The primitive communal system is the main features. The primitive communal system and its characteristics

K.V. Islanders
Lecture delivered at the Higher Party School of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, 1945

The emergence of human society

The history of the emergence of human society begins in ancient times, not amenable to precise definition.

“Probably hundreds of thousands of years elapsed ... before human society arose from a herd of tree-climbing monkeys,” says Engels.

The famous naturalist Charles Darwin made in the second half of the XIX century. the discovery that man originated as a result of a long evolution from ancestors close to the great apes. The basis of this evolution, according to Darwin, was the law of natural selection, i.e., the survival of the more adapted and the extinction of the less adapted to the struggle for existence. Darwin with his teaching, in the words of Marx, inflicted death blow teleology in natural science, and at the same time destroyed biblical legend about the creation of man by God.

Darwin's brilliant hypothesis about the origin of man was brilliantly confirmed by a number of archaeological discoveries and finds that began in the 19th century. and continuing to this day.

In different parts the globe the remains of bones and skulls were found, proving the existence of people in ancient times, bearing clear traces of their origin from a humanoid ape. This made it possible to establish in general terms the individual stages of the long path of development of the anthropoid ape into man.

In the 90s of the last century on about. Java was found with a skull, femur and two molars, characteristic of the "transitional" type from monkey to man. The found skull in its structure resembles a monkey, with its sloping forehead, but in volume it is twice the size of a monkey and approaches the human. The shape of the hip indicates the gait of a person already in a half-bent position. This type received in science the name Pithecanthropus - ape-man, or the most ancient man.

In 1907, in Germany, near Heidelberg, a lower jaw was found, in its form very close to that of a monkey, but with human teeth. According to the place of discovery, its owner was called the Heidelberg man.

In 1929/30, in China, near Zhou Kou-tian, two skulls were found that largely coincided with the Pithecanthropus skull, but differed from it in a larger volume, which already indicated a higher stage of development. This new type received in history the name Sinanthropus (i.e. Chinese man).

Later, bones and skulls were found in Germany, France, Africa, Asia and the USSR, belonging to a more developed type of transitional man. This type is much closer to modern man, differing from Pithecanthropus and Sinanthropus in a large volume of the skull, and from modern man in more developed muscles, shortening of the lower leg compared to the thigh and a smaller volume of the skull. He received the name Neanderthal man, since for the first time his remains were found in the valley of the Neander River (Germany).

All these findings culminated in the discovery of a Cro-Magnon man found in France, in a Cro-Magnon cave. Cro-Magnon man in physical structure already differs little from modern man.

All these "transitional" to man types reflect the various stages of the transformation of the great ape into man.

However, the transformation of an anthropoid ape into a man cannot be explained by the law of natural selection alone.

Engels proved that labor played a decisive role in this transformation.

“Labor ... the first basic condition of all human life, - says Engels, - and, moreover, to such an extent that in a certain sense we must say: labor created man himself.

Our distant ancestors, the great apes, were familiar with elementary labor operations using primitive tools found ready-made in nature in the form of a stick or stone.

Observations on the modern ape chimpanzee show that it uses a stick in various situations of life, and sometimes is able to combine several sticks together. In moments of anger, she seizes the stone and uses it as a rather formidable weapon of defense or attack.

The way of life of the anthropoid ape, the material conditions of its existence contributed to the further development and improvement of these elementary labor skills. A particularly important role in the development of labor was played by the division of functions between the fore and hind limbs of the anthropoid ape and the assimilation of a straight gait. The apes lived in herds in the trees. At the same time, in search of food, they were forced to descend from trees and roam the earth.

The need to climb trees, pick fruits, grab a stick or stone, build nests in trees contributed to the development of the forelimbs, which gradually specialized in the production of elementary labor operations and turned into hands.

The specialization of the forelimbs (arms) of great apes, first in the simplest, and then in more and more complex labor operations, led to the fact that great apes gradually began to wean themselves from relying on their hands when walking, began to learn a straight gait. This was the most important moment in the process of transition from ape to man. Engels says: “... The decisive step has been taken, the hand is free and could now assimilate more and more skills, and the great flexibility acquired by this was inherited and increased from generation to generation.

This process required a huge amount of time, in comparison with which "... the historical period known to us is insignificant" .

The liberation of the hand from the functions of the leg made it an organ of labor. But the hand, as Engels aptly remarked, is not only an organ of labor, but also its product. Only thanks to the gradual development of elementary labor operations - picking fruits, grasping sticks, etc. - and the changes in the structure of the forelimbs caused by them, the latter gradually turned into hands. But still, what was good for the hand was good for the whole body.

The human body is a single entity. Its individual parts are organically interconnected. This interdependence of individual parts Darwin called the law of the ratio of growth. By virtue of this law, the improvement of the hand and the adaptation of the leg to a straight gait could not but have an effect on the rest of the body and on the whole organism as a whole.

The most important result of the improvement of the human hand was the development of labor, which significantly increased the dominance of man over the surrounding nature, and at the same time expanded his horizons. Man gradually learned to use the objects around him to his advantage.

Another important consequence of the development of labor was the expansion of the scope joint activities which contributed to a closer rallying of people into a single team. As a result, a need arose for speech, which brought the corresponding organ to life. A long process of transformation of the pharynx of the great ape began, and it acquired the ability of articulate speech.

Development labor activity and articulate speech was, in turn, the most important factor in the gradual transformation of the monkey brain into the human brain.

Under the influence of labor activity, a person's range of perceptions and ideas has expanded. A man could catch with his ear and notice with his eye many things that animals could not notice, although he was inferior to them in the subtlety of hearing and vigilance of the eye.

“The eagle,” says Engels, “sees much farther than a man, but the human eye notices much more in things than the eye of an eagle.”

The developing human consciousness has acquired the ability to generalize. It opened more and more properties in the surrounding objects and phenomena, which strengthened the position of man in the struggle for existence.

The process of the emergence of man is at the same time the process of the emergence of human society. One cannot be separated from the other. “Our ape-like ancestors ... were social animals,” says Engels, “it is quite obvious that it is impossible to derive the origin of man, this most social of all animals, from non-social closest ancestors.”

Thus, as a result of a long evolution, numbering hundreds of millennia, human society arose.

We have seen the great significance of labor in the process of the transformation of the ape into man.

However, labor, which played such an important role in the transformation of the great ape into man, was only an embryonic form of labor.

The fundamental feature of human labor, which distinguishes man from animals, is the manufacture of tools.

"Labour," says Engels, "begins with the making of tools."

“The use and creation of the means of labor,” says Marx, “although they are characteristic in an embryonic form of some species of animals, they constitute a specifically characteristic feature of the human labor process ...” .

The second feature that distinguishes man from animals is that he works consciously. Before creating something, a person already has in his head a plan for his future creation. The animal adapts to nature not consciously, but by instinct.

As the ape turned into a man, there was a gradual transition from the semi-instinctive use of tools found ready in nature - sticks, stones, etc. - to the conscious manufacture of tools, until, finally, the greatest leap in history was made - a man arose who makes tools. This laid the historical line that forever separated human society from the herd of anthropoid apes.

The main features of the primitive communal mode of production

1. Productive forces primitive society

The era of existence of primitive society was the longest in the history of mankind. Compared with it, the so-called written history of mankind has, in the words of Engels, "... no more important than a second in a person's life" ... This longest epoch in the development of mankind consisted of several stages, which differed in the level of productive forces and in the changes they caused in the system of industrial relations.

For the first time scientific periodization of primitive society was given by Morgan. This periodization was adopted by Engels. Morgan establishes two most important stages in the history of the development of primitive society: the period of savagery and the period of barbarism. Each of these periods, in turn, Morgan divides into three stages - lower, middle and higher. The period of savagery, according to Morgan, is characterized primarily by the appropriation of the finished products of nature. The period of barbarism - the development of cattle breeding and agriculture.

The lowest stage of savagery continued for many tens of millennia. However, written history has not preserved a single people that would be at this stage of development.

Articulate speech was the main achievement of this stage in the development of primitive society. Mankind was still in a state close to the animal. Primitive man was extremely weakly armed to fight the surrounding nature. Even Lucretius pointed out that the first tools of people were hands, claws and teeth, stones, as well as wood fragments and branches. natural tools primitive man were, of course, weaker than that of many representatives of the animal world surrounding it. Artificial tools were extremely primitive.

The brain of primitive man was weak and undeveloped. He has not yet accumulated enough experience in the fight against nature, passed down from generation to generation. At this stage, the ways of obtaining livelihoods were reduced mainly to picking up the fruits and roots of plants and hunting for small animals. Primitive man was still to a very large extent a slave of the surrounding nature.

The development of the productive forces proceeded extremely slowly. Earning a livelihood, fighting for his existence, primitive man got acquainted with the objects and forces of nature, improved tools, accumulated experience and passed it on from generation to generation. With extreme slowness, over many thousands of years, the first inventions and discoveries were made one after another.

Thus, gradually, the primitive man rose from the lower stage of savagery to the middle stage. At this stage, primitive man used roughly shaped, unpolished stone tools dating back to the early Stone Age, the so-called Paleolithic.

By combining sticks and stone, processing them and adapting them to different purposes, various tools were created: clubs, stone axes, hammers, spears, etc. But the main achievement of this stage community development was the discovery by man of the beneficial properties of fire.

Man first became acquainted with fire through observation of the surrounding nature. He saw lightning strike a tree and set it on fire. He observed the eruption of volcanoes, forest fires and thus got acquainted with the warming properties of fire. Observations showed primitive man that fruits or meat become softer and tastier under the influence of moderate fire. This gave him the idea to use the valuable properties of fire. At first, the fire was simply maintained. Probably, primitive man had to endure many tragedies when his fire went out. Much later, when the production of tools reached a higher level of development, people noticed that fire appeared when flint was struck, when wood was rubbed, and they learned how to get it.

This was a huge step in the development of primitive society. The discovery of fire, according to Engels, for the first time gave man dominion over a certain force of nature and finally cut him off from the animal kingdom.

Fire gave primitive man protection from the winter cold, it became a source of light for him, man used fire as a weapon of protection from the mighty predators surrounding him.

Thanks to the discovery of fire, the range of objects that could serve as food for humans has significantly expanded. He began to consume starchy tubers and roots baked in hot ashes. Thanks to the use of fire, a person was able to eat fish and meat in a boiled form, which shortened the process of digestion. Meat food contains elements that are very important for the human body. The use of meat food to a very large extent contributed to the physical strengthening of primitive man. The meat diet had a particularly great influence on the development of the human brain.

At the middle stage of savagery, fishing and hunting were much more developed. The latter was now carried out with the help of a club and a spear.

Primitive man did not have a permanent home. From cold, heat, rain, he took refuge under dense deciduous trees, in bushes and in caves. The hollows of trees, as well as pits covered with brushwood, at the bottom of which a fire glimmered, could also serve as dwellings.

The slow but steady growth of the productive forces led to the fact that the power of primitive man over nature increased and his dependence on the climate decreased. If earlier primitive man was forced to keep to the climatic zone in which he originally developed, that is, the zone of tropical and subtropical forests, now, thanks to better tools, the use of fire and meat food, he was able to adapt to various climatic conditions. Man began to quickly spread over the earth, following the course of rivers and sea ​​shores and moving farther and farther away from the places of their original settlement.

The highest stage of savagery marks further progress in the development of the productive forces of primitive society. At this stage, a person is already beginning to use polished stone tools: more advanced stone axes, scrapers, flint knives, saws, etc. appear.

