Module C: Discussion on Historical Antecedents of Science and Technology

A Brief History of Science and Technology

The following are the terms that we will encounter as we go on our discussion.
* BCE- before the common era, corresponds to before Christ
CE- common era, corresponds to Anno Domini

Throughout time, the major driving forces behind S&T are (1) The need to survive in their
environment, (2) improve the quality of life, and (3) make everyday tasks easier.
Early concerns then included the need for the following: transportation, communication,
Weapons and armors, conservation of life and architecture (which later became a symbol of
power and might of the major civilizations)

Major Civilizations and Historical Antecedents of Science and Technology (S&T).

1. Ancient Times

Asia: Chinese Civilization

China is considered to be the most isolated of all the ancient civilizations. It was isolated from
outside influences which resulted in agriculture and metalworking originating independently in
China. It is not very clear when agriculture was first practiced and China. But once it came into
place, the entire civilization became rested on agrarian foundations.

The country is divided into the dry northern flatlands and the better-watered southern valleys.

Late Paleolithic Chinese roamed the grasslands of the great Northern Plain, surviving by
gathering wild varieties of millet.

Around 7000-6000 BCE, they started to settle along the Yellow River. They elevated their villages
above the floodplain by earth platforms and surrounding them with earthen walls. They
developed terracing and irrigation techniques. They planted millet barley, soy, and hemp in
yellow, windblown soil called loess. The Yellow River is named for the color it assumes because
of loess being windblown and deposited in it. The river causes floods that were damaging and
had to be controlled.

Another river would later prove significant in shaping Chinese history: the Yangtze River. This
river runs far to the south through a warmer and wetter landscape. South of the Yangtze, non-
Chinese people hunted pigs and gathered wild varieties of rice in swamplands along the river.
Between 10,000 and 7000 BCE, settled farm life established the wet rice culture of China.
Eventually, the north conquered the south and the rice of the Yangtze became even more
important than millet.

In summary, the following are key characteristics of Chinese civilization: reverence for ancestors,
big importance of family, and prestige of educated and of the written word. And the following
are some of the Claim to Fame of Chinese Civilization: bronze ware, ceramics, silk, historical
literature, poetry, metallurgy, gunpowder, and the Great Wall.

Africa: Mesopotamia and Egypt

Mesopotamia
Around 15,000 BCE, a warmer global climate began melting glaciers in the northern
hemisphere. This raised sea levels, exposing the landmasses.

Later on, it exposed inland lakes, streams, and forests.

In Southeast Asia, a group of hunter-gatherers called the Natufians flourished in the Near and
Middle East.

Around 11,000 BCE however, the Younger Dryas Event caused accumulated glacial meltwater in
Northern Canada to suddenly burst into the Atlantic Gulf Stream. This once again caused in drier
and cooler conditions which characterized the late Ice Age.

The Natufians were forced to congregate in small, semi-permanent villages near surviving
streams and rivers.

These events caused small groups of Western Asians to switch from hunter-gatherers to
planting and domestication (early agriculture). In the Near East, the first farming settlements
appeared in a section called the Levantine Corridor. This arc of land has high water tables and
included much of present-day Israel, Syria, and the Euphrates River Valley. The communities
here planted mostly cereals and domesticated goats, sheep, and later cattle (mostly from
Africa).

Switching to agriculture is one major occurrence that leads to the rise of major civilizations. One
such example is the part of the Levantine Corridor which included the valleys of the Tigris and
Euphrates, a land which the Greeks called Mesopotamia (land between the rivers). This
corresponds to southeastern Iraq today.

Sumerian Civilization
This civilization is one of those that sprung along the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates. The
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers originate from Turkey, flowing parallel to each other for about 644
km to join together and flow into the Persian Gulf. The Sumerians established the first human
civilization and did extensive irrigation farming in the lower Mesopotamia around 5000 BCE. The
environment is arid with an unpredictable annual flood caused by the 2 rivers. The rise of this
civilization is a tale of technological and cultural advances.

The following are the key characteristics and contributions of civilization:

Created the first large cities with more than 100,000 people in each city. Each city is encircled
but farmers who built canals and provided agricultural surplus that the elite depended on.
They developed a system of writing. This is because they needed to record their calendar, so
they can predict seasonal changes, commercial and religious taxation, marital inheritance
contracts. They used clay, paper, and stone as a medium. This system of writing started our as
pictography but later evolved into the phonetically written language (written signs that indicate
sounds of spoken language). About 3500 BCE, a basic format of written language was
developed, the cuneiform, and written on clay tablets.

The following are the claim to fame of the Sumerian Civilization: Post and lintel systems (beams
held up by columns), probably invented the wheel, Irrigation system powered by gravity, use of
the plow and among the 1st to use bronze metal, developed a calendar based on the cyclic
nature of seasonal changes, and the Ziggurats- stepped pyramids were priests and dependents
ritually prayed and made offerings.

