Želmíra Šípková
Wood, one of the oldest “cultural” materials, has been accompanying people from the dawn of our civilisation until the present day. The extent of its use has changed fundamentally in indirect correlation to the growing quality and diversification of production technologies. At the beginning, it was used almost universally. In our geographic conditions, the prevalence of wood in people’s living spaces lasted until the 19th century, and in the rural environment all the way up to the first third of the 20th century. Wood was present in all the elements of life of individuals and society. Taking into consideration the extent of its application during the “golden age” of wood, the wide range of its methods of working comes as no surprise. From the simplest techniques to the most technically demanding, these include mainly the techniques of splitting, hollowing out, chipping, sawing, planing, drilling, turning (on a lathe) and wood carving. These processes make up the technological basis of wood-processing disciplines and crafts which developed in our cultural environment based on the needs of the individual or society. As the years passed, wood gave up its exclusive status to other materials: coal, oil, iron, concrete, plastic. However, even today it remains part of our cultural tradition and can still address people today.