<Title of the academic institution>
Original topic
Did South American civilizations lack critical technologies or science that enabled Europe to undergo mechanization and economic growth where they did not? This is a comparative exercise trying to identify particular technologies or pieces of science as necessary to sustain a long run growth process.
Reason of choice
The issue of technological development of the pre-Columbian civilizations is extremely interesting and appears to be far less explored than others. Southern American states are being often perceived as underdeveloped, while there are numerous artifacts which prove a relatively high level of technological development. It would be challenging, yet very educating to undergo a comparative analysis of the particular technologies and pieces of science which were available for the both worlds.
The choice of the Western counterpart is not so obvious, either. Despite the fact that certain technologies remained a commercial secret of certain European nations, most of them were available all across Western Europe. It may be nevertheless reasonable to narrow the choice down to the Spanish Empire, as it was one of the most powerful Western nations of that time the first country to get in contact with the Incas.
The timeframe for this research is relatively narrow. The Inca Empire existed for less than 100 years and was conquered by the second quarter of the 16th century. It indeed inherited the technological achievements of its predecessors, and it would be reasonable to compare the pieces of science and technology available to the Inca Empire and Spain in the beginning of the century.
“Comparative analysis of technological achievements of the Inca Empire and Spain, and their impact on the development of these two nations”.
Thesis statement
Various archaeological findings and historic records reflect a high level of technological development of the Inca state. Being advanced in comparison to Spain in terms of medicine and astronomy, the Incas nevertheless lacked such basic technologies as a wheel or a fabric sail. The thesis is that there could be a possibility of emergence and further development of such technologies, however due to certain reasons of political, religious, economic, social and cultural nature, the Incan nation took a different path. It is also to be proved that the shape of a particular technological tree is based on specific requirements due to geographical, climatic and even geological conditions.
Research methodology
This research will be based on qualitative analysis of various written sources, including books and articles of general theoretical nature within this course as well as specific research literature and multimedia which reflect the history of technological development of the Incan Empire and Spain of that time.
