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That they 'would have, maybe in 1000 years developed a writing system' is definitely true, but the fact is at contact they did not, and even after 100's of year
by jariel 6y ago
That they 'would have, maybe in 1000 years developed a writing system' is definitely true, but the fact is at contact they did not, and even after 100's of years of trade and interaction and availability of Western literature - they still did not, and so that they did not is a meaningful measure of cultural evolution.
It's hard to do most advanced things without writing if you only have oral, just like it's hard to do some things without Iron if you only have Bronze.
- jariel 6y agoAnd FYI, the same thing would apply to any culture that lacks a writing system i.e. 'Vietnam' as you said. We refer to stages of cultural development i.e. 'Iron/Bronze/Steel' but we may very well use 'Oral/Written/Printing Press/Digital'. The same limitations apply: if you can't forge things with Iron (like strong chariots/carts & ploughs), there's a variety of advancements you can't make. Likewise, if you don't have reading/writing, you're equally limited. You can't do mass farming without high quality carts and ploughs, and you can't build schools without reading and writing. Without those things, you can't get very far.