Small Steps and Giant Leaps
July 30, 2016 11:16 AM   Subscribe

Since May 2015, an man in Far North Queensland, Australia, has been posting videos to YouTube showing how to build various buildings and tools using "naturally occurring materials and primitive tools." In addition to step-by-step videos, he is also leaving increasingly detailed notes on what he is doing, and how.
"I live in a modern house and eat modern food. I just like to see how people in ancient times built and made things. It is a good hobby that keeps you fit and doesn’t cost anything apart from time and effort."
I built this hut in the bush using naturally occurring materials and primitive tools. The hut is 2m wide and 2m long, the side walls are 1m high and the ridge line (highest point) is 2m high giving a roof angle of 45 degrees. A bed was built inside and it takes up a little less than half the hut. The tools used were a stone hand axe to chop wood, fire sticks to make fire, a digging stick for digging and clay pots to carry water. The materials used in the hut were wood for the frame, vine and lawyer cane for lashings and mud for walls. Broad leaves were initially used as thatch which worked well for about four months before starting to rot. The roof was then covered with sheets of paper bark which proved to be a better roofing material (*peeling the outer layer of bark does not kill this species of tree). An external fireplace and chimney were also built to reduce smoke inside. The hut is a small yet comfortable shelter and provides room to store tools and materials out of the weather. The whole hut took 9 months from start to finish. But it only took 30 days of actual work (I abandoned it for a few months before adding bark roof, chimney and extra daub).
To date, his 19 videos, all ad-free, have over 97M views. From oldest to newest:

Waffle and Daub Hut
Thatched Dome Hut
Firesticks
Stone Axe (celt)
Making Poisonous Black Bean Safe to Eat
Stone Adze
Wood Shed and Native Bee Honey
Palm Thatched Mud Hut
Tiled Roof Hut
Chimney and Pots
Sling
Baskets and Stone Hatchet
Cord Drill and Pump Drill
Charcoal
Bow and Arrow
Woven Bark Fiber
Sweet Potato Patch
Grass Hut
Forge Blower

Two of the videos previously discussed on the Blue: Waffle and Daub Hut and Tiled Roof Hut.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow (34 comments total) 82 users marked this as a favorite
 
Waffle and Daub Huts probably smell wonderful.
posted by nmiell at 11:30 AM on July 30, 2016 [7 favorites]


That forge blower just bugs me. We have examples of ancient smelting forges, and his design is...well the fan arrangement is more fanciful than historical.
posted by happyroach at 12:12 PM on July 30, 2016 [2 favorites]


Previously
posted by rockindata at 12:14 PM on July 30, 2016 [1 favorite]


I've watched all the videos over time, and I find them fascinating.... I'm happy to learn from this post that there are matching blog entries. I find the technology possible even with primitive tools to be very powerful stuff.

Similarly, about 2000 years ago, there were people mass producing the Antikythera mechanism, with a user guide and color coded wheels.... our ancestors were much smarter than we give them credit for.
posted by MikeWarot at 12:14 PM on July 30, 2016 [3 favorites]


He seems to eschew one of ancient humanity's most fundamental and powerful tools: collaboration.
posted by Jode at 12:20 PM on July 30, 2016 [3 favorites]


That forge blower just bugs me. We have examples of ancient smelting forges, and his design is...well the fan arrangement is more fanciful than historical.

He seems to be more interested in process than he is in adherence to any particular ancient culture. (Which, actually, I find somewhat refreshing because it keeps his hobby from being too appropriative; he's not trying to be the pasty Anglo demonstrating real Aboriginal folkways, that is.) So, in this case: he knows how to make a good bow drill, and he's a skilled potter, so he approaches the problem with fresh eyes.

It's the Neolithic (now early Iron Age!) culture of Shorts Dude.
posted by fifthrider at 12:22 PM on July 30, 2016 [30 favorites]


our ancestors were much smarter than we give them credit for.