Egyptian Civilization
Egypt forms the valley of the Nile River, which flows for 6400 km (longest in the world, flows in a
northward direction). The Nile River is considered a benevolent one compared to the
unpredictable Tigris and Euphrates. It swells gently in the late summer until it overflows in the
low banks and spread out over the valley floor. It carries with it a load of fertile silt, which after
2-3 weeks renews the valley with a fresh layer of good topsoil.
Egypt is geographically isolated, protecting it from invasion. On the East and West desert. The
northerly flowing Nile forms rapids known as cataracts which prevent easy passage into Egypt.
On the north, the sea gave the Nile Delta some protection from intruders while still allowing
some maritime operations.

The population is composed mostly of peasants. Farmers engage in labor-intensive farming with
the aid of some animals to do digging repairing of channels, turning the soil, planting, weeding,
and harvesting. The Egyptians are known to have an intimate relationship with their natural
environment, making it productive and passing it on to their descendants.

The pharaohs that ruled them are known as god-kings. Meaning they are considered as gods
that lived among men, not merely being like gods.
Egyptian life is different from Mesopotamian. The Egyptians enjoyed stability, punctuated by
occasional decades-long floods. This is brought about by the predictability of the Nile and the
protection from invasion provided by its geography.

Here are some of the claims to Fame of Egyptian civilization: paper or papyrus, mastery of
stone, pyramids, Hieroglyphics, and cosmetics.

Europe: Greece and Rome

Greek Civilization
- descendant of the nomadic Indo-European group of people. Ancient Greek history is divided
into 3 epochs:
Minoan- Mycenean Age- 2000 BCE- 1100 BCE
Hellenic Period- Time of Homer to mid 300 BCE; this includes the Classical Period which is the
golden age of Greek philosophy and art
Hellenistic Age- final blossoming from 300 BCE to 1st Century CE (99 to 0 BCE)

The geography of Greece is characterized by the small island of the Aegean, the western end of
Asia Minor, and the mountainous southern tip of the European mainland. It has little land for
large scale farming with no broad river valleys of expansive plains. It is composed of dozens of
protected harbors and bays along its coast.

Because of this, the Greeks were known as expert sailors from the beginning, with ships and
shipping being a major part of their livelihood. The mountain was difficult to traverse so it was
easy to travel by sea. They established a seaborne commercial network that spanned most of
the eastern Mediterranean. This made them very wealthy and resulted in the establishment of
small but powerful states ruled by the palace- dwelling kings. This, later on, led to the
development of Greek architecture, with the palaces being a symbol of power and wealth.
The following are the Claim to Fame of Greek Civilization: contributions to architecture,
literature, arts, science, and philosophy, a system of government (Monarchy, aristocracy,
oligarchy, and democracy), and engagement in wars (Eg. Persian, Peloponnesian)

Roman Civilization
Roman civilization is considered to be a successor to Hellenistic Greece even if the two
overlapped in time. Rome is situated about halfway down the western coast of the Italian
peninsula, where the Tiber River flows through fertile plains before opening to the sea.
They are also descendants of the Indo-Europeans who settled in Central and Southern Italy
around 1500 BCE. There, they developed farming villages but were not as advanced as their East
Mediterranean counterparts. About 800 BCR, 3 groups of people from the East entered and
colonized Italy:

Etruscans- already very highly civilized, established a series of small city-states and ruled with
their superior weaponry and organization. They left very little written records but left behind
underground tombs.

Greeks- impressed the early Romans with their advanced culture; they moved to Rome because
of overcrowding in Corinth, Thebes, and other Greek cities They transformed south Italy into a
prosperous and commercially advanced civilization. But in the process, they had to constantly
fight off the Etruscans and Phoenicians.

Phoenicians- came to Rome via Carthage. Carthage was a powerful force that sent ships to as far
away places like Britain, The North Sea, up the Nile, Spain, and France.

The following are the Claim to fame of Roman Civilization: (1) Romans were known for applying
scientific knowledge to everyday problems of society.
Source: World Civilizations by Philip J. Adler and Randall L. Pouwels, 2008.
The Americas
The Americas exhibit a tremendous range of cultures and physical environments. The first
Native Americans arrived in the New World much later than humans (Homo sapiens sapiens)
had evolved and spread elsewhere in the world. They most likely arrived in 3 waves, between
20,000 and 10,000 BCE. These 3 waves are:

Amerindians- First to arrive from Northeast Asia and are believed to be the ancestor of
numerous Native Americans. From Central Asia- descendants who are now located in Western
Canada and from Northeast Asia- modern descendants are the Inuit Eskimo of northern Canada
and Alaska
The most widely accepted theory as to how they reached the New World is through a land
bridge that once connected Northeast Asia and Alaska. This bridge is called Beringia and is
believed to once stretch through what is now known as the Bering Strait. Although covered with
glaciers, most of these migrants traveled by foot and some by small boats along the Pacific
Coast into what is now North and Central America. Between 11,000 and 8900 BCE, they lived as
hunter-gatherers in a period known as the Paleoindian Period.

