FOLLOSCO, Kyle Brian F.

2BSA – 5
STS: MW: 4:00 – 5:30 PM

I. Ancient Period
A. Sumerian Period
1. The Wheel
Evidence of wheeled vehicles appeared in the mid 4th millennium BC, near-
simultaneously in Mesopotamia, the Northern Caucasus (Maykop culture) and Central Europe.
The wheel initially took the form of the potter's wheel. The new concept quickly led to wheeled
vehicles and mill wheels.
Near the northern side of the Caucasus several graves were found, in which since 3,700
BC people had been buried on wagons or carts.

2. Agriculture
Sumerians ushered in the age of intensive agriculture and irrigation.
The Sumerians knew that they had to control the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. In the
spring the rivers flooded, and when they receded and left natural levees behind. The Sumerians
built the levees higher and used them to keep back the flood waters. In the summer, when the
land was dry, the Sumerians poked holes in the levees. The river water ran through the holes and
made irrigation channel in the soil. An irrigation system took which took planning in draining the
marshes for agriculture.
Wheat, barley, sheep, and cattle were foremost among the species cultivated and raised
for the first time on a grand scale.

3. Math & Astronomy

They invented and developed arithmetic by using several different number systems
including a mixed radix system with an alternating base 10 and base 6. This sexagesimal system
became the standard number system in Sumer and Babylonia. They made a system of numbers
that, unlike today's Base-10 System, was Base-60.
For example: how we tell time, 24 hours in a day, 60 minutes in an hour, and 60
seconds in a minute.
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. 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.
And because of their trading they created a sophisticated accounting system. They kept
a written records of how much was given, to who, and when, along with calculating inventory
 They also invented the calendar. By studying the phases of the Moon, Sumerians created
the first calendar. It had 12 lunar months and was the predecessor for both the Jewish and Greek
calendars. The Sumerians were among the first astronomers, mapping the stars into sets of
constellations, many of which survived in the zodiac and were also recognized by the ancient
Greeks.
They were also aware of the planets that are visible to the naked eye. Their astronomers
developed advanced mathematical functions to permit them to accurately plot and forecast - for
many hundred years ahead - cyclical planetary orbital movements and alignments.

4. Government & Military

They developed the first known codified legal and administrative systems, complete
with courts, jails, and government records. The first true city states arose in Sumer.
There are even a set of laws that citizens must abide by. Even the poor were fed at the
temple as a form of the governments civil service program.
Because they were constantly at war with one another, they may have invented military
formations and introduced the basic divisions between infantry, cavalry, and archers.

5. Industry Creation
They developed trade, and established industries, including weaving, leather work,
metalwork, masonry, and pottery. Plus, frying pans, razors, cosmetic sets, shepherd’s pipes,
harps, kilns to cook bricks and pottery, bronze hand tools like hammers and axes, the plow,
the plow seeder. They also and used looms to weave cloth from wool and because they traded
heavily throughout the Persian Gulf, they invented the sailboat.
According to Archibald Sayce, the primitive pictograms of the early Sumerian era
suggest that "Stone was scarce, but was already cut into blocks and seals. Brick was the ordinary
building material, and with it cities, forts, temples and houses were constructed. The city was
provided with towers and stood on an artificial platform; the house also had a tower-like
appearance. It was provided with a door which turned on a hinge, and could be opened with a
sort of key ; the city gate was on a larger scale, and seems to have been double. The foundation
stones - or rather bricks - of a house were consecrated by certain objects that were deposited
under them."
The most impressive and famous of Sumerian buildings are the ziggurats, large layered
platforms which supported temples. The Sumerians also developed the arch, which enabled
them to develop a strong type of roof called a dome. They built this by constructing several
arches. Sumerian temples and palaces made use of more advanced materials and techniques,
such as buttresses, recesses, half columns, and clay nails.
They used logic and recorded medical history to be able to diagnose and treat illnesses
with various creams and pills, the making bronze from copper and tin. Beer brewing was
identified through a 6,000-year-old brewery at an archaeological site in what is now modern Iran.
 6. Writing & Schools
After Egyptian hieroglyphs, the Sumerians' cuneiform writing system is the next oldest
which has been deciphered. The status of even older inscriptions such as the Vinča signs and the
even older Jiahu symbols is controversial. Since hieroglyphs are considered "pictures", the
Sumerians invented the first writing system, with actual "letters" developing Sumerian cuneiform
writing out of earlier proto-writing systems by about the 30th century BCE. The earliest literary
texts appear from about the 27th century BCE.
Several centuries after the invention of cuneiform, the use of writing expanded beyond
debt/payment certificates and inventory lists to be applied for the first time, about 2600 BC, to
messages and mail delivery, history, legend, mathematics, astronomical records, and other
pursuits. Conjointly with the spread of writing, the first formal schools were established, usually
under the auspices of a city-state's primary temple.
The cuneiform seals they created which was their mail system. A scribe would write on a
piece of clay, backwards so when it was sent to the message receiver, they would take the seal
and roll it out on a soft piece of clay. Then they would be able to read what was sent.
The Sumerian language remained in official and literary use in the Akkadian and
Babylonian empires, even after the spoken language disappeared from the population; literacy
was widespread, and the Sumerian texts that students copied heavily influenced later Babylonian
literature. Some Mesopotamian words are still in use today. Words like crocus, which is a
flower, and saffron, which is a spice, are words borrowed from the ancient Mesopotamia.

