SUMER

The Sumerians are the earliest known civilizations from the Ancient Mesopotamia. They
can be found along the valleys of Tigris and Euphrates and was considered as part of the first
civilizations along with Ancient Egypt and Indus Valley. The Sumerians contributions played a
vital part on the succeeding civilizations’ knowledge about science.

 Technology  Writing
o Wheel o Cuneiform Writing System
o System of Weighing  Mathematics
 Agriculture o Sexagesimal System
o Innovations of agriculture
 Astronomy
o Mapping of constellations
o Lunar Calendar

BABYLON (1790-1595 B.C.E)

Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia (present day -

Iraq) with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as a major power when Hammurabi (1792-
1750 BC or fl. ca. 1696-1654 BC, short chronology) created an empire out of the territories of
the former Akkadian Empire.

 Astronomy  Farming technique

o The priests watched the o Babylonians liked to
sun, moon, planet and produce variety of crops.
stars very carefully to o A big canal was dug from
forecast the future. the city Kish to Persian
 Zodiac Gulf to supply their crops.
o a Babylonian invention of  Art and architecture
great antiquity. o Babylonian Kings were
 Calendar system FAMOUS BUILDERS.
o Sun dial They built big palaces,
o Water clock including "The Great
o Adopted Lunar Calendar. Ziggurat" - in honour of
 Jewelry making 'Marduk' which was used
o they used metals and to preserve grains for
precious gems to make a future calamaties.
jewelry.
  GREATEST CONTRIBUTION
o "THE CODE OF HAMMURABI"
 The first LAW BOOK of the world.
 A well preserved Babylonian Code of Law enacted by King
Hammurabi.
 The Basic aim of this code is "AN EYE FOR AN EYE, A TOOTH FOR
A TOOTH."

ASSYRIA

During the growth of the ancient civilizations,ancient technology was the result from
advances in engineering in ancient times. These advances in the history of technology
stimulated societies to adopt new ways of living and governance.

Assyria, also called the assyrian empire,was a major Semitic speaking Mesopotamian
kingdom and empire of the Ancient Near East and the Levant. Its citizens, the assyrians, are a
group from northern Mesopotamia who spent many years under the authority of other peoples.
The ancient assyrians focused heavily on warfare and defense in everything they did, from
weaponry to architecture and even artwork.

 Assyrian Architecture
 Crafts and arts of assyrian
 Agricultural technology

The assyrian invented and used many things like:

 Cuneiform  Anti-  the first use of

 Paved roads depressants iron
 Beer  telescope  the first chariots
 Algebra  magnifying  the first
 Astronomy glass aquaduct
 Calendar  plumbing  the first school
 Postal system (includes flush  the first system
 water clock toilets) of musical
 Masonry dam  Electric battery notation.
EGYPT

Ancient Egypt can be imagined to have such a hard living for it is mainly desert and
agriculture which produces food is very impossible. But with the Nile River, Egyptians found
their way on how they can sustain their basic needs most especially food. And despite the fact
that it is a deserted land, many inventions and contributions were made possible for their lacking
which made their culture, artifacts, technologies and structures rich, helpful and unique.

