03-10-2002 11:31									#151
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quote: While gaining domesticatable animals (which is a vital element of the progession of civilization) is not guaranteed if they had more metal deposits.

I don't think domesticable animals are vital. The lack didn't stop the Mayans, the Incas or the Aztecs from developing civilizations that were around the same level as Egypt was around or shortly before the time the pyramids were built. They help yes but their not vital. Metals are vital for advanced technologies.

Again all I am saying is that it would take a long time. Longer than in Europe I suspect for reasons allready stated by others. Including the lack of domestic animals.

quote: Iron was first produced in Eurasia by ~2500 BC, and became common by ~1000 BC. It obviously is not that difficult to produce else it wouldn't have happened in the first place...

Civilization arose long before that. Jericho started around 6500 BC. Iron wasn't really common in 1,000 BC but it was fairly widespread. Bronze got started around 4000 BC and was still the major metal even in 1,000 BC. The Greeks were still mostly using bronze swords then.

There was copper usage in the New World and interestingly enough I have just found information on Incas working with bronze. Not much bronze but some. I knew they had smelting of some kind but I had only heard of copper being used and even that mostly for ornamentation. The bronze isn't very good (not enough tin and most of it has arsnic not tin) but it is bronze so the Incas would be about the level of metals technology of the very early bronze age. There is little or no sign of smelting in North America but there was native copper use.

This still leaves even the Inca at thousands of years behind where the Spanish were at the time of Columbus and without writing. Trade between the North and South America was extremely scarce so Bronze use would have traveled slowly in all probability considering how Mayans had writing long before Pizzaro conquered the still illiterate Incas. One good dark age and metals technology could be set back quite a bit. This is why I think technology would advance slower in the New World. At least untill sea trade was established.