Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

ariel · 20th February 2016, 11:50 PM

+1.

As to the transmission of skills:
Average life expectancy in India between 1850 and 1900 was 25 years. In 1950 it rose to 34.

In Afghanistan in 1950 it was 28 years,( and that was already on the upswing, so in the second half of the 19th century it must have been ~ 20.

Iran in 1951: 41 years. Projected life expectancy in the second half of the 19th century ~30 years.

Horrifying numbers, aren't they?

Thus, between 1825 (potential peak of wootz blade forging) and 1900 in these countries there was a turnover of roughly 3 generations. That was on the background of catastrophic decline of wootz manufacture. Thus, there were not enough people living long enough to enter the apprentice pool and acquire skills without economic future; traditions just died out.

20th February 2016, 11:50 PM	#113
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	+1. As to the transmission of skills: Average life expectancy in India between 1850 and 1900 was 25 years. In 1950 it rose to 34. In Afghanistan in 1950 it was 28 years,( and that was already on the upswing, so in the second half of the 19th century it must have been ~ 20. Iran in 1951: 41 years. Projected life expectancy in the second half of the 19th century ~30 years. Horrifying numbers, aren't they? Thus, between 1825 (potential peak of wootz blade forging) and 1900 in these countries there was a turnover of roughly 3 generations. That was on the background of catastrophic decline of wootz manufacture. Thus, there were not enough people living long enough to enter the apprentice pool and acquire skills without economic future; traditions just died out.