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Comment by leobg | Hacker News Reader

This is mindblowing. Here we are, 3000 years in the future. But how many of us could make such a “primitive” thing?

How many people could make them 3000 years ago? Im curious how many blacksmiths there were back then with the appropriate skill and resources to learn it and do it well. I feel as if there are still a surprising number of people that could make a sword today, although maybe not from raw resources.

it was one of the most popular and widespread occupations

I think it’s more accurate to say most communities had a blacksmith. “Farmer” was the most popular and widespread occultations. A community at that time didn’t require a ton of specialized labor, they needed more people using the output of a blacksmith.

Unlike how popular culture depicts, blacksmiths seldom operated alone. A village would have a big team of blacksmiths, including many acolytes.

> Im curious how many blacksmiths there were back then...

The sword is bronze, blacksmiths work with iron. Bronze is usually cast, iron is usually forged (heated and hit with a hammer).

We can do and learn things that require further intellectual ability though ;)

How many "primitives" could pass a 8year olds Spelling Bee?

How many 8-year olds could pass a spelling bee of a 3,000-year old language, though?

How many people can really spell that many words correctly today? Without a red squiggly line that is. I know I personally am terrible at it. Like really, really bad. So are most people I know well enough to admit it. English for example is a terrible language with so many edge cases and tons of inconsistency that to me as a layman make zero sense.

For example I try to sound out words with my kids as they learn to read. But it's not that simple. So many words are pronounced "incorrectly". It makes it very frustrating for all parties involved.

So.. is mass memorizing how to spell complicated words truly a sign of intelligence or just applied memorization to a field.

I would simply say I hate spelling but I loathe it so I can seem smarter even though they mean the same thing. English...

Its more than simply making the thing.

There's advancement in several fields of study and industry that need to happen before you can make the thing, especially circa 3000. Geography, Mining, Manpower, Logistics, Science... to name a few!

This post covers it quite well.

https://acoup.blog/2020/09/18/collections-iron-how-did-they-...

To be fair, how many of the populace 3000 years ago could make such a thing?

With the right youtube videos and enough practice, I'll bet most mechanically inclined people could work it out.

I imagine the information you could fit on a single piece of printer paper with 12 point font would net someone something much better than this sword. Metallurgy has come a long way

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