B. Egyptian Period
1. Metallurgy
Metallurgy was carried on with an elaborate technique and a business organization not
unworthy of the modern world, while the systematic exploitation of mines was an important
industry employing many thousands of workers. Even as early as 3400 B.C., at the beginning of
the historical period, the Egyptians had an intimate knowledge of copper ores and of processes of
extracting the metal. During the fourth and subsequent dynasties (i.e. from about 2900 B.C.
onwards), metals seem to have been entirely monopolies of the Court, the management of the
mines and quarries being entrusted to the highest officials and sometimes even to the sons of the
Pharaoh.

2. Copper and Iron Extraction

In addition to copper, which was mined in the eastern desert between the Nile and the Red
Sea, iron was known in Egypt from a very early period and came into general use about 800 B.C.
According to Lucas, iron appears to have been an Asiatic discovery. It was certainly known in
Asia Minor about I300 B.C. One of the Kings of the Hittites sent Rameses II, the celebrated
Pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty, an iron sword and a promise of a shipment of the same
metal.
 By 666 B.C. the process of casehardening was in use for the edges of iron tools, but the
story that the Egyptians had some secret means of hardening copper and bronze that has since
been lost is probably without foundation. Desch has shown that a hammered bronze, containing
10.34 per cent of tin, is considerably harder than copper and keeps a cutting edge much better.
Of the other non-precious metals, tin was used in the manufacture of bronze, and cobalt
has been detected as a coloring agent in certain specimens of glass and glaze. Neither metal
occurs naturally in Egypt, and it seems probable that supplies of ore were imported from Persia.
Lead, though it never found extensive application, was among the earliest metals known,
specimen having been found in graves of pre-dynastic times. Galena (PbS) was mined in Egypt
at Gebel Rasas ('Mountain of Lead'), a few miles from the Red Sea coast, and the supply must
have been fairly good, for when the district was re-worked from 19I2 to 1915 it produced more
than I8,000 tons of ore.

3. Mercury
Mercury (Greek-hydra gyros, liquid silver; latin-argentum vivum, live or quick silver) is
stated to have been found in Egyptian tombs of from 1500-1600 B.C.

4. Glass Making
Egyptian knowledge of glassmaking was advanced. The earliest known glass beads from
Egypt were made during the New Kingdom around 1500 BC and were produced in a variety of
colors. They were made by winding molten glass around a metal bar and were highly prized as a
trading commodity, especially blue beads, which were believed to have magical powers.
The Egyptians made small jars and bottles using the core-formed method. Glass
threads were wound around a bag of sand tied to a rod. The glass was continually reheated to
fuse the threads together. The glass-covered sand bag was kept in motion until the required shape
and thickness was achieved. The rod was allowed to cool, then finally the bag was punctured and
the rod removed. The Egyptians also created the first colored glass rods which they used to
create colorful beads and decorations. They also worked with cast glass, which was produced by
pouring molten glass into a mold, much like iron and the more modern crucible steel.

5. Structures and Construction

 Pharaoh Tutankamun's rock-cut tomb in the Valley of the Kings
 Lighthouse of Alexandria.
 the Pyramids of Giza and the Great Sphinx
 Obelisks
 6. Papyrus Sheets
Papyrus sheets are the earliest paper-like material – all other civilisations used stone,
clay tablets, animal hide, wood materials or wax as a writing surface. Papyrus was, for over 3000
years, the most important writing material in the ancient world. It was exported all around the
Mediterranean and was widely used in the Roman Empire as well as the Byzantine Empire. Its
use continued in Europe until the seventh century AD, when an embargo on exporting it forced
the Europeans to use parchment.

