Simple technological improvements for the Bronze Age?

I've read that Odysseus' "Land of the lotus eaters" was possibly a bronze age garbled account of poppy intoxication. His crew, once exposed, did not want to leave. Also, Roman writing tablets excavated in northern Britain mention woolen socks, so they knew about knitting at least by the 300's.
 
Key improvements
Horse collar , doubles amount of land ploughed per day among other things, horse can now do 5x the work for 2x the food compared to a slave
Heavy plough , bronze age a lot of land just could not be ploughed at all
Sanitation , big cause of illness and magnified effects of injury
Crop rotation including turnips/clover, more efficent use of land and more animals survive winter so more milk/cheese and fertilizer,
Enclosure, makes a big difference to animal husbandry

A contentious one is iron, outside Europe later bronze age cultures include some iron work, its only Europe where a clear divide occurs.
 
Talking about paper, what about paper shields?

I know, that sounds nutty, but I saw a TV doc suggesting it was done in China. Exactly how, I don't recall, but the gist was, the paper was folded repeatedly, very tight, & laquered, so it was ultimately as hard as wood (as metal?), but very light.

That’s quite an interesting idea, and recalls a certain scene in The Sopranos, but first we need paper ;)

That would be "milk of the poppy", i.e. an opioid.

http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Milk_of_the_poppy
https://gameofthrones.fandom.com/wiki/Milk_of_the_poppy

"Poppy juice" is also referenced in the Cadfael series.

Essence of nightshade would be deadly poisonous if used improperly. However, an extract of nightshade is used as a heart medicine, and it was also used as eye drops to widen the pupils.

Oh my god... I have a new understanding of those scenes. Right... ok. Milk of the Poppy for King Robert and Ned Stark, Essence of Nightshade to calm Joffrey down when he was throwing a fit. I can’t believe I never made that connect. Derp!

Earlier use of Variolation to reduce the spread of smallpox?

To my knowledge, smallpox had not yet evolved, and it may be butterflies altogether IMTL. Which, isn’t to say that there won’t be anything as bad or even worse.

Key improvements
Horse collar , doubles amount of land ploughed per day among other things, horse can now do 5x the work for 2x the food compared to a slave
Heavy plough , bronze age a lot of land just could not be ploughed at all
Sanitation , big cause of illness and magnified effects of injury
Crop rotation including turnips/clover, more efficent use of land and more animals survive winter so more milk/cheese and fertilizer,
Enclosure, makes a big difference to animal husbandry

A contentious one is iron, outside Europe later bronze age cultures include some iron work, its only Europe where a clear divide occurs.

Doesn’t planting shrubs/trees along your canals help to reduce soil erosion?
 
Hahahahahahaha! That's a great image. On a serious note though, I haven't much looked into the history of anesthetics, but GoT (which is now dead to me) keeps on mentioning "essence of nightshade". Was that ever a thing, I wonder?

Nightshade berries are pretty poisonous (hence its alternative name, "deadly nightshade"), but if you had a small enough dose it would probably just put you to sleep... You'd have to be very careful not to accidentally overdose and kill yourself, though.

A quick glance at the History of Glass page on Wikipedia dates glassmaking to the Bronze Age, although it is possible that it didn't get started as an independent craft until the 2nd millennium BCE. Still, it seems odd that, given how just looking through a glass bottle can make things appear closer, magnifying glasses didn't become a thing until much, much later.

Early glass was generally quite opaque. The techniques to create see-through glass didn't come about till later, I think.

What are those little folded paper pamphlet-type things they used in China and East Asia? Does anyone know what I'm talking about? You have a cover on either end of a long, rectangular sheet of paper and then you fold the sheet into square/vertical rectangular sections, each side of which is a different "page"? I was thinking of doing something similar IMTL with parchment, since parchment is a fairly old product. Not sure it would work with papyrus, though. All of the papyrus I have ever handled in my life (admittedly only a few sheets) didn't take well to folding.

Yeah papyrus is weaker and much less long-lasting than parchment, so I guess it stands to reason that it would be damaged by folding.

Parchment, on the other hand, lasts practically forever. I once got to handle a Carolingian-era book, and the pages were still every bit as strong as the pages of a modern book which was printed only yesterday. (Maybe even stronger, although for obvious reasons I didn't test it out.)

Talking about paper, what about paper shields?

I know, that sounds nutty, but I saw a TV doc suggesting it was done in China. Exactly how, I don't recall, but the gist was, the paper was folded repeatedly, very tight, & laquered, so it was ultimately as hard as wood (as metal?), but very light.

There are even first-hand accounts claiming that Chinese paper armour was able to stop bullets. I'm guessing it probably worked a bit like modern Kevlar or similar.

I've read that Odysseus' "Land of the lotus eaters" was possibly a bronze age garbled account of poppy intoxication. His crew, once exposed, did not want to leave. Also, Roman writing tablets excavated in northern Britain mention woolen socks, so they knew about knitting at least by the 300's.

OT, but my favourite Roman tablet was from a guy saying "Since you're up in Vindolanda, could you please send me some of that local beer I like?" Nice to see people had their priorities straight. :D
 

Driftless

Donor
Also, Roman writing tablets excavated in northern Britain mention woolen socks, so they knew about knitting at least by the 300's.

Were those socks knitted, loomed & sewn, or made from felt and sewn? I think the heavy felt boots/boot liners have been around in cold climates (Europe & Asia) for a long time (how long????)
 
