 Science Technology And Its Significance To Society In Contemporary World

Technology, science and knowledge are important in modern contemporary society.

Essential questions include the following: How does science and technology produce
new products, new ways of understanding, new ways of living and new institutions?
Why is new technology and knowledge so fundamental to us in the ways through which
we imagine the future?

Technology, knowledge and science are fundamental in modern contemporary

society. The understanding of how social, cultural and material elements influence the
production of new practices, new ways of understanding and new institutions is vital in
our understanding of contemporary postmodern society. Studies of technology and
science provides students with insight into how different processes of knowledge are
initiated and progressed, and how innovative technological processes are developed,
employed and increase in importance.

Studies of technology and science gives insight into the understanding and
knowledge of technology, science and knowledge from the viewpoint of the humanities
and the social sciences. Throughout the course of study students will become familiar
with amendments of social and cultural analyses of modern science and technology in
interaction with social, political, economical and cultural processes of change.

In this manner, students will be provided with the academic basis for working with
detailed analyses of different forms of technologies and processes of knowledge, within
business life/industry and commerce, research and research-related work, political
development, management of knowledge and innovation.
  Evidence Of Science And Technology During Pre-Historic Times
Prehistoric technology is technology that predates recorded history. History is the study of the past
using written records. Anything prior to the first written accounts of history is prehistoric, including
earlier technologies. About 2.5 million years before writing was developed, technology began with
the earliest hominids who used stone tools, which they may have used to start fires, hunt, and bury
their dead.
There are several factors that made the evolution of prehistoric technology possible or necessary.
One of the key factors is behavioral modernity of the highly developed brain of Homo
sapiens capable of abstract reasoning, language, introspection, and problem solving. The advent of
agriculture resulted in lifestyle changes from nomadic lifestyles to ones lived in homes, with
domesticated animals, and land farmed using more varied and sophisticated tools. Art, architecture,
music and religion evolved over the course of the prehistoric periods.