7. Black Ink
The Egyptians mixed vegetable gum, soot and bee wax to make black ink. They replaced
soot with other materials such as ochre to make various colours.

8. The Ox-drawn Plough

The Ox-drawn Plough using the power of oxen to pull the plough revolutionized
agriculture and modified versions of this Egyptian invention are still used by farmers in
developing countries around the world.

9. The Sickle
The sickle is a curved blade used for cutting and harvesting grain, such as wheat and
barley.

10. Irrigation
The Egyptians constructed canals and irrigation ditches to harness Nile river’s yearly flood
and bring water to distant fields.

11. Shadoof
The Shadoof is a long balancing pole with a weight on one end and a bucket on the other.
The bucket is filled with water and easily raised then emptied onto higher ground.

12. The Calendar

The Egyptians devised the solar calendar by recording the yearly reappearance of Sirius
(the Dog Star) in the eastern sky. It was a fixed point which coincided with the yearly flooding of
the Nile. Their calendar had 365 days and 12 months with 30 days in each month and an
additional five festival days at the end of the year. However, they did not account for the
additional fraction of a day and their calendar gradually became incorrect. Eventually Ptolemy
III added one day to the 365 days every four years.

13. Clocks
In order to tell the time Egyptians invented two types of clock.
Obelisks were used as sun clocks by noting how its shadow moved around its surface
throughout the day. From the use of obelisks they identified the longest and shortest days of the
year.
An inscription in the tomb of the court official Amenemhet dating to the16th century BC
shows a water clock made from a stone vessel with a tiny hole at the bottom which allowed
water to dripped at a constant rate. The passage of hours could be measured from marks spaced
at different levels. The priest at Karnak temple used a similar instrument at night to determine
the correct hour to perform religious rites.

14. Surgical Instruments

The Edwin Smith Papyrus shows the Egyptians invented medical surgery. It describes 48
surgical cases of injures of the head, neck, shoulders, breast and chest. It includes a list of
instruments used during surgeries with instructions for the suturing of wounds using a needle and
thread. This list includes lint, swabs, bandage, adhesive plaster, surgical stitches and
cauterization. It is also the earliest document to make a study of the brain. The Cairo Museum
has a collection of surgical instruments which include scalpels, scissors, copper needles, forceps,
spoons, lancets, hooks, probes and pincers.

15. Wigs
Ancient Egyptian WigDuring the hot summers many Egyptians shaved their heads to keep
them clean and prevent pests such as lice. Although priests remained bald as part of their
purification rituals, those that could afford it had wigs made in various styles and set with
perfumed beeswax.

16. Cosmetic Makeup

The Egyptian invented eye makeup as far back as 4000 B.C. They combined soot with a
lead mineral called galena to create a black ointment known as kohl. They also made green eye
makeup by combining malachite with galena to tint the ointment.
Both men and women wore eye makup; believing it could cure eye diseases and keep them
from falling victim to the evil eye.
 17. Toothpaste
At the 2003 dental conference in Vienna, dentists sampled a replication of ancient
Egyptian toothpaste. Its ingredients included powdered of ox hooves, ashes, burnt eggshells and
pumice. Another toothpaste recipe and a how-to-brush guide was written on a papyrus from the
fourth century AD describes how to mix precise amounts of rock salt, mint, dried iris flower and
grains of pepper, to form a “powder for white and perfect teeth.”

18. Mummification
The Egyptians were so expert at preserving the bodies of the dead that after thousands of
years we know of the diseases they suffered such as arthritis, tuberculosis of the bone, gout,
tooth decay, bladder stones, and gallstones; there is evidence, too, of the disease bilharziasis
(schistosomiasis), caused by small, parasitic flatworms, which still exists in Egypt today. There
seems to have been no syphilis or rickets.

C. Greek Period
1. Botany
Greek influence on agriculture was the establishment of the science of botany. Botany is
the study of all aspects of plant life, including where plants live and how they grow. The
Greek philosopher Aristotle, who lived during the 300's BC, collected information about most
of the plants known at that time in the world. He also studied other sciences and math.
His student Theophrastus classified and named these plants. Theophrastus often called the
father of botany. Aristotle and Theophrastus developed an extremely important type of science
that is studied all over the world. Botany is so important because all the food that animals and
people eat comes from plants, whether it be directly or indirectly.