 SCIENCE
o Astronomy
  Egyptians made observations about the night sky, and their religion and
heavenly bodies were greatly influenced by the sky and elements
 They studied the rise and fall of the stars and even built circular mud-brick
walls to create false horizons where they could mark the position of the
sun as it rose at dawn
 They also used plumb-bobs to make note of the solstices
 They develop the lunar calendar based on the cycles of the moon and the
stars, Sirius (12 months, 365 days, 24-hour units)
o Medicine
 had a variety of medicines and cures for both humans and animals, along
with the knowledge of anatomy, mummification and preservation of dead
 one of the earliest accounts of medical texts originates in ancient Egypt --
- attempts to describe and analyze the brain, earliest insight to
neuroscience
o Mathematics
 record business transaction, decimal system
 geometry in building of pyramids and mathematical principles in making
the simple machines
 TECHNOLOGY
o Paper and Writing
 Hieroglyphics - earliest form of writing, these are drawings that portrayed
stories, keep records of events and maintain control of the empire
 Papyrus - first form of durable sheets, made from papyrus plant, for
recording religious texts and was mass produced in Egypt to be sold
 Ink - many multi-colored types of ink and dye
o Time Telling
 Calendars - was invented more than 5,000 years ago and was originally
based on the 12-month lunar cycle
 Clocks - Egyptians were also the first group of people to divide days into
equal parts through the use of timekeeping devices --- earliest forms of
clocks were sundials, shadow clocks, merkhets and obelisks
o Construction
 The ancient Egyptians were known for their massive constructions and
outstanding architecture. Many of their earliest buildings are no longer
standing, having been subjected to war, ruin and other elements. The
ones that remain marvels of architecture, such as the Great Pyramid of
Giza, which is one of the Seven Wonders of the World
 Part of what made it possible for the Egyptians to build some of the great
buildings and monuments that they did was the employ of the simple
machines such as ramp and lever
o Agriculture
 Ox-Drawn Plow - it first appeared in Egypt as early as 2,000 BC. The
advancement in agriculture required skilled metal working in order to form
a workable plow, as well as animal husbandry
  Irrigation - control the amount of rainfall, was developed using hydraulic
engineering principles --- as early as twelveth dynasty, evident in Lake
Fayum
o Additional Inventions
 Door Lock - the ancient Egyptian palatial complex is where the oldest
known evidence of a door lock comes from. The fascinating design
entailed a simple but effective pin tumbler lock
 Tables - the very early forms of tables were used by ancient Egyptians,
though not as objects for dining or writing --- they are simply elevated
platforms for storing items and keeping them away from the floor
 The ancient Egyptian people were grouped in a hierarchical system with
the Pharaoh at the top and farmers and slaves at the bottom.
 SOCIETY
o Pharaoh - was believed to be a god and responsible for making laws and
keeping order, keeping the gods happy
o Vizier - was the Pharaoh's chief advisor and sometimes also the High Priest,
responsible for overseeing administration and running the protection of Pharaoh's
household
o Nobles - ruled the regions of Egypt (Nomes) and they were responsible for
making loca news and keeping order in the region
o Priests - responsible for keeping the gods happy --- did not preach to people but
spent their time performing rituals and ceremonies
o Scribes - the only people who could read and write and keeping records
o Soldiers - responsible for the defense of the country and they are allowed to
share riches captured from enemies and were also rewarded with land for their
service
o Craftsmen - skilled workers, pottery makers, leatherworkers, scupptors, painters,
weavers, jewelry makers, shoemakers, tailor
o Farmers - worked the land of the Pharaoh and nobles and were given housing,
food and clothes in heaven
o Slaves - usually prisoners captured in war, can be found working in the
household of the Pharaoh and nobles, in mines, quarries and temples

PERSIA

 Inventions and Architecture

o Qanatas
 a water management system used for irrigation that originated from pre-
Achaemenid Persia
 Gonabad Qanats is known for being the oldest Qanat (2 700 years) that
still exists today and is used to provide drinking water and agricultural
water to nearly 40 000 people.
o Improved the windwheels developed by the Babylonians, made it a more
advanced power machine called windmills.
  Medicine
o It was recorded that The Academy of Grandishapur is first teaching hospital
where students were allowed to practice on patients with the supervision of a
physician.
o They extensively studied headache, its symptoms, cause and cure that which
until today are still used and valid.
 Astronomy
o During 1000 AD, before Tycho Brahe drew his fisrt maps of the sky, Biruni wrote
an astronomical encyclopedia which discussed the posibily of the a heliocentric
planetary system.
o Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi cast he saw, Andromeda galaxy and he called it a “little
cloud”.
 Physics
o Abu Ali al-Hassan ibn al-Haytham, also called Alhazen, is known as the father of
optics for his writings on, and experiments with, lenses, mirrors, refraction, and
reflection. He solved the problem of finding the locus of points on a spherical
mirror from which light will be reflected to an observer.
o Biruni was the first scientist to formally propose that the speed of light is finite,
before Galileo tried to experimentally prove this.
o Kamal al-Din Al-Farisi (1267–1318) “proposed a model where the ray of light
from the sun was refracted twice by a water droplet, one or more reflections
occurring between the two refractions.”

GREEK

Ancient Greece has been deemed to be the birthplace of science. Greeks' discoveries
emerged further and thorough investigations and verifications. Though some of their discoveries
were proven misleading and inaccurate, still it built a foundation for the development of science
and technology.

 Astronomy
o used for practical purposes to fix the calendar
o discovered the solstice and equinox
o predicted solar eclipse
o rotation
o thought of the sun, moon, planets, and even the earth as spheres
o recognized that planets move
o saw valleys, mountains, and plains on the moon
o made one of the earliest parapegmata tables of astronomical calculations
o created a map of the known world
o made a map of the known stars
o measured the circumference of the earth
 Sciences
o Natural science
  tried to explain all observed natural phenomena in terms of the changes of
a single substance, water
 realized that the land and sea are not static
o Biology
 Studied chain of life running from the simple to more complex, from the
plant through animals
o Physics
 law of the lever (Archimedes)
 A concept of magnitude
 thought that light travels in straight lines or rays
o Botany
 described 500 different types of plants
o Mathematics
 invented abstract geometry
 invented the formal study of geometry in his demonstration of the bisecting
of a circle by its diameter
 Noted that base angles of isosceles triangles are equal
 A theory of proportion, which allowed for irrational numbers
 A method for finding areas and volumes of curvilinear objects
 produced a table of chords, an early trigonometric table
 Music
o realized that the musical notes produced by a monochord were in simple ratio to
the length of the string. (Pythagoras)
 Medicine
o insisted that disease was a natural, not a supernatural, phenomenon thus studied
how a disease progresses
o The heart and the vascular system were investigated, as were the nerves and
the brain.
o The organs of the thoracic cavity were described, and attempts were made to
discover their functions.
o Learned to make inferences from observations

