I find it curious that in the whole western hemisphere no single genius arose and developed some breakthrough technology that would start the movement out of the stone age, which was the level of development that Columbus and the European followers found when they landed on the Americas shores in the early 16th century.
This in spite of the fact that the Western Hemisphere was rich in natural resources, far richer than Europe. Iron, Copper, Coal, Oil, abundant timber and other metals were all here and easily exploited, if one of the indigenous natives had discovered a way to extract the metal from the earth. They had been able to fashion the soft metal, Gold, which did not require much in the way of technology, but no one ever made the leap from the soft metal to copper and then to iron.
Fertile land was abundant in north America, but the natives, especially those that lived in what is now the USA and Canada, remained primarily a Hunter/Gatherer society, except, perhaps, the cliff dwelling people. They knew how to plant corn and grow some crops but, they never transitioned that knowledge into an agricultural economic civilization. Because of that they had never developed the concept of owning land.
They never developed the wheel and thus they never had any reason to develop roads. But, they participated in extensive trading over vast distances, all done by foot over trails.
The early inhabitants of the Western Hemisphere were not stupid as can be attested to the clever ways that they adopted to the land they lived on.
At least three great civilizations rose up in this hemisphere, the Aztecs, the Mayans and the Incas. Usually when a lot of people are brought together, ideas begin to flourish, resulting in some new concept. But, that never happened. All these empires came and went without producing any breakthrough technology that might have changed the history of the Americas.
Why did that happen? Perhaps some scholars doing research for a doctoral thesis has come to some conclusions, but, for me it is just curious.
