The intensive use and reliance of tools is a uniquely human characteristic. The use of tools to assist in accomplishing tasks in the analog, and now as well in digital, contexts have become essential to human existence. Furthermore the tools that we use are a reflection of our actions, our skills, our culture, and most importantly, our identity.

A tool is anything used as a means to facilitate the accomplishment of a task or purpose. Considering this, what tools do you use everyday and how do they tell a story or explain who you are?

In keeping with my profesor’s original vision of documenting the history of human tools, I have been making multi-tools that characterize particular human identities characteristic to certain periods in human history. After all, take into consideration the names of periods in history such as the “stone age” or “the iron age”: the types of tools that humans have used over time have marked breakthroughs and evolutionary changes in human society. I’m not sure how to go about this, but for now, I’ll just design as many as I can and see how many will survive the scrutiny.

Here’s some samples:

"Live Die" (a dice made of iron): during the iron age, humans were beginning to establish complex social hierarchies that gave certain groups more power and opportunities over others. These social hierarchies were often determined at birth, and remained until death. Your chances of being placed higher than another was a matter of chance; you had to be lucky. Each dice represents a different social trait face has a symbol that depicts a different level of that trait. How your life turns out is determined by the single toss of the dice. The iron construction represents the iron age from whence it was created and the dense and heavy material communicates the permanence of each throw.

"O.M.G." (USB Pregnancy tester) this is a pregnancy test that is placed on a USB device. Whenever a woman runs a pregnancy, the event is often intense. The thought of possibly being pregnant can be nerve racking and cause anxiety. In order to cope with personal stresses in today's age, humans tend to blog about their problems, throw their thoughts and release them into the world wide web. If your internet fails during this time, you can save your blog entry and bring it to another computer that has internet.

"Wrenchware" (eating utensils attached to mechanical tools) One side is a spoon, the other is a socket wrench. This tool is from the industrial age, a time where there was a swarm of people flocking to the inner city to work hard, difficult hours in a factory. Workers were worked for so long and paid so little under terrible working conditions, the only things they had time to do were work and eat. After you finish eating dinner, you can go right back to work

Our teacher made us go to the lawrence weiner exhibit at the MOCA in Los Angeles, and wants us to write about it. So let's go. Lawrence Weiner is a conceptual typographic artist whose work was mainly created during the late 1960s. The exhibit, as far as the eye can see was extremely minimalistic: pretty much just a blank white wall with text on it. I did start to understand his approach. With a piece that is as plain as words on a white wall, your mind has to do all of the interpretation. It's almost meditative if you pay attention to how your mind interprets what is on the wall.

I have been working on a video that explains the history of human evolution through repetitive performances of the most important tools in our history. Frankly, i'm pretty lost. Taking into account the location and even the tools ( how am i going to get a bow and arrow for example? and which kind? ) and the fact that i'm shooting everything myself, i'm not sure how everything will work out. I may have to restructure my approach, but until then enjoy this sweet animation by the legendary Saul Bass:



The animation does an excellent job isolating the most important events in human history (at least from a western perspective) and conceptualizes a strong visual rhyme that illustrates the massive progress humans have built for themselves. Will it be able to sustain itself or will the intensive desire to progress deliver shaky foundations for the future?

Greetings Space Collective!

My topic is about how tools have allowed us as humans to evolve. Tools allowed us to productively exploit other food sources first through hunting and then through agriculture and domestication. Productive food sources allow others to specialize and develop new tools, which increase productivity. Tools have granted us powers to exist outside our natural environmental contexts, and have manipulated our course in evolution.

This is a brief outline of some of the possible projects I could create to beam into outer space including things that have inspired me visually to communicate these things. Any suggestions, feedback, bright ideas?