Stone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used in the manufacture
of implements with a sharp edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted roughly 2.5
million years, from the time of early hominids to Homo sapiens in the later Pleistocene era, and
largely ended between 6000 and 2000 BCE with the advent of metalworking. [citation needed]
The Stone Age lifestyle was that of hunter-gatherers who traveled to hunt game and gather wild
plants, with minimal changes in technology. As the last glacial period of the current ice age neared
its end (about 12,500 years ago), large animals like the mammoth and bison antiquus became
extinct and the climate changed. Humans adapted by maximizing the resources in local
environments, gathering and eating a wider range of wild plants and hunting or catching smaller
game. Domestication of plants and animals with early stages in the Old World (Afro-
Eurasia) Mesolithic and New World (Americas) Archaic periods led to significant changes and
reliance on agriculture in the Old World Neolithic and New World Formative stage. The agricultural
life led to more settled existences and significant technological advancements. [1][nb 1]
Although Paleolithic cultures left no written records, the shift from nomadic life to settlement and
agriculture can be inferred from a range of archaeological evidence. Such evidence includes ancient
tools,[2] cave paintings, and other prehistoric art, such as the Venus of Willendorf. Human remains
also provide direct evidence, both through the examination of bones, and the study of mummies.
Though concrete evidence is limited, scientists and historians have been able to form significant
inferences about the lifestyle and culture of various prehistoric peoples, and the role technology
played in their lives.
Lower Paleolithic
The Lower Paleolithic period was the earliest subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. It
spans the time from around 2.5 million years ago when the first evidence of craft and use of stone
tools by hominids appears in the current archaeological record, until around 300,000 years ago,
spanning the Oldowan ("mode 1") and Acheulean ("mode 2") lithic technology.[citation needed]
Early humans (hominids) used stone tool technology, such as a hand axe that was similar to that
used by primates, which are found to have intelligence levels of modern children aged 3 to 5 years.
Intelligence and use of technology did not change much for millions of years. The first "Homo"
species began with Homo habilis about 2.4 to 1.5 million years ago.[3] Homo habilis ("handy man')
created stone tools called Oldowan tools.[4][5][6] Homo ergaster lived in eastern and southern Africa
about 2.5 to 1.7 million years ago and used more diverse and sophisticated stone tools than its
predecessor, Homo habilis, including having refined the inherited Oldowan tools and developed the
first Acheulean bifacial axes.[7]
Homo erectus ("upright man") lived about 1.8 to 1.3 million years ago in West Asia and Africa and is
thought to be the first hominid to hunt in coordinated groups, use complex tools, and care for infirm
or weaker companions.[8][9] Homo antecessor the earliest hominid in Northern Europe lived from 1.2
million to 800,000 years ago and used stone tools. [10][11] Homo heidelbergensis lived between 600,000
and 400,000 years ago and used stone tool technology similar the Acheulean tools used by Homo
erectus.[12]
European and Asian sites dating back 1.5 million years ago seem to indicate controlled use of
fire by Homo erectus. A northern Israel site from about 690,000 to 790,000 years ago suggests that
man could light fires.[13] Homo heidelbergensis may have been the first species to bury their
dead about 500,000 years ago.[14]
Middle Paleolithic
The Middle Paleolithic period occurred in Europe and the Near East, during which
the Neanderthals lived (c. 300,000–28,000 years ago). The earliest evidence (Mungo Man) of
settlement in Australia dates to around 40,000 years ago when modern humans likely crossed from
Asia by island-hopping. The Bhimbetka rock shelters exhibit the earliest traces of human life in India,
some of which are approximately 30,000 years old. [citation needed]
Homo neanderthalensis used Mousterian Stone tools that date back to around 300,000 years
ago[15] and include smaller, knife-like and scraper tools. [citation needed] They buried their dead in shallow
graves along with stone tools and animal bones, although the reasons and significance of the burials
are disputed.[16][17]
Homo sapiens, the only living species in the genus Homo, originated in Africa about 200,000 years
ago. As compared to their predecessors, Homo sapiens had a more complex brain structure, which
provided better coordination for manipulating objects and far greater use of tools.[18] There
was art created during this period. Intentional burial, particularly with grave goods, may be one of the
earliest detectable forms of religious practice since it may signify a "concern for the dead that
transcends daily life."[19] The earliest undisputed human burial so far dates back 130,000 years.
Human skeletal remains stained with red ochre were discovered in the Skhul cave at Qafzeh, Israel
with a variety of grave goods.[20]
Upper Paleolithic Revolution
During the Upper Paleolithic Revolution, advancements in human intelligence and technology
changed radically with the advent of behavioral modernity between 60,000 and 30,000 years ago.
[3]
 Behavioral modernity is a set of traits that distinguish Homo sapiens from
extinct hominid lineages. Homo sapiens reached full behavioral modernity around 50,000 years ago
due to a highly developed brain capable of abstract reasoning, language, introspection,
and problem solving.[18][21]
Aurignacian tools, such as stone bladed tools, tools made of antlers, and tools made of bones were
created during this period.[22] People began creating clothing. What appear to be sewing needles
were found around 40,000 years ago and [23] dyed flax fibers dated 36,000 BP were found in a
prehistoric cave in the Republic of Georgia.[24][25] Human beings may have begun wearing clothing as
far back as 190,000 years ago.[26]
Cultural aspects emerged, such as art of the Upper Paleolithic period, which included cave
painting, sculpture such as the Venus figurines, carvings and engravings of bone and ivory. The
most common subject matter was large animals that were hunted by the people of the time.
The Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain and Côa Valley Paleolithic Art are
examples of such artwork. Musical instruments such as flutes emerged during this period.[citation needed]
Mesolithic period
The Mesolithic period was a transitional era between the Paleolithic hunter-gatherers, beginning with
the Holocene warm period around 11,660 BP and ending with the Neolithic introduction of farming,
the date of which varied in each geographical region. Adaptation was required during this period due
to climate changes that affected environment and the types of available food. [citation needed]
Small stone tools called microliths, including small bladelets and microburins, emerged during this
period.[27] For instance, spears or arrows were found at the earliest known Mesolithic battle site
at Cemetery 117 in the Sudan.[28] Holmegaard bows were found in the bogs of Northern Europe
dating from the Mesolithic period.[29] These microliths point to the use of projectile technology since
they are widely assumed to have formed the tips and barbs of arrows. [30] This is demonstrated by
mesolithic assemblages found in southwest Germany, which revealed two types of projectiles used:
arrows with transverse, trapezoidal stone tips and large barbed antler "harpoons". [31] These
implements indicate the nature of human adaptation to the environment during the period, describing
the Mesolithic societies as hunter-gatherers.[32]
Neolithic Revolution
The Neolithic Revolution was the first agricultural revolution, representing a transition from hunting
and gathering nomadic life to an agriculture existence. It evolved independently in six separate
locations worldwide circa 10,000–7,000 years BP (8,000–5,000 BC). The earliest known evidence
exists in the tropical and subtropical areas of southwestern/southern Asia, northern/central
Africa and Central America.[33]
There are some key defining characteristics. The introduction of agriculture resulted in a shift from
nomadic to more sedentary lifestyles, [34] and the use of agricultural tools such as the plough, digging
stick and hoe made agricultural labor more efficient. [citation needed] Animals were domesticated,
including dogs.[33][34] Another defining characteristic of the period was the emergence of pottery,[34] and,
in the late Neolithic period, the wheel was introduced for making pottery.[35]
Neolithic architecture included houses and villages built of mud-brick and wattle and daub and the
construction of storage facilities, tombs and monuments. [36] Copper metalworking was employed as
early as 9000 BC in the Middle East;[37] and a copper pendant found in northern Iraq dated to 8700
BC.[38] Ground and polished stone tools continued to be created and used during the Neolithic period.
[34]

