Christopher Wright wrote:
Walter Bright wrote:
Andrei Alexandrescu wrote:
My list:
- wheel
- fire
- smelting metals
- writing
- arithmetic
But humans had fire 20,000 years ago! I think fire goes back a lot
longer than that. I also suspect that simple arithmetic is innate,
although a numbering system is not (see Mayan and Roman number systems).
Wouldn't the wheel be useless to a hunter-gatherer tribe?
If they are nomadic, wheels allow an individual to carry much more
equipment. This allows them to store up surplus food more easily and
safely. This in turn safeguards them from famine and allows for excess
food to diversify roles in the community to a greater degree.
Additionally, it means that the writing equipment that you supplied gets
used, and the texts don't get tossed as soon as they move.
I don't buy it. Most foods would spoil too quickly for this to matter,
the wagons would be slow, wheels would need repair, etc. If I were in a
nomadic tribe I wouldn't do more than pile stuff on the back of a Mule.
