Walking, Traveling for long distances, learning new skills, and what we call adventures today – the things that we do for fun and fitness – our fore-parents used to do for necessity. Everything they did was driven by daily needs and survival.
To live longer and survive, our ancestors developed skills to protect them from threats such as hunger, illness, and injury. They learned how to make a fire to stay warm, built a shelter to protect them from bad weather, hunted for food, and also learned how to find and purify water.
They learned how to identify plants for food, others for making medicine, and the ones which are poisonous. Warfare was part of their daily life and all these skills were passed on at an early age.
This survival instinct helped our fore-parents live a better life free of worry and anxiety. They lived in harmony with nature and most essentials were readily available.
Which skills did they learn?
Can we still learn and use them today?
Yes. It is possible.
If you would like to try out ancient life, below is a List of 50 forgotten skills for you!
Shelter Building
- How to build a house using the available materials.
- Building roofs and walls that are all-weather.
- How to make Wall Plaster.
Fire Skills
- How to make fire by Friction or using flint and steel.
- The right wood to build a long-lasting fire.
- How to ‘preserve’ fire all night.
Dressmaking
- How to Weave
- Knitting and Sewing
- Making Leather from animal hides
- How to make clothes from sheep wool
- Making shoes from available materials
Blacksmithing
- Finding iron ore and turning it into iron.
- Hardening metals.
- Making steel from iron
- Making Knives and Spears from different materials (Including stones)
Woodworking
- How to find the best wood and treat it.
- How to build household furniture (Chairs, Beds, Doors.)
- Masonry and Brick Making
Tracking and Hunting Animals
- The art of Butchering
- Killing the Animal
- Removing the hide – Without destroying it.
- Identifying the edible parts and the ones which are not.
The Art of Archery
- How to make a bow and which wood to use.
- How to make arrows and arrow tips.
- Which strings to use.
- How to fly arrows straight.
Protection and Medical Treatment
- Fighting and Attacking enemies
- Making defensive structures and walls
- Gun Making and use
- Making and Using herbal medicine
- First aid (Dealing with wounds, broken legs and arms)
Bee Keeping
- How to build a hive and attract bees?
- Harvesting the Honey without getting stung
Other Useful Forgotten Skills
- Animal husbandry
- Gardening, Weeding, and composting
- How to make and manage an orchard
- Planting, Pest Control, Harvesting, and Seed saving
- Fishing (Making nets, hooks, tying a fly…)
- Cooking (Without electricity, Recipe, Oven….)
- Pot Making (And other earthenware)
- Food Storage and Preservation
- Building Wells and collecting Water
- Purifying and storing drinking Water
- Navigation (Using stars, moon, animal tracks, and other natural guides)
- Learning through music and storytelling.
- Soap Making
- Home Brewing