first hooks were found in Australia, they were made of shellfish,
Bones or bird beaks. This… could very well be, the earliest form of angling. A stone, a fibre rope
and a big bone hook. With some bait and a boat the mystery of how they caught the bluefin tuna is now
starting to fade since angling is known to be a very effective way to catch all types of fish.
In a completely different part of the world, in south korea stone sinkers were discovered.
Dating back to 29,000 years ago they are more than likely a direct
evidence for the existence and use of nets for fishing.
Ancient fishermen almost 29,000 years ago would have used stone sinkers to hold nets deep
underwater - forming fish traps, one of the most effective types of fishing even today.
This type of fishing has allowed some of the ancient humans to catch very nutritious fish, like
tuna, on mass - but a widespread use of nets, has not been proven until at least 10,000 years ago.
So far it’s been made clear, that, fishing, over the past hundreds of thousands of years,
has gone through numerous changes.
The invention of new stone age tools, has been fueling, this rapid advancement, of utilising bodies of water, for food.
From grasping small fish in shallow lakes
to pulling nets full of giants such as: tuna, sharks and rays.
Humans have gone from nomadic, starving tribes of 50 people to prosperous villages of 500
and while fishing didn't directly lead to this monumental change in human behaviour,
from nomads to settlers, it certainly played, a huge role.
Today, fish not only constitutes, 20%, of an average person’s food consumption,
but also fishing, is enjoyed as a fun activity and a sport, recognised all around the world.
I hope you have enjoyed this video.
If you have I think you would be interested in this one.
It's about the invention of clothing 40,000 years ago and how it allowed humans to migrate west to america.