I have a new understanding of those scenes.
It strikes me a society sophisticated enough to use medicinal nightshade is pretty good at chemistry.:cool:

In that vein, mixing plants in the right combinations might produce a variety of polymer. (I saw this somewhere, some scientists experimenting with plants found in the desert produced a stone-like "concrete".)
smallpox... may be butterflies altogether
Contact(s) between societies may well affect that. Caribbean natives, around time of first contact, had STDs which didn't trouble them, but which proved fatal to Europeans.:eek: (I don't recall why...:oops:)
Doesn’t planting shrubs/trees along your canals help to reduce soil erosion?
It does at that.:) Also along rivers, by inhibiting runoff. It keeps fertilizers out of rivers, too, which means they don't end up stimulating algae blooms in the deltas (& other crap along the way).
 

Driftless

Donor
Doesn’t planting shrubs/trees along your canals help to reduce soil erosion?

It does at that.:) Also along rivers, by inhibiting runoff. It keeps fertilizers out of rivers, too, which means they don't end up stimulating algae blooms in the deltas (& other crap along the way).

Another useful outcome of that shoreline protection is improved habitat for fish(and other edible critters). The water is more clear, and the shade provided helps keep the water cooler - a useful thing for many fish species.
 

Driftless

Donor
Just more metallurgy and more use of the wheel by Western Hemisphere peoples. My limited knowledge has it that there was some use of native copper and gold, but not on a large scale. I believe the same story applies to the use of the wheel.
 

trurle

Banned
Another useful outcome of that shoreline protection is improved habitat for fish(and other edible critters). The water is more clear, and the shade provided helps keep the water cooler - a useful thing for many fish species.
IOTL, dense growths of shoreline trees were viewed more as pests (sucking in and evaporating frequently deficient water, and also providing habitat for dangerous predators and parasites) rather than useful items. I have difficulty imagining how such perception can be reversed.
 
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That’s quite an interesting idea, and recalls a certain scene in The Sopranos, but first we need paper ;)


Other materials are possible
From the wiki on Greek laminated armor

The type of material that went into the construction of the linothorax is still hotly debated by academics and amateurs alike. Some of the more common theories of its construction involve laminated or quilting many layers of linen fabric (linothorax literally means 'linen torso'); the armor probably had between 12 and 20 layers. It has been conjectured that the fabric layers were bonded using animal glue. Although strong, this is water-soluble; therefore the armour would need protection against rain or sweat if this method was indeed used.
 

Driftless

Donor
IOTL, shoreline trees were viewed more as pests (sucking in and evaporating frequently deficient water, and also providing habitat for dangerous predators and parasites) rather than useful items. I have difficulty imagining how such perception can be reversed.

Depends on the environment. If it's a dry region, I could see the concern for water competition between agricultural plants and other vegetation. However, there are not many large carnivorous reptiles in cooler climates. Venomous snakes perhaps, but they're not isolated to shorelines - they can be many places. Also, in those temperate regions, if you are concerned about large carnivorous mammals, keep the vegetation limited to a fringe right along the banks to limit hiding spots. It's likely that farm fields or pastures are being grown right up close to the streams/canals anyway.
 

Driftless

Donor
Other materials are possible
From the wiki on Greek laminated armor

The type of material that went into the construction of the linothorax is still hotly debated by academics and amateurs alike. Some of the more common theories of its construction involve laminated or quilting many layers of linen fabric (linothorax literally means 'linen torso'); the armor probably had between 12 and 20 layers. It has been conjectured that the fabric layers were bonded using animal glue. Although strong, this is water-soluble; therefore the armour would need protection against rain or sweat if this method was indeed used.

Don't multiple layers of silk achieve some level of protection against penetration by blade or missle(arrows, javelins, even some bullets)? Silk wouldn't come cheap at any point in time, but would it work?
 

trurle

Banned
Don't multiple layers of silk achieve some level of protection against penetration by blade or missle(arrows, javelins, even some bullets)? Silk wouldn't come cheap at any point in time, but would it work?
Mongols did use "silk vests" for protection against arrows. The silk has low elastic modulus and do not actually stop arrow, but wraps around arrow tip, resulting in easier arrow tip removal and less mortality. Early modern body armor also did use silk (<1 GPa modulus), until been replaced by much stiffer (2-13 GPa modulus) nylon, which allowed to greatly decrease armour volume.
 
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I've read that Odysseus' "Land of the lotus eaters" was possibly a bronze age garbled account of poppy intoxication. His crew, once exposed, did not want to leave. Also, Roman writing tablets excavated in northern Britain mention woolen socks, so they knew about knitting at least by the 300's.
Were those socks knitted, loomed & sewn, or made from felt and sewn? I think the heavy felt boots/boot liners have been around in cold climates (Europe & Asia) for a long time (how long????)
They could be done with the older technique called nailbinding, used arpund 6.500 yeara ago,that is not the same technique than knitting or crochet, as you only need a needle and a wool thread to nailbinding a sock, and if you don't know there is diffocult to distinguish a knitted a crocheted or a nailbinding textil
 
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Driftless

Donor
They could be done with the older technique called nailbinding, used arpund 6.500 yeara ago,that is not the same technique than knitting or crochet, as you only need a needle and a wool thread to nailbinding a sock, and if you don't know there is diffocult to distinguish a knitted a crocheted or a nailbinding textil

Interesting! The article points up being able to use shorter strands for this technique. I wonder if plays into using hand twisted threads vs longer wheel or distaff/spindle spun threads?
 
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