Know How
Over the centuries the Americas' First Nations advanced societies used their ingenuity to make discoveries which vastly improved the quality of our lives.
Abacus
Camouflage
Astronomical observatories
Chewing gum
Books
Geometry
Compulsory education
Dental inlays (tooth fillings)
Toothbrushing
Anatomical knowledge
Antibiotics
Cataract removal
Surgery
Hemostats
Trephination (brain surgery)
Prescriptions
Anesthetics
Syringes
Asepsis
Public health
Quarantine and isolation
Holistic medicine
Sunflowers
Zucchini
Avocados
Pineapples
Vanilla
Blueberries
Cashews
Beans
Popcorn
Herb gardens
Peppers
Corn syrup
Potato chips
Freeze-drying
Instant foods
Peanuts
Maple syrup
Pumpkins
Tomatoes
Blue-green algae
Chocolate
Tobacco
Cotton
Aloe vera
Botanical gardens
Black walnuts
Strawberries
Potatoes
Plumbing
Shampoo
Latex
Deodorants
Sunscreens
Daily bathing
Detergents
Fishhooks
Copper metallurgy
Soldering
Annealing
Colanders
Vulcanization
Mouthwash
Needles
Suspension bridges
Oil wells (petroleum)
Ecology
Cedar shingles and siding
Adobe
Gold plating
Metal foil
Concrete
Asphalt
Soil rotation
Fertilizer
Irrigation
Carpentry techniques
Forest management
Stonemasonery techniques
Straight pins
Parkas
Briquettes
Hammocks
Ponchos
Weaving techniques
Umbrellas
Calendars
Disability rights
Ball games (basketball)
Flotation devices (wetsuits)
Lacrosse
Hockey (shinny)
For some reason there are only 93 items in the purported list of 100. Here are a few more items to round out the list.
Canoes
Kayaks
Toboggans
Snowshoes
Sunglasses
Plant hybridization
Quinine
Coca
Personal freedom
Women's rights
Egalitarian democracy
Written constitution
Federal system of sovereignty
Note: Although the article's subheading claims these discoveries have improved our lives, only some of them came directly to us from Indians. Others were developed independently in the "Old World" and came to us through Europeans.
For more on the subject, see The Myth of Western Superiority and Multicultural Origins of Civilization.
Below: The pyramid at Chichén Itzá.
Writerfella here --
ReplyDeleteFascinating. Apparently the 'discovery' of the North and South American continents somehow do not count among such 'discoveries.' How does one justify that, that the lands themselves are unaccountable or unacknowledged?
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'
Discovering a new land didn't necessarily take any ingenuity. The Paleo-Indians probably wandered until they found a place where they could live, then stopped. That's no more a discovery than noticing the moon in the sky for the first time.
ReplyDeleteClearly the article was geared toward the discovery of objects, processes, systems, and concepts. You know, the usual stuff people discover through intellectual inquiry. A continent that Paleo-Indians chanced upon doesn't fall into any of these categories.
Writerfella here --
ReplyDeleteStuff and nonsense. No matter where you are on earth, you can see the moon. But you can't see or even reach the American continents, except that you once were the inhabitants of Beringia who were privy to the lands so connected. At such a time, Caucasian Man or Thuringen Man (soon to be EuroMan) was confined to the Caucasus Mountains, picking up rocks and eating them. Depending on the length of the previous Ice Age, that could have been as long ago as 250,000 years, as science wields its sword of speculation. Of course, they now have 'invented' Kennewick Man, who seemingly stood singlehandedly on the American continents to face off with the Beringeans and lost...
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella
Stuff and nonsense yourself. The key point, which you so obviously missed, is that neither the moon nor the Americas required an intellectual effort to discover.
ReplyDeleteDid they have SATs when you were a kid? I'm guessing you didn't do too well on the verbal part.
Here's a typical SAT question. Which one of these items doesn't belong on the list?
a) Abacus
b) Dental inlays
c) Zucchini
d) Flotation devices
e) North and South America
Answer: e), for reasons evident to any grade schooler.
To reiterate, this list was mainly about science and technology--i.e., objects, processes, systems, and concepts. It didn't include discoveries in religion, philosophy, art, or literature--or geography. Duh.