I just learned about the Tollense Valley Battle.
What's interesting to me is the evidence of bronze and flint weapons at the battle.
Right at the cusp betwixt TL0 and TL1.
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Wouldn't the fact that large numbers of combatants on each side suggest/imply at least a tech level 1, or even 2, given the apparent organization and control exercised by each side. I haven't played GURPS in a long time, but my campaigns always factored in Command and Control, with the better organized force gaining some advantage over the more chaotic side.
ReplyDeleteThe main two examples that come to mind are the battle of Agincourt in 1415, with Henry V at his finest, and Roman governor/commander Agricola's triumph over the Caledonians. There are plenty of other battles that I could cite, but those are the two that immediately come to mind.
TL2 is iron age, no iron weapons so the peak must be TL1. TL1 has the organizational skills to get that many people on a battlefield. We have historical accounts of them.
DeleteWhat surprised me was the TL0 flint arrowheads found in the bones. The tendency in games is to not have anything from the previous TL be around because the new stuff utterly replaces it. This is clearly not true.
I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. My 1911 is a late TL6 gun in today's TL8.
It is fairly common to find lower TL arrowheads at battle sites. No one likes using expensive, cutting edge (literally) tech on something they may not get back.
ReplyDeleteDaosus
I was ignorant of that!
DeleteI like learning.
Which matches the experience of the Mary Rose. A ship designed to carry cannons and to be protected by longbowmen. Too bad their stability equations were as valid as the math used to determine the diameter of the Earth that made Columbus think he could make it to China by going west.
ReplyDeleteI have an outstanding book on Mary Rose. She was fine as built and remained fine for decades. She's an example of one "upgrade" too many.
DeleteIt doesn't appear they actually used any math beyond, "does she still float tied to the pier?"