Yeah, we look at things like the Ptolemaic model of the universe and laugh, but smart people developed those because they worked. Ptolemy's model explained observational data available at the time and could predict future movements as verified over the next 1000 years of observation. It was only after gradual improvements in instruments, math, and other areas over those next 1000+ years that weaknesses in the model became evident enough that people began developing a replacement, which took centuries to refine.

We have the vantage point of thousands of years of knowledge and development to look back and down on our ancestors, but it's astonishing how much they were able to do and derive just from basic observation and reasoning.
posted by Sangermaine at 12:26 PM on July 30, 2016 [7 favorites]


Wattle and daub surely?!
posted by comealongpole at 12:34 PM on July 30, 2016 [5 favorites]


Yeah, I thought they didn't have Waffle Houses in Australia.
posted by Sys Rq at 12:43 PM on July 30, 2016 [11 favorites]


Similarly, about 2000 years ago, there were people mass producing the Antikythera mechanism

As far as i know there is ZERO evidence that this was anything more than a unique device, let alone mass production.
posted by D.C. at 12:56 PM on July 30, 2016 [2 favorites]


I am sure some houses in Australia are perfectly waffle. Makes you want to daub your eyes, (this pun.)
posted by Oyéah at 12:57 PM on July 30, 2016 [1 favorite]


happyroach: Did you read the description on the forge blower video? He readily states that this is different than what was used historically in both Europe and Asia. I don't think he's claiming historical authenticity necessarily in most of his videos. Just seeing what he can get up to using the materials.
posted by Inkoate at 1:05 PM on July 30, 2016 [4 favorites]


What a great hobby!
posted by Chitownfats at 1:09 PM on July 30, 2016 [2 favorites]


I found myself mesmerized watching him practice with his sling... The sounds were part of the rhythm of the video by the end. Cool! Thanks for posting.
posted by Slothrop at 1:12 PM on July 30, 2016 [2 favorites]


Everybody knows gingerbread is far superior to waffle as a building material.

Thanks for posting this. Great fun to watch. Wonder how he'd do on Naked and Afraid.
posted by Hairy Lobster at 1:18 PM on July 30, 2016 [4 favorites]


He wouldn't be naked after about five minutes and he'd never be afraid?
posted by Keith Talent at 1:22 PM on July 30, 2016 [13 favorites]


Wonder how he'd do on Naked and Afraid.

Wouldn't be very good TV. He'd introduce himself with a written statement, say nothing to the cameras, disappear halfway through the first episode, and emerge three weeks later on a homemade bicycle with an armload of pinhole tintypes of the cast and crew.
posted by fifthrider at 1:24 PM on July 30, 2016 [37 favorites]


I've been watching since his tiled roof hut video- it's one of my favorites! I like that he shows the trial and error process he goes through. Don't miss out on his comments in the description box below the video- he explains his thinking and the techniques he uses.
posted by Mouse Army at 1:28 PM on July 30, 2016


As far as i know there is ZERO evidence that this was anything more than a unique device, let alone mass production.

The analysis I've seen is that it must have come from a workshop tradition of considerable sophistication. It may have been a particular showpiece, but they didn't get there without turning out a lot of similar if simpler work.
posted by tavella at 2:39 PM on July 30, 2016 [6 favorites]


Saw a post about this on reddit where someone linked to his Patreon donation page in case anyone wants to help support him in making more videos.
posted by stray thoughts at 3:06 PM on July 30, 2016 [1 favorite]


He seems to be more interested in process than he is in adherence to any particular ancient culture.

