Top 10 Primitive Survival Skills You Need To Learn
Have you ever asked yourself, how did we survive without electricity?
Obviously we did just fine but trying to imagine life without it just seems impossible doesn’t it.
It’s the same with a lot of things, I remember once that the idea of touch screen mobile phones seemed like a crazy futuristic gimmick that would never catch on…
However in the survival space like with bushcraft primitive technology has become quite popular.
A simple youtube video from channel Survival Skills Primitive showing the primitive ways for catching a lobster hit over a million views in about a month.
There could come a time where the grid suddenly stops, could be for an hour a month or many years.
Would you be prepared for this event?
Well in this post we want to give you our top ten picks for primitive survival skills we think everyone needs to learn, just in case.
1# Finding water to drink
When you consider that we can only last 3 days without a drink of water, you then realise why this is my number one primitive skills we should learn.
You can break this down into two main parts:
- Where to find water
- How to make it safe to drink
Again with modern technology like the life straw (affiliate link), we are able to access drinking water much more easily but it can only be helpful to understand the ancient techniques too.
One interesting technique I have seen is rock boiling, we’ve found a great video on this by Howcast:
2# Finding food to eat
Another essential that we cannot survive for very long without, is food.
Yes you can get away being hungry for much longer than without water (21 days) but it should still be priority to eat food.
Primitive methods include knowing where prey can be found, how to track them, and even what they eat (maybe you can eat that too).
You should also consider how to make the kill and prepping the food correctly to be eaten.
Again you could just learn to use a hunting rifle but the point of the post is to look at what choice we had before this with an option.
Slings, bows and arrows, or spears are just some of the tools which took years of practice.
Maybe you are by the ocean or a lake, in that case you could practice fishing techniques such as the lobster video.
One tip I always give is to forage for food that cannot run away from you. Vegetation can be a perfectly viable food source until you can catch live prey.
3# Staying warm
At the writing of this post it is currently winter and I always give a thought about the homeless at this time of year.
Learning methods to start a fire that do not involve lighters or matches are part of the primitive lifestyle (maybe still carry them as a backup).
One of these is a technique known as feather sticks, which is basically a specific way of cutting into sticks to make them easier to burn.
Dry logs, fallen trees would be a good resource for this.
Anything growing will likely hold moisture, this will make it difficult to burn and it could produce more smoke.
You may also see this fall under bushcraft skills.
4# Learn to navigate
I personally think that learning to read a map is a skill that more and more people are starting to lack.
Being spoiled by technology, many of us now have master navigators right in our pockets.
However in the distant past there weren’t even maps let alone google maps. Native american tribes were known to send out scouting groups to learn more about the terrain.
One skill we recommend is to know how to at least use a compass or even create your own.
Having an understanding of the sun location or using stars as way points can also come in handy.
There’s a fantastic article on this by the folks at wikihow
Being able to navigate will prevent you getting lost, travelling in circles and save you a crap tonne of time.
5# First aid skills
One of my favourite movies is a jackie chan film called “Who Am I” where he plays a soldier suffering from amnesia.
He is taken in by a primitive tribe living out in the jungle / desert and picks up a bunch of survival skills.
In one scene he is able to save a stranger who was bitten by a poisonous snake because sucking out the venom and applied a special plant with healing properties.
(the film gets pretty crazy, you should check it out)
I bring this up because it is an example of how resilient the human race can be before modern medical technology.
It helps to have standard first aid skills but to have a last resort option when you are without a medical kit will really take you to another survival level.
Focus on simple things like cleaning wounds, preventing infection, setting broken bones, stopping bleeds and CPR.
6# How to run and hide
Ever play a survival video game before?
There are many titles such as Uncharted, Tomb Raider and my personal favourite Last of us.
This game is about a horrible virus that has almost wiped out all of mankind by turning people into killer fungus zombies.
In the game you do everything from hunting deer, foraging for food, fighting zombies / bandits and lots of hiding.
I’m sure ancestors found themselves hiding from thieves in a lawless society or maybe even wild animals.
You’ll want to have multiple safe places in time of crisis each with multiple exits in case you have to run.
Speaking of running, it may be a good idea to take up a little exercise or regular stretching. You don’t want to be in a situation where you must run for your life but your body is far from able.
7# Self defense
If running and hiding fails you, being able to defend yourself is one skill every one of us should learn.
You don’t need to be a kung fu master or an MMA champion but having basic self defense can save your life.
You may be in a situation where you have no choice, you or a loved one could be under attack and you must be able to protect yourself and them.
Understanding breathing, knowing how to throw a punch, and having a stance are all key skills.
Personally I do boxing training at least twice a week and focus on physical strength training the rest of the time.
We do plan to do many more posts on this subject but here are a few youtube channels we would recommend.
8# Being a weatherman
Just like with the sat nav we also have a master weather person in our pockets that can tell us fairly accurately about the current and future weather conditions.
Most of us probably lack the skills to tell what the weather will be other than what we are currently experiencing.
However as a survival skill being unable to understand the climate in a no technology situation can save you from walking right into that lethal storm.
Primitive techniques would include how to monitor wind direction, humidity, cloud cover and the flow of the ocean.
9# Finding shelter
If you were put in a situation where you had to survive without a tent would you be able to make do with what you had around you?
Danger from exposure is usually overlooked in favour of food or water.
Skills such as knowing what materials to gather and how to put them together, techniques like ribbing sticks is a great example of this.
Maybe the shelter needs to be big enough to shelter you and others, or fend off rain / strong winds.
This again may fall under bushcraft but is also a vital primitive skill.
10# Living life off the grid
This is one skill that I feel so many including myself would struggle with.
It’s a terrifying thought to think of a world without electricity and no hope of it coming back.
However, we could probably all do with time away from social media, the internet and our devices if we’re being honest with ourselves.
Some say they have found it quite uplifting by spending more time speaking to people face to face rather than through a screen.
Still there are survival skills we will need in a world like this.
Simple things like being able to access water, washing clothing, lighting a room and even entertainment would all change forever.
Knowing how you and your family would cope in these conditions can definitely help you keep your cool if the lights went out.
Conclusion
So the bottom line here is we are spoiled by modern technology which is only getting more advanced by the day and even though this is awesome, we need to learn how to get by without it should we ever have to.
We should keep our primitive skills sharp because we don’t know what our future holds. This is not a remedy for the end of the world but just for our own peace of mind.
Please share any primitive skills you think the rest of us would benefit from and check out our other content.
Until next time survivors.
