If you were magically sent back in time to a time period with primitive to no technology, how much could you make/create?

[ReinyDays]

Many people would not be able to survive for very long. Of course it would also depend on what part of the world the person is "placed" in. For the sake of this thought experiment, let's assume it would be a part of the world with a mild enough climate and access to natural resources that would allow for a human to survive for awhile.

Tropical jungle ... say The Congo ... plenty of food and water and no need for warmeth at night ... you know, where we evolved ...

Humans are social animals ... we would die alone much like the individual honey bee dies without the rest of the hive ... so we're putting a group of people, say 1,000, into absolute natural conditions, no human technology other than what's in our collective memory ...

... and only I know how to make iron? ... wow ... I think I love you ... since I'm God, I'll need a Pope, interested? ...

 

[JoeMoma]

Tropical jungle ... say The Congo ... plenty of food and water and no need for warmeth at night ... you know, where we evolved ...

Humans are social animals ... we would die alone much like the individual honey bee dies without the rest of the hive ... so we're putting a group of people, say 1,000, into absolute natural conditions, no human technology other than what's in our collective memory ...

... and only I know how to make iron? ... wow ... I think I love you ... since I'm God, I'll need a Pope, interested? ...

Only if I get to wear the funny hat.

 

[westwall]

Tropical jungle ... say The Congo ... plenty of food and water and no need for warmeth at night ... you know, where we evolved ...

Humans are social animals ... we would die alone much like the individual honey bee dies without the rest of the hive ... so we're putting a group of people, say 1,000, into absolute natural conditions, no human technology other than what's in our collective memory ...

... and only I know how to make iron? ... wow ... I think I love you ... since I'm God, I'll need a Pope, interested? ...

You ain't the only one. I know how to make steel as well. Far more capable than simple iron.

 

[ReinyDays]

You ain't the only one. I know how to make steel as well. Far more capable than simple iron.

Wow ... if you can get simple iron, you're better off than me ... a bloomery only produces wrought iron, mixed 50/50 with slag ... stronger than wood but you're not making rifled barrels or nothin' ... so do we get funny hats? ...

 

[westwall]

Wow ... if you can get simple iron, you're better off than me ... a bloomery only produces wrought iron, mixed 50/50 with slag ... stronger than wood but you're not making rifled barrels or nothin' ... so do we get funny hats? ...

Actually, I DO make rifled barrels. Granted I start with pre forged barrel blanks, but I have the ability to make my own if it were needed.

 

[sealybobo]

Imagine that you were magically sent back thousands of years. There are no grocery stores, no hardware stores....nothing. The primitive people of the time are making tools from rocks and bones. How much could you advance the technology of the day based on what you know having to basically start from scratch?

I watch enough shows to know you better stock up on food to get you through winter.

I don't know enough about what foods are good to eat

I suppose eventually I would make fire. You got to use the right wood or find a flint rock to make sparks. Or use a magnifine glass if you can find one.

I would be good building a home. I would dig down not build up. If you dig into the earth you'll be much warmer in the winter than if you build above ground. It's also easier to put a roof on a sunken home. Wind breaker.

I would know to make clothes out of deer hide you have to boil the brains and then use that to get the fat and skin off the fur. I saw that on Mountain Men.

I don't have a bag full of survival stuff. I need to order one. Maybe next year with my xmas bonus. They give us $500 on a amazon card and I can never figure out what to order. A survival bag would be great. It has the saw, rope, compass, flint rock or fire starter, etc. All kinds of stuff.

One survival tip I learned in hunter safety. Soak a bunch of cotton swabs with vasaline. Then when you are in the woods, you have 100 with you in a very small package. Each one of them will burn hot and long enough to start a fire.

I'd love to go try it for a couple weeks.

 

[JoeMoma]

You ain't the only one. I know how to make steel as well. Far more capable than simple iron.

Do you know how to make steel starting from scratch? No tools/resources other than what you have in nature.

I know there are some with the knowledge.. but the vast majority of people (like myself) wouldn't know where or how to start.

 

[westwall]

Do you know how to make steel starting from scratch? No tools/resources other than what you have in nature.

I know there are some with the knowledge.. but the vast majority of people (like myself) wouldn't know where or how to start.

Yes. I have done it several times. The hard part is finding the raw material to make the iron. The carbon for the steel making part is easy. If you want to make more modern alloys, that is a different matter, because, once again the raw materials may simply not exist where you are.

 

[JoeMoma]

Yes. I have done it several times. The hard part is finding the raw material to make the iron. The carbon for the steel making part is easy. If you want to make more modern alloys, that is a different matter, because, once again the raw materials may simply not exist where you are.

Given a few years.. you could become king of a primitive (pre-steel/metal) civilization.

 

[westwall]

Given a few years.. you could become king of a primitive (pre-steel/metal) civilization.

I figure if I was someplace with limonite, or ilmonite, I could have a working Bessemer blast furnace up and running in about a year.

After that the rate of production skyrockets.

 

[ReinyDays]

Actually, I DO make rifled barrels. Granted I start with pre forged barrel blanks, but I have the ability to make my own if it were needed.

How do you drill out the barrel with stone tools? ... the problem I would have is getting temperatures up to the melting point of iron ... with charcoal ... and bellows ... serious metallurgy has to wait for refractory materials to be developed ...

 

[CrusaderFrank]

I would warn them of the hazards of Manmade Global Warming, diesel powered machines, cars, air conditioning and garage door openers. Surely I would be revered as a Prophet and a god

 

[ReinyDays]

I would warn them of the hazards of Manmade Global Warming, diesel powered machines, cars, air conditioning and garage door openers. Surely I would be revered as a Prophet and a god

Warn them about deforestation and the evils of agriculture ... teach them about abortion ... and democracies ... let them destroy themselves ... your most holy C'Frank, may you live forever ...

 

[westwall]

How do you drill out the barrel with stone tools? ... the problem I would have is getting temperatures up to the melting point of iron ... with charcoal ... and bellows ... serious metallurgy has to wait for refractory materials to be developed ...

Early on you would weld it around a mandrel. You will be using black powder so pressure levels would be low enough that that method is usable.

The mandrel can be made by hammer forging a copper rod.

 

[miketx]

Watch reruns of Gilligans island.

 

[ozro]

Sorry , but if I was "magically" sent back in time I wouldn't need to worry about technology or expend work to try to achieve anything.
I would simply use magic.

 

[BS Filter]

I would be a community organizer.

 

[dblack]

Imagine that you were magically sent back thousands of years. There are no grocery stores, no hardware stores....nothing. The primitive people of the time are making tools from rocks and bones. How much could you advance the technology of the day based on what you know having to basically start from scratch?

Have you ever read Asimov's Foundation trilogy? Your question is pretty much the premise.

 

[BackAgain]

I would be a community organizer.

So. No meaningful work. A quick jaunt in a state legislature. And then? On to the Presidency. God help America.

 

[Dogmaphobe]

I just wanted to say, here, that I would NEVER agree to being magically sent back to any time period. If I could be sent back magically, however, I might be more amenable.