Yeah, actual history does not have a tech tree.
posted by Pyrogenesis at 4:30 PM on July 30, 2016 [3 favorites]


He is enabling the meek to inherit the Earth, as long as they were computer literate, and interested in his stuff, before they inherit.
posted by Oyéah at 4:47 PM on July 30, 2016 [1 favorite]


The thing I like about the sling video is he makes clear how impossibly hard it is to be accurate with a sling. They give you so much power, but unless you slinging elephants it really is a crap shoot. And if you are slinging elephants, wtf man?
posted by smoke at 5:45 PM on July 30, 2016 [2 favorites]


These are fun, but the weaving one strikes me as weird in the same way as others have talked about his de novo furnace design choice. He builds a primitive loom with shaft bars - and even mentions in the blog that he does so for weaving ease & speed - but his weaving 2.0 innovation doesn't have weaving 1.0 functionality.

Weaving has been independently invented all over the world. Simple looms vary in appearance a lot, but they all are focused on the problem of tensioning the warp. Some designs use gravity (vertical warp weighted with stones) or body weight (so many backstrap loom variations) or tensioned beams suspended from one or more posts as you'd see in an Indian pit loom or so many other examples. Once the tension is under control, weaving becomes an effective production tool. And with suitable tension, even weaving by manually manipulating each thread one at a time - 'pickup' in the jargon - can be quick. Watch a video of any Peruvian backstrap weaver working with super fine threads for an example. String 'leashes' (e.g. weaving in Guatemala or the Karen people from Burma) and heddles and shafts, and then mechanization such as treadles or fly shuttles or machine-power are add-ons trading even more speed for varying losses in pattern flexibility (up to a point, when the patterning flexibility mostly, but not entirely, comes back with the invention of draw looms and Jacquard looms.)
Anyway, it strikes this weaver as strange to build a loom with a shaft bar for fast plain weave, but utterly terrible tension control. He has to weave so slowly, wrestling his 'shuttle' through that saggy saggy shed, and then more wrestling to push his weft down to the fell.

And that's leaving aside the fiber processing piece. I am far from expert on that front, but surely a fibrous bark like that would render finer fibers with retting in water than manually splitting?

I guess my point is that there is something off-putting about willfully ignoring all the thousands of years of prior art.

Nonetheless, I have enjoyed these. Thanks for posting!
posted by janell at 6:41 PM on July 30, 2016 [10 favorites]


The bow and arrow video is impressive.
posted by stargell at 8:31 PM on July 30, 2016


This guy has won real life minecraft.
posted by dazed_one at 9:02 PM on July 30, 2016 [3 favorites]


I have his blog added to my RSS reader, and I love it when a new post shows up. I find the videos very soothing. My husband says he can tell when I'm watching a new movie by my "primitive technology boyfriend" from the sound of repetitive taps and thunks and of bugs droning in background.
posted by mon-ma-tron at 9:24 PM on July 30, 2016 [5 favorites]


yeah, regardless of historical accuracy and/or armchair-grade-efficacy these videos are wonderful to watch. I also find them very soothing, similar to watching Bob Ross.
posted by lastobelus at 11:57 PM on July 30, 2016 [3 favorites]


A lot of that is his editing style. Does he talk about the decision to never speak in the videos in any of his blog posts? I'd be interested to read his thoughts about the way he puts the videos themselves together. I also wonder what his experience with putting videos together was before this project.
posted by vibratory manner of working at 11:25 AM on July 31, 2016


Metafilter: willfully ignoring all the thousands of years of prior art
posted by tobascodagama at 1:36 PM on July 31, 2016 [2 favorites]


Really weird vibes coming off some of these comments. I think these videos are great, very relaxing and educational.
posted by turbid dahlia at 4:18 PM on July 31, 2016 [2 favorites]


I like that he doesn't talk, it makes the videos more universal.
posted by mon-ma-tron at 8:38 PM on July 31, 2016 [2 favorites]


Yeah he is basically Mr Bean for the artisinal set.
posted by turbid dahlia at 3:56 PM on August 1, 2016


He's made 4 houses and 2 meals, which seems an odd set of priorities. (Other than that, fantastic videos, which is why I'm coming back to them 2 weeks later.)
posted by ambrosen at 4:17 PM on August 8, 2016


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