Ever since the Ancient Mesopotamians invented the nail, it has been a remarkably influential invention for architecture throughout history. Despite its humble appearance, it gives builders the ability to construct fantastic buildings with much less effort than would be otherwise required. The first nails began to develop in Ancient Mesopotamia over a long period of time, making the exact date of the invention of nails difficult to accurately place. Even so, numerous nails beginning to appear in various forms in the Early Dynastic Period (2900-2350 BCE). After the fall of Mesopotamia, nails slowly began to appear in other nearby civilizations. They were employed in Egypt, Greece, and Rome, and were then spread throughout Europe, northern Africa, and the Middle East as those regions interacted with one another, often through conquering each other repeatedly. Eastern Asia, however, was kept separate from the West until the construction of the Silk Road, resulting in their architecture developing without the help of nails.
In this proposal, differences between European and Chinese, architecture will be analyzed as examples of cultures that do and do not traditionally work with nails,
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Furthermore, skilled carpenters were required to assemble the wooden frame for any building in China. Conversely, in Europe, although carpenters were generally needed, just about anyone could construct a simple building as a result of their access to nails. This decreased the value of buildings in Europe in comparison to China since they were easier and in extension, cheaper to produce. The adoption of nails in architecture, specifically when constructing frames for wooden buildings, has a strong influence on the resources required to build. This in turn alters the society's outlook on architecture by changing its economic