--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And it was only when we invented the…" description: "\"And it was only when we invented the spear and began roaming the planet that technologies got complex and central to human survival.\" — Kirkpatrick Sale" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/416/kirkpatrick-sale-34363_complexes_and-it-was-only-when-we-invented-the-spe_1031692.png" --- # And it was only when we invented the spear and began… ![“And it was only when we invented the spear and began roaming the planet that technologies got complex and central to human survival.” quote by Kirkpatrick Sale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/416/kirkpatrick-sale-34363_complexes_and-it-was-only-when-we-invented-the-spe_1031692.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/416/kirkpatrick-sale-34363_complexes_and-it-was-only-when-we-invented-the-spe_1031692.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/416/kirkpatrick-sale-34363_complexes_and-it-was-only-when-we-invented-the-spe_1031692.png) > “And it was only when we invented the spear and began roaming the planet that technologies got complex and central to human survival.” [Kirkpatrick Sale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirkpatrick-sale/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human technological complexity grew as tools like spears enabled broader exploration and survival needs. **In simple terms:** Tools sparked complexity and survival. Key Takeaway Embrace tool-driven innovation. Themes technology survival innovation Mood reflective inquisitive Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - archaeology - education - business strategy Key Concepts anthropology systems theory Questions to Reflect On - How do tools shape cultural values? - What responsibilities come with new tech? A Different Perspective Complexity can outpace ethical oversight. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Complexes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complexes/) [Human Survival](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-survival-360754/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Invented Spear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invented-spear-2360533/) [Planets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/planets/) [Roaming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roaming/) [Spear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spear/) [Spear Began](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spear-began-2360534/) [Spears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spears/) [Survival](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survival/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) ## Related quotes > [I wield my spear in the name of justice!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhao-yun/i-wield-my-spear-in-the-name-of-justice/) [Zhao Yun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhao-yun/) > [I have, by long experience, found women to be like Telephus's spear: if one end kills, the other cures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/i-have-by-long-experience-found-women-to-be-like-telephus-s-spear-if/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [Hanajima, my spear! Bring me my spear!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natsuki-takaya/hanajima-my-spear-bring-me-my-spear/) [Natsuki Takaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natsuki-takaya/) > [Will cast the spear and leave the rest to Jove.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/will-cast-the-spear-and-leave-the-rest-to-jove/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“Ten spears go to battle," he whispered, "and nine shatter. Did the war forge the one that remained? No, Amaran. All the war did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/ten-spears-go-to-battle-he-whispered-and-nine-shatter-did-the-war/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [The Spear in the Other’s heart is the spear in your own: you are he.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-duane/the-spear-in-the-other-s-heart-is-the-spear-in-your-own-you-are-he-2/) [Diane Duane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-duane/) > [Mithros's spear, Kel!" he exclaimed. "When did you turn into a real girl?" "You said she was a girl already," muttered one of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamora-pierce/mithros-s-spear-kel-he-exclaimed-when-did-you-turn-into-a-real-girl/) [Tamora Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamora-pierce/) > [He is a weapon, a killer. Do not forget it. You can use a spear as a walking stick, but that will not change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/he-is-a-weapon-a-killer-do-not-forget-it-you-can-use-a-spear-as-a/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [Never has a spear moved so fast!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhao-yun/never-has-a-spear-moved-so-fast/) [Zhao Yun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhao-yun/) > [If I could be good at any sport, it'd be javelin. I know a few people I would love to throw a spear at.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-cole/if-i-could-be-good-at-any-sport-it-d-be-javelin-i-know-a-few-people-i/) [Cheryl Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-cole/) > [A well-aimed spear is worth three.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tad-williams/a-well-aimed-spear-is-worth-three/) [Tad Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tad-williams/) > [I am no longer amazed by how quickly a man will justify his change of heart when a spear is leveled his way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-no-longer-amazed-by-how-quickly-a-man-will-justify-his-change-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everything that reminds me of her goes through me like a spear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/everything-that-reminds-me-of-her-goes-through-me-like-a-spear/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [God in His sovereign goodness often uses the painful and at times debilitating injury of a spear thrower to make us readier for His…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/god-in-his-sovereign-goodness-often-uses-the-painful-and-at-times/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [Can a spear divine the Eternal Will?