And Other Speculations about the World’s First Sea Trading Empire
Chances are, if you have heard about the Phoenicians at all, it was probably in the context of the origin of the alphabet. However, in the last decade or so, a picture has begun to emerge about this mysterious culture that should actually be fascinating to futurists and those interested in the history of science and ideas. This mysterious group of seafarers created the first true naval empire, served to accelerate both the bronze and the iron age, may have have brought red hair to the Irish, and may actually be the real reason that Christianity spread so quickly two millennia ago.
Please note that much of this is speculation. While we are getting a better idea about history through genetic drift in populations, most of this essay takes place at the very rise of civilization, some of it going back 10,000 years or more, and much of it involves a culture that, despite having invented the alphabet, left almost nothing in their wake about what kind of culture and society they had.
Cedar and Bronze
If you look at most ancient settlements, the one defining character of most of them was the use of fired bricks of mud. It would take the combination of bronze nails and access to trees for lumber-based construction to take place, and even there, it was far…