In America, in the forests of Eastern Paraguay, until recently, the tribe of guayacs survived, which was at the stage of savagery. The Guaiacs did not know metal tools and used stone axes. The latter were made in the following way: the stone was polished so that one edge was thin; then a deep incision was made in the trunk of a young tree and a polished stone was inserted there; in this position, the stone remained until the incision healed and the wood fibers covered the stone. Then the tree was cut down and a stone ax was obtained. To cut down a tree with such an ax, you need to spend a colossal amount of labor. Nevertheless, the guaiacs managed to cut down huge trees with a stone axe, reaching a meter in girth.

The main achievement of the highest stage of savagery was the invention of the bow and arrows. “For the era of savagery,” says Engels, “the bow and arrow were the same as the iron sword became for barbarism and firearms for civilization - a decisive weapon.

The invention of the bow and arrow testified that man had gained some experience in the struggle with nature and had reached a certain mental development. Thanks to this invention, hunting has become one of the main ways of obtaining livelihoods.

At the highest stage of savagery, the production of wooden vessels, wicker baskets and other items already begins. Boats are made by burning the inside of the trees, after which the burnt parts of the tree are cut down with a stone axe. People begin to build huts, portable and permanent dwellings. In the construction of dwellings, logs and boards are already used.

Thus, through a long process of historical development, primitive society enters the stage of barbarism. “The characteristic moment of the period of barbarism,” says Engels, “is the domestication and breeding of animals and the cultivation of plants.”

The lowest stage of barbarism begins with the invention of pottery.

The transition to the middle stage of barbarism in the Eastern countries was marked by the domestication of animals, and in the Western countries by the cultivation of plants. The development of hunting gradually led to the domestication of animals, to primitive cattle breeding, which was the result of constant contact between hunters and herds of animals. Hunters began to tame wild animals, especially their cubs, which got used to their master and became domesticated.

One of the first domesticated animals was the dog. In caves and in other places where primitive man lived, bones of dogs were found in large numbers. Then the domestication of other animals began. The ways of taming animals were extremely diverse. So, for example, among the Nenets and Evenki, a method of hunting deer was preserved for a long time, when a tamed female was exhibited to bait wild male deer. Herds of wild deer were often driven into gorges or fenced places specially arranged for this. The driven animals were killed and eaten. Subsequently, they were kept in pens as a live stock of meat. Then they began to use deer and other large animals for transportation purposes. Thus, cattle breeding was born.

At first, pastoralism was closely connected with hunting. Gradually, it becomes the main source of meat food, and hunting fades into the background. The next step in the development of cattle breeding was the emergence of a dairy farm. Until recently, methods of primitive pastoralism could be observed among some backward peoples. So, some tribes of Africa, wanting to keep gazelles near their homes, burned grass in the steppe over a significant area and thus fertilized the soil for the growth of more abundant food. Abundant food attracted gazelles, and they gradually turned into a semi-wild herd. In the North, among the Evenki, cattle are often still in a semi-wild state and graze in the forest without supervision.

The emergence of cattle breeding marked a new, important stage in the development of productive forces. In the beginning, pastoralism was inevitably associated with nomadic life. Pastures were needed for livestock: they had to be changed when they were exhausted. Nomadic life resulted, on the one hand, in more frequent meetings and the development of relations between people, on the other hand, intensification of clashes and wars.

An equally important step in the development of the productive forces of primitive society was the transition to the cultivation of plants and to agriculture.

Agriculture arose as a result of a long practice of fighting with nature, observing natural phenomena. Having accidentally spilled the grains of wild-growing cereal plants, a person a few months later found ears of corn grown in this place. Thousands of times it made no impression on primitive man. But in the end, the connection of these two phenomena was established in his mind and the idea arose to use it. The discovery could most likely have been made by women who, because of children, were more attached to the hearth and more engaged in collecting fruits and grains than male hunters.

Primitive methods of obtaining subsistence, such as hunting, picking fruits, etc., as society developed, turned out to be more and more insufficient. In addition, with an increase in the number of people, the amount of free land decreased and the opportunities for wandering life decreased. The combination of these factors has led to an increase in the role of agriculture.

The original methods of agriculture were crude and unreliable. Farming was carried out with the help of extremely primitive tools: pointed sticks, hoes, etc. Clearing the soil from the forest was carried out with the help of stone axes, which required an enormous amount of time and enormous labor.

The middle stage of barbarism marks further progress in the development of the productive forces. The achievements of this period include the invention of a loom, the smelting of metal ores and the processing of metal (copper, tin, bronze). As a result of the development of the productive forces, material wealth in the form of livestock, meat, milk, wool, yarn, fabrics, various types of metal weapons, etc.

The highest stage of barbarism begins with the smelting of iron ore. A plow with an iron share appears. Animals are being used as draft power. The growth of technology in agriculture and the use of the iron ax create much broader possibilities for raising agricultural production.

The use of iron tools gave impetus to the development of various crafts within the tribal community. Spinning, weaving, smelting and processing of metals, etc., are among the most important of them. The development of productive forces was accompanied by population growth.

Greece, as described by Homer in the Iliad, was at the highest stage of barbarism. Ancient Greece This period is already familiar with rather complex iron tools, a hand mill, a potter's wheel, metal processing, the construction of carts and ships, the rudiments of architecture.

In the field of agriculture, butter-making, wine-making and other new industries are developing.

Such is the path traversed by primitive society in the development of the productive forces.

2. Production relations of primitive society

The production relations of primitive society are based on public ownership of the means of production and are characterized by collective production and equal distribution.

Public ownership of the means of production in primitive society was the result of collective labor, which, in turn, was due to the extremely low level of productive forces and the weak armament of primitive man in the struggle with the surrounding nature. This weak armament was the most important feature of the primitive communal system.

In fact, the tools of production were extremely primitive and in most cases were used individually. By their nature, they did not require socialized labor, unlike modern tools - machines, machine tools, which can only be used in conditions of large-scale production, in the conditions of social labor of many people. But it was precisely because of their primitiveness that the tools of labor so weakly armed primitive man that they could not ensure his existence in conditions of isolated management, individual production of consumer goods. This “weakness of the isolated personality,” this extremely insignificant level of armament of man, gave rise to the need for collective, common labor, and common labor created the need for social ownership of the means of production.

What means of production were in public ownership primitive people? First of all, land, which was the most important condition for the existence of primitive society.

In the early stages of the development of the primitive communal system, when primitive people led a wandering lifestyle, the community of land ownership extended to territories where they collectively engaged in collecting fruits and roots, as well as hunting small animals. Hunting territory was often a life-and-death struggle between roaming hunting groups. People during this period settled in this or that territory temporarily, as long as it could serve them as a place for hunting and a source of plant food.

With the development of agriculture and the transition to a settled way of life, the community of landed property acquires a firmer basis and extends to the territory occupied by the primitive community. In addition to land, a number of other means of production were in public ownership: boats, rafts, etc., the same applies to housing.

Public ownership of land and other means of production was first limited to the very narrow limits of wandering hunting groups, and then to the primitive community.

Along with communal property, there was personal ownership of certain instruments of production, which at the same time were an instrument of defense against predatory animals. This applies to those tools that are designed exclusively for individual use, like the tomahawk of the Indian or the boomerang of the Australian savage. In the conditions of primitive society, a person was at every step threatened by the danger of being attacked by predatory animals or hostile groups of people, and he had to be ready at any moment to defend his life with weapons in his hands.

Personal property that existed in primitive society must not be confused with private property. The latter is inextricably linked with private production and private appropriation. It gives rise to competition between private owners, leads to the enrichment of some and the ruin of others, to the exploitation of man by man. Personal property in the conditions of a primitive society is not connected with private production and does not give rise to the exploitation of man by man.

Such were the property relations that formed the basis of the production relations of primitive society.

The production relations of the primitive communal system are characterized by simple cooperation, simple cooperation.

In one of the notes to Volume I of Capital, Marx writes that Lenge, not without reason, calls hunting the first form of cooperation. Simple cooperation was of great importance in the life of primitive people. It made possible activities that one person could not do. The primitive tools that primitive man had at his disposal were completely insufficient to fight such large animals as the mammoth, rhinoceros, etc. Hunting for small animals also could not be successful outside the collective.

Examples of collective methods of primitive man's struggle for his existence could be observed until recently in Australia and some other countries. So, in Australia, a whole tribe often took part in the hunt for kangaroos. Hunting was usually carried out in this way: women and children climbed the hills, raised a noise and a cry, and drove the kangaroo down into the valley. Below, in the tall grass, at a short distance from each other, male hunters hid. When kangaroos ran past the hunters, they rose from their ambush and hit them with spears. Hunting for small animals living in dense bushes was also carried out collectively. At the edge of the bush against the wind, a fence was built, in which there were holes. Hunters armed with spears and clubs stood at these openings. On the opposite, leeward side, women and children lit a fire in many places at once. Animals inhabiting the bushes rushed away from the fire, but there they met a fence and tried to slip into the holes left, where death from a spear or club awaited them.

The same collective methods were used in fishing. So, in Australia, fishing was carried out with spears made of hard wood about 6 feet long, with a sharp tip. Fishing was carried out by parties of anglers in the amount of 40 to 60 people. Positioned in a semicircle, fishermen with their spears simultaneously plunged into the water and hit large fish with them. In this way, within an hour it was possible to catch up to 10 or more large fish.

The middle stage of barbarism was marked in the Eastern countries by the domestication of animals, and in the Western countries by the cultivation of plants. However, the tools of agricultural labor and methods of farming at this stage were still extremely primitive and therefore required the preservation of collective forms of labor.

Huge work required, first of all, clearing and preparing the soil for sowing. Traveler Gumilla tells how the Indians cut down forests in South America with the help of stone axes, spending a huge amount of time on it. “I asked them how long it would take them to cut down one of those trees? They replied that they use two moons for what we do in one hour with an ordinary ax ... ".

An interesting example Primitive agriculture leads Miklouho Maclay. The cultivation of the land, according to his description, was carried out as follows: men deeply stuck pointed sticks into the ground and then with one stroke raised a large block of earth. The men were followed by women who, with the same pointed sticks, crushed the earth raised by the men. Children followed them. different ages and rubbed the earth with their hands. After that, with the help of small sticks, women made small indentations in the ground and buried seeds or plant roots in them.

The collective character of agriculture, which once dominated among primitive peoples, is evidenced by numerous survivals of the methods of collective cultivation of the land, which were preserved until recently among many peoples. Sieber, in Sketches of Primitive Economic Culture, cites Wallace's report that in the villages of Northern Celebes, coffee plantations and rice fields are cultivated together. The boss and some old men decide which days of the week they need to work for them, and the gong strikes at 7 o'clock in the morning for the workers to collect. Men, women and children work together to clear weeds, collect coffee and harvest rice; how many hours each family has worked is kept account of, and when the harvest is reaped, each one receives an appropriate share.

In the conditions of primitive society, the division of labor by sex and age prevailed. Engels, characterizing primitive society, points out that the division of labor in this society “…is of purely natural origin; it exists only between the sexes. A man fights, goes hunting and fishing, gets food in its raw form and makes the tools necessary for this. A woman works at home and is busy preparing food and clothes - she cooks, weaves, sews. Each of them is a master in his own area: a man in a forest, a woman in a house.

Among the American Nenets men devote their time mainly to fishing and hunting. “On a woman,” writes Tai-Bogoraz, “everything that was associated with settling fell - housing, a hearth, cooking and clothing, and most importantly, the procurement of industrial stocks for a long winter time and, in general, all kinds of utilization of hunting products” .

The division of labor according to sex and age arises at the earliest stages of social development. This is evidenced by the differentiation of stone tools, which occurs very early. “In terms of types of tools,” writes P. P. Efimenko, “the Mousterian industry, even at a later time, is still very poor: poverty and the monotony of tools give it, therefore, a rather primitive character. She knows, in fact, only two tools of a finished form, which are more or less constantly found in the sites of the late Mousterian - this is the so-called. Mousterian pointed point ... and scraper ... ". P.P. Efimenko explains the presence of these two types of tools by the division of labor between men and women.

