Posted on 05/18/2024 10:30:28 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
“Yes, much like Africa, ‘they’ needed a domesticated animal source to be able use a wheel, or ‘ride’. Zebra vs. horse argument and all.”
It is more than that... It is the difference of feeling you have enough to get by comfortably or needing a device to carry more than you actually need to get by.
The wheel was born of gluttony and greed.
:^)
Yeah, there are indeed those who say that, and I'm not one to pooh-pooh the idea out of hand.
The fact remains that the Americas, particular North America, has been struck by impacts of space debris (including large offshore impacts like the Eltanin impact) more than the rest of the Earth's landmasses during the past two million years, and buried in ice blitzkriegs. The Meteor Crater impact probably wiped out earlier fauna as well as all or most humans who were already around.
Regardless, the Americas have never been starkly isolated from the rest of the Earth, unlike what the biased claim.
Absolutely.
Working with what you have to do the best you can is survival at it's best.
Some are happy with what they have to work with, and do well, and do not care to push the limits any further.
Personally, I am happy my ancesters were not satisfied with what they had, and looked for better ways to do stuff.
Bring back Pangea! 😊👍
Stone blades and tools were quickly abandoned.
For those made of steel and iron as soon as the “natives” could get them.
If stone tools were so superior why did they go away.
“If stone tools were so superior why did they go away.”
My point was not that they were superior, they were prone to breakage of course. My point was that in the nomadic hunter gatherer situation stone was just more independent, handy, and practical. It was not dependent on other humans for mining and foundry infrastructure. But of course when a new culture was introduced and metal blades were more “readily available as a trade currency” why not take advantage of that? Be stupid not to. It no longer required them to build all their own metal working infrastructure, They could just trade a few furs for one from the new culture traders.
Flour came before writing.
No matter where you are you can reach down and find a rock that is workable into a very sharp and capable tool for the task in just half an hour.
I believe you are mistaken.
The Aztecs smelted metal, and were on the edge of figuring out bronze.
The Incas knew about bronze, and used it for a few things.
There are many places where rocks suitable to take an edge are difficult to find. Flint and obsidian mines existed in both the old and new world. Good quality rock was traded long distances.
Technology and intelligence are not the same and should not be confused. From my study, people had to be smart and capable to survive with the lower levels of technology.
No matter where you are you can reach down and find a rock that is workable into a very sharp and capable tool for the task in just half an hour.
I believe you are mistaken.
The Aztecs smelted metal, and were on the edge of figuring out bronze.
The Incas knew about bronze, and used it for a few things.
There are many places where rocks suitable to take an edge are difficult to find. Flint and obsidian mines existed in both the old and new world. Good quality rock was traded long distances.
Technology and intelligence are not the same and should not be confused. From my study, people had to be smart and capable to survive with the lower levels of technology.
” The Aztecs smelted metal, and were on the edge of figuring out bronze.
The Incas knew about bronze, and used it for a few things.”
Absolutely true. But it was not the normal case with North American Natives as I noted. Which is odd considering the availability and disappearance of all the Great Lakes “native” Copper that did not require smelting. The locals there used it a bit of course, but even though other items were traded across the continent, none of it is found across the rest of the continent.
As much as was mined it should have been everywhere in every village across the continent. But all that copper that disappeared is another whole story in it’s self. Also true was that South American tribes did indeed trade with the Northern Tribes. Evidence of Cocoa and other South American resources have been found in the north yet still no common prevalent use of metal in the north.
But long ago this reality lead me to the logical theory that it was just more convenient to reach down and knap a rock anywhere they were without being dependent on a whole manufacturing process and/or trade network.
“Technology and intelligence are not the same and should not be confused. From my study, people had to be smart and capable to survive with the lower levels of technology.”
Absolutely, and it is more stable in the longer term. Look at us... We are about to destroy ourselves with technology. In reality how intelligent is that? Yet when we do there are more primitive cultures around the world who will never even know it happened, it will not affect them one bit, they will continue on long after we are gone. Similar with the Amish and Mennonites. If we do not take it away from them, they will continue on as they always have. :)
First all thanks to those providing additional interesting links.
For those wondering how the linguists found the ancient languages, they did not, nor did the article say that they did. What they did do was analyze current languages or information gathered on recently dead languages, which anthropologists have been doing at least since the 1800s. starting in the 1500s, the Spanish priests were recording languages in Mexico and elsewhere so they could convert the population. Perhaps they recorded some languages of smaller groups that no longer have their language from that period, but now speak one of the dominant languages.
I studied a bit of Aztec language in Mexico over 60 years ago during a linguistics class. If I remember correctly, Nahuatl is one of the languages with the word “I” beginning with the letter “n”, unfortunately I no longer remember the Aztec word for “you”. At that time I was told Nahuatl was spoken by 1/2 million Mexicans. For many it was the only language they spoke. In southern Mexico, a group of us rode horses 6 miles to visit a large village (at least 500 people) near San Cristobal de las Casas, that had no road, only trails. We spoke to the Alcalde (mayor) and his 2 deputies asking permission to visit in and photograph in his village. They were the only people in the village who spoke Spanish. I don’t know what the rest of the villagers were speaking but it was not Spanish or Nahuatl.
What you describe may have been true for most of the American territory, but in Central Mexico, and south into Central America, there were cities and people carving words on stone, and making a form of paper and writing books. The Spaniards destroyed most of the written material in the 1500s. Priests save a few Codixes, which are now very rare and valuable, and in museums or Spanish archives. There was also well developed agriculture. Some of the food and other plants developed here were sent back to Europe where they became widely use. Tobacco and potatoes are two.
Sad thing it never passed from the Mayans to the neighboring tribes.
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