Recent comments in /f/history

GoldenMonkeyRedux t1_j5ybt44 wrote

Reply to Longest ‘dako’ iron sword at 2.6m, along with a unique shield-shaped mirror, found in 4th-century Japanese burial mound — Finds indicate that the technology of the Kofun period (300-710 AD) was more advanced than previously thought by marketrent

Thanks for posting this. I lived in Nara prefecture for years as a young man. I would pass by kofuns constantly and always wondered about what the interiors held.

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Redditor_From_Italy t1_j5y989z wrote

Reply to Longest ‘dako’ iron sword at 2.6m, along with a unique shield-shaped mirror, found in 4th-century Japanese burial mound — Finds indicate that the technology of the Kofun period (300-710 AD) was more advanced than previously thought by marketrent

I wonder if they are in some way a depiction of the Kusanagi no Tsurugi and Yata no Kagami, the originals of which are supposedly owned by the imperial family

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Redditor_From_Italy t1_j5y8znq wrote

Reply to comment by Und3rSc0re in Longest ‘dako’ iron sword at 2.6m, along with a unique shield-shaped mirror, found in 4th-century Japanese burial mound — Finds indicate that the technology of the Kofun period (300-710 AD) was more advanced than previously thought by marketrent

A sword more than maybe ~15cm longer than its user is tall and heavier than ~6 pounds at most is not usable in combat and was most likely made to show off the blacksmith's skill and by extension his patron's prestige.

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Fireonpoopdick t1_j5xw1mm wrote

Reply to Longest ‘dako’ iron sword at 2.6m, along with a unique shield-shaped mirror, found in 4th-century Japanese burial mound — Finds indicate that the technology of the Kofun period (300-710 AD) was more advanced than previously thought by marketrent

Not exactly rocket science, ancient astronaut theorists will probably use this as evidence that secretly this group of people got their more advanced metal from the stars obviously, not the materials, but the way to mine and turn them into a sword and shield, something obviously humans couldn't figure out in 700 AD, nope, definitely aliens.

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Nixeris t1_j5xv40v wrote

Reply to comment by Dread_Awaken in Longest ‘dako’ iron sword at 2.6m, along with a unique shield-shaped mirror, found in 4th-century Japanese burial mound — Finds indicate that the technology of the Kofun period (300-710 AD) was more advanced than previously thought by marketrent

I don't think people (especially archeologists) believe people were dumber. Just that they were working with less of an information base than modern humans. Technology is a steady build-up on top of previous construction, not completely new structures.

It should be noted that the comment about them being "more technologically advanced than we thought" is on a sliding scale here. They're saying that certain techniques are used in it that they didn't think they had till a little later, not that they were leaps and bounds ahead of everyone else technologically or using integrated circuits or something.

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