The development of the productive forces of primitive society finds its expression in the further growth of the division of labor according to sex and age. Women are increasingly devoting themselves to housework and the extraction of plant foods, and men to hunting, fishing, etc. Old people specialize in the production of tools. So, among the Australians, the old men were monopolists in the manufacture of tools with which they supplied all members of the tribe.

This is explained by the fact that the production of tools required experience that young people did not have. The children helped the women. When the boys reached adolescence, they moved on to hunting.

The primitive communal economy was a subsistence economy. In the beginning, the exchange was an accidental phenomenon. Engels connects the emergence of exchange with a random division of labor in the production of stone tools.

The need for stone tools was experienced mainly by those groups of primitive people who inhabited areas poor in stones suitable for processing.

With the advent of agriculture and animal husbandry, first major social division of labor between agricultural and pastoral tribes. At the same time, exchange, which until now has been an accidental phenomenon, is becoming more and more regular and systematic.

The low level of productive forces in the presence of common ownership of the products of labor caused an egalitarian distribution. Given the scarcity of consumer goods, any violation of the principle of equalization inevitably doomed some members of the clan to starvation and led to the destruction of the collective. And only in the collective, as we have seen, the primitive man could defend his existence in the struggle with the surrounding nature. Therefore, the principle of equality in distribution was sacredly observed by primitive man.

According to travelers, the Australians had this custom: if one of the hunters returned from hunting empty-handed, then he, along with everyone else, took his place by the fire on which they cooked food; while other, more fortunate hunters, handed him pieces of meat, which he accepted without any sign of gratitude. LeVallian relates the following interesting case of egalitarian distribution, which he observed in South Africa. The tribe of Kamenkoev came to his camp. He decided to bring vodka to his guests, but there was not enough vodka for everyone and “... therefore he offered a glass only to the boss and those who appearance and age seemed to him more than others worthy of respect; what was his surprise when he noticed that they kept the liquid in their mouths without swallowing it, and then they all approached their comrades who did not receive it, began to pour it from mouth to mouth, just as the birds of the air feed each other from beak to beak".

Morgan, who observed the life of the Indians in America, also notes the collective appropriation of the products of labor and their collective consumption. “Wherever the dominance of the tribal organization is established,” he says, “we see, as a rule, that individual families, connected with each other by close kinship relations, unite in common households and arrange a common supply of food obtained by fishing, hunting and maize culture and other plants. These families built communal houses large enough to accommodate several families, and it may be considered a general phenomenon that in all parts of America during the native period people lived not in separate families in separate houses, but in large multi-family households.

One of the remnants of egalitarian distribution is the widespread custom of hospitality among all peoples. This custom was one of the types of mutual assistance, some kind of equalization in the matter of providing primitive people with means of consumption.

The custom of hospitality in the conditions of the harsh tundra played an important economic role in the life of the Nenets. If it weren’t for such a custom, traveling through the sparsely populated tundra, with villages located at great distances from each other, would be in the highest degree difficult.

It is also interesting to note that the Nenets have a custom to leave reserves in certain places of the tundra, which are considered to be the common property.

Rasmussen, who lived for many years in Greenland, writes about this: “Meat stocks left on the tundra are intended in general for travelers. They are scattered everywhere so that, after all, in the more populated districts, it is not necessary to take special travel supplies. You will find something everywhere. The meat is hidden under huge stones that give protection from bears and foxes.

The improvement of the instruments of labor and the growth of the productive forces led to the fact that one gap after another made its way into the leveling distribution. So, as a result of the invention of the bow and arrows, the pre-emptive right to appropriation best parts the killed animal was received by the hunter, whose arrow first hit the animal. “Whoever's arrow hit a sea bear for the first time, he receives half of the skin and entrails, and, moreover, has the right to give the other half of the skin to any hunting companion; the one whose arrow was the second gets the neck and other entrails; the third arrow gives the right to the bladder, the fourth and fifth to the front, the sixth and seventh to the rear fins. The meat is divided equally among all who take part in the hunt.

With an extremely low level of productive forces, primitive people could not successfully fight nature if they were not united on the basis of communal property and collective labor. However, we must not forget that primitive man still had an extremely poorly developed ability to know the laws of nature and comprehend "... both the closer and more distant consequences of our active interference in its natural course." As for the relations between the tribes, the elements of the bestial struggle for existence dominated there.

Primitive communal production relations, having arisen at an extremely low level of productive forces, opened up a certain scope for the development of the latter. Those possibilities for the development of productive forces, which were laid down in the primitive communal mode of production, consisted in collective labor, in simple cooperation. Collectively fighting for existence, primitive people sought to satisfy their elementary needs.

The desire to satisfy needs was the stimulus that pushed primitive people onto the path of developing the production of material goods.

Marx and Engels in The German Ideology emphasize that “... the first historical act is the production of the means necessary to satisfy ... needs ...

The second fact is that the first need itself satisfied, the action of satisfaction and the instrument of satisfaction already acquired lead to new needs ... ".

Simple cooperation as a form of joint labor increased the energy of primitive people. With simple cooperation in mind, Marx says: “… even the very social contact causes competition and a kind of excitation of vital energy… increasing individual productivity…”.

Finally, in addition to increasing the capacity of the individual, simple cooperation created a new productive force, which was the productive force of the combined social labor of many people.

These were driving forces and the possibilities for the development of productive forces inherent in the production relations of the primitive communal system.

The development of productive forces in primitive society was extremely slow. Routine prevailed, the force of tradition. However, under the active influence of collective labor, the productive forces, although very slowly, nevertheless grew, necessitating corresponding changes in the system of production relations.

3. The tribal structure of primitive society

Primitive people lived in clans. Engels, in the preface to his work The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State, considers family and clan relations in primitive society, along with the production of material goods, as a factor determining the social structure.

“According to the materialistic understanding,” he writes in this preface, “the decisive moment in history is, in the final analysis, the production and reproduction of immediate life. But it itself, again, is of two kinds. On the one hand - the production of means of subsistence: food, clothing, housing and tools necessary for this; on the other hand, the production of man himself, the continuation of the family. The social order in which people of a certain historical epoch and a certain country live is determined by both types of production: the stage of development, on the one hand, labor, on the other, the family. The less developed labor is, the more limited the quantity of its products, and consequently the wealth of society, the stronger the dependence of the social system on tribal ties is manifested.

Man only gradually, as a result of a long evolution, stood out from the animal world. This greatest leap in history is connected with the production of guns. The production of tools is a decisive feature of human society, distinguishing it from the animal world.

Before the emergence of human society, tools did not play a decisive role in the life of our humanoid ancestors.

At this stage, the relationship of males to females, as well as the relationship of both to their cubs, did not depend on the level of productive forces and, in particular, on tools, but were determined by the general natural and material conditions of their existence. But with the emergence of human society, the productive forces and, above all, the instruments of labor begin to play a decisive role in the development of social relations, including family relations.

Marx in the first volume of Capital writes: “... every historically specific mode of production is in fact characterized by its own special, historical laws of population. The abstract law of population exists only for plants and animals, until this area is historically invaded by man.

It follows from this that the primitive communal mode of production had its own special laws of the population, which were determined by the achieved level of productive forces. Thus, the custom of killing old people, weak children, etc., which existed among many savages, is a form of adaptation of the population to the extremely low level of the productive forces of primitive society. Consequently, it was not family and clan relations that played a decisive role in the structure of primitive society, but the productive forces and, above all, the tools of labor determined the corresponding system of social and production relations - the economic basis of primitive society, and the latter, in turn, determined all other aspects of social life, in including family relations.

Before the emergence of the genus, primitive people lived in herds. The transition to the tribal system was caused by the development of tools of labor, the growth of productive forces, which created the ground for the expansion of labor ties between people.

In the beginning, the maternal clan arose. The clan was headed by a common progenitor. This was due to the dominant role of women in primitive society. Women were engaged in the extraction of plant food and, in particular, in primitive agriculture, as well as in the collective household, which was extremely important in the life of primitive society. “The communist household,” says Engels, “in which all or most of the women belong to the same genus, while the men belong to different genuses, serves as the real basis ... of the domination of women everywhere in the primitive era ...” .

We find echoes of these relations in the customs, beliefs, myths of all peoples of the globe.

The dominance of primitive forms of agriculture and the preservation of the collective household means the preservation of the dominant role of women in primitive society. The further growth of the productive forces, in particular the transition to cattle breeding and agriculture, caused the change of the maternal clan to the patriarchal one, where the dominant role belonged to the man.

The clan united in its ranks people who led a common economy and were interconnected by a common origin from one ancestor or ancestor.

The tribal system did not know inequality and exploitation. A prime example of such an organization is the Iroquois tribe in America. The tribe was divided into eight clans, each of which had an elected foreman (sachem) and a military leader. The position of the sachem was replaceable, the council or clan could change it at any time. There was a close bond and solidarity between the members of the clan. For every insult inflicted or harm done to one of the members of the clan, the whole clan took revenge. The clan council was a democratic assembly of adult members, where both men and women were admitted on equal terms. Clans were united in phratries.

The phratries performed functions of a social and religious nature. The council of phratries approved the election of the sachem and organized common religious holidays. In the event of a murder, if the slain and the murderer belonged to different phratries, councils of both phratries were convened to settle the conflict. The union of phratries constituted the tribe.

The tribe had its own territory, which included places of settlement, as well as significant areas for hunting and fishing. It had its own idiom. The tribe enjoyed the right to appoint sachems and military leaders elected by the clans, as well as to remove them, even against the wishes of the clan. common affairs The tribe was led by a tribal council, consisting of sachems and military leaders of the clans. The tribal council was engaged in regulating relations with other tribes, the declaration of war and the conclusion of peace depended on it. Some tribes were led by a foreman, who, if necessary, had the right to take emergency measures before the council met and made a final decision.

The need for a collective struggle for existence instilled in primitive man a sense of brotherhood and solidarity in relation to members of his clan and tribe.

If relations between people within a tribe were based on brotherhood and equality, then relations between tribes were dominated by a bestial struggle for existence. The tribal system corresponded to a low level of productive forces, an extremely undeveloped production. Engels says: “But let us not forget that this organization was doomed to perish. She did not go further than the tribe ... Everything that was outside the tribe was outside the law. In the absence of a peace treaty concluded in all forms, a war between tribes reigned, and this war was waged with the cruelty that distinguishes man from other animals ... The tribal system ... assumed extremely undeveloped production, therefore ... almost complete subordination of man to the hostile opposing and incomprehensible surrounding nature ... ".

4. Public representations of primitive people

The thinking of primitive man was extremely primitive, the language is poor. Primitive people, not being able to explain the phenomena of the nature around them, attributed to them all sorts of supernatural properties, inhabited nature with evil and good spirits. All this ultimately reflected the extremely low level of productive forces.

“... every religion,” says Engels, “is nothing more than a fantastic reflection in the minds of people of those external forces that dominate them in their daily life, a reflection in which earthly forces take the form of unearthly ones.”

This leads to the fact that the methods of obtaining the means of subsistence and their distribution, developed over millennia of struggle with nature, acquire the character of religious prescriptions.

From this point of view big interest represents totemism. Totem is the name of the animal, the patron of the family. The tribe is divided into genera that bear the name of animals: snakes, wolf, bear, deer, kangaroo, emu, etc. Members of the clan, bearing the name of any animal, not only cannot kill it, but must protect it in every possible way. Without the permission of the totem group that bears the name of a particular animal, say a kangaroo, other totem groups do not have the right to hunt it. This permission is given by the leader of the totem group after the appropriate religious rites and in such a way as to prevent the possibility of predatory extermination of this animal.

According to the assumption of the scientist - Fraser, initially groups bearing the name of one or another totem, say a kangaroo, hunted kangaroos, killed them both for themselves and for the rest of the totem groups that make up the tribe. Under the new religious orders, the totem group is forbidden to kill the totem. Thus, a group of caterpillars perform all sorts of spells and religious rites, supposedly promoting the reproduction of caterpillars. However, these caterpillars are used by representatives of other totem groups.

Consequently, in this case, a kind of division of labor is hidden under the religious cult, which has as its goal to streamline the use of animals, to protect them from predatory extermination. The expedient system of obtaining the means of subsistence worked out in practice took the form of religious prescriptions.

Religious consciousness is not only a product of economic and social development, but also has the opposite effect on economic development.

The methods of obtaining and distributing means of consumption, which took the ossified forms of religious prescriptions and rituals, in our example, protected the animals necessary for the existence of primitive people from predatory extermination. At the same time, religious precepts, reflecting the stage of economic development that has passed, are turning into an inert, conservative force that hinders the transition to more improved methods of struggle for existence. Inertia, stagnation, the dominance of millennial traditions and customs, prejudice against everything new - these are the characteristic features of the consciousness and ideology of primitive society.

The growth of productive forces eventually breaks through the jungle of millennial traditions, ossified in religious prescriptions and rituals, and makes further forward movement possible. With the emergence of individual production and private ownership of the means of production, the consciousness of people begins to change, and with it the religious superstructure.

5. Decomposition of the primitive communal system. The Emergence of Private Property and the Exploitation of Man by Man

In the early stages of the existence of the primitive communal system, relations of production based on social ownership of the means of production opened up a certain scope for the development of the productive forces and moved them forward.

But the contradiction of primitive society lay in the fact that the collective character of production that dominated here was the result not of the socialization of the means of production, but of the weakness of the isolated individual, his extremely weak armament in the struggle against nature. The tools of labor were so crude and primitive that under conditions of individual production based on private ownership of the means of production, they could not ensure the existence of man. The growth of productive forces, which took place under the active influence of primitive communal production relations, must at a certain stage give rise to a tendency towards the development of private ownership of the means of production.

A decisive role in this process was played by the improvement of tools. Let's take agriculture as an example.

Agriculture, which arose even at the middle stage of barbarism, was at first carried out with the help of a hoe and other primitive tools, which allowed only the use of collective methods of cultivating the land. With the transition to the highest stage of barbarism, when metal tools appeared and animals began to be used as draft power in agriculture, these methods changed radically. The processing of the site with the help of a plow pulled by an ox did not require the collective labor of two or three dozen people. Thanks to the increase in labor productivity, the land began to produce more crops. The productive forces of primitive society, in particular such an important element as the tools of labor, developed to such an extent that it became possible for the individual production of an individual family. This was the main reason for the establishment of private ownership of the means of production.

From that moment on, the production relations of primitive society, which were based on public ownership of the means of production, with their natural division of labor according to sex and age, with the tribal structure, turned from a factor contributing to the development of productive forces into the fetters of this development. The further growth of productive forces required the abolition of the tribal structure of primitive society, which limited the scope of labor cooperation to the boundaries of the clan, which prevented the expansion of economic ties between people.

Private ownership of the means of production and the exploitation of man by man originate as early as the middle stage of barbarism, when cattle breeding and agriculture arose. Initially, private property extended to tools, weapons, ornaments, and livestock. Much later, private ownership of land arose. At first, it is rather a separate possession than private property in the full sense of the word.

Before the advent of agriculture and cattle breeding, the property of primitive people consisted mainly of clothing, household utensils, and coarse jewelry. There were various ways of obtaining food: collecting fruits and roots of plants, hunting, fishing. The existence of primitive man was poorly secured.

The transition to agriculture, and especially to cattle breeding, created a more reliable source of livelihood. Thus, herds of horses, donkeys, cattle, sheep, goats, etc. appeared among the pastoral tribes. Due to the possession of herds that required relatively little care and quickly multiplied, the shepherd tribes were able to regularly receive dairy and meat food. All former ways of obtaining means of subsistence receded into the background, giving way to cattle breeding and agriculture.

At first, all this wealth belonged to the family. “However, it was too early,” says Engels, “private ownership of herds was to develop. It is difficult to say whether, in the eyes of the author of the so-called First Book of Moses, the patriarch Abraham was the owner of his flocks by virtue of his own right as the head of the family community, or by virtue of his position as a de facto hereditary elder of the family. What is certain is that we should not imagine him as an owner in the modern sense of the word. And undoubtedly, further, that on the threshold of reliable history, we already everywhere find herds as a separate property of the heads of families, just like the works of art of the barbarian era, metal utensils, luxury items, and, finally, human cattle - slaves.

Thus, the embryo of private property was the separate possession of the head of the family of various household items and luxury, as well as cattle and slaves.

An enormous role in the development of private property and the exploitation of man by man was played by the social division of labor and exchange, which in turn were an expression of the growth of productive forces.

The transition to cattle breeding and agriculture gave rise to the first major social division of labor - between pastoral and agricultural tribes. Already agriculture has greatly increased labor productivity. This applies even more to livestock.

The pastoral tribes began to exchange the surplus of dairy and meat products for agricultural products produced by tribes that were mainly engaged in agriculture. Initially, the exchange was carried out between the tribes through the elders, leaders. At the same time, at the beginning, the elders acted only as representatives of their tribe. Subsequently, they began to appropriate to themselves the right of ownership of the products going for sale, or they taxed them in their favor. Thus, private property began to penetrate tribal communities. First of all, this applies to pastoral tribes. Herds from the common property of the entire tribe began to pass into the property of the elders.

Echoes of such relations are many customs that have long been preserved in the life of Indians, Malays and other peoples.

So, the Indians of Chile had such an order of trade. Merchants, in order to obtain permission to trade, had to turn to the elder of the village and give him gifts. After that, the elder called the Indians to his house with a beat on the drum, and trading began. The Indians chose the things they needed: axes, knives, mirrors, etc., agreed on a price and took things to themselves. Before the end of the trade, the elder announced with the help of a drum that the Indians should pay for the purchased things.

Among the Malays, some elders allowed the sale of ivory, camphor, gold, etc. only after paying a fee in their favor.

The exchange initially had the character of a direct exchange of one product for another - without the mediation of money.

The further development of exchange led to the fact that from many commodities individual commodities began to stand out, acting as money. So, among many peoples, the role of money was played by cattle as the most common commodity.

The growth of exchange relations accelerated the development of private property and the disintegration of the tribal community. The genus breaks up into a number of large families, which separate themselves and begin to independently engage in obtaining means of subsistence.

The profound shifts that took place in the economy of primitive society led to corresponding changes in the field of family relations.

With the development of cattle breeding and agriculture and the transition to metal tools, the role of the household, which was occupied by a woman, increasingly decreased, and the role of a man in the economy increased tremendously. As a result, mother right was overthrown. It was, according to Engels, world-historic defeat of the female».

A patriarchal family arose, which means the organization "... of a certain number of persons, free and not free, into a family subordinate to the paternal authority of the head of the family." patriarchal family includes several generations descended from a common ancestor. They run a common household, live in the same yard, eat and dress from common stocks.

Initially, private ownership of the means of production and consumer goods arises in the form of ownership of them by individual families.

The totality of individual independent families formed a rural community, which was no longer based on tribal relations, but on economic and territorial ones.

The rural community is by its nature dual. On the one hand, it retained the remnants of public property, mainly in the form of common ownership of land. Meadows, forests, pastures for livestock were in common use. The arable land, although it was divided among individual families, was not the private property of these families, but was in their temporary use and was periodically subjected to redistribution. On the other hand, each family in a rural community ran its own private, individual household on the basis of private ownership of the means of production. Manor land, house, outbuildings, agricultural implements, livestock - all this was privately owned by the family. Thus, here we already have individual production and the corresponding private appropriation. This duality - the combination of public property with the growing dominance of individual production and private property - led to the disintegration of the community. Private property gave rise to wealth inequality. Some families got rich, others went bankrupt. Land also gradually began to pass into private ownership.

The rise of slavery also belongs to this period. For primitive people, who stood at the stage of savagery and the lowest stage of barbarism, the slave could not be of any use, since labor was so unproductive that it did not yet create a noticeable excess over the costs of maintaining the slave. With the transition to cattle breeding and agriculture, the situation changed radically. Human labor began to give a surplus product. There was a demand for labor force, “... in particular,” says Engels, “after the herds finally passed into the possession of families ... The family did not increase as quickly as the cattle. More people were now needed to supervise the cattle; for this purpose it was possible to use a captured enemy, who, moreover, could multiply just as easily as cattle.

As a result, wealthier families began to turn into slaves, first prisoners of war, and later their own poor relatives. Society for the first time was divided into two classes: exploiters and exploited, slave owners and slaves. Mankind has entered a new long epoch of its existence - the epoch of class antagonistic formations.

6. Criticism of anti-scientific views on primitive society. Fascist falsification of the history of the primitive communal system

The primitive communal system, which existed among all peoples, is the first socio-economic formation, a necessary and inevitable step in the development of society. This system is the starting point of all further development of mankind. Mankind owes its first discoveries and inventions to the primitive communal system, thanks to which man was able to stand out from the animal kingdom. Only common, collective labor, based on social ownership of the means of production, helped human society to go through the preparatory class of training in the fight against nature, which has been stretching for tens of millennia, and to rise to a higher level of social development.

But bourgeois narrow-mindedness and class interests compel many scholars to deny with blunt stubbornness the existence at the dawn of human history of social ownership of the means of production and the products of labor.

So, Lippert, relying on the opinions of ignorant missionaries, argues that among savages, in particular among the Indians, the lazy use the results of the labors of the diligent, the older generation does not care about maintaining the life of the younger. Lippert argues that as soon as a person obtains a pile tool, private ownership of this tool immediately arises.

The German bourgeois economist L. Bücher considers the entire long history of the development of society up to the era of lower agriculture as a period of individual search for food, when there was no economic activity and a person existed without working. A closed economy, according to Bucher, begins only with the transition to a settled way of life and higher agriculture, that is, from the period of the decomposition of the primitive communal system.

Lippert's statement about the laziness of primitive man, just like Bucher's statement that primitive people were not engaged in economic activity and existed without working, is a complete absurdity.

Lenin, criticizing Bulgakov, who defended a similar point of view, wrote: “That primitive man received what he needed as a free gift from nature is a stupid fable, for which even novice students can boo Mr. Bulgakov. There was no golden age behind us, and primitive man was completely overwhelmed by the difficulty of existence, the difficulty of fighting with nature.

On the other hand, the fact of the existence in antiquity of public ownership of land was discovered among all peoples, in the most diverse countries and parts of the world: in Ireland, Russia, America, India, etc.

This generality of the distribution of the remnants of primitive communal relations convincingly testifies that at one time all peoples passed through the stage of the primitive communal system.

Along with theories that deny the existence of primitive communal relations at the dawn of human history, in the literature on primitive society there are attempts to idealize the primitive communal system. Thus, some excessively zealous admirers of the primitive communal system are ready to portray it as a systematically organized communist system.

Primitive people, as Engels rightly notes, enter history "... even as half-animals, still wild, helpless before the forces of nature, not yet aware of their own forces; therefore they were poor as animals, and not much higher than them in terms of their productivity. Of course, there is no need to speak of any planned economy under these conditions. Collective labor and egalitarian distribution were based here on the extremely weak armament of primitive man in the struggle with the surrounding nature.

The fact of the existence of public ownership of the means of production in primitive society at one time was undoubtedly a very convincing argument refuting the fabrications of bourgeois scientists about the eternal existence of private ownership of the means of production. It has not lost its significance even now. But in modern conditions a much more convincing argument against the fabrications of bourgeois scientists about the eternity of private property is the fact of the existence of a socialist country that has abolished private ownership of the means of production and established the dominance of socialist property.

The enemies of socialism try to present socialist ownership of the means of production as a step back from private ownership. Therefore, it is very important to reveal the profound difference between public ownership of the means of production in primitive society and socialist property, which constitutes the economic basis of the socialist mode of production implemented in the USSR.

Attempts to modernize the primitive communal system, to transfer the features of modern communism to it, are a gross mistake, violence against historical reality.

The primitive communal system was generated by an extremely low level of productive forces, the slavish dependence of man on the elemental forces of nature. Socialism is built on the basis of the highest achievements of science and technology and opens up exceptional opportunities for the flourishing of the productive forces.

The primitive communal system was characterized by poverty and destitution, an extreme shortage of consumer goods. Socialism brings to mankind an abundance of consumer goods, a colossal rise in the material and cultural level of the working people, and replaces the principle of equalization with the principle of "from each according to his ability, to each according to his work."

The primitive communal system did not yet know the exploitation of man by man, but at the same time, primitive man was a slave to nature, the struggle against which consumed all his time and strength. Socialism means the complete liberation of the individual both from the fetters of exploitation and from the fetters of slavish dependence on nature, ensures comprehensive development all her abilities.

Fascist obscurantists frankly put history at the service of their imperialist aggression. Their excursions into the field of history should "prove" the right of fascism to conquer the entire globe.

The main justification for fascist aggression is racial theory.

The fascists are trying to prove that public ownership of land took place only among the lower, inferior races, that the ancient Germans never knew public ownership of land, from time immemorial private property flourished among them.

This assertion of the Fascist falsifiers is pure fiction, in flagrant contradiction to historical facts. We find a description of the economic and social life of the Germans in Julius Caesar and Tacitus. Both of them unanimously note the existence of public ownership of land among the ancient Germans.

Archaeological evidence also confirms the existence of a communal system among the ancient Germans. During the excavation of ancient Germanic settlements, large houses were found, indicating the conduct of a common household by the ancient Germans, common sheds for cattle that were collectively kept, communal bread ovens, etc.

However, the Nazis are not limited to falsifying the history of the ancient Germans. They openly put forward the slogan of a return to barbarism.

Thus, Spengler argues that the primitive barbarism, hidden for centuries, is now awakening again. The creator of the new human culture is the new German man - a predatory beast.

Hitler, according to Rauschning, declared that "universal education is poison." Hitler convinced the Germans that they "have the right" to destroy millions of people, because in past times the winners were recognized full right exterminate tribes and entire nations.

All the propaganda of the Nazis, all their pseudoscience, awakened in the German people a predatory cruel beast, so that he could, with a clear conscience, rape women, kill the elderly and children, subject the wounded and prisoners to inhuman torture. Such is the meaning of the fascist preaching of the return of mankind to the times of primitive barbarism.

K. Marx and F. Engels. Works, vol. 23, p. 337.
K. Marx and F. Engels. Works, vol. 21, pp. 25-26.
K. Marx and F. Engels. Works, vol. 23, p. 646.
K. Marx and F. Engels. Works, vol. 21, p. 53.
K. Marx and F. Engels. Works, vol. 21, p. 99.
K. Marx and F. Engels. Works, vol. 20, p. 328.
K. Marx and F. Engels. Works, vol. 21, pp. 57-58.
K. Marx and F. Engels. Works, vol. 21, p. 61.
K. Marx and F. Engels. Works, vol. 21, p. 58.
V. I. Lenin. complete collection works, vol. 5, p. 103.
K. Marx and F. Engels. Works, vol. 20, p. 183.

A period in history spanning the epoch from the appearance of the first people to the rise of class society and the state. It is characterized by a low level of development of productive forces, common (collective) ownership of the means of production, collective labor and consumption. The process of decomposition of the primitive communal system in different regions and among different peoples does not occur simultaneously.

Great Definition

Incomplete definition ↓

Primitive communal system

the earliest and longest period in human history. The question of its periodization is debatable. Adopted archaeological periodization, which is based on differences in the material and technology used in the manufacture of tools. In this case, the predominance of one or another material is taken into account first of all (for example, in the Bronze Age, along with tools made of bronze, tools made of stone were used). Thus, the periodization takes the following form: the Stone Age, the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. Changes in the physical type of a person serve as another criterion for the periodization of the primitive communal system. Distinguish between the era of existence of the most ancient (archanthrope), ancient (paleoanthrope) and modern man (neoanthrope). The existence of the most ancient man is attributed to 2 - 2.5 million years ago. Much closer to the appearance of modern people was the Neanderthal (35 - 200 thousand years ago), belonging to the paleoanthropes. Modern man - (homo sapiens - a reasonable person) appeared 35 - 40 thousand years ago. By that time, people had not only learned how to make fire, but also how to make complex stone and bone tools, sew clothes, build dwellings, and hunt. In the Late Paleolithic, the “primitive human herd” (a fickle group of ancient people united in search of a means of subsistence) was replaced by a tribal system with a mother community (matriarchy) and common ownership of the means of production. Gradually, the tribal community passes into the neighboring one. The growth of productive forces, the division of labor led to the emergence of exchange, and then private property, the separation of the individual economy and the collapse of the primitive communal system. (For more details, see the anthology, section “Archaeological and written sources about ancient population of Eastern Europe »)

The history of mankind is divided into three periods: the Stone Age, the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. The division is based on the material from which tools were mainly made in a particular era. From the very beginning of their existence, people sought to unite in large groups - this made it possible to hunt more successfully, defend themselves from enemies and unfavorable conditions. natural phenomena. The first stage of the public (social) organization of mankind was the primitive communal system. It arose at the very beginning of the Stone Age, 700-800 thousand years ago, when the biological formation of man was still ongoing. The primitive communal system was characterized by a pronounced collectivity in production and consumption, which was caused by an extremely low level of development of productive forces, especially tools.

Stone Age (Paleolithic) It is subdivided into the Lower (or Early) Paleolithic, Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) and Late Paleolithic. In the era of the Lower Paleolithic (700-100 thousand years ago), a general uplift of land took place on Earth, tectonic processes caused cooling, the 1st glacial period. At this time, in Africa and Southeast Asia, the transformation of apes into primitive man began, ape-men appeared: Pithecanthropes, Sinanthropes and early Neanderthals. They united in hordes, or herds, of several dozen individuals. The primitive human herd was the oldest form of social existence. It replaced the zoological associations of primate monkeys and other animals. The first people were engaged in gathering, wild hunting for large animals, mastered the primitive technique of stone processing. Following the animals to the north, people have mastered the area of ​​evergreen subtropics near the Black Sea, the Caucasus and Transcaucasia. historical monument of that time on the territory of the CIS is Satani-Dar (Devil's Hall) in Armenia. There were found hand axes made of obsidian (volcanic glass), pointed at one end. They were a versatile tool. The technique of their manufacture testifies that a person still did not know how to measure the force of a blow with the strength of a stone, the hand was strong, but rude and inexperienced. A new step in the development of the Earth was made about 300 thousand years ago, when a person reached the Zhytomyr region (Ukraine). Hacks during this period are being improved, they can already be cut. The objects of human hunting were large animals: mammoth, cave bear, lion, leopard, mountain goat. People used fire, but they still did not know how to produce it.

The Mesolithic era (Middle Stone Age, 100-30 thousand years ago) is associated with the appearance of a typical Neanderthal man: a man of small stature, with a low forehead, strongly developed superciliary arches and a sloping chin. Neanderthals already had articulate speech. Despite a sharp change in climate, repeated advances of glaciers that reached the middle of the territory of modern Ukraine, people continued to move north. Crimea became the most important center of human settlement besides the Caucasus and Transcaucasia. Monuments of this era in the Crimea are the sites of primitive people in the caves of Kiik-Koba and Shaitan-Koba. Man also inhabits Central Asia (Neanderthal site in the Teshik-Tash grotto in Uzbekistan). During the Mesolithic era, man made biggest discovery- learned how to make fire, which turned animal meat into a nutritious and easily digestible food. People began to build dwellings from bones and skins. Hunting for large animals, possession of fire, construction of dwellings led to a relative settlement, which in turn contributed to the growth and consolidation of the horde. Social relations became more complicated, care for the members of the horde appeared. This was reflected, in particular, in the emergence of the custom of burying the dead (for example: Neanderthal graves in Kiik-Kobe and Teshik-Tash). A drawing and a simple ornament appear, the beginnings of art appear.

The Late Paleolithic (30 thousand years ago - about the 13th millennium BC) coincided with glacial and interglacial times. At that time, man mastered the central part of Russia, crossed the Arctic Circle, penetrated into Siberia and Transbaikalia. The natural growth of the population inevitably forced out its excess to the desert, but rich in game areas with a more severe climate. The man of this time - Cro-Magnon - in terms of external physical type was already a completely modern man - Homo Sapiens (reasonable man - lat.), in contrast to the early primitive man - Homo Habilis (skillful man - lat.). In the late Paleolithic, racial differences arise and form in humanity. This era was marked by a new flint processing technique: a new ax was invented - the so-called core, which was struck not obliquely, as before, but strictly perpendicular, which sharply increased the accuracy of the blow. This saved raw materials and gave a much greater production effect: chipped plates became longer and more perfect in quality. Consequently, the flexibility of the human hand increased, his creative activity and psyche developed. Chipped long regular plates made it possible to manufacture previously unprecedented spearheads, knives, scrapers, cutters. This made it possible to process the bone. Tools began to be made with bone handles. A spear thrower, a harpoon, a bone needle were invented. People learned how to sew clothes from fur, from animal skins and bones they built entire villages. The main type of hunting was grandiose raids with the participation of the entire tribe, or horde, on large animals in order to get a lot of food at once. Fishing appeared. One of the typical settlements of people of that time is a primitive camp near the village of Kostenki on the Don near Voronezh. The primitive community grew stronger, matriarchy was established. The promiscuous sexual relations that existed at that time (promiscuity) did not make it possible to determine paternity, therefore, kinship could be counted only along the female line. The pair family could not yet become an independent economic unit, since it was possible to feed oneself only in a large collective. In addition, a characteristic feature of tribal communities was exogamy - the departure of men for marriage in neighboring communities. The fact that all men in the community were strangers, and the concept of fatherhood in the public sense was not realized, attached great importance to a woman who embodied the unity of the community. In addition, women, “keepers of the hearth”, ran a household and were engaged in gathering, that is, collecting edible herbs and roots, small animals, which was of considerable importance during periods of unsuccessful hunting and increased the role of women in the community. One of characteristic features Late Paleolithic is the rapid development of art. In the material of the sites of Kostenki and Gagarin on the Don, Malta and Buret on the Angara, in the layers of the Late Paleolithic, sculptures of animals and people, various decorations and ornamented objects were found. In the Kapova cave in the Urals, magnificent paintings have been preserved. The art of that time was dominated by two themes: the beast as an object of hunting and the mother woman, which was associated with hunting magic, totemism (worship of the mythical animal ancestor, the patron of the family), matriarchy and the cult of fertility. At the same time, the beginnings of religious ideas arose. This is indicated, in particular, by the graves of the Late Paleolithic discovered by archaeologists, where tools of labor and hunting are placed along with the deceased, the hands and feet of the dead man are tied (so as not to get out of the grave), and he himself is sprinkled with red ocher, a symbol of blood, life and rebirth. after death in another world.

At the end of the Late Paleolithic, the glacier finally receded. New, modern species of wild animals have appeared. On the territory of Africa, the so-called microlithic technique was invented and quickly spread to the north: flint inserts (microlites) were made, which were inserted into the handle. Liners could be changed without making new guns, and besides, the gun itself became lighter. In the south of Europe and Asia, the beginnings of agriculture and cattle breeding arose, the first domestic animals appeared - a dog, a pig. The impoverishment of hunting resources, the reduction in the number of large animals contributed to the invention of the bow and arrow, which made it possible to hunt birds and small animals. There were hunting snares and traps. The new weapons made large groups of people unnecessary for hunting - the size and number of camps were reduced. Difficulties in finding food caused great mobility of the population, dwellings became temporary, and migration grew. At the same time, on the basis of the grouping of kindred communities, various cultural areas were formed, as if the foundations of future tribes appeared.

Neolithic began around the 13th millennium BC. e. and ended in the south in the 4th millennium, in the north - in the 2nd millennium BC. e. In this era, the methods of making tools improved, ceramic dishes, weaving, shipping (boats), and various crafts appeared. A tribe is being formed and strengthened as a type of ethnic community and social organization of people on the basis of the blood-kinship ties of communities, a common language, a common territory, and, to a certain extent, a common economy (collective hunts, etc.). There were tribal councils and leaders, common tribal cults and holidays. The tribes of the Black Sea, the Caucasus, and Central Asia developed cattle breeding and agriculture, and in Asia with artificial irrigation. The need to control the distribution of water led to the emergence of a ruling elite, strong power and political and administrative centers, and the embryos of ancient states arose.

Eneolithic(Copper Stone Age, end III - all II millennium BC) - transition period to the Bronze Age, the time of the initial development of metal culture, the beginning of the development of copper and bronze. New metal tools were much more productive than the old ones - flint and bone ones, they saved and facilitated labor, made it more efficient and thus opened up the possibility of accelerated accumulation of surplus product. The demand for copper and bronze stimulated exchanges and connections between different areas. In the Eneolithic era, pastoralists separated from farmers and hunters, the first major social division of labor took place, which caused changes in social relations. In connection with the development of metallurgy and pastoral cattle breeding, the role of male labor in society increased. This led to the replacement of matriarchy by patriarchy. The receipt of more surplus product than before caused the appearance and growth of property inequality. An outstanding monument of the culture of the agricultural tribes of the Eneolithic era is located near the village of Trypillya (Trnpol culture) in the Dnieper region (Ukraine). The culture of early agriculture is clearly traced in the later layers of the site. Pottery, but still hand-made, was already fired in kilns there. The cult of a woman - the patroness of fertility - is clearly traced in the sculptural images. ABOUT great importance agriculture on the farm is evidenced by stone grain grinders, and a sculpture of a woman with this tool, and large pits for grain. Of interest are clay models of houses and wagons, which probably served as toys. In Trypillia society there was a significant property differentiation, as evidenced by the allocation of large rich burials. Trypillia culture covered a significant area.

Metal tools were originally made of copper. IN III millennium BC e., adding tin to soft copper, a person received a hard alloy - bronze, suitable for the production of chopping, cutting and stabbing tools. There were centers for the extraction and processing of non-ferrous metals in the Carpathians, Kazakhstan, the North Caucasus, the Urals. Bronze tools were first made by forging, then by casting. Metal tools accelerated the process of social division of labor, exchange developed significantly, which contributed to the cultural rapprochement of tribal groups and the spread of technical achievements. Under a patriarchal tribal system, the products of labor of family members were concentrated in the hands of the heads of large families. Under the conditions of the social division of labor and the development of exchange, this led to the formation of private property, decomposed primitive equality (“primitive communism”), and increased property differentiation. A tribal elite stood out, striving to increase their wealth.

In the first millennium BC. e. pastoralism emerged. formed new way life - nomadic pastoralists. The owners of huge herds had to constantly change grazing places. They mastered the deserts of Central and Central Asia, the highlands of the Pamirs and the Tien Shan. The widespread development of nomadic cattle breeding became possible thanks to the invention of cast bronze bits, which made it possible to curb the horse. A felt yurt has firmly entered the life of pastoralists.

IN bronze age a new weapon appeared - a type-setting flexible bow of the Scythian type, sharp arrowheads, swords, daggers. In wars, the tribal aristocracy grew stronger, tribal unions of nomads were born.

Among the nomadic and agricultural tribes, population growth and growing intertribal ties led to the creation of tribal alliances. Unions made it possible to ensure the security of each tribe, regulated intertribal relations and exchange. But in conditions when it became possible to accumulate and exchange wealth, clashes between communities, tribes and alliances of tribes became more frequent. Therefore, each tribal organization was headed by an elected war chief or council of chiefs. It was the highest form of socio-political organization of the primitive system - military democracy. In the Bronze Age, large movements of tribes took place, new cultural and historical regions were formed. Their originality was determined by the difference in geographical conditions, natural resources, population density, and its economic activity. Under the influence of these conditions, the development of cultural and historical regions proceeded unevenly and unevenly. Within large tribal unions, one tribe grew stronger, whose language became dominant, cultural and linguistic assimilation of other tribes of the union took place, large ethno-cultural communities arose - among them Indo-European (for example, Scythian-Sarmatian, Slavic, Germanic tribes) and Finno-Ugric.

B.I. Gavrilov, History of Russia from ancient times to the present day. Moscow, 1999.

Paleolithic - the ancient stone age (from the Greek "palaios" - ancient and "lithos" - stone).

Mesolithic - the middle stone age (from the Greek "mesos" - middle and "lithos" - stone).

Neolithic - a new stone age (from the Greek "neos" - new and "lithos" - stone).

Eneolithic - copper-stone age (from the Greek "eneos" - copper and "lithos" - stone).

PRIMARY-COMMUNAL ORGANIZATION B.I. Gavrilov, History of Russia from ancient times to the present day. Moscow, 1999.

The history of mankind is divided into three periods: the Stone Age, the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. The division is based on the material from which the tools of labor were mainly made in one or another era. From the very beginning of their existence, people sought to unite in large groups - this made it possible to hunt more successfully, defend themselves from enemies and adverse natural phenomena. The first stage of the public (social) organization of mankind was the primitive communal system. It arose at the very beginning of the Stone Age, 700-800 thousand years ago, when the biological formation of man was still ongoing. The primitive communal system was characterized by a pronounced collectivity in production and consumption, which was caused by an extremely low level of development of productive forces, especially tools.

Stone Age (Paleolithic) Paleolithic - the ancient stone age (from the Greek "palaios" - ancient and "lithos" - stone). It is subdivided into the Lower (or Early) Paleolithic, Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) and Late Paleolithic. In the era of the Lower Paleolithic (700-100 thousand years ago), a general uplift of land took place on Earth, tectonic processes caused cooling, and the 1st Ice Age began. At this time, in Africa and Southeast Asia, the transformation of apes into primitive man began, ape-men appeared: Pithecanthropes, Sinanthropes and early Neanderthals. They united in hordes, or herds, of several dozen individuals. The primitive human herd was an ancient form of social existence. It replaced the zoological associations of primate monkeys and other animals. The first people were engaged in gathering, wild hunting for large animals, mastered the primitive technique of stone processing. Following the animals to the north, people have mastered the area of ​​evergreen subtropics near the Black Sea, the Caucasus and Transcaucasia. The historical monument of that time on the territory of the CIS is Satani-Dar (Devil's Hall) in Armenia. There were found hand axes made of obsidian (volcanic glass), sharpened at one end. They were a versatile tool. The technique of their manufacture testifies that a person still did not know how to measure the force of a blow with the strength of a stone, the hand was strong, but rude and inexperienced. A new step in the development of the Earth was made about 300 thousand years ago, when a person reached the Zhytomyr region (Ukraine). Hacks during this period are being improved, they can already be cut. The objects of human hunting were large animals: mammoth, cave bear, lion, leopard, mountain goat. People used fire, but they still did not know how to get it.

The Mesolithic Age The Mesolithic is the Middle Stone Age (from the Greek "mesos" - middle and "lithos" - stone). (Middle Stone Age, 100-30 thousand years ago) is associated with the appearance of a typical Neanderthal man: a man of small stature, with a low forehead, highly developed brow ridges and a sloping chin. Neanderthals already had articulate speech. Despite a sharp change in climate, repeated advances of glaciers that reached the middle of the territory of modern Ukraine, people continued to move north. Crimea became the most important center of human settlement besides the Caucasus and Transcaucasia. Monuments of this era in the Crimea are the sites of primitive people in the caves of Kiik-Koba and Shaitan-Koba. Man also populates Central Asia (Neanderthal site in the Teshik-Tash grotto in Uzbekistan). In the Mesolithic era, man made the largest discovery - he learned how to make fire, which turned animal meat into a nutritious and easily digestible food. People began to build dwellings from bones and skins. Hunting for large animals, possession of fire, construction of dwellings led to a relative settlement, which in turn contributed to the growth and consolidation of the horde. Societal relations became more complicated, care for the members of the horde appeared. This was reflected, in particular, in the emergence of the custom of burying the dead (for example: Neanderthal graves in Kiik-Kobe and Teshik-Tash). A drawing and a simple ornament appear, the beginnings of art appear.

The Late Paleolithic (30 thousand years ago - about the 13th millennium BC) coincided with glacial and interglacial times. At that time, man mastered the central part of Russia, crossed the Arctic Circle, penetrated into Siberia and Transbaikalia. The natural growth of the population inevitably forced out its excess to the desert, but rich in game areas with a more severe climate. The man of this time - Cro-Magnon - according to the external physical type was already a completely modern man - Homo Sapiens (reasonable man - lat.), in contrast to the early primitive man - Homo Habilis (handy man - lat.). In the late Paleolithic, racial differences arise and form in humanity. This era was marked by a new technique for processing flint: a new ax was invented - the so-called core, which was struck not obliquely, as before, but strictly perpendicular, which sharply increased the accuracy of the blow. This saved raw materials and gave a much greater production effect: chipped plates became longer and more perfect in quality. Consequently, the flexibility of the human hand increased, his creative activity and psyche developed. Chipped long regular plates made it possible to manufacture hitherto unknown spearheads, knives, scrapers, cutters. This made it possible to process the bone. Tools began to be made with bone handles. A spear thrower, a harpoon, a bone needle were invented. People learned how to sew clothes from fur, from animal skins and bones they built entire villages. The main type of hunting was grandiose raids with the participation of the entire tribe, or horde, on large animals in order to get a lot of food at once. Fishing appeared. One of the typical settlements of people of that time was a primitive camp near the village of Kostenki on the Don near Voronezh. The primitive community grew stronger, matriarchy was established. The promiscuous sexual relations that existed then (promiscuity) did not make it possible to determine paternity, so the account of kinship could only be kept along the female line. The paired family could not yet become an independent economic unit, since it was possible to feed oneself only in a large team. In addition, a characteristic feature of tribal communities was exogamy - the departure of men for marriage to neighboring communities. The fact that all the men in the community were strangers, and the concept of fatherhood in the public sense was not realized, attached great importance to the woman who embodied the unity of the community. In addition, women, “keepers of the hearth”, ran the household and were engaged in gathering, i.e. e. collecting edible herbs and roots, small animals, which was of considerable importance during periods of unsuccessful hunting and increased the role of women in the community. One of the characteristic features of the Late Paleolithic is the rapid development of art. In the material of the sites of Ko-stenki and Gagarin on the Don, Malta and Buret on the Angara, in the layers of the Late Paleolithic, sculptures of animals and people were found, various decorations and ornamental items. In the Kapova cave in the Urals, magnificent paintings have been preserved. The art of that time was dominated by two themes: the beast as an object of hunting and the woman-mother, which was associated with hunting magic, totemism (worship of the mythical animal ancestor, the patron of the family), matriarchy and the cult of fertility. At the same time, the beginnings of religious ideas arose. This is indicated, in particular, by the late Paleolithic graves discovered by archaeologists, where tools of labor and hunting are placed along with the deceased, the hands and feet of the dead man are tied (so as not to get out of the grave), and he himself is sprinkled with red ocher, a symbol of blood, life. and rebirth after death in another world.

At the end of the Late Paleolithic, the glacier finally receded. New, modern species of wild animals have appeared. On the territory of Africa, the so-called microlithic technique was invented and quickly spread to the north: flint inserts (microlites) were made, which were inserted into the handle. Liners could be changed without making new guns, and besides, the gun itself became lighter. In the south of Europe and Asia, the beginnings of agriculture and cattle breeding arose, the first domestic animals appeared - a dog, a pig. The impoverishment of their hunting resources, the reduction in the number of large animals contributed to the invention of the bow and arrow, which made it possible to hunt birds and small animals. There were hunting snares and traps. The new weapon made large groups of people unnecessary for hunting - the size and number of camps were reduced. Difficulties in finding food caused greater mobility of the population, dwellings became temporary, migration grew. At the same time, on the basis of the grouping of kindred communities, various cultural areas were formed, as if the foundations of future tribes appeared.

Neolithic Neolithic - a new stone age (from the Greek "neos" - new and "lithos" - stone). began around the 13th millennium BC. e. and ended in the south in the IV millennium, in the north - in the II millennium BC. e. In this era, the methods of making tools improved, ceramic dishes, weaving, shipping (boats), and various crafts appeared. A tribe is being formed and strengthened as a type of ethnic community and social organization of people on the basis of the blood and family ties of communities, a single language, a common territory and, to a certain extent, a common economy (collective hunts, etc.). There were tribal councils and leaders, common tribal cults and holidays. The tribes of the Black Sea, the Caucasus, and Central Asia developed cattle breeding and agriculture, and in Asia with artificial irrigation. The need to control the distribution of water led to the emergence of a ruling elite, strong power and political and administrative centers, and the embryos of ancient states arose.

Eneolithic Eneolithic - copper-stone age (from the Greek "eneos" - copper and "lithos" - stone). (Copper Stone Age, end of III - all of the II millennium BC) - a transitional period to the Bronze Age, the time of the initial development of metal culture, the beginning of the development of copper and bronze. The new metal tools were much more productive than the old ones - flint and bone ones, they saved and facilitated labor, made it more efficient and thus opened up the possibility of accelerated accumulation of surplus product. The demand for copper and bronze stimulated exchanges and connections between different areas. In the Eneolithic era, pastoralists separated from farmers and hunters, the first major social division of labor occurred, which caused changes in social relations. In connection with the development of metallurgy and pastoral cattle breeding, the role of male labor in society increased. This led to the replacement of matriarchy by patriarchy. Getting more than before the surplus product caused the emergence and growth of property inequality. An outstanding cultural monument of the agricultural tribes of the Eneolithic era is located near the village of Trypillya (Trnpol culture) in the Dnieper region (Ukraine). In the later layers of the site, the culture of early agriculture is clearly traced. Pottery, but still hand-made, was already fired in kilns there. The cult of a woman, the patroness of fertility, is clearly traced in the sculptural images. The great importance of agriculture in the economy is evidenced by stone grain grinders, and a sculpture of a woman with this tool, and large pits for grain. Of interest are clay models of houses and wagons, which probably served as toys. In Trypillia society, there was a significant property differentiation, as evidenced by the allocation of large rich burials. Trypillia culture covered a significant space.

Metal tools were originally made of copper. In the III millennium BC. e., adding tin to soft copper, a person received a hard alloy - bronze, suitable for the production of chopping, cutting and stabbing tools. There were centers for the extraction and processing of non-ferrous metals in the Carpathians, Kazakhstan, the North Caucasus, the Urals. Bronze tools were first made by forging, then by casting. Metal tools accelerated the process of social division of labor, exchange developed significantly, which contributed to the cultural rapprochement of tribal groups and the spread of technical achievements. Under a patriarchal tribal system, the products of labor of family members were concentrated in the hands of the heads of large families. Under the conditions of the social division of labor and the development of exchange, this led to the formation of private property, decomposed the primitive equality (“primitive communism”), and intensified property differentiation. A tribal elite stood out, striving to increase their wealth.

In the first millennium BC. e. pastoralism emerged. There was a new way of life - nomadic pastoralists. The owners of huge herds had to constantly change the places you pass. They mastered the deserts of Central and Central Asia, the highlands of the Pamirs and the Tien Shan. The widespread development of nomadic cattle breeding became possible thanks to the invention of cast bronze bits, which made it possible to curb the horse. A felt yurt has firmly entered the life of livestock breeders.

In the Bronze Age, a new weapon appeared - a type-setting flexible bow of the Scythian type, sharp arrowheads, swords, daggers. In wars, the tribal aristocracy grew stronger, tribal unions of nomads were born.

Among the nomadic and agricultural tribes, population growth and growing intertribal ties led to the creation of tribal alliances. Unions made it possible to ensure the security of each tribe, regulated intertribal relations and exchange. But in conditions when it became possible to accumulate and exchange wealth, clashes between communities, tribes and alliances of tribes became more frequent. Therefore, each tribal organization was headed by an elected war chief or council of chiefs. It was the highest form of socio-political organization of the primitive system - military democracy. In the Bronze Age, large movements of tribes took place, new cultural and historical areas were formed. Their originality was determined by the difference in geographical conditions, natural resources, population density, and its economic activity. Under the influence of these conditions, the development of cultural and historical regions proceeded unevenly and unevenly. Within large tribal unions, one tribe grew stronger, whose language became dominant, cultural and linguistic assimilation of other tribes of the union took place, large ethno-cultural communities arose - among them Indo-European (for example, Scythian-Sarmatian, Slavic, Germanic tribes). ) and Finno-Ugric.

The primitive communal system is the first socio-economic formation in history, covering the period from the emergence of man to the formation of classes. The basis of economic life in this society was the appropriation of finished products - the appropriating economy, but as the productive forces and production relations develop, the primitive mode of production takes on the character of a producing economy.

The primitive communal system also includes the period of the primitive human herd, although some historians do not consider the era of the “human herd” to be part of the history of primitive society and attribute the beginning of primitive society, some “to the time of about 2.5 million years, others 35-40 thousand years ago »

Based on the studies of L. Morgan, who restored the prehistoric basis of development in basic terms, F. Engels divided the history of mankind into three eras: savagery, barbarism and civilization, each of which, in turn, divided into lower, middle and higher stages. appropriating character, the era of barbarism - the producing character of production. The lowest stage of savagery is the childhood of mankind; the main achievements of this period are the emergence of articulate speech, the use of fire and crude stone tools. The primitive communal system is characterized by a very low level of development of productive forces,

To characterize a particular era, it is very important to know not only what was created at that time, but also by what means of labor. Therefore, in the knowledge of the past, the remnants of the means of labor play approximately the same role as the structure of bones in the study of extinct animals. Savagery is the era mainly of the appropriation of the finished products of nature, when the products created by man served mainly as auxiliary tools for this appropriation. The highest stage of savagery is characterized by the appearance of the bow and arrow, with the invention of which, i.e., the creation of new tools, man changed the nature of labor activity. Barbarism is the time of the appearance of cattle breeding and agriculture. The separation of pastoral tribes was the first major step towards the social division of labor. At the lower stage of barbarism, pottery begins to develop; in the middle - the domestication of domestic animals in the East, and in the West - the cultivation of edible plants. The highest stage of barbarism is already characterized by such achievements as the smelting of iron ore, the invention of a plow with an iron plowshare, blacksmith's bellows, a mill, a potter's wheel, and cultivation of fields.

According to the level of technology, history is divided into the Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages. In turn, the Stone Age is divided into the ancient Paleolithic, Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) and Neolithic (New Stone Age). In the Paleolithic, pre-Chellian, Shellic and Acheulian eras are distinguished.

The primitive communal system, through which all peoples have passed, is economically divided into two periods: prenatal, the so-called period of the primitive horde, and the primitive community, which, in turn, is divided into matriarchy and patriarchy. Archaeologists believe that the ancient Stone Age (Paleolithic) roughly corresponded to the period of the primitive horde, the New Stone Age (Neolithic) to matriarchy, and the Bronze Age to patriarchy.

The genus arises during the period of transition from the early to the late Stone Age, at the middle stage of savagery, and reaches its peak at the lower stage of barbarism. A clan is a collective cell of blood relatives united by economic interests. It is characterized by collective ownership of the means and instruments of production: land, lands, as well as dwellings, collective production and consumption.

eat. Common property served as the main link for h members of this genus.

Also in ancient world various ideas were expressed about the initial stage in the development of mankind: one of the opinions considered this stage to be golden

the first century, the other represented the life of primitive people as the existence of animals. Already at that time, many ethnographic materials about the peoples of antiquity were collected.

Like all peoples, our ancestors went through a primitive communal system that lasted for a long time. The Eastern Slavs, who separated from the common Slavic family, constituted a single ancient Russian people, occupying a significant territory of Eastern Europe from Lake Peipsi and Ladoga to the Black Sea.

The socio-economic development of the primitive communal system of the Proto-Slavs and Slavs was reflected in the cruel invasions of the steppe nomadic peoples: the Khazars, Scythians, Huns, Pechenegs, Polovtsy, and others. Western European tribes, protected from these invasions by our ancestors, developed in more favorable conditions.

The level and nature of the economy of individual tribes living in the expanses of the Central and Western regions, Central Asia, Transcaucasia, the Caucasus, Siberia, etc., was very different: along with the tribes engaged in hunting, fishing and cattle breeding, back in the III millennium BC . e. there was, for example, in the Dnieper-Danube region the so-called agricultural and cattle-breeding Tripol culture. The importance of animal husbandry has increased. It became the predominant occupation of most of the tribes that lived on the territory of the USSR in the 2nd millennium BC. e. At the same time, the role of hoe farming also grew. As the transition from stone tools to copper, and then bronze, tools improved. The culture of bronze on the territory of the USSR was widespread among the inhabitants of the Caucasus, Kazakhstan and South Siberia. In the last quarter of the 2nd millennium BC. e. in Southern Siberia, Transbaikalia, and Altai, various types of bronze tools and weapons are distributed. The beginning of the use of iron on the territory of the USSR, archaeologists date back to the 1st millennium BC. e. The appearance of iron is attributed primarily to Transcaucasia; among the Scythian tribes of the Northern Black Sea region, the Iron Age was most developed in the 5th-4th centuries. BC e.; iron was known to the Sarmatians, who roamed the steppes of Eastern Europe, as well as to the tribes living in the central and northern regions of the European part of the USSR in the 7th-3rd centuries. BC e. “Iron,” wrote F. Engels, “made possible field cultivation on larger areas, clearing wide forest areas for arable land; it gave the craftsman tools of such hardness and sharpness that no stone, none of the other metals known then, could resist.

The production relations of the primitive society of the Slavs were characterized by the presence of public - communal or tribal - ownership of the means of production, including land, and the absence of classes. Such relations of production fully corresponded to the low level of development of the productive forces. The division of labor was carried out according to sex and age. Collective labor, collective ownership of the tools of labor and its low productivity - these are the features of the primitive community. Under these conditions, all labor acted as necessary, there was no surplus product.

Personal ownership of certain tools, ornaments, etc., was not private property and did not lead to the exploitation of someone else's labor. The basis of communal property was made up of primitive instruments of production and its collective character. The emergence of private property led to the disintegration of tribal relations, although their remnants were preserved not only among the Slavs, but also among other peoples even after the tribal system.

Historians S. Solovyov, K. Kavelin and others believed that the Slavs lived in a tribal system even after the formation of their state. I. Evers wrote: “Initially, each family exists by itself... The genus encompasses many families; in each of them, the father is his master ... Tribes are formed from clans, and the head of the tribe ... becomes little by little ... a powerful prince. But the original family relationship, based on nature itself, still retains its strength for a long time ... ”2. According to this point of view, the family turns into a clan, a clan into a state, but the facts show that the family appeared as a result of the collapse of tribal life . The primitive communal system corresponded to the patriarchal family community. M. M. Kovalevsky proved that a rural community, or brand community, developed from the home community, with individual cultivation of the land by individual families and with the initial periodic, and then the final division of arable land and meadows. First of all, the decomposition of the primitive communal system among the Slavs took place in the Middle Dnieper region. On the Middle Dnieper and in the region of the Dniester, the Slavs said goodbye to the tribal system very early, back in the first centuries of our era.

The decomposition of the primitive communal system led to the replacement of the patriarchal tribal community of a rural or neighboring one - “world”, “verv” - with a territorial community (Germany stamps). neighborhood community was already connected not by blood, family relations, but by economic-territorial ones. The economy was carried out by separate yards, the yard owned the land of the community. The means of production, tools, livestock, etc. constituted private property.

It is very likely that in the pre-feudal period among the Eastern Slavs, all arable land was divided between individual farms, and forests, pastures, and watering places remained in common possession. F. Engels believed that “for Russia, such a course of development seems to be historically completely proven” 3.

The primitive communal system created conditions for some development of the economy, but gradually the tribal structure became an obstacle to the growth of productive forces: this system began to decompose, private property arose, exploitation of man by man, classes were formed.

The improvement of tools of labor, in particular in agriculture, and as a result of this, the growth of labor productivity, the strengthening of the social division of labor and exchange, contributed to the emergence of private ownership of tools, livestock, etc., and later on land. With all the conventionality of determining the time when the Eastern Slavs arose private land ownership, its presence at the beginning of the second half of the 1st millennium AD. e. in the Volkhov-Dnepr region cannot cause any particular objections.

As long as the members of the primitive community produced all the necessary products in common, private property was also impossible. When a division of labor was established in the community and a member of the community began to produce any one product alone, private property arose.

For a long period, exchange was an accidental phenomenon, but then it took on a more regular character and became one of the factors contributing to the disintegration of the primitive communal system. Its origin dates back to very distant times and goes back centuries for 4-6 thousand years BC. e.

The development of exchange reflected the growth of the productive forces of the primitive communal system and contributed to the formation of private property.

The separation of pastoral tribes created the conditions for regular exchange, and cattle began to perform the functions of money. Exchange occurs between individual tribes. With the division of production into two large branches, agriculture and handicraft, commodity production appears, trade not only within the territory occupied by the tribe, but also on its borders.

On the territory of our country, the exchange also began to develop in the distant past, in the era of Trypillian culture (IV-III millennium BC). Thus, finds of amber far from the places where it is usually mined indicate that in that period the exchange was already practiced, although in rare cases.

The exchange contributed to the growth of labor productivity. Exchange and the resulting monetary relations played an important role in the disintegration of primitive communal property. The emergence of private property, the appearance of merchants and slave labor, the introduction of metal money, interest and usury characterize the economic beginning of civilization. Private property arises not as a result of violence, but as a consequence of higher labor productivity. Thus, private property, exchange, etc., reflected the growth of productive forces.

In the middle of the first millennium A.D. e. the Slavs of the Dnieper region used an iron head, a plow with an iron plowshare, knew the main cereals and used domestic animals. "The inhabitants of the southern regions switched to plow plowing with winter and spring crops as early as the first half of the 1st millennium AD, the northern ones - somewhat later, and in some places already in the Middle Ages.Agricultural implements, plowshares, iron logging axes, etc. were improved.

Traveler Ibrahim Ibn Yaqub in the middle of the 10th century. wrote about the Slavs: “They sow in two seasons, in summer (winter) and in spring (spring) and reap two harvests” 4. It is reasonable to assume that such a level of agriculture could have developed as a result of a long evolution. Along with the growth of the productive forces, albeit a slow one, tribal unions property and social inequality developed, class relations and relations of statehood were born. This process was more intensive among the southern Slavic tribes, among whom the elements of slaveholding relations were more developed. In the period preceding the formation of the feudal Kievan state, the Eastern Slavs had three types of economic relations: decaying primitive-communal, patriarchal-slave-owning, and emerging feudal ones.

Back in the 1st millennium BC. e. a long period of disintegration of tribal relations began among some ancient tribes inhabiting the territory of the USSR, slave-owning states arose in Transcaucasia, Central Asia and the Northern Black Sea region: Urartu, the Parthian state, Scythia, the Bosporus state, Olbia and Chersonese, etc.

All peoples have gone through such a stage as slavery to one degree or another. This does not mean, of course, that all peoples survived the slaveholding formations. By the beginning of our chronology, the tribes and nationalities inhabiting the territory of the USSR had a very different level of economic life. Simultaneously with the ancient slave-owning states, the territory of the country was occupied by numerous Slavic, Finno-Ugric, Letto-Lithuanian, Sarmatian and other tribes, who still retained the remnants of the primitive communal system; some tribes were engaged in hunting, others in fishing, and others in cattle breeding and agriculture. Slave-owning states were in a certain relationship with the tribes surrounding them: they traded, they obtained through wars, trade and raids of slaves.

The transition from the primitive communal system to a new (already class) formation took place on the territory of the USSR among individual peoples unequally and at different times. So, in Central Asia and Transcaucasia, the Northern Black Sea region, slave-owning relations arose in the period before our era; among the Eastern Slavs, as a result of the decomposition of the primitive system, they formed in new era transitional state-tribal associations.

The decomposition of the primitive communal system among the Eastern Slavs coincided with the time of the destruction of the ancient slave system. The slave-owning system did not become dominant among the Slavs, as well as among some other peoples - Germans, Arabs, etc. Of course, slavery as the first form of class society, namely patriarchal slavery, was also encountered for a long time among our distant ancestors. Byzantine and later Arabic writers have left us some evidence of this; in addition, ancient Russian written monuments also speak of the existence of slave-owning relations (in written sources Kievan Rus slaves are found under various names: serfs, servants, obel, slave, etc.) in Dokiev, Kiev, and even after Kyiv period s. The presence of slavery in Kievan Rus is reflected in agreements with the Greeks, chronicles, "lives", "Russian Truth", etc.

Among the Eastern Slavs, feudal relations arose as a result of the decomposition of the primitive communal system, among other nationalities of our country - as a result of the crisis of slaveholding formations.

As already noted, the elements of slave-owning relations among the Slavs were more pronounced in the southern regions, which were in closer contact with the Black Sea slave-owning states. In 969, Svyatoslav told his mother and boyars: “I don’t like to sit in Kiev, I want to live in Pereyaslavl on the Danube, there is the middle of my land, all the blessings flow there: from the Greek land - gold, draggings, wines, various fruits, from the Czech Republic and from Hungary - silver and horses, from Russia - furs and wax, honey and slaves "".

Writer of the second half of the VI century. n. e. Mauritius Strategist, speaking of the Slavs, noted: “Their captives do not remain in eternal slavery, like other peoples, but they are appointed certain time, after which it is presented to their arbitrariness either to remain with them as free or to return to their own, having paid a ransom "

The most important source of slavery was captivity, but already in the XI century. some captive slaves were "planted" on the ground. There were other sources of slavery that our ancient judiciary knows. The short “Russian Truth” devotes 6 articles to slavery - servility, and the lengthy one - 31. In the treaties of Rus' with Byzantium, the “polonyannik”, “manly price”, etc. are mentioned;

Russkaya Pravda by Yaroslav speaks of serfs, and Pravda Yaroslavichi speaks of a serf and a slave. Slaves belonged not only to secular slave owners, but also to church ones: slaves Kievo-Pechersky Monastery, episcopal slaves. Theodosius - the son of the landowner "goes with his servants to the village to do with all sorts of diligence" 5.

Slaves were not so much a labor force as an export commodity. And in written sources, they most often appear as a commodity.

However, slaveholding relations did not dominate in Rus', not only in the Kiev period, but even earlier, at the stage of intensive decomposition of the primitive communal system and the transition to feudalism. Some Soviet historians (P. P. Smirnov, B. I. Syromyatnikov, and others) argued, following V. O. Klyuchevsky, that the basis of production relations in Kievan Rus was slave-owning relations. Archaeologist M. I. Artamonov characterized public relations pre-Kiev period: "In every way, these relations are closer to slaveholding than to any others." P. P. Smirnov believed that the genesis of Kievan Rus should be sought in slave-owning relations, that feudal Rus' can be correctly understood only on the condition that this stage of development of the society of Kievan Rus is preceded by the stage of slavish development of the society of Kievan Rus.

We have already noted the presence of elements of slaveholding among the Slavs, especially in the southern regions of the country, but there are no sufficient grounds to conclude that slaveholding relations play a leading role even in these areas. Due to historical conditions among the Eastern Slavs, slavery did not turn into a special social formation. However, patriarchal slavery existed not only at the early stage of feudalism, but also at a later time, during the period of feudal relations. And although its significance gradually faded away, nevertheless, in the boyar and princely estates, it survived until about the 15th century. Feudal relations among the Eastern Slavs arose not from the slave-owning formation, but on the basis of the decomposition of the primitive communal system. But slavery, the sources of which were captivity, debt, self-sale, birth from a slave, nevertheless played a certain role in the economy of the Eastern Slavs, both under the conditions of the primitive community, and later, under the conditions of feudalism.

Slavery is the first form of exploitation in ancient Rus' as well. Gradually, the "primitive aristocracy" (princes, boyars, etc.) turns into a ruling class, which was opposed by a free community member, however, gradually falling into economic dependence. Like the Germans, the Eastern Slavs "... did not bring this dependence to a fully developed slavery: neither to the ancient form of slave labor, nor to Eastern domestic slavery."

Some historians explain the lack of a slave-owning mode of production among the Slavs by the influence that their relationship with Byzantium had. 6 Of course, it would be wrong to deny the influence of Byzantium, but the reason for the evolution and emergence of new economic relations should be sought within society itself.

Some Soviet historians explain the absence of a slave-owning formation in Ancient Rus' by the fact that the East Slavic tribes in the pre-feudal period allegedly did not reach a sufficiently high level of socio-economic development, i.e., the development of crafts, cities, trade, etc. One cannot agree with this statement, it is illogical and does not stand up to scrutiny. If the economic development of the Eastern Slavs was not enough for the emergence of slavery, then there were even fewer grounds for the emergence of a higher type of relationship - feudal.

In fact, in Rus' there was a high level of development of the productive forces. So, among the Slavs at the end of I

millennium n. e. iron and iron tools already occupied a prominent place both in production (craft, agriculture) and in military affairs, and the emergence of slave-owning relations among other peoples coincided with the Bronze Age.

The most important reason that prevented the transformation of patriarchal slavery into a slave-owning formation in Rus' was the rural community. The rural community, with a certain level of productive forces, in particular, with low labor productivity, in the conditions of Eastern Europe with its harsh natural conditions, did not contribute to the widespread use of slave labor in production.

Among the Slavs, the process of intensive transition from primitive communal relations, the formation of classes, ended with the creation of the largest Kyiv feudal state.