Numeric record keeping evolved from a system of counting using small clay tokens that began
in Sumer about 8000 BC.[39]

Bronze Age[edit]

A late Bronze Age sword or dagger blade.

The Stone Age developed into the Bronze Age after the Neolithic Revolution. The Neolithic
Revolution involved radical changes in agricultural technology which included development of
agriculture, animal domestication, and the adoption of permanent settlements.[citation needed]
The Bronze Age is characterised by metal smelting of copper and its alloy bronze, an alloy of tin and
copper, to create implements and weapons. Polished stone tools continued to be used due to their
abundance compared with the less common metals (especially tin). [citation needed]
This technological trend apparently began in the Fertile Crescent, and spread outward.[citation needed]

Iron Age[edit]

An axehead made of iron, dating from Swedish Iron Age.

The Iron Age involved the adoption of iron or steel smelting technology, either by casting or forging.

Iron replaced bronze,[40][41] and made it possible to produce tools which were stronger, lighter and
cheaper to make than bronze equivalents.[42] The best tools and weapons were made from steel. [43]
Other societal changes often accompanied the introduction of iron, including practice changes in art,
religion and agriculture. The Iron Age ends with the beginning of the historic periods, generally
marked by the development of written language that enabled creation of historic records.[41][43]
The timing of the adoption of iron depended upon "the availability of iron ore and the state of
knowledge".[40][41] Iron was smelted in Egypt about 6000 B.C. and iron replaced bronze in the Middle
East about 1500 B.C. Chinese began casting iron about 5000 B.C. and their methods for casting iron
was the precursor to modern steel manufacturing methods. Most of Asia, however, did not adopt
production of iron until the historic period.[40]
In Europe, iron was introduced about 1100 B.C. and had replaced bronze for creating weapons and
tools by 500 B.C. They made iron through the forging smelting process and integrated casting in the
Middle Ages.[40] Large hill forts or oppida were built either as a refuge in time of war, or sometimes as
permanent settlements. Agricultural practices were made more efficient with more effective and
varied iron tools.[44]
Iron was extracted from metal ore starting about 2000 B.C. in Africa. [40]
 Evidence Of Science And Technology During Ancient Times 3500 BC-1200
In The Old World

Ancient technology
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.
This article includes the advances in technology and the development of several
engineering sciences in historic times before the Middle Ages, which began after the fall
of the Western Roman Empire in AD 476,[1][2] the death of Justinian I in the 6th century,
[3]
 the coming of Islam in the 7th century,[4] or the rise of Charlemagne in the 8th century.
[5]
 For technologies developed in medieval societies, see Medieval
technology and Inventions in medieval Islam.

