Got Wood?
Of all the things on planet Earth, nothing is as important to the development of a civilization as wood. It is a critical factor, and without it, other developments become impossible.
It is the only substance from which adequate bows and spears can be constructed by early people, and the only way to make handles for tools. Without wood to become charcoal, bricks and metalworking become impossible. (With the possible exception of gold, but you can't make anything useful from gold.) You can't cut sod without wooden tools (or handles) to make houses, though obsidian tools could be used to procure skins, but where would you hang them from? Wood is the first choice of homes, boats, containers, and weapons for most of human history. Maybe this is why knocking on wood is good luck, and not stone.
The funny thing is, wood doesn't have to exist. It's an evolution of plants, and life could have stayed in the form of moss, seaweed, grass, cacti, flowers, etc. without trees ever developing. Aren't we lucky we have wood?
It is the only substance from which adequate bows and spears can be constructed by early people, and the only way to make handles for tools. Without wood to become charcoal, bricks and metalworking become impossible. (With the possible exception of gold, but you can't make anything useful from gold.) You can't cut sod without wooden tools (or handles) to make houses, though obsidian tools could be used to procure skins, but where would you hang them from? Wood is the first choice of homes, boats, containers, and weapons for most of human history. Maybe this is why knocking on wood is good luck, and not stone.
The funny thing is, wood doesn't have to exist. It's an evolution of plants, and life could have stayed in the form of moss, seaweed, grass, cacti, flowers, etc. without trees ever developing. Aren't we lucky we have wood?