Iron/Bronze tools would still be pretty handy for all sorts of things that aren't slicing and dicing people. Metal axes and knives were an incredibly popular trade good with stone age peoples for a reason. The spread of metal tools and weapons would probably be slower, but it would still happen...
Citation. Needed. Everything I've ever read(including stuff like autobiographies) indicates that rape and child abuse was scarily common in the Victorian period ranging from rape of servants being considered just an occupational hazard to martial rape not legally being a thing to pedophiles...
A katana is a sharp piece of metal moving at high speeds. Get hit in the flesh/clothes and your day is getting ruined, exact metallurgy doesn't matter.
The complete 180 the internet has done from seeing katanas as "best sword evar" to "worst sword evar" never ceases to amaze.
Anyway, this should...
Lands of Red and Gold: Last Interglacial in Africa edition.
I say do it. Bonus points if you can somehow save the non-HSS hominids into the bargain(unlikely, I know, with humans doing even better than OTL, but still)
"If muskets/bows/javelins were effective on foot, why would you ever close with hand weapons"?
Oh wait, because both shooting and charging are useful depending on the tactical situation. Generally, infantry are better at shooting and/or holding ground and cavalry are better at charging. Doesn't...
Inexperienced human shooters flinch as well. Doesn't make firearms useless. Again, horses were specifically trained to desensitize them to gunfire, and shooters were trained to fire mounted.
"Horses never really take to the ding of firearms"-Then how was any use of cavalry practical post firearms?
"Combined arms approach"-Not true. Mounted arquebusiers gave cavalry it's own organic fire support. They were supplanted by improved combined arms tactics, such as light cannon and...
Effective infantry firearms during the 13th are highly unlikely as anything other than a gimmick. It took until the 14th century for cannons and the 15th century for handgonnes.
The post I was responding to mentioned flintlocks(which are actually after the heyday of firearm using cavalry)...
16th and 17th century heavy cavalry used pistols as their primary weapons, while Harquebusiers, Petronels and Carbineers all made extensive use of their namesake weapons as fire support. Shooting from horseback is a pain in the ass, but one of the best ways to take out heavily armoured...
Now, a fun idea could be in what sort of TL is braveheart accurate?
What happens if the scots are a bunch of iron age throwbacks, Phillip of Mowbray gets chucked out a window, William Wallace shags a twentysomething Isabella, and on?