During the Paleoindian Period, the earliest Native American cultures hunted both large and
small game. They used large, deeply notched leaf-shaped spearheads called “Clovis points” to
hunt megafauna. As the climate became drier and warmer however, the large fauna started to
die out so they switched to hunting smaller games. The smaller Folsom points eventually
replaced the Clovis spearheads.

However, climate change brought warmer and drier climates. With it, the demise of the Clovis
and Folsom culture. Once fertile grasslands were turned into deserts in American Southwest
and northern Mexico. This paved the way to what is now called the Archaic Period. Instead of
hunting large game, people relied more on gathering wild plants. Their tools were mostly for
collecting and processing plant foods like rice grass and cactus. They continued to hunt animals
but mostly small ones using snares and small traps. The small and temporary campsites they left
behind suggest that they lived in small, mobile groups that separated later on. Out of this
separation resulted in cultural and language diversification.

The third period is the agricultural revolution of the Americas. Archaeological pieces of evidence
suggest that it began as early as 5500 BCE in Mexico where chile and pumpkin were planted.
Maize was gradually grown and domesticated between 4000 and 2500 BCE. Eventually, farming
practices spread through Mexico, Central America, the coastal plain of Peru and South America
by 1500 BCE. Farmers started living in small villages, in units called pit houses. Eventually,
planting of corn, beans, squash, and chile resulted in productivity that paved the way for the
great civilizations of Mexico, Central America, and South America: The Mesoamerican
Civilizations (Olmecs, Maya, Teotihuacan, Aztecs)

A brief history of Science and Technology in the Philippines

 1. Science and Technology in the Philippines: Ancient Times to the Modern
Times Times (by Olivia Caoili) This lecture will discuss the role of science and technology
in nation-building, define and review government policies and science and technology
programs and generalize on the importance of science and technology policies in nation-
building.

Study Questions:
1. Trace the development of science and technology from the pre-colonial times up to the
present. What have you observed?
2. What do you think are the major contributions of science and technology to the
Philippine nation-building?
3. What specific government policy do you like the most in terms of contributing to the
development of science and technology in the Philippines?
4. What do you think are the major contributions of the Philippines to the field at present?
5. What policies do you want the government to implement in the near future?

1. Evidences of Ancient Kapampangan Life: Candaba Swamps

Also known as Pinac, the Candaba Swamp is one of the oldest settlements in Central Luzon. At
present, the swamp is used all year round. From January to May, it is mostly used for rice and
watermelon planting. From June to December, when rainy season would flood the area, fishing
becomes a major activity. The swamps are also one of the most famous wetland for migratory
birds and a well-known bird watching area.

The Candaba Swamp emerged during the end of the Pliocene Epoch (5.3 to 2.6 MYA) through
the accumulation of sediments from Angat and Pampanga Rivers. It is believed to have been
formed as part of the lateral planation of the Pampanga River with the help of the Angat River.
Candaba is considered as one of the oldest settlements in Luzon. In the 1930s, the noted H.
Otley Beyer recovered an adze made of basalt. He called it Candaba Neolithic Adze and is now
considered a National Cultural Treasure. Dated around 3000 BC, he theorized that this was used
to cut down trees and shape and carve boats. If they are already making boats around this
period, this must mean that they are also doing some fishing in the deeper parts of the swamp.
In 2002, a group conducting birdwatching discovered an archaeological site in a place
called Donya Simang.

The area yielded various artifacts especially earthenware, trade ceramics, metals, and other
ecofacts that can be dated and analyzed.
Most of the artifacts found are indigenous undecorated earthenware. Dr. Wilhelm Solheim
however, identified some with incised and combed carved designs as examples of Beyer’s Iron
Age Pottery dating between 1000 to 1500 AD. The designs suggest that there were used for
special ritual performances.
The site also contained numerous oriental trade ceramics from China dating back to 1300-1600
AD. Stonewares from Central Vietnam and Thailand were also recovered. This suggests that
when China banned the export of its ceramics in the early Ming dynasty, Vietnam and Thailand
filled the void.
Recovery of iron slags and the richness of the native vocabulary for various types of metals
suggest that metal craft technology was already present even before the Spaniards came. Metal
implements were most probably important in surviving in the swamps, for hunting, and even
for warfare. They also found pieces of evidence of animal domestication by finding bones of
pigs, deers, rice-field rats, goats, ducks, dogs chickens, and other birds.
Based on early Spanish writings, the famous ruler in Candaba was Dionisio Kapolong, a son of
Rajah Lacandula of Tondo. He is believed to have traveled regularly to the north via the
Pampanga River to trade. He traded goods from Pampanga and Manila with Chinese and
Southeast Asian ceramics. Ceramics and beads are important as a status symbol, for dowry and
heirloom pieces. Archaeological evidence also suggests that our ancestors in Candaba used
ceramics as part of the burial practice of giving grave gifts. These along with animal bones
suggest that our ancestors bury their dead with material things as gifts to the gods in the
afterlife and to ward off evil spirits that might devour the remains of an individual.

Excerpt from The Utilization of Candaba Swamp from Prehistoric to Present time: Evidence from
Archaeology, History, and Ethnography by RhayanMelendres, University of the Philippines,
2014.