Articles 

A Short History of Hinges

2011-02-23

For the first hundred thousand years, mankind closed the door by rolling a slab or rock and piece of bark in front of his cave opening to afford a minimal amount of security against predators and the weather. One day he had an idea. “What if the door would swing open and close?” It would be easier to move, the fit would insure better protection against intrusion, and the world was running short on the proper shaped slabs of stone. It is quite logical to assume that the earliest hinges were strips of leather fastened to doors made of wood. Crude but they worked, after a fashion. In the area of ancient Turkey, circa 8,500 years ago, homes were made without doors. The entrance was through an opening in the roof, entered by way of a ladder. Up the side of the house and down the hole. Safer and easier for weaker people (some stone slabs weighted a hundred pounds or more) but certainly not very convenient.