2. Earth Science
Earth science is the study of the earth and its origin and development. It deals with the
physical makeup and structure of the Earth. The most extensive fields of Earth science, geology,
has an ancient history.
Ancient Greek philosophers proposed many theories to account for the from and origin of
the Earth. Eratosthenes, a scientist of ancient Greece, made the first accurate measurement of
the Earth's diameter. The ancient Greek philosophers were amazed by volcanoes and
earthquakes. They made many attempts to explain them, but most of these attempts to explain
these phenomena sound very strange to most people today. For example, Aristotle, speculated
that earthquakes resulted from winds within the Earth caused by the Earth's own heat and heat
from the sun. Volcanoes, he thought, marked the points at which these winds finally escaped
from inside the Earth into the atmosphere.
 Earth science allows us to locate metal and mineral deposits. Earth scientists study fossils.
This helps provide information about evolution and the development of the earth. Earth science
helps in locating fossil fuels, such as oil. These fuels compose a major part of the world
economy. The Greeks came up with the idea of earth science, and most importantly laid the
foundation for the scientists who lived hundreds of years after their time.

3. Public Water Works

Public works were one of the greatest influences in Ancient Greece. They helped boost
the economy, and acted as an art form, and they also led to a more sanitary life style. The system
of planning the public works was invented by Hippodamus of Miletus, and was admired
throughout the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Cities were built according to this scheme and old
towns were reconstructed to fit this system. The Greeks were proud of the establishment of the
public works and spent a lot of money on it.
There were many ways to bring water into the city for people to use. Many great thinkers
such as Archimedes, Hero, and Eupalinus discovered extraordinary ways to draw water more
economically to the cities of Greece. Of all the many different inventions, there were three major
inventions that made important contributions to the water supply of Greece.
The three inventions are:
 Archimedes' Screw - Archimedes, one of the greatest thinkers of ancient Greece,
developed this invention. It was used to lift water from a lower elevation to a higher
elevation by means of a tube that is internally threaded. The threads on the inside
collect water and as the tube rotates, the water is brought up and put into a storage
tank. This massive device was run by human power. The person running the screw,
usually a slave, held onto a rail at the top and used his own muscle power to propel the
water upward.
 Aqueducts and Bridging - The Greeks also used techniques such as aqueducts and
bridging valleys. They used these devices because the Greeks thought that the water
could only be moved if it was moving downward or on a straight path. So in order to
keep the water flowing they built aqueducts through mountains and built bridges over
valleys. In the sixth century a Greek engineer by the name of Eupalinus of Megara
built the aqueduct of Samos. This tunnel measured more than 3000 ft. long and it was
started on opposite ends hoping to meet in the middle. When the two met, the tunnels
were only fifteen ft. off from each other. On the average, aqueducts were about
fourteen feet deep and they were completely lined with stone. The aqueducts were
either single route or they branched off into many branches that supplied different
areas with water. There was also a form of manhole covers that allowed the workers to
access the aqueduct more easily if work needed to be done.
 Siphon Principle - Hero, a Greek who lived after 150 B.C. was the first hydraulic
engineer. He modernized the obtaining of water through a method known as the
siphon principle. The siphon principle allows the pipes that carry the water to follow
the terrain of the land and the aqueduct and bridging techniques were no longer used
as often. For example, such a device was used for the citadel at Pergamon. The pipes
 that connected to the citadel had approximately 300 pounds of pressure per square inch
and the pipes were most likely made of metal in order to withstand the pressure.
Priests chosen to pray to Apollo had to drink from a secret spring at Colophon before
praying. This water was thought to shorten the lives of the priests. The spring has very deep
meaning because it was supposed to have formed from the tears of a prophetess. She had wept
over the destruction of Thebes, her native city. There is also a punishment in Hell that uses
water. People that were unmarried or uninitiated during their lives had the same punishment. The
task was to fetch water from either a well or a stream and fill a broken, leaky wine vase for
eternity.
The slaves who had the responsibility of cleaning and repairing all of the public utilities.
The more progressive cities had drains under the street that carried both fresh water and sewage.
At times these slaves were used to watch over the fountains so that no one did their laundry or
bathed in it. They also had to make sure that money thrown into the fountain for luck was not
stolen by anyone.
Most of the public water-supply was used for public buildings, such as baths and street
fountains. For example, in Alexandria, in Egypt, each house had a personal cistern for their own
water for their own use. The slaves also had to clean these cisterns. These private owners of
cisterns and users of water had to pay a water rate to the city. It is sort of like the first public
utilities company.

