Oh for sure and I think that's an important point: this device didn't pop out of nowhere. Something of this complexity strongly suggests an existing school/gui

Oh for sure and I think that's an important point: this device didn't pop out of nowhere. Something of this complexity strongly suggests an existing school/guild/etc which developed the knowledge and crafts around designing and building "clockwork" devices like this. China had discovered the geared wheel centuries previous so gears were known. It's the integration of the basic underlying technologies that is surprising, and I don't think it's a huge leap to presume that there must be more of these devices out there waiting to be discovered!