The Age of Wood: Our Most Useful Material and the Construction of Civilization

“While civilization is divided into different ages such as the stone age, the bronze age, the iron age and so forth, history neglects to include the vast resource that wood from the myriad forests provided for primate and human development. In this almost encyclopedic description of the contribution trees and their products played in human evolution, English Biologist Rolland Ennos combines science and history in his recounting the role that wood played and continues to play in the history of man. From the use of wood as the earliest tool, to the control of fire and wood burning permitting heat release from wood, to the production of charcoal which yielded higher temperatures. Wood use led to smelting and the rise of the copper, bronze, and iron periods. Due to the intricate mechanical properties inherent in the different tree structures, this resource is valuable for complex building and household constructions. Remarkably, the early navies and shipping trade demanded solid tall tree poles for the masts of sailing ships which led to wars for access to the source of these gigantic trees. The author has engagingly recounted the value of wood in our historical development, along with its intrinsic mechanical designs that makes it such a versatile material.”