Wood is a precious commodity that has played a key role in every industry imaginable since the Paleolithic Period or “Stone Age”—some 2.6 million years ago.
Even back then, Paleolithic people were particular about the wood they chose. Wood was used for building, making weapons, and crafting furniture. They also used materials such as stone and bone, but wood, it seems, had the most staying power.
When selecting wood, like modern people, Paleolithic humans considered quality, availability, intended use, and cost. Paleolithic humans also pioneered practices such as matching & fitting and removing or filling blemishes. These practices—with some fine-tuning, are still used today.
According to History, Nature, and Products of Wood by Professor Emeritus Robert L. Youngs of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, "the first printing press was made of wood...Most of the machines and inventions to make possible the machine age were formed of wood during that period."
Wood was even used to create everything from buckets, barrels, and wooden shipping crates to fine wooden boxes. While these custom, hand-crafted wooden boxes were used primarily for decorative purposes and to store precious items in the home, such as the board game box pictured above, others were used in the same way we use them today--for industrial-grade storage and shipping.
Fast forward to today and wood is still being used in the construction of homes, furniture, and of course wooden crates.
About Valley Box Company
Since 1964 Valley Box has specialized in manufacturing industrial-grade custom packaging for unique, oversized, and delicate items. Visit our website www.ValleyBox.com