Ancient civilizations
Africa
Technology in Africa has a history stretching to the beginning of the human species, stretching back
to the first evidence of tool use by hominid ancestors in the areas of Africa where humans are
believed to have evolved. Africa saw the advent of some of the earliest ironworking technology in
the Aïr Mountains region of what is today Niger and the erection of some of the world's oldest
monuments, pyramids, and towers in Egypt, Nubia, and North Africa. In Nubia and ancient Kush,
glazed quartzite and building in brick were developed to a greater extent than in Egypt. Parts of the
East African Swahili Coast saw the creation of the world's oldest carbon steel creation with high-
temperature blast furnaces created by the Haya people of Tanzania.

Mesopotamia
The Mesopotamians were one of the first to enter the Bronze Age in the world. Early on they
used copper, bronze and gold, and later they used iron. Palaces were decorated with hundreds of
kilograms of these very expensive metals. Also, copper, bronze, and iron were used for armor as
well as for different weapons such as swords, daggers, spears, and maces.
Perhaps the most important advance made by the Mesopotamians was the invention of writing by
the Sumerians. With the invention of writing came the first recorded laws called the Code of
Hammurabi as well as the first major piece of literature called the Epic of Gilgamesh.
Several of the six classic simple machines were invented in Mesopotamia. [6] Mesopotamians have
been credited with the invention of the wheel. The wheel and axle mechanism first appeared with
the potter's wheel, invented in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) during the 5th millennium BC. [7] This led
to the invention of the wheeled vehicle in Mesopotamia during the early 4th millennium BC.
Depictions of wheeled wagons found on clay tablet pictographs at the Eanna district of Uruk are
dated between 3700 and 3500 BCE.[8] The lever was used in the shadoof water-lifting device, the
first crane machine, which appeared in Mesopotamia circa 3000 BC. [9] and then in ancient Egyptian
technology circa 2000 BC.[10] The earliest evidence of pulleys date back to Mesopotamia in the early
2nd millennium BC.[11]
The screw, the last of the simple machines to be invented, [12] first appeared in Mesopotamia during
the Neo-Assyrian period (911-609) BC.[11] According to the assyriologist Stephanie Dalley, the
earliest pump was the screw pump, first used by Sennacherib, King of Assyria, for the water
systems at the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and Nineveh in the 7th century BCE. This attribution,
however, is disputed by the historian John Peter Oleson.[13][14]
The Mesopotamians used a sexagesimal number system with the base 60 (like we use base 10).
They divided time up by 60s including a 60-second minute and a 60-minute hour, which we still use
today. They also divided up the circle into 360 degrees. They had a wide knowledge of mathematics
including addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, quadratic and cubic equations, and fractions.
This was important in keeping track of records as well as in some of their large building projects. The
Mesopotamians had formulas for figuring out the circumference and area for different geometric
shapes like rectangles, circles, and triangles. Some evidence suggests that they even knew the
Pythagorean Theorem long before Pythagoras wrote it down. They may have even discovered the
number for pi in figuring the circumference of a circle.
Babylonian astronomy was able to follow the movements of the stars, planets, and the Moon.
Application of advanced math predicted the movements of several planets. By studying the phases
of the Moon, the Mesopotamians created the first calendar. It had 12 lunar months and was the

 The contribution of Greek, Persian and Romans in development of science and technology

Technological achievements of Greece and Rome (500 BCE–500 CE)

The contributions of Greece and Rome in philosophy and religion, political and legal
institutions, poetry and drama, and in the realm of scientific speculation stand in spectacular
contrast with their relatively limited contributions in technology. Their
mechanical innovation was not distinguished, and, even in the realms of military and
construction engineering, in which they showed great ingenuity and aesthetic sensibility, their
work represented more a consummation of earlier lines of development than a dramatic
innovation. This apparent paradox of the Classical period of the ancient world requires
explanation, and the history of technology can provide some clues to the solution of the
problem.
The mastery of iron

