The major problems addressed by ancient science and technology included food production, agriculture and industry, communication, transportation and navigation, military and defense, architecture and engineering, medicine and health, power and energy, and aesthetics.
Ancient people faced the primary challenge of conserving life, so science and technology contributed to discovering cures and preventing illness.
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Sumerian civilization developed in Mesopotamia between about 3500 and 1900 BCE, between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in modern-day Iraq.
The Sumerians developed the world's first writing system, using word pictures and triangular wedge-shaped symbols carved on clay and dried for records of laws, trade, and history.
The Sumerians first used the wheel for pottery and later adapted solid wooden discs attached to axles for carts and chariots.
The Sumerians developed irrigation to control flooding in the Tigris and Euphrates and bring water to agricultural fields, improving food production and supporting city growth.
King Ur-Nammu's law code, written in Sumerian around 2100–2050 BCE, is the oldest known surviving law code.
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Uruk was the first true city and was built with sun-baked bricks made by mixing river mud and clay with reeds.
The Sumerian sexagesimal system was based on 60 and influenced the 60 seconds in a minute and 360 degrees in a circle.
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Babylonian civilization flourished in Mesopotamia from about 1900 to 539 BCE and became known for laws, astronomy, mathematics, and architecture.
King Hammurabi created one of the earliest and most complete written legal codes around 1754 BCE, inscribing 282 laws on a stone pillar.
Hammurabi's laws addressed justice, trade, property, family, and punishment and followed the principle of reciprocal retaliation expressed as “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”
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Babylonians inherited the base-60 system and used it for arithmetic, algebra, geometry, land measurement, the Pythagorean theorem, and dividing the day into 24 hours, 60 minutes per hour, and 60 seconds per minute.
The Babylonian Map of the World is a schematic clay tablet from the sixth century BCE and is the oldest known world map.
The Hanging Gardens were traditionally attributed to Nebuchadnezzar II in Babylon, but no solid archaeological evidence has been found there and some scholars place them in Nineveh under Sennacherib.
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Ancient Egyptian civilization developed along the Nile from about 3100 BCE to 30 BCE and contributed to writing, engineering, medicine, astronomy, and irrigation.
Papyrus was made from the Nile plant Cyperus papyrus and processed into thin sheets for writing, while inks used soot or burnt vegetable material for black and iron oxide for red.
Egyptian hieroglyphs were an early writing system that used pictures and symbols to represent sounds or words.
Egyptians developed ramps and levers for construction and used obelisks and water clocks, or clepsydra, to measure time.
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Ancient Greek civilization flourished from about 800 to 146 BCE in city-states such as Athens, Sparta, and Corinth and became known as the birthplace of Western philosophy.
Greek mathematicians contributed basic geometry and the concept of mathematical proof.
Greek astronomers developed models of planetary movement, the Earth's axis, and heliocentrism, which places the Sun at the center of the solar system.
The Antikythera mechanism, recovered from Greece, displayed celestial time and was believed to predict astronomical positions and eclipses.
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The watermill enabled the large-scale milling of grains, making mass production of rice, cereals, and flour common.
Hero's engine was a steam-powered turbine that spun when its water container was heated and is considered a precursor of the steam engine.
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The Roman Empire was regarded as a powerful political and social entity and a model of legislation, codified laws, politics, and governance.
Roman builders combined art and engineering in strong, functional, and elegant structures, including the Colosseum, also called the Flavian Amphitheater.
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Roman gazettes disseminated important news, official government decisions, legal notices, and appointments; the term derives from the Italian word “gazzetta.”
Julius Caesar began the tradition of stacking papyrus into book pages, which later received protective covers first made of wax and later of animal skin.
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The Maya were an advanced ancient civilization of Mesoamerica, mainly in present-day Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador, known for intelligence, art, writing, and astronomy.
The mechanical clock was an antecedent of modern clockwork and changed work patterns by measuring time mechanically.
Johann Gutenberg invented a more reliable printing method using cast type and a wooden machine, which preceded the mechanical printing press used worldwide.
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The plow allowed tilling of fertile but heavy clay soil.
The spinning machine transformed fiber into yarn or thread that could eventually be woven into cloth on a loom, advancing linen technology.
Ancient weaponry included melee weapons such as swords, axes, maces, and polearms, as well as ranged weapons such as longbows, crossbows, and slings.
Science, Technology, and Society
| Concept | Meaning | Primary role |
|---|---|---|
| Science | Knowledge from observation and experiments | Understands the natural world |
| Technology | Application of scientific knowledge | Serves practical human aims |
| Society | People sharing territory, culture, customs, and institutions | Shapes and is shaped by science and technology |
Metti alla prova le tue conoscenze su Science Technology and Society con 27 domande a scelta multipla con correzioni dettagliate.
1. What is science primarily concerned with acquiring?
2. Which situation best illustrates technology rather than science?
Memorizza i concetti chiave di Science Technology and Society con 56 flashcard interattive.
What is science?
A body of knowledge from observations and experiments in nature.
What is technology?
The application of scientific knowledge to practical human aims.
What defines a society?
A large group living in the same territory sharing culture and institutions.
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