4. Biology
Many important people contributed to Greek scientific thought and discoveries. Biology, a
very vast and interesting topic, was studied by Hippocrates, Aristotle, Theophrastus, Dioscorides,
Pliny, and Galen. These men were among the main researchers of Greek biology who
contributed many ideas, theories, and discoveries to science. Some of their discoveries were
observations, descriptions, and classifications of the various forms of plants and animal life.
Other discussions in biology were natural selection and zoology.
All living things were the basic concern of biology. Greek biologists were interested in
how living things began, how they developed, how they functioned, and where they were found.
These sorts of questions that ran through the biologists' minds are exactly how they began to
discover the basics of life. At such an early time, about 300 B.C., science was just beginning to
enter the minds of the Greeks. Aristotle, a Greek biologist, made contributions of his own to
science. However, around 300 B.C. there was much more to be discovered, which enabled other
scientists to add knowledge to the discoveries of Aristotle, during and after his time.
Natural Selection is the manner in which species evolve to fit their environment - "survival
of the fittest." Those individuals best suited to the local environment leave the most offspring,
transmitting their genes in the process. This natural selection results in adaptation, the
accumulation of the genetic variations that are favored by the environment.
Many Greek scientists thought about natural selection and the origin of life. Anaximander
believed that marine life was the first life on Earth and that changes happened to animals when
they moved to dry land. Empedocles had the idea of chance combinations of organs arising and
dying out because of their lack of adaptation. Aristotle, a Greek philosopher who contributed
many works in the sciences, believed that there is purpose in the workings of nature, and
mistakes are also made. He thought that nature working so perfectly is a necessity.
Aristotle believed that nature is everything in the environment, like the sky rains, and the
plants grow from the sun. Aristotle's theory fits very well with natural selection.
Natural selection makes it necessary for animals and nature fit perfectly - 'survival of the
fittest'. If they didn't, then that specific organism would die out, weeding out the characteristics
that were unfit for that environment.
That same organism's species might evolve over time and acquire adaptations suitable for
the environment, so that newly evolved species can survive and flourish with offspring.
Lucretius, who lived about 50 AD in Rome, believed that evolution was based on chance
combinations; heredity and sexual reproduction entered only after earth itself had developed.
Then with the organism developing characteristics that might make for survival in the
environment, the organisms that don't have favorable characteristics are incapable of survival
and disappear. These ideas from Greek scientists are all theories, of course, but the fossil
evidence suggests that species evolved over time.

5. Zoology
Zoology is the study of animals, involves studying the different species of animals, the
environment in which they live, and their organs. Aristotle was very persistent w
I. Ancient Period
A. Sumerian Period
1. The Wheel
Evidence of wheeled vehicles appeared in the mid 4th millennium BC, near-
simultaneously in Mesopotamia, the Northern Caucasus (Maykop culture) and Central Europe.
The wheel initially took the form of the potter's wheel. The new concept quickly led to wheeled
vehicles and mill wheels.
Near the northern side of the Caucasus several graves were found, in which since 3,700
BC people had been buried on wagons or carts.

2. Agriculture
Sumerians ushered in the age of intensive agriculture and irrigation.
The Sumerians knew that they had to control the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. In the
spring the rivers flooded, and when they receded and left natural levees behind. The Sumerians
built the levees higher and used them to keep back the flood waters. In the summer, when the
land was dry, the Sumerians poked holes in the levees. The river water ran through the holes and
made irrigation channel in the soil. An irrigation system took which took planning in draining the
marshes for agriculture.
Wheat, barley, sheep, and cattle were foremost among the species cultivated and raised
for the first time on a grand scale.