• /////////////////////////////
  [Rebeca Mendez: The history of tools] {VIDEO}
  -list the most important tools through human history
  -perform each tool through 10 short videos
  
  ?find a way to transition between tools and people (as tools change so do we)
  
  style:
  
  EVERYONE MOVES TOGETHER
  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDHfx9nde14
  embedding disabled, but this is AMAZING!!
  
  
  FIRST PERSON
  
  
  HAND DRAWN TOOLS
  
  
  TRANSITIONS THAT COMMUNICATE GROWTH OF HUMANS
  
  



• ////////////////////////////////
  [Chris O'Leary: Superheroes] {PHOTOGRAPHY}
  -tools give us special abilities/superhuman powers
  
  http://users.design.ucla.edu/~oleary/hero.html
  
  
  
  http://www.hemmy.net/2008/04/19/the-impossible-art-of-li-wei/
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ?can this tie into tools?
  



• ///////////////////////////////
  [Biocultural Evolution] {ANIMATION/STOPMOTION}
  -crowd of people molding a human figure
  
  I'm thinking animating a crowd of hands that shape and mold a child/prehistoric man into the modern day man. This represents how our culture influences our physical evolution. Maybe I could contrast how nature used to serve this evolutionary role, but not anymore; culture and society have become the new environment
  
  -self infliction (Renee)
  -commercial power/social persuasion
  



• ////////////////////////////////
  [Nick Soni: we identify with our skin] {PRINT/POSTER}
  -recognition of others
  -interpretation through flesh
  -relation to others/flesh itself
  -social organization through flesh
  
  ?what is the visual language?
  

_____________________________________________


///////////////////////////
??GENERAL QUESTIONS
?how can i represent all humans at once?
-film in first person
-animate different people at once
http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/Orgesticulanismus/video/x59f2b_orgesticulanismus_creation
http://72andsunny.com/video.php?id=326

?should my environment be in space? its our one thing we will definitely share with aliens: environments in outer space.

