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Originally Posted by Jim McDougall
Actually, lets leave this entirely counterproductive perspective out of this discussion. This type of rheotoric does little to serve the study of the history and development of weapons, while certain people seem to enjoy this kind of emotionally charged 'debate'.....better left for political editorial.
Didn't we just do this?
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Thatīs right, Jim. To begin with, we must question the european ethnocentric, ideologically biased and emotionally charged 'theories' from the 19th Century (a real theory must have some logic structure and must be supported in facts showing a causal relation in time and space), to make a more scientific approach. European influences did exist, but they have to be demostrated in every case. I don't think in the future, with more advances in archeological discoveries, we cannot find some of those evidences we need. Alexander presence is a possible, but to me not a probable, cause of the down curved blades in India or Nepal. Is more consistent the probability of a development in the indian subcontinent, as Manolo said, with or without foreign influences of some kind. The roman presence in India is more consistent in any case, since although they did not invaded India, they had a continuos and relatively intense commercial contact with it, not to mention South India, which had intense contacts with the arabian peninsula from the most antique pre-islamic times, and we must remember that Yemen was an important producer of swords from which we do not have much information. This is a more plausible source of influences, and not a transitory passing of an army. Also, we have to take on account that the goorkha seem to have carried in their invassion into Nepal the kora, a down curved blade which seems to have a very different origin that of the indian area. I don't believe this kind of blade can be also attributed to greek influences. The more antique roots of our world culture and the incredible inmense commercial routes in the most remote times are suprising us every day with each new discovery in this direction. This is science.
Regards
Gonzalo