muddyknees2000 said:

Also, this is a fictional universe. I have no problem believing that things there are not necessarily as they are here. Perhaps, even with all the other scientific advancements they HAVE managed, cloning still eluded them until just recently (in their time) (a long time ago, in our time).

The Star Wars universe is clearly an alternate timeline to ours in terms of technological advancement as they've clearly discovered energy weapons before projectiles (because otherwise they'd be using machine guns instead of laser blasts that move so slowly you can see them with the naked eye and dodge them!) and also it clearly obeys different physical laws to our universe (being able to hear stuff in space or walk around in an asteroid). I have absolutely no problem believing that the discovery of cloning is a new thing.