3. Math & Astronomy

They invented and developed arithmetic by using several different number systems
including a mixed radix system with an alternating base 10 and base 6. This sexagesimal system
became the standard number system in Sumer and Babylonia. They made a system of numbers
that, unlike today's Base-10 System, was Base-60.
For example: how we tell time, 24 hours in a day, 60 minutes in an hour, and 60
seconds in a minute.
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. 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.
And because of their trading they created a sophisticated accounting system. They kept
a written records of how much was given, to who, and when, along with calculating inventory
They also invented the calendar. By studying the phases of the Moon, Sumerians created
the first calendar. It had 12 lunar months and was the predecessor for both the Jewish and Greek
calendars. The Sumerians were among the first astronomers, mapping the stars into sets of
constellations, many of which survived in the zodiac and were also recognized by the ancient
Greeks.
They were also aware of the planets that are visible to the naked eye. Their astronomers
developed advanced mathematical functions to permit them to accurately plot and forecast - for
many hundred years ahead - cyclical planetary orbital movements and alignments.

4. Government & Military

They developed the first known codified legal and administrative systems, complete
with courts, jails, and government records. The first true city states arose in Sumer.
There are even a set of laws that citizens must abide by. Even the poor were fed at the
temple as a form of the governments civil service program.
Because they were constantly at war with one another, they may have invented military
formations and introduced the basic divisions between infantry, cavalry, and archers.

5. Industry Creation
 They developed trade, and established industries, including weaving, leather work,
metalwork, masonry, and pottery. Plus, frying pans, razors, cosmetic sets, shepherd’s pipes,
harps, kilns to cook bricks and pottery, bronze hand tools like hammers and axes, the plow,
the plow seeder. They also and used looms to weave cloth from wool and because they traded
heavily throughout the Persian Gulf, they invented the sailboat.
According to Archibald Sayce, the primitive pictograms of the early Sumerian era
suggest that "Stone was scarce, but was already cut into blocks and seals. Brick was the ordinary
building material, and with it cities, forts, temples and houses were constructed. The city was
provided with towers and stood on an artificial platform; the house also had a tower-like
appearance. It was provided with a door which turned on a hinge, and could be opened with a
sort of key ; the city gate was on a larger scale, and seems to have been double. The foundation
stones - or rather bricks - of a house were consecrated by certain objects that were deposited
under them."
The most impressive and famous of Sumerian buildings are the ziggurats, large layered
platforms which supported temples. The Sumerians also developed the arch, which enabled
them to develop a strong type of roof called a dome. They built this by constructing several
arches. Sumerian temples and palaces made use of more advanced materials and techniques,
such as buttresses, recesses, half columns, and clay nails.
They used logic and recorded medical history to be able to diagnose and treat illnesses
with various creams and pills, the making bronze from copper and tin. Beer brewing was
identified through a 6,000-year-old brewery at an archaeological site in what is now modern Iran.
6. Writing & Schools
After Egyptian hieroglyphs, the Sumerians' cuneiform writing system is the next oldest
which has been deciphered. The status of even older inscriptions such as the Vinča signs and the
even older Jiahu symbols is controversial. Since hieroglyphs are considered "pictures", the
Sumerians invented the first writing system, with actual "letters" developing Sumerian cuneiform
writing out of earlier proto-writing systems by about the 30th century BCE. The earliest literary
texts appear from about the 27th century BCE.
Several centuries after the invention of cuneiform, the use of writing expanded beyond
debt/payment certificates and inventory lists to be applied for the first time, about 2600 BC, to
messages and mail delivery, history, legend, mathematics, astronomical records, and other
pursuits. Conjointly with the spread of writing, the first formal schools were established, usually
under the auspices of a city-state's primary temple.
The cuneiform seals they created which was their mail system. A scribe would write on a
piece of clay, backwards so when it was sent to the message receiver, they would take the seal
and roll it out on a soft piece of clay. Then they would be able to read what was sent.
The Sumerian language remained in official and literary use in the Akkadian and
Babylonian empires, even after the spoken language disappeared from the population; literacy
was widespread, and the Sumerian texts that students copied heavily influenced later Babylonian
literature. Some Mesopotamian words are still in use today. Words like crocus, which is a
flower, and saffron, which is a spice, are words borrowed from the ancient Mesopotamia.
 B. Egyptian Period
1. Metallurgy
Metallurgy was carried on with an elaborate technique and a business organization not
unworthy of the modern world, while the systematic exploitation of mines was an important
industry employing many thousands of workers. Even as early as 3400 B.C., at the beginning of
the historical period, the Egyptians had an intimate knowledge of copper ores and of processes of
extracting the metal. During the fourth and subsequent dynasties (i.e. from about 2900 B.C.
onwards), metals seem to have been entirely monopolies of the Court, the management of the
mines and quarries being entrusted to the highest officials and sometimes even to the sons of the
Pharaoh.

