[rayiner]

I mean, to the extent you can have “laws” and “government” without written language, maybe you could say that. The English, meanwhile, had steam engines, buildings nearly 500 feet tall, guns, cities with half a million people, street lighting, and indoor plumbing.

[wmorgan]

You can have those things without written language; they weren't hunter-gatherers. I don't know what building you're talking about, but as far as I know the Brits didn't have any building nearly that tall in 1700. The Brits didn't have a steam engine in 1700. The Brits recognized, in 1700, that the Indians were people just as much as themselves. This argument of yours projects onto the past an opinion that nobody actually held.

[samatman]

> as far as I know the Brits didn't have any building nearly that tall in 1700

I assume that reference was to Lincoln Cathedral, the tallest spire of which is indeed 520 feet tall.

> This argument of yours projects onto the past an opinion that nobody actually held.

Agreed.