The outstanding technological factor of the Greco-Roman world was the smelting of iron, a
technique—derived from unknown metallurgists, probably in Asia Minor, about 1000 BCE—that
spread far beyond the provincial frontiers of the Roman Empire. The use of the metal had
become general in Greece and the Aegean Islands by the dawn of the Classical period about
500 BCE, and it appears to have spread quickly westward thereafter. Iron ore, long a familiar
material, had defied reduction into metallic form because of the great heat required in the
furnace to perform the chemical transformation (about 1,535 °C [2,795 °F] compared with the
1,083 °C [1,981 °F] necessary for the reduction of copper ores). To reach this
temperature, furnace construction had to be improved and ways devised to maintain the heat for
several hours. Throughout the Classical period these conditions were achieved only on a small
scale, in furnaces burning charcoal and using foot bellows to intensify the heat, and even in
these furnaces the heat was not sufficient to reduce the ore completely to molten metal. Instead,
a small spongy ball of iron—called a bloom—was produced in the bottom of the furnace. This
was extracted by breaking open the furnace, and then it was hammered into bars of wrought
iron, which could be shaped as required by further heating and hammering. Apart from its
greater abundance, iron for most purposes provided a harder and stronger material than the
earlier metals, although the impossibility of casting it into molds like bronze was an
inconvenience. At an early date some smiths devised the cementation process for reheating bars
of iron between layers of charcoal to carburize the surface of the iron and thus to produce a coat
of steel. Such case-hardened iron could be further heated, hammered, and tempered to make
knife and sword blades of high quality. The very best steel in Roman times was  Seric steel,
brought into the Western world from India, where it was produced in blocks a few inches in
diameter by a crucible process, melting the ingredients in an enclosed vessel to achieve purity
and consistency in the chemical combination.

Mechanical contrivances

Though slight, the mechanical achievements of the Greco-Roman centuries were not without
significance. The world had one of its great mechanical geniuses in Archimedes, who devised
remarkable weapons to protect his native Syracuse from Roman invasion and applied his
powerful mind to such basic mechanical contrivances as the screw, the pulley, and the lever.
Alexandrian engineers, such as Ctesibius and Hero, invented a wealth of ingenious mechanical
contrivances including pumps, wind and hydraulic organs, compressed-air engines, and screw-
cutting machines. They also devised toys and automata such as the aeolipile, which may be
regarded as the first successful steam turbine. Little practical use was found for these
inventions, but the Alexandrian school marks an important transition from very simple
mechanisms to the more complex devices that properly deserve to be considered “machines.” In
a sense it provided a starting point for modern mechanical practice.

The Romans were responsible, through the application and development of available machines,
for an important technological transformation: the widespread introduction of rotary motion.
This was exemplified in the use of the treadmill for powering cranes and other heavy lifting
operations, the introduction of rotary water-raising devices for irrigation works (a scoop wheel
powered by a treadmill), and the development of the waterwheel as a prime mover. The 1st-
century-BCE Roman engineer Vitruvius gave an account of watermills, and by the end of the
Roman era many were in operation.
 The contributions of Arabs, Chinese and Hindu in the Development of Science and
technology

Arab Contributions to the Sciences

POSTED ON: NOV 9, 2016

BY: Habeeb Salloum/Contributing Writer

Today, in almost every aspect of our daily lives, we are indebted in many ways
to the Arab contributions to the sciences. The vast contributions, scholarly
achievements and innovations of the Arab/Muslim era to world civilization
encompassed much of the previous knowledge of the ancient civilizations of
the Middle East such as Mesopotamia, Syria, the Greeks, and that of India,
China and Persia. Arab and Muslim scholars would come to nourish that
which existed, comment on it and then add and create fields within science
that eventually would be transferred to Europe and to the rest of the world.

The common factor in all of this scientific research activity was the Arabic
language, which became the universal language of science. Then during the
12th and 13th centuries these Arabic studies began to be translated into Latin.
Western scholars such as Adelard of Bath, Daniel of Morley, Gerard of
Cremona, Johannes Campanus, Michael Scott, Philip of Tripoli, Robert of
Chester, Stephenson of Saragossa and William of Lunis were responsible for
translating many of the Arab works. These were, in later centuries, to form the
foundation of our modern civilization.

There was hardly a single aspect of scientific knowledge in the Middle Ages
that did not have an Arab connection. And the fields were vast. The study of
the heavens by Arab and Muslim medieval astronomers led to great
advancements in this field. Basing their assumption on an ancient Middle
Eastern hypothesis that the earth was round, astronomers calculated the
circumference of the earth to be 32,844 km (20,400 mi) and its diameter
10,465 km (6,500 mi) – almost coinciding with our modern measurement.
This at a time when Europeans believed that ships sailing too far into the
ocean would fall off the edge of the flat earth into the sea of darkness.
Arab scientists, working in search of a formula, which would convert baser
metal into gold, evolved alchemy into what later became known as chemistry.
Abu Musa Jabir Ibn Hayyan, known as Geber in the West, was the most
famous

China's scientific revolution

Ships of the world in 1460 (Fra Mauro map). Chinese junks are described as very large, three or four-masted
ships.

Among the engineering accomplishments of early China were matches, dry docks, the

double-action piston pump, cast iron, the iron plough, the horse collar, the multi-
tube seed drill, the wheelbarrow, the suspension bridge, the parachute, natural gas as
fuel, the raised-relief map, the propeller, the sluice gate, and the pound lock. The Tang
dynasty (AD 618–907) and Song dynasty (AD 960–1279) in particular were periods of
great innovation.[citation needed]
In the 7th century, book-printing was developed in China, Korea and Japan, using
delicate hand-carved wooden blocks to print individual pages. [citation needed] The 9th
century Diamond Sutra is the earliest known printed document. [citation needed] Movable type
was also used in China for a time, but was abandoned because of the number of
characters needed; it would not be until Johannes Gutenberg that the technique was
reinvented in a suitable environment. [citation needed]
In addition to gunpowder, the Chinese also developed improved delivery systems for
the Byzantine weapon of Greek fire, Meng Huo You and Pen Huo Qi first used in
China c. 900.[23] Chinese illustrations were more realistic than in Byzantine manuscripts,
[23]
 and detailed accounts from 1044 recommending its use on city walls and ramparts
show the brass container as fitted with a horizontal pump, and a nozzle of small
diameter.[23] The records of a battle on the Yangtze near Nanjing in 975 offer an insight
into the dangers of the weapon, as a change of wind direction blew the fire back onto
the Song forces.[23]
Song Dynasty
Main article: Technology of the Song Dynasty

The Song dynasty (960–1279) brought a new stability for China after a century of civil
war, and started a new area of modernisation by encouraging examinations
and meritocracy. The first Song Emperor created political institutions that allowed a
great deal of freedom of discourse and thought, which facilitated the growth of scientific
advance, economic reforms, and achievements in arts and literature. [24] Trade flourished
both within China and overseas, and the encouragement of technology allowed the
mints at Kaifeng and Hangzhou to gradually increase in production. [24] In 1080, the mints
of Emperor Shenzong had produced 5 billion coins (roughly 50 per Chinese citizen),
and the first banknotes were produced in 1023. [24] These coins were so durable that they
would still be in use 700 years later, in the 18th century. [24]
There were many famous inventors and early scientists in the Song Dynasty period.
The statesman Shen Kuo is best known for his book known as the Dream Pool
Essays (1088 AD). In it, he wrote of use for a drydock to repair boats, the navigational
magnetic compass, and the discovery of the concept of true north (with magnetic
declination towards the North Pole). Shen Kuo also devised a geological theory for land

Here is a list of 16 contributions, made by ancient Indians to the world of science and

technology, that will make you feel proud to be an Indian.

1. The Idea of Zero

Photo Source Left/Right

Little needs to be written about the mathematical digit ‘zero’, one of the most important
inventions of all time. Mathematician Aryabhata was the first person to create a symbol
for zero and it was through his efforts that mathematical operations like addition and
subtraction started using the digit, zero. The concept of zero and its integration into the
place-value system also enabled one to write numbers, no matter how large, by using
only ten symbols.