2. Copper and Iron Extraction

In addition to copper, which was mined in the eastern desert between the Nile and the Red
Sea, iron was known in Egypt from a very early period and came into general use about 800 B.C.
According to Lucas, iron appears to have been an Asiatic discovery. It was certainly known in
Asia Minor about I300 B.C. One of the Kings of the Hittites sent Rameses II, the celebrated
Pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty, an iron sword and a promise of a shipment of the same
metal.
By 666 B.C. the process of casehardening was in use for the edges of iron tools, but the
story that the Egyptians had some secret means of hardening copper and bronze that has since
been lost is probably without foundation. Desch has shown that a hammered bronze, containing
10.34 per cent of tin, is considerably harder than copper and keeps a cutting edge much better.
Of the other non-precious metals, tin was used in the manufacture of bronze, and cobalt
has been detected as a coloring agent in certain specimens of glass and glaze. Neither metal
occurs naturally in Egypt, and it seems probable that supplies of ore were imported from Persia.
Lead, though it never found extensive application, was among the earliest metals known,
specimen having been found in graves of pre-dynastic times. Galena (PbS) was mined in Egypt
at Gebel Rasas ('Mountain of Lead'), a few miles from the Red Sea coast, and the supply must
have been fairly good, for when the district was re-worked from 19I2 to 1915 it produced more
than I8,000 tons of ore.

3. Mercury
Mercury (Greek-hydra gyros, liquid silver; latin-argentum vivum, live or quick silver) is
stated to have been found in Egyptian tombs of from 1500-1600 B.C.

4. Glass Making
 Egyptian knowledge of glassmaking was advanced. The earliest known glass beads from
Egypt were made during the New Kingdom around 1500 BC and were produced in a variety of
colors. They were made by winding molten glass around a metal bar and were highly prized as a
trading commodity, especially blue beads, which were believed to have magical powers.
The Egyptians made small jars and bottles using the core-formed method. Glass
threads were wound around a bag of sand tied to a rod. The glass was continually reheated to
fuse the threads together. The glass-covered sand bag was kept in motion until the required shape
and thickness was achieved. The rod was allowed to cool, then finally the bag was punctured and
the rod removed. The Egyptians also created the first colored glass rods which they used to
create colorful beads and decorations. They also worked with cast glass, which was produced by
pouring molten glass into a mold, much like iron and the more modern crucible steel.

5. Structures and Construction

 Pharaoh Tutankamun's rock-cut tomb in the Valley of the Kings
 Lighthouse of Alexandria.
 the Pyramids of Giza and the Great Sphinx
 Obelisks

6. Papyrus Sheets
Papyrus sheets are the earliest paper-like material – all other civilisations used stone,
clay tablets, animal hide, wood materials or wax as a writing surface. Papyrus was, for over 3000
years, the most important writing material in the ancient world. It was exported all around the
Mediterranean and was widely used in the Roman Empire as well as the Byzantine Empire. Its
use continued in Europe until the seventh century AD, when an embargo on exporting it forced
the Europeans to use parchment.

7. Black Ink
The Egyptians mixed vegetable gum, soot and bee wax to make black ink. They replaced
soot with other materials such as ochre to make various colours.

8. The Ox-drawn Plough

The Ox-drawn Plough using the power of oxen to pull the plough revolutionized
agriculture and modified versions of this Egyptian invention are still used by farmers in
developing countries around the world.
 9. The Sickle
The sickle is a curved blade used for cutting and harvesting grain, such as wheat and
barley.

10. Irrigation
The Egyptians constructed canals and irrigation ditches to harness Nile river’s yearly flood
and bring water to distant fields.

11. Shadoof
The Shadoof is a long balancing pole with a weight on one end and a bucket on the other.
The bucket is filled with water and easily raised then emptied onto higher ground.

12. The Calendar

The Egyptians devised the solar calendar by recording the yearly reappearance of Sirius
(the Dog Star) in the eastern sky. It was a fixed point which coincided with the yearly flooding of
the Nile. Their calendar had 365 days and 12 months with 30 days in each month and an
additional five festival days at the end of the year. However, they did not account for the
additional fraction of a day and their calendar gradually became incorrect. