-Poul Anderson, Time Patrol (New York, 2006), p. 174.
A Few Points To Note
(i) A few centuries do not matter that far back.
(ii) If there is time travel, then maybe our remote descendants and ancestors know about it although we don't.
(iii) Those ancestors would have had enough sense to dress properly in cold weather.
In another fictional timeline, SM Stirling's characters, in Island In The Ocean Of Time, learn that ancient astrologers and mariners realized that the world was round but did not tell anyone else. The knowledge was either esoteric or a trade secret. Mariners in particular would see masts disappearing below the horizon. It was philosophers who first wanted to share and publish knowledge: Patet veritas omnibus, "Truth lies open to all."
5 comments:
Poul was prescient about the Cro-Magnon dress; there's been evidence discovered recently that they did in fact wear tailored, sewn clothing, while the Neanderthals didn't.
"there was no danger of upsetting the past, for the metal would rust away and the strangers be forgotten in a few centuries."
Probably right for giving a few metal tools, but I can think of some things that could make major changes.
Eg: introducing something like this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cree_syllabics
Note that nomadic hunting people found a sufficiently easy script useful.
Suppose that was introduced before agriculture & then in post glacial times when agriculture becomes practical all sorts of innovations are recorded in writing. I expect civilization would advance much faster.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling and Jim!
Mr. Stirling: Your comments reminded me of what we see in Anderson's "The Long Remembering." The Cro-Magnons were far more advanced than the Neanderthals we also see in that story.
Jim: I am not so sure a truly nomadic people could be or would stay literate. What would wandering hunter/gatherers USE for writing materials, pens, inks/paints, etc.? And how and where would they manufacture such things? And would nomads really carry around large and cumbersome quantities of books and records?
My view is, no, they would not. Esp. when you recall the effort required for such a thing could be use for things of far immediate use for nomads.
Ad astra! Sean
It was simple enough & used common enough materials (birchbark & soot) that they could leave notes to each other & found that useful.
Now imagine that among a people just developing agriculture so they are now living a non-nomadic life & can keep not just notes but start making books & libraries...
Kaor, Jim!
Then these Indians were exceptions to the general rule, as seen among most nomadic hunter gatherers.
Ad astra! Sean
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