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-stephens/can-a-spear-divine-the-eternal-will/) [James Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-stephens/) ## More by Kirkpatrick Sale > [I want to leave my country without leaving my home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirkpatrick-sale/i-want-to-leave-my-country-without-leaving-my-home/) [Kirkpatrick Sale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirkpatrick-sale/) > [The virtue of small government is that the mistakes are small as well...If you want to leave a nation you think is corrupt, inefficient,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirkpatrick-sale/the-virtue-of-small-government-is-that-the-mistakes-are-small-as-well/) [Kirkpatrick Sale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirkpatrick-sale/) > [That is the onslaught. It has been going on a long time, I argue, but in the 20th century humans have certainly perfected it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirkpatrick-sale/that-is-the-onslaught-it-has-been-going-on-a-long-time-i-argue-but-in/) [Kirkpatrick Sale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirkpatrick-sale/) > [When I speak of knowledge of nature, I do not mean industrial science, which argues that nature is inert and can be understood only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirkpatrick-sale/when-i-speak-of-knowledge-of-nature-i-do-not-mean-industrial-science/) [Kirkpatrick Sale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirkpatrick-sale/) > [It's from love and knowledge of nature that any sensible understanding must come. Technology is essentially antagonistic to nature - that in fact is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirkpatrick-sale/it-s-from-love-and-knowledge-of-nature-that-any-sensible/) [Kirkpatrick Sale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirkpatrick-sale/) > [That is certainly the point: when the human species was born, on the African savanna, life was pretty good; we could live in harmony…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirkpatrick-sale/that-is-certainly-the-point-when-the-human-species-was-born-on-the/) [Kirkpatrick Sale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirkpatrick-sale/) > [Economic and social misery increases in direct proportion to the size and power of the central government of a nation or state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirkpatrick-sale/economic-and-social-misery-increases-in-direct-proportion-to-the-size/) [Kirkpatrick Sale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirkpatrick-sale/) > [So the technology that does the least alteration of nature, the least harm to other species and systems, and provides the greatest intimacy of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirkpatrick-sale/so-the-technology-that-does-the-least-alteration-of-nature-the-least/) [Kirkpatrick Sale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirkpatrick-sale/) > [My analysis, especially of the computer revolution, always comes back to capitalism. It's that economic system that has led to Western civilization's willingness to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirkpatrick-sale/my-analysis-especially-of-the-computer-revolution-always-comes-back/) [Kirkpatrick Sale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirkpatrick-sale/) > [“It was the task of industrial society to destroy all of that. All that "community" implies -- self-sufficiency, mutual aid, morality in the marketplace,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirkpatrick-sale/it-was-the-task-of-industrial-society-to-destroy-all-of-that-all-that/) [Kirkpatrick Sale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirkpatrick-sale/) > [I'm convinced that the catastrophes of the next two decades will be so vast as to bring about a world where life, if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirkpatrick-sale/i-m-convinced-that-the-catastrophes-of-the-next-two-decades-will-be/) [Kirkpatrick Sale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirkpatrick-sale/) > [Everyone is shy - it is the inborn modesty that makes us able to live in harmony with other creatures and our fellows. Achievement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirkpatrick-sale/everyone-is-shy-it-is-the-inborn-modesty-that-makes-us-able-to-live/) [Kirkpatrick Sale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirkpatrick-sale/) > [Governments, existing primarily to protect and enhance capitalism, maintain their power through the use of technologies that control the populace - by bread or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirkpatrick-sale/governments-existing-primarily-to-protect-and-enhance-capitalism/) [Kirkpatrick Sale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirkpatrick-sale/) [Explore all 14 Kirkpatrick Sale quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirkpatrick-sale/) ## More Complexes quotes > [Being an artist is a totally godlike thing to do - and I have a god complex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-anderson/being-an-artist-is-a-totally-godlike-thing-to-do-and-i-have-a-god/) [Laurie Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-anderson/) > [UN peacekeeping operations are now increasingly complex and multi-dimensional, going beyond monitoring a ceasefire to actually bringing failed States back to life, often after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/un-peacekeeping-operations-are-now-increasingly-complex-and-multi/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [For many of us, work is the one place where we feel appreciated. The things that we long to experience at home - pride…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlie-russell-hochschild/for-many-of-us-work-is-the-one-place-where-we-feel-appreciated-the/) [Arlie Russell Hochschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlie-russell-hochschild/) > [People are messy and complex, particularly in the homosexual world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milo-yiannopoulos/people-are-messy-and-complex-particularly-in-the-homosexual-world/) [Milo Yiannopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milo-yiannopoulos/) > [At the risk of some oversimplification, if the skill composition of our work force meshed fully with the needs of our increasingly complex capital-stock,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/at-the-risk-of-some-oversimplification-if-the-skill-composition-of/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [There's a whole journalistic-industrial complex dedicated to keeping newsprint, TV screens and radio waves clean of destabilizing scoops damaging to corporations or the state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-cockburn/there-s-a-whole-journalistic-industrial-complex-dedicated-to-keeping/) [Alexander Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-cockburn/) > [The ascent of any route begins, in dreams at least, the autumn before. Our minds ring, involuntarily, with the alluring names of mountains, aiguilles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-rebuffat/the-ascent-of-any-route-begins-in-dreams-at-least-the-autumn-before/) [Gaston Rebuffat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-rebuffat/) > [Through learning we grow, becoming more than we were before, and in that sense learning is unselfish, because it results in the transformation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/through-learning-we-grow-becoming-more-than-we-were-before-and-in/) [Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/) > [Significantly, God in Genesis 1 pronounces the rest of creation "good" before humanity is created. The psalmist and the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-clapp/significantly-god-in-genesis-1-pronounces-the-rest-of-creation-good/) [Rodney Clapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-clapp/) > [Naval dominance of European waters was the largest, longest, most complex and expensive project ever undertaken by the British state and society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-rodger/naval-dominance-of-european-waters-was-the-largest-longest-most/) [Nicholas Rodger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-rodger/) > [When you first start off trying to solve a problem, the first solutions you come up with are very complex, and most people stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/when-you-first-start-off-trying-to-solve-a-problem-the-first/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [“The act of consciousness is central; otherwise we are overrun by the complexes. The hero in each of us is required to answer the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hollis/the-act-of-consciousness-is-central-otherwise-we-are-overrun-by-the/) [James Hollis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hollis/) > [The only way to stave off boredom, in a complex domesticated primate like humankind, is to increase one's intelligence. This is not appealing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/the-only-way-to-stave-off-boredom-in-a-complex-domesticated-primate/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [As the number of unexplained, irreducibly complex biological systems increases, our confidence that Darwin's criterion of failure has been met skyrockets toward the maximum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-behe/as-the-number-of-unexplained-irreducibly-complex-biological-systems/) [Michael Behe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-behe/) > [We knew the Syrian situation was complex and there were lots of divisions, particularly on the side of the opposition... This is a tough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/we-knew-the-syrian-situation-was-complex-and-there-were-lots-of/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) [Browse all 1,635 Complexes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complexes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "And it was only when we invented the spear and began roaming the planet that technologies got complex and central to human survival.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kirkpatrick Sale" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirkpatrick-sale/and-it-was-only-when-we-invented-the-spear-and-began-roaming-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Complexes" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirkpatrick-sale/and-it-was-only-when-we-invented-the-spear-and-began-roaming-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/416/kirkpatrick-sale-34363_complexes_and-it-was-only-when-we-invented-the-spe_1031692.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/416/kirkpatrick-sale-34363_complexes_and-it-was-only-when-we-invented-the-spe_1031692.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/416/kirkpatrick-sale-34363_complexes_and-it-was-only-when-we-invented-the-spe_1031692.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“And it was only when we invented the spear and began roaming the planet that technologies got complex and…” — Kirkpatrick Sale", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Kirkpatrick Sale", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirkpatrick-sale/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "And it was only when we...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirkpatrick-sale/and-it-was-only-when-we-invented-the-spear-and-began-roaming-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirkpatrick-sale/and-it-was-only-when-we-invented-the-spear-and-began-roaming-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```