Observe how our tools have evolved over time, and how this relates

source:http://home.entouch.net/dmd/chron.htm

Chronology of Human Technology
Age BP Oldest example of... Place Species
2.0 kyr continuous industrial worksite Bigo, Uganda Homo sapiens1
2.0 kyr grammar text Greece Homo sapiens2
2.0 kyr false tooth Essonne, France Homo sapiens126
2.3 kyr genealogy Georgia, SSR Homo sapiens148
3.0 kyr census Israel Homo sapiens3
3.0 kyr iron mine Velem St. Vid, Hungary Homo sapiens4
4.0 kyr 1200o C temperature Mashkan-Shapir, Iraq Homo Sapiens164
4.0 kyr oldest song Ur, Iraq Homo sapiens5
4.5 kyr Maya farming Belize Homo sapiens6
4.6 kyr New World City Caral, Peru Homo sapiens157
4.6 kyr Oldest paved road Egypt Homo sapiens162
4.6 kyr Oldest geological map Egypt Homo sapiens162
4.8 kyr fixed calendrical date Egypt Homo sapiens7
5.0 kyr oldest map of the moon Knowth, Ireland Homo sapiens127
5.2 kyr Oldest extrabiblical person Egypt Homo sapiens8
5.25 kyr Oldest historical document Egypt Homo sapiens174
5.3 kyr Oldest wheel Slovenia Homo sapiens169
5.4 kyr 2nd oldest writing Southern Egypt Homo sapiens128
6.0 kyr iron object Egypt Homo sapiens9
6.0 kyr existant ship England Homo sapiens10
6.0 kyr horse domesticated Ukraine Homo sapiens11
6.1 kyr oldest permanent building Malta Homo sapiens161
6.2 kyr corn cobs Guilá Naquitz Cave,Mex. Homo sapiens147
6.5 kyr gold jewelry Varna, Bulgaria Homo sapiens12
6.5 kyr astronomical megalith Egypt Homo sapiens129
7.0 kyr 2nd oldest wine Zagros Mtns, Iran Homo sapiens13
7.5 kyr two-stage domed kiln Yarim Tepe, Iraq Homo sapiens14
8.0 kyr oldest wine Georgia Homo sapiens183
8.2 kyr collagen glue Dead Sea, Israel Homo sapiens130
8.4 kyr dugout canoe Pesse, Netherlands Homo sapiens15
8.6 kyr oldest writing Jiahu, China Homo sapiens181
9.0 kyr fragment of cloth Turkey Homo sapiens16
9.0 kyr oldest beer China Homo sapiens189
9.0 kyr pigs domesticated Greece Homo sapiens17
9.0 kyr continuously existing religion Queensland,Australia Homo sapiens18
9.0 kyr earliest cotton use Dhuweila, Jordan Homo sapiens173
9.4 kyr boat paddle Star Carr, England Homo sapiens19
9.5 kyr sheep domesticated Turkey Homo sapiens20
9.5 kyr first pet cat Cyprus Homo sapiens184
10 kyr squash agriculture Ecuador Homo sapiens182
10 kyr goats domesticated Asiab,Iran Homo sapiens21
10 kyr wooden Australian boomerang Wyrie Swamp, Australia Homo sapiens22
10 kyr depiction of warfare Australia Homo sapiens23
11 kyr confirmed basket Danger Cave, Utah Homo sapiens24
11 kyr wooden arrow Hamburg, Germany Homo sapiens25
12 kyr city Mureybet Syria Homo sapiens26
13 kyr arrowhead San Teodoro, Sicily Homo sapiens27
13 kyr oldest rye cultivation Abu Hureyra, Syria Homo sapiens131
13 kyr oldest well in New World Blackwater Draw,NM Homo sapiens132
13 kyr oldest Native American skull Mexico City, Mexico Homo sapiens175
13 kyr flint sickle Middle East Homo sapiens28
13 kyr pottery Japan Homo sapiens29
13 kyr copper working various Homo sapiens30
13-14 kyr toothpick South Africa Homo sapiens31
13-14 kyr extant wooden hut remains Monte Verde, Chile Homo sapiens32
14 kyr oldest rice agriculture Sorori, Korea Homo sapiens131
14 kyr human portrait Grosseto, Italy Homo sapiens133
14 kyr fish hooks Europe Homo sapiens33
14 kyr h. sapiens religious sanctuary El Juyo Cave, Spain Homo sapiens34
15 kyr lunar calendar Lascaux, France Homo sapiens140
15 kyr oldest domesticated dog Eliseevichi, Siberia Homo sapiens176
19.3 kyr twisted fiber cord Ohalo, Israel Homo sapiens35
19.6 kyr basket or mat Meadowcroft, PA Homo sapiens37
20 kyr ivory boomerang Oblazowa, Poland Homo sapiens38
20 kyr village Sea of Galilee Homo sapiens120
23 kyr ground stone tools Malangangerr, Australia Homo sapiens39
25 kyr net fishing Willendra Lake,Australia Homo sapiens40
25 kyr oldest moccasins Sungir, USSR Homo sapiens134
25 kyr puppet Brno, Moravia Homo sapiens41
27 kyr impression of woven cloth Eastern Europe Homo sapiens43
