HN

Comments (21)

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  Terr_
  There are certain bodies of human knowledge and practice which aren't usually referred to as "technologies", and I think that leads us to underestimate their complexity and importance.In particular, I'm thinking of textiles and agriculture. It's no coincidence that both were prime targets of industrial mechanization, occupying a huge proportion of all human labor.
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  kqr
  Not mentioned in TFA: cordage is a critical component in slings, an early, powerful ranged weapon.With some sort of pulley, rope allows a single human to excert large amounts of force trough leverage, often in ways more convenient than other forms of mechanical leverage. (Such as actual levers.)Rope can also be used for 1:1 power transfer.
• avadodin
  They were still more likely swinging off crude cordage like Tarzan than driving off in their 5nm-process torsion-battery-powered car, but still.
• rinconrex
  The TFA mentions wood, along with string, twine, rope, etc. Soft technologies surely would also include leather, and other animal products as well.Cordage can be a force-multiplier as well, in addition to what others have said about pulleys and slings. One could tie many strings/ropes to a tree or animal and pull with multiples of a singular force.
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  INTPenis
  With just wood and rope they could probably accomplish amazing things. I'm convinced on a personal level that stone age people had cranes to lift boulders with.
• HelloUsername
  Apes together strong
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  Honali
  We tend to picture prehistoric technology as a progression of increasingly clever stone tools because stone is what survives, but rope may have been closer to infrastructure