Ancient Egypt: Lehringen Kückhofen Fellbach-Schmieden

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Along with stone, clay and animal parts, wood was one of the first materials worked by early

humans. Microwear analysis of the Mousterian stone tools used by the Neanderthals show that


many were used to work wood. The development of civilization was closely tied to the development
of increasingly greater degrees of skill in working these materials.

Woodworking shop in Germany in 1568, the worker in front is using a bow saw, the one in the background
is planing.

Among early finds of wooden tools are the worked sticks from Kalambo Falls, Clacton-on-
Sea and Lehringen. The spears from Schöningen (Germany) provide some of the first examples of
wooden hunting gear. Flint tools were used for carving. Since Neolithic times, carved wooden
vessels are known, for example, from the Linear Pottery culture wells at Kückhofen and Eythra.
Examples of Bronze Age wood-carving include tree trunks worked into coffins from northern
Germany and Denmark and wooden folding-chairs. The site of Fellbach-Schmieden in Germany has
provided fine examples of wooden animal statues from the Iron Age. Wooden idols from the La
Tène period are known from a sanctuary at the source of the Seine in France.

Ancient Egypt[edit]
There is significant evidence of advanced woodworking in ancient Egypt.[1] Woodworking is depicted
in many extant ancient Egyptian drawings, and a considerable amount of ancient
Egyptian furniture (such as stools, chairs, tables, beds, chests) have been preserved. Tombs
represent a large collection of these artefacts and the inner coffins found in the tombs were also
made of wood. The metal used by the Egyptians for woodworking tools was originally copper and
eventually, after 2000 BC bronze as ironworking was unknown until much later.[2]
Commonly used woodworking tools included axes, adzes, chisels, pull saws, and bow drills. Mortise
and tenon joints are attested from the earliest Predynastic period. These joints were strengthened
using pegs, dowels and leather or cord lashings. Animal glue came to be used only in the New
Kingdom period.[3] Ancient Egyptians invented the art of veneering and used varnishes for finishing,
though the composition of these varnishes is unknown. Although different native acacias were used,
as was the wood from the local sycamore and tamarisk trees, deforestation in the Nile
valley resulted in the need for the importation of wood, notably cedar, but also Aleppo
pine, boxwood and oak, starting from the Second Dynasty.[4]

Ancient Rome[edit]
Woodworking was essential to the Romans. It provided, sometimes the only, material for buildings,
transportation, tools, and household items. Wood also provided pipes, dye, waterproofing materials,
and energy for heat.[5]:1Although most examples of Roman woodworking have been lost, [5]:2 the literary
record preserved much of the contemporary knowledge. Vitruvius dedicates an entire chapter of
his De architectura to timber, preserving many details.[6] Pliny, while not a botanist, dedicated six
books of his Natural History to trees and woody plants, providing a wealth of information on trees
and their uses.[7]

Ancient China[edit]
The progenitors of Chinese woodworking are considered to be Lu Ban (魯班) and his wife Lady Yun,
from the Spring and Autumn period (771 to 476 BC). Lu Ban is said to have introduced the plane,
chalk-line, and other tools to China. His teachings were supposedly left behind in the book Lu Ban
Jing (魯班經, "Manuscript of Lu Ban"). Despite this, it is believed that the text was written some 1500
years after his death. This book is filled largely with descriptions of dimensions for use in building
various items such as flower pots, tables, altars, etc., and also contains extensive instructions
concerning Feng Shui. It mentions almost nothing of the intricate glue-less and nail-less joinery for
which Chinese furniture was so famous.

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