We have a tendency to underestimate the technology or the scientific understanding held by ancient peoples.
Perhaps this reinforces my contention that the greatest crimes ever perpetuated on humanity were the various successive burnings of the library at Alexandria. I think it would amaze us today to find out what things the people of those days already knew.
I would contend that there were ancient peoples that lived for many years just the merest fraction away from discoveries that would have started technological innovations centuries before they were realized. I happen to think that much of this collected knowledge was at Alexandria, and the loss of it was a setback on the order of thousands of years of re-discovery of things already known.
And, more than likely considerable rapturing about great nights in the sack ;~D
I've long been annoyed with the burning of that library, too.
But I have come to believe that God must have facilitated it.
He commented at the time of the tower of babbel that unless they did confuse the languages--man would discover the secret of life itself. Interesting comment. Evidently God did not want tooo many discoveries out toooo quickly. He clearly had/has His own reasons.
Because the further we go back in written history the more ignorant people seem, we unconsciously assume men who lived before history was written, must have been the most ignorant of all.
But ignorance of the most important things likely began when writing began.