I've been working on a game for a while, and I'd like to see if
anyone has any comments on the anthropological aspects. The game
simulates (more or less) the development of primitive tribes, and one
aspect of this is the discovery of early technology. For simplicity,
but also because it seemed realistic, I wanted the development of
knowledges to be categorized into related "factors;" does this
breakdown seem reasonable? Can you think of examples of cultures
which didn't fit with this breakdown (for instance, the Mongols had
excellent mounts, but I'm not sure if they understood how to farm;
also the Maians seemed to have good mathematics and literacy, but I
thought they were also highly superstitious and uncultured in other
ways...)?


1. AGRICULTURE - Farming and domestication. Until a society learns
to subsist through agriculture, it cannot remain stationary for long
enough or in large enough groups to build any improvements onto a
land. Knowledge in the Agriculture domain increases the travel speed
of your units (via domestication).

2. INDUSTRY - Crafts, metalworking, and trade. Without industry, a
society has no currency, and walls and marketplaces cannot be built.
Knowledge in industry improves the fighting power of warriors (via
metalworking and craftsmanship).

3. CULTURE - The arts, sciences, and religion, and also the level
of "civilization" in society which comes from the ground up. Without
knowledge in culture, literacy is impossible and libraries and
universities cannot be built; these improvements increase the rate of
innovation. Advances in culture automatically increase the unity and
patriotism of the peasants.

4. GOVERNMENT - Law and order, the level of "civilization" imposed
from the top down. Without knowledge in governing, roads and
courthouses can't be built. Improvements in government automatically
increase the morale of warriors in battle (via discipline and
organization of command structure).

5. NAVIGATION - Essentially seafaring ability, but also the amount of
exploration carried out. Navigation allows longboats and ultimately
docks for large ships which greatly speed travel. Improvements in
navigation automatically boost the effectiveness of agents and
informers (via familiarity with other cultures and languages achieved
through exploration and long-range trade).


Also, might a hierarchical rather than multi-factor explanation be
more applicable? I think many anthropologists feel that technology
developed in a specific order, beginning with agriculture (and
related developments such as pottery and domestication) at the
bottom, but it seems to me that a culture could learn other
technologies (navigation is a primary example) before agriculture.


--Mark