TECHNOLOGY OF THE ANCIENT GREEKS

 Time telling
o had a water clock or klepsydra that kept track of short periods of time
o invented the gnomon on the sundial
o improved the sundial (called an Arachne or spider)
 Communication
o another water-clock (optical system for communication)
o stentorophonic tube
o Cryptography
  Warfare
o Polybolo, repeating catapult of Dionysius
o Antikythera device
o Gigantic ships or steam engines
o engine to throw heavy stones at the enemy
 Transportation
o Chariot
 Music
o organ, the first high tech musical instrument
 Other inventions
o counter-weighted large mirror
o screw for pumping up water
o the development of money
o astrolabe

Ancient Greek society was made of four primary classes- Upper, Middle and Lower
class, as well as the Slaves.

 Upper Class (CITIZEN) - very small and only numbered out to have about 300 families
 Middle Class (METICS) - held a large number of non-citizens and the freemen of the
Middle class (though not slaves) who were not born in Greece but had spent their lives
in their town, could not be citizens
 Lower Class (FREE PEOPLE) - partly made of freedmen, who at one point were slaves
 Slaves - only used as servants and laborers who had no legal rights unlike all other
classes
o male citizens - three groups: landed aristocrats (aristoi), poorer farmers (periokoi)
and the middle class (artisans and traders).
o semi-free labourers (e.g the helots of Sparta).
o women - belonging to all of the above male groups but without citizen rights.
o children - categorised as below 18 years generally.
o slaves - the douloi who had civil or military duties.
o foreigners - non-residents (xenoi) or foreign residents (metoikoi) who were below
male citizens in status.
ROMAN
INDIA

Ancient India Ancient Indians were known for their intelligence, innovativeness and
enterprise especially in the field of Civil engineering, Mathematics, Astronomy, Medicine and
Metallurgy. The contribution of ancient Indians is unique and unparalleled. Though ancient India
tried to explain all natural phenomena through religion and symbols and incorporated into the
daily lives of people through rituals and spiritual beliefs, the studies developed by them actually
portray a deep scientific understanding of all things around us.

Contributions

1. Theory of Atom One of the notable scientists of the ancient India named Kanad
speculated the existence of anu or a small indestructible particles, much like an atom.
2. The First Ones to Acknowledge the Existence of the Solar System While history credits
Copernicus for proposing the heliocentric model of our solar system, it was the Rig Veda
that first noted the central placement of the sun and other planets orbiting it in the solar
system.
3. Wootz Steel A pioneering steel alloy matrix developed in India, Wootz steel is a crucible
steel characterized by a pattern of bands that was known in the ancient world by many
different names such as Ukku, Hindwani and Seric Iron.
4. Smelting of Zinc India was the first to smelt zinc by the distillation process, an advanced
technique derived from a long experience of ancient alchemy.
5. Mahabharata Mentions The Concept Of Cloning, Test Tube Babies, And Surrogate
Mothers

CHINA

The history of science and technology in China is both long and rich with many
contributions to science and technology. In antiquity, independently of Greek philosophers and
other civilizations, ancient Chinese philosophers made significant advances in science,
technology, mathematics, and astronomy. The first recorded observations of comets, solar
eclipses, and supernovae were made in China. Traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture and
herbal medicine were also practiced.

Among the earliest inventions were the abacus, the "shadow clock," and the first flying
machines such as kites and Kongming lanterns. The four Great Inventions of ancient China: the
compass, gunpowder, papermaking, and printing, were among the most important technological
advances, only known in Europe by the end of the Middle Ages. The Tang Dynasty (AD 618 -
906) in particular, was a time of great innovation. A good deal of exchange occurred between
Western and Chinese discoveries up to the Qing Dynasty.

The Jesuit China missions of the 16th and 17th centuries introduced Western science
and astronomy, then undergoing its own revolution, to China, and knowledge of Chinese
technology was brought to Europe. Much of the early Western work in the history of science in
China was done by Joseph Needham.