Storytelling in the stone ages

Before we look at what storytelling was first used for, let´s take a look what a story actually is: In its core, a story is a narrative account of an event or events — true or fictional. The difference between giving an example and telling a story is the addition of emotional content and added sensory details in the telling. Simple.

Knowledge management in caves

But how old is storytelling actually!? You might have guessed it: stories and myths are as old as mankind. Storytelling has been with us for roughly 27.000 years. The first signs of narratives were cave paintings.

Was there any practical usage for stories in those days? Indeed there was. In modern business terms we would say storytelling 27.000 years ago was mainly used for two things: a) Knowledge management and b) Corporate Culture.

Really!

Of T-Rexs and warriors

Think about it; in the absence of written words and other information media, stories worked as a means for transferring knowledge throughout the tribes; and warnings. They weren´t any signposts saying “Danger, you´re entering the T-Rex area”. No; people of the tribe would tell the legend of the hero hunter who was slaughtered behind the rock formations by a giant T-Rex so that other people of their tribe wouldn´t hunt there.

Storytelling also helped the first human tribes to define themselves through myths and legends of past tribe heros. These stories helped shape the identity of the tribe, gave it values and boundaries, and helped establish its reputation among rivalling tribes. Improving the corporate culture as a modern time management consultant would say.

Oral tradition

It is called the oral tradition. In the absence of modern media, it needed storytellers to orally transport those messages over geographic distances and generations.

It was storytelling in its purest from.