6
What technology would you give to ancient people just to fuck with them?
(sh.itjust.works)
A coke bottle
Drop it from an airplane. Bet they would then say among themselves:
God Must Be Crazy!
Those little Roman devices nobody can figure out.
Antikythera mechanism?
That's Greek and we have a pretty good understanding of them.
I think the person you're replying to is referring to these odd little dodecahedrons that we keep finding in former Roman provinces, but for which we've found no documentation as to what they were for, if anything.
It's how the Greeks played Minecraft.
Imma come out and say it: they're old timey versions of copper coils or orgonite pyramids. Gnosticism got kinda big for a while and people were buying curses and prayers and stuff from people to write on little bits of broken pottery like little curses you'd write on scraps of paper in middle school. Somebody out there figured out how to weld little metal sacred geometry figurines and people were buying them because they look cool and some of them probably thought they'd resonate with the vibrations of the universe to cure dysentery or whatever.
You would probably be surprised at how quickly they would figure out how it worked, save maybe some things that have a ton of prerequisite knowledge. If they had the proper materials/tools, they might even be able to reproduce it.
The modern human brain evolved a long time ago, so on average they are just as intelligent as people today (more so in many respects due to necessity). The things that hold us back technologically are usually lack of resources and discovering/making new materials that unlock new categories of tools.
To answer the question: It really depends on how “ancient” we’re talking, but antibiotics have been invaluable to humanity. So literally just teaching early humans how to cultivate the molds that can kill bacteria would change the trajectory of human history.
So literally just teaching early humans how to cultivate the molds that can kill bacteria would change the trajectory of human history.
Shit just teaching them the concepts behind science and (present day) basic stuff ("no the volcano is not erupting because the gods are angry") could probably head off religion entirely.....SOMEBODY GET ME A DAMN TIME MACHINE
There are always gaps in scientific knowledge, and religion is very eager to fill those gaps. I think religion is a human inevitability as it is a shortcut to feeling a sense of purpose and belonging, which humans will always seek.
I suppose it's a matter of what the primary early driver of religion is. I think early on, that was moreso a way to explain the unknown and help quell fear and then came the purpose filling.
I think you may be right that it would develop no matter what, but if it truly does develop as a method primarily for purpose filing rather than as a method of control and fear soothing then maybe it wouldn't have been so entrenched the way it is. This "Religion first" mindset and then later on "religion first, science second". A simple change like "Science first, spirituality/religion second" would likely changed a LOT of things for the better in history.
Slinky
Nuclear bombs.
That would fuck with them so hard.
Let’s give some ancient peoples a couple books on modern maths and calculus. Really fuck with the development of tech.
Fuck yeah, just give the ancient Greeks hindu-arabic numerals and watch them lose their minds. Teach Zeno calculus and watch him try to prove it wrong.
Furbies. Just to see if we end up with a furby based religion.
After further consideration, I would also give them a Solar-Powered TV that plays nothing but a Video of Hatsune Miku doing Fortnite Dances
A polaroid camera so they can steal each other's soul
Rubiks cube.
Walkie-talkies would be fun. They'd figure out how to use them pretty quickly and what they could use them for. At the same time they'd be completely like magic to them.
If we’re including eras where people are able to read and write, a history book. They will see their future and will attempt to change it, for better or for worse.
A copy of Windows Vista
A cube of pure tungsten. So when they pick it up they cant believe how heavy it is.
Sharpies. Think off all the confused scientist that have to explain sharpie marks under acient paintings.
Meth
Toothpaste. Try making that out of saltpeter and bronze!
this post was submitted on 04 Oct 2025
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