The man and his tents
Tents have always been used by humans as accommodation, living and sleeping quarters. The temporary structures had to be easy to disassemble for transport and be simple in construction without sacrificing protection. Maybe the tent has developed out of the wind screen. It is at least one of the oldest forms of human accommodation. Already for the Neolithic period simple summer tents and more massive winter tents could be proved. Both types were initially not very big.
The construction of the first accommodations was a big step forward. It led to decisive changes in lifestyle, to the deepening of relationships between people and was the first step towards an organized coping with life. The nomadic way of life was exchanged in the course of agriculture and livestock for sedentarism in fixed structures and village communities.
Nevertheless, the tent appears again and again in numerous cultures and human history. The Romans used large tents as camps for their conquests. Explorers and pioneers needed them as temporary accommodation on the hunt or as storage space on their travels and expeditions. The structure had essentially not changed for thousands of years. The tent still consists of a frame and a shell. In the past, the covers were made of animal skins or hides, later of linen and flax. Today we find more and more tents made of ultra-light high-tech material. But the sense and purpose of a tent has always remained the same over the millennia, the basic human need for protection from the forces of nature.
«The tent - a place where humans can withdraw from wild animals and enemies. Where warmth, food and friends are waiting. "