2. The Decimal System

Photo Source Left/Right

India gave the ingenious method of expressing all numbers by means of ten symbols –
the decimal system. In this system, each symbol received a value of position as well as
an absolute value. Due to the simplicity of the decimal notation, which facilitated
calculation, this system made the uses of arithmetic in practical inventions much faster
and easier.
  Evidences of science and technology during pre-Columbian times 1500 bc
ad 1500 in the new world

Once again, science and anthropology have teamed up to solve questions concerning the
fascinating, brilliantly hued pigment known as Maya Blue. Impervious to the effects of chemical
or physical weathering, the pigment was applied to pottery, sculpture, and murals in
Mesoamerica largely during the Classic and Postclassic periods (AD 250-1520), playing a
central role in ancient Maya religious practice. This unusual blue paint was used to coat the
victims of human sacrifice and the altars on which they were dispatched.

For some time, scientists have known that Maya Blue is formed through the chemical
combination of indigo and the clay mineral palygorskite. Only now, however, have researchers
established a link between contemporary indigenous knowledge and ancient sources of the
mineral.
In a paper published online in the Journal of Archaeological Science on March 16, 2012,
researchers from Wheaton College, The Field Museum of Natural History, the United States
Geological Survey, California State University of Long Beach, and the Smithsonian Institution,
demonstrated that the palygorskite component in some of the Maya Blue samples came from
mines in two locations in Mexico's northern Yucatan Peninsula.
Research on sources for palygorskite has been ongoing since the late 1960's. Through a
combination of ethnographic research and mineralogical analyses, Dean E. Arnold, Professor of
Anthropology at Wheaton College, and now Adjunct Curator of Anthropology at The Field
Museum, discovered that palygorskite was well known among indigenous potters of Ticul,
Yucatán. These contemporary Maya used palygorskite as a key component of pottery and also
prescribed the mineral for medicinal purposes. Indigenous knowledge further extends to
sources of palygorskite: potters extracted the mineral from two mines in Yucatán -- one in
Sacalum and the other near the city of Ticul at a location called Yo' Sah Kab.
As part of his research, Arnold noted Terminal Classic (800-1000 AD) pottery and other signs of
ancient site occupation at both of the modern sources. This suggested that the mines were used
by the Maya as sources for the palygorskite used in Maya Blue. However, further tests were
needed to convincingly link the present-day mines with the ancient Maya.
Between 1965 and 1997, Dean Arnold and Bruce E. Bohor of the United States Geological
Survey collected 33 samples of the mineral from the Yucatán region. After mineralogical
analysis, it was possible to differentiate between samples of palygorskite based on composition,
which meant the palygorskite within specific samples of Maya Blue could be traced to specific
locations.
With funding from the National Geographic Society, Arnold and Bohor collected additional 167
samples of palygorskite from five different sites in Yucatan in 2008. The analyses of these
samples were then compared to analyses of the Maya Blue pigment found on pottery originally
taken from Chichén Itzá and Palenque, Yucatán. The Chichén Itzá material was collected by E.
H. Thompson and J. E. S. Thompson in the late 19th and early 20th century and is curated at
The Field Museum. These objects were analyzed in the museum's Elemental Analysis Facility
(EAF).
The analysis confirmed that all the samples of Maya Blue from the ancient Maya site of Chichén
Itzá were created with palygorskite derived from Sacalum, while the Maya Blue samples from
Palenque could have been from Sacalum, Yo' Sah Kab, or another unknown source.
"Utilizing ground-breaking chemical sourcing techniques, we have unlocked data from
collections held in The Field Museum for more than 100 years," reported The Field Museum's
EAF Director and Curator and Chair of Anthropology, Ryan Williams.
"The data resulting from this study provides definitive evidence that Sacalum was the source for
palygorskite used in Maya Blue from Chichén Itzá," Williams added.
Noting that the ancient Maya would have been limited by available technology and using this
new data, senior author Arnold and his colleagues argue that sources of palygorskite for the
ancient Maya were limited by available technology and the ancient landscape. Thus, Sacalum
and Yo' Sah Kab, because of their accessibility and size, would have been prime sources of
palygorskite used by the ancient Maya.
"Overall this study illustrates the key benefits of scientific teamwork to unravel the mysteries of a
key ancient technology," said study participant and Field Museum curator, Gary Feinman.