In our last story, we explored how we owe city planning, written language and government to humans planting seeds in the ground. We also explored how our scientific knowledge dramatically expanded when we stayed put and developed specialized jobs within communities allowing a few people to experiment and document the world around them. Let’s get into the next major innovation and learn four ways metals transformed human civilization from the agrarian societies that preceded it.
Before Metals
1. Simple objects & structures
Without metals, we only have sticks, stones and bones at our disposal. These natural materials are not capable of precision cutting, sculping and detail work. Objects from pre-metal civilizations lack fine detailing and their structures and vessels are typically smaller due to an inability to create consistent parts.
After Metals
1. Larger more detailed structures
The hardness of metal tools allows them to maintain sharp edges and create precision cuts. When we uncover large, ornately carved buildings, detailed sculptures and ships requiring consistently cut flat boards, we know that society had discovered metals.
Before Metals
2. Bartering and localized trading
Without metals, we only have sticks, stones and bones at our disposal. These natural materials are not capable of precision cutting, sculping and detail work. Objects from pre-metal civilizations lack fine detailing and their structures and vessels are typically smaller due to an inability to create consistent parts.
After Metals
2. Metal coins create world-wide commerce
While bags of grain, feathers and shells were regionally accepted forms of payment, people from all cultures were willing to trade for chips of gold and silver, regardless of who’s face was on it.
Before Metals
3. Warfare was quick and less common
Armed conflicts were unusual in nomadic societies as small populations couldn’t afford to lose many members and less aggressive tribes could just move on to the next resource. Early agricultural people likely faced raids from other tribes, but warfare to build and maintain empires was not possible when everyone was armed with the same stick, stone and bone weapons that broke and dulled easily.
After Metals
3. Weapons races result in cycles of empires
The societies who developed metals first were able to quickly dominate civilizations still working with stone age weapons. Modern-day Turkey was the hotbed for metallurgy in the ancient times with the Early Mesopotamians, Sumerians and Hittites developing copper, bronze and Iron tools respectively. Each of these metal innovations allowed their civilizations to dominate neighbors and spies stole and shared their metal-making secrets in the ancient arms race.
Before Metals
4. Complicated picture based writing systems
Record keeping and communication was fundamental to maintaining large agricultural cities. But as societies became more complex, so did their communication systems reliant on unique symbols for EVERY THING. Egyptian hieroglyphs and Mesopotamian cuneiform required knowledge of 1,000 characters for full communication, so only a handful of people were ever able to learn them. This monopoly on communication allowed monarchs to acquire and hold great power.
After Metals
4. Simplified sound based writing systems
As explored above, improved metal tools amplified the effectiveness of everything. Farmers could grow, harvest and store more food. Carpenters build chariots, wagons and ships to travel longer distances for trade and empire building. The difficulty of translating all the complicated languages was solved by a famous seafaring civilization, the Phoenicians. With a system of symbols to represent sounds, they could document arrangements with anyone. Their system was picked up by neighbors and today Europe and western Asian cultures each have their own evolution of the Phoenician system.
Can you believe metal objects were so transformational to human civilization?
What was the best change brought about by metals to society?
What was the worst change brought about by metals to society?