27 kyr ceramics Dolni Vestonice Homo sapiens44
27 kyr 1450 deg C fire Dolni Vestonice Homo sapiens166
29.0 kyr impression of cloth in clay Europe Homo sapiens135
30 kyr human cremation Lake Mungo Australia Homo sapiens45
30 kyr sewing needle Kostenki, Russia Homo sapiens 42
32 kyr coal mine Landek, Czechoslovakia Homo sapiens46
32 kyr oldest H. s. necklace Mandu Mandu, Australia Homo sapiens136
32 kyr oldest star map(Orion) Ach Valley, Germany ?171
35 kyr fossil collecting Arcy-sur-Cure Homo sapiens neanderthalensis47
35 kyr oldest star chart Germany ?177
35 kyr European cave painting Fumane Cave Italy ?142
36 kyr bitumen glue Umm el Tlel, Syria ?48
36 kyr Neandertal necklace Arcy-sur-Cure, France Homo sapiens neanderthalensis155
39 kyr cave painting Carpenter's Gap Austral. Archaic Homo sapiens49
43-67 kyr 7 note diatonic musical scale Divje Babe I, Slovenia Homo sapiens neanderthalensis 50,51
45 kyr Neanderthal flute Divje Babe I, Slovenia Homo sapiens neanderthalensis51
47 kyr successful surgical amputation Shanidar, Iraq Homo sapiens neanderthalensis52
47 kyr spelunking in dark cave Bruniquel, France Homo sapiens neanderthalensis154
50 kyr shaman's cape Hortus, France Homo sapiens neanderthalensis53
50 kyr ostrich egg canteen South Africa Homo sapiens168
53 kyr Oldest flued hearth Capellades, Spain Homo sapiens neanderthalensis124
62 kyr DNA from human-not modern mtdna Lake Mungo, Australia Homo sapiens143
60 kyr Neanderthal hut/tent Molodova, Russia Homo sapiens neanderthalensis54
60 kyr oldest canteen Klaasies River Mouth CaveHomo sapiens178
68 kyr Murder by spear Shanidar, Iraq Homo sapiens neanderthalensis55
70 kyr Lipstick Blombos Cave South AfricaHomo sapiens122
70 kyr European Rock art La Ferrassie, France Homo sapiens neanderthalensis188
70-80 kyr Neanderthal art, pseudoVenus Wildenmannlisloch, Switz.Homo sapiens neanderthalensis56
70-80 kyr musical instrument-flute Haua Fteah, Libya Homo sapiens neanderthalensis57
73 kyr use of coal for fire Les Canalettes Homo sapiens neanderthalensis58
80 kyr First fingerprint Konigsaue, Germany Homo sapiens Neanderthalensis59
80 kyr anoxic chemistry—birch glue Konigsaue, Germany Homo sapiens Neanderthalensis59
80 kyr Homo sapiens wooden spear Mt. Carmel, Israel Homo sapiens60
80 kyr occupation of Australia Lake Mungo Australia Homo sapiens137
80 kyr Neanderthal bone tool Regourdou, France Homo sapiens neanderthalensis61
80 kyr religious sanctuary Drachenloch, Switzerland Homo sapiens neanderthalensis62
90-100 kyr whistles Prolom II, Crimea archaic Homo sapiens63
110 kyr underground mining Lion Cave, Swaziland ?64
110-130kyr Neanderthal spear Lehringen, Germany Homo sapiens neanderthalensis65
120 kyr 2nd oldest H. sapiens footprint Langebaan, S.A Homo sapiens141
130 kyr burial Krapina, Croatia Homo sapiens neanderthalensis66
130 kyr food processors various archaic Homo sapiens67
140 kyr over-horizon sailing Australia archaic Homo sapiens68
140 kyr Shellfish exploitation Italy Homo sapiens neanderthalensis69
160 kyr European blade tools England Belgium Homo sapiens neanderthalensis70
200 kyr Oldest Ostrich Shell Beads el Greifa E archaic Homo sapiens186
200 kyr post hole Lunel-Viel archaic Homo sapiens71
200 kyr Neanderthal bedding Lazaret, France Homo sapiens neanderthalensis72
200 kyr Neandertal living floor Grotte d'Aldene Homo sapiens neanderthalensis73
230 kyr human dung Terra Amata, France Homo erectus?74
240 kyr upper Paleolithic blade tools Kenya ?75
240-700kyr woodworking Gesher Benot Ya'aqov,Isr.Homo erectus76
250 kyr Invention of Mousterian tools Vaufry Cave, France ?77
300 kyr geometric engraving Pech de l'Aze Homo erectus78
300 kyr Siberia peopled-clothing needed Diring Yuriakh ?79
300 kyr jewelry various Homo erectus80
>300 kyr ritual corpse disposal Atapuerca, Spain archaic H.s.81
330 kyr Depiction of human form Berekhat Ram, Israel Homo erectus/archaic H.s82
