How far were the Indians behind the Europeans in technology?
I’m also studying asked:
How far were the Indians behind the Europeans in technology when Columbus discovered America? If the Indians were left to continue living their way of life, how long would it take for them to develop societies that were technologically advanced at that time? How far back do you need to go from that time period to place the Europeans at a similar level? How did technology of the Indians compare to that of other Aborigine societies?
Technology
Highly unlikely that they would have. They lacked two things that were fundamental to European development: The Horse and the Ox.
They had no viable beasts of burden in the New World, and thus they were limited in what they could achieve.
Technology
They also lacked Tin, a component needed in the smelting of Bronze, the precursor of Iron, this places their technology in tools etc. in the stone age (using Obsidian blades)
Technology
To answer the question of “How far back would you go to compare the two on the same level”, not that far. The technology that Native Americans used was on the same level, if not slightly more advanced in some area than those used in the Middle Ages in europe, which as from the fall of the Roman empire until the Renaissance about 1400.
Technology
Well, I wouldn’t say they had NO viable beasts of burden. The llama, although certainly not a replacement for an ox, could serve in some capacity. And then of course there is the buffalo. We don’t know whether or not it could have been successfully domesticated, as there really wasn’t a need for it.