Pre-columbian American societies technoogy level?

Question

in terms of iron age or bronze age or special advances...how advanced did "American" cultures become.

Some N. American tribes were still stone age tech when we encountered them, but what about the high end..Incas , Aztecs, and Mayas....or others?

Answer 1

When the Spaniards initially advanced on the Aztec Empire, they quickly discovered that their iron armor was no match for the well-crafted, hafted, stone points that the natives hurled their way. Punched right through the armor. It seems likely that the Europeans would not have succeeded in conquering the Americas without the biological warfare, both deliberate and accidental, they waged along with their rifles and swords.

The American Natives had a huge number of cultural and technical achievements that are simply too numerous to list here. I certainly wouldn't say they were primitive, or behind the Europeans in a general sense.

Answer 2

Lets just say, the Europeans probably wouldn't have conquered them if the locals didn't mostly die of smallpox and measles. The Aztecs and Incas were pretty advanced. They built some pretty big cities, and had very well organised armies. They both used rubber for all kinds of things.

The Aztecs had no iron or bronze with which to make their tools and weapons. Therefore, the ancient Aztec people had to develop a means for creating effective tools and weapons without the benefit of these metals. For this reason, many Aztec tools were made with obsidian and chert. Near the time they were overcome by Spanish conquistadors, advances in Aztec technology had lead to the experimentation of making tools with copper. Axe blades, for example, were being made with either stone or copper. Aztec technology was so advanced that they even made drills, which were made of reed or bone.

The Aztecs also made a variety of weapons. One weapon, the atlatl, made it easier to throw a spear. In addition, this weapon was used to aid in fishing. The Aztecs also used a macuahuitl, which was a wooden club containing sharp pieces of volcanic glass, or obsidian. This weapon was used to disable an enemy or opponent without killing him. In addition, the Aztecs utilized bows and arrows.

They also had writing.

http://ns3.azteca.net/aztec/nahuatl/writ...

The Incas still hadn't mastered copper, but they were well organised, although they didn't have writing.

http://incas.perucultural.org.pe/english...

So essentially, they were very well organised, but stone age except for gold smelting.

Answer 3

As a Cherokee, and a well-educated one, there is much evidence to show that American tribes were very well advanced in many areas.

The Pawnees had developed over 70 different types of corn.

The Moundbuilders built permanent settlements surrounding Earthen Mounds that covered acres and acres of land.

The California Indians developed basket-weaving techniques that can't be replicated today by even the most advanced weavers.

Linguistically, American Indian cultures were far more advanced from an anthropological standpoint. Languages were very structured and maintained original sounds far longer than most European and Latin-origin languages.

While their metal works were not as advanced as European, American Indians had societies that rivaled even the most advanced in other parts of the world, the basis for that being the overall picture of how their society was run and their other technological advances...

Strictly on metal advancements, no, they were not as advanced as Euros.

Answer 4

They weren't as developed in war as Europeans, but in terms of architecture and design they were just as developed. In fact, there is record of a spanish conquistador reporting that the aztec cities were just as fine as any spanish city. You can see ancient mayan jewelry made of pure gold that are crafted to look exactly like modern day airplanes!! (Of course this is special cuz airplanes were not at all invented at the time of the Mayan civilization). Though, Mayas, Aztecs, and Incas had major empires due to their enviroment and climate which allowed them to be stable and progress unlike the the nomadic tribes of the northern americas and  the southern americas. This is actually very similar to the Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians who all had fantastic empires because of their situation on the warm and fertile mediterranean unlike the nomadic europeans of  cold northern europe. These major civilizations prospered because of their situation on the land. So answer to your question:  the  ancient american peoples came about as advanced as the Greeks and Egyptians when the European conquest began. So they were pretty far behind in terms of technology, but not in talent and progressivness. They sure took better care of the land better than the Europeans did.