>350 kyr stone wall Bhimbetka, India archaic H.s/Homo erectus83
>350 kyr Oldest rock engraving Bhimbetka, India a.H.s/Homo erectus138
350 kyr Oldest grave goods Atapuerca, Spain a. Homo sapiens172
350 kyr Oldest footprint of genus Homo Italy a. Homo sapiens179
355 kyr Oldest human footprints Roccamonfina, Italy archaic H.sapiens 170
3-400 kyr European huts Bilzingsleben, Germany Homo erectus84
3-400 kyr paved social area Bilzingsleben, Germany Homo erectus85
3-400 kyr oldest evidence of counting Bilzingsleben, Germany Homo erectus86
3-400 kyr oldest religious altar Bilzingsleben, Germany Homo erectus87
3-500kyr third oldest art Tan-Tan, Morocco a.Homo sapiens180
3-500 kyr oldest evidence of coloring Tan-Tan, Morocco a.Homo sapiens187
400 kyr wooden spear Schoningen, Germany Homo erectus88
400 kyr 3 component composite tools Schoningen, Germany Homo erectus89
400 kyr tools made by other tools Schoningen, Germany Homo erectus90
400 kyr wooden boomerang Schoningen, Germany Homo erectus91
465 kyr 500 degree C fire Menez-Dregan, France Homo erectus165
500 kyr case of syphilis Tangshan, China Homo erecuts146
500 kyr mineral collection Zhoukoudian, China Homo erectus92
500 kyr man and canine assoc. Zhoukoudian, China Homo erectus93
500 kyr Asian fire Zhoukoudian, China Homo erectus94
600 kyr scalping Bodo, Ethiopia Homo erectus95
600 kyr oldest Britain inhabitant Sussex, England Homo erectus152
700 kyr ocean travel Flores, Indonesia Homo erectus96
750 kyr European fire Escale Cave, France Homo erectus97
780 kyr nut cracking and nut crackers Gesher Benot Ya'aqov,Isr.Homo erectus158
800 kyr Asian hand ax Renzidong, China Homo erectus121
800 kyr Oldest home base Gesher Benot Ya'aqov,Isr.Homo erectus159
8-900kyr H erectus bedding Wonderwork Cave, S. A. Homo erectus98
970 kyr European structure Soleihac Cave Homo erectus?99
1.0 MYR tanning hides Swartkrans, South Africa Homo erectus100
1.0 MYR Oldest habitation of India Isampur, India Homo erectus150
1.0 MYR Oldest European Guadix-Baza, Spain Homo erectus151
1.0 MYR possible oldest nutcracking Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania Homo erectus159
1.2-1.4 MYR 2nd Oldest art/symbolism Kozarnika, Bulgaria Homo erectus185
1.36 MYR Asia north of 40o Lat.occupied Nihewan Basin, China Homo erectus123
1.4 MYR ritual dismemberment of Human Sterkfontein, S. Africa Homo erectus139
1.4 MYR oldest Acheulian hand axe WestNatron, Tanzania Homo erectus160
1.5 MYR evidence of fire Swartkrans South Africa H. erectus A.robustus102
1.5 MYR woodworking Koobi Fora, Kenya Homo erectus103
1.6 MYR oldest representational art Olduvai Gorge Homo erectus?104
1.6 MYR 480 degree C fire Olduvai Gorge Homo erectus167
1.6 MYR working with animal hides Swartkrans, S. A. A. robustus105
1.6 MYR bone tool Swartkrans, S. A. A. robustus106
1.7 MYR Human compassion E. Africa Homo erectus107
1.7-2MYR H. erectus leaves Africa Erk-el-Akmar, Israel Homo erectus125
1.8 MYR oldest human DNA Sterkfontein, S. A. A. robustus149
1.9 MYR Right-handedness Koobi Fora Homo erectus108
1.9 MYR Stones Thrown as Weapons Olduvai Gorge,Tanzania Homo habilis109
1.95 MYR Larynx capable of Speech Africa Homo erectus110
2.0 MYR Brain structure for Language Lake Rudolf Homo habilis111
2.0 MYR Windbreak structure Olduvai Homo erectus112
2.0 MYR Oldest Toothpick use Ethiopia Homo erectus113
2.2 MYR earliest occupation of China Renzidong Cave Anhui,ChinHomo erectus?156
2.5 MYR Genus Homo Lake Rudolf Homo rudolfensis114
2.6 MYR Stone tools Gona, Ethiopia Australopithecus115
3.0 MYR recognized art Makapansgat, South Afr. A. africanus116
3.3 MYR Bone tools Sterkfontein, S. A. A. africanus144
3.4 MYR TMJ Disease Laetoli, Tanzania A. africanus117
4.0 MYR second oldest Bipedalism Kanapoi, Kenya A. anamensis118
5.5 MYR hominid fossil Lothagam, Kenya Ardipithecus?119
6.0 MYR bipedalism Kenya Millennium ancestor145
6-7 MYR Oldest Hominid fossil Chad Sahelanthropus tchadensis163

Biocultural evolution is a means of describing the influence of both biological makeup and cultural behaviors on human evolution.

SKIN
-human activities/technologies have created holes in the ozone layer
-UV rays better able to penetrate through atmosphere
-tanning is culturally desireable
-skin cancer is occurring in higher frequencies

WISDOM TEETH
-modern diet and utensils render wisdom teeth useless
-more humans go through life without ever developing wisdom teeth
-those who develop them must have them removed because their mouths are now too small

MENOPAUSE
-50 years ago, most females did not experience menopause
-the human lifetime did not exceed the amount of time it would take to use all of a woman's eggs
-menopause an expected part of a female's life cycle
-lifetimes increase due to technology

NUTRITION
-corn syrup, transfat, white flour
-encourages fat storage and insulin production leading to heart disease and diabetes
-traits more susceptible to diabetes and heart disease are passed on
-in some cases, newborns with type 1 diabetes

BREAST FEEDING
-in hunting and gathering societies, breastfeeding may last anywhere from three to five years
-in western civilizations it can last as little as a year or even just months
-it is culturally undesirable to breastfeed for more than a year due to career and financial concerns
-western women become able to breastfeed for only about a year, whereas females in other civilizations maintain their ability for a longer period

FITNESS
-technology has promoted increasingly sedentary lifestyles
-the body loses its capacity to burn calories and maintain healthy function
-high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, and other problems, are directly linked to modern diets and being sedentary

DISEASE
-due to antibiotics and their overuse, bacterial diseases have encountered adaptations which render them immune to many of these antibiotics
-the human race is now re-encountering these diseases once again and in greater frequency

LIFETIME
-average human lifetime is at an all time long due to technologies in medicine
-medicine technologies can combat infectious disease, genetic defects, and the like, which might otherwise kill humans

The myth of normal: the media imposes an invisible set of rules and conventions through which MEANINGS and CONNOTATIONS, which are in reality SPECIFIC TO CERTAIN GROUPS, are MADE TO SEEM UNIVERSAL for a whole society.





Whereas the most desirable human body was based on physical fitness in the natural environment, the new human body connotes social success, which can be read through fashion or body features. Male suits and female high-heels promote a sedentary lifestyle that accompanies financial success, one of the most desirable features to survive in the human/social/cultural environment.

The media is a large proponent of standards in physical appearance making "ultimate beauty" an essential social standard.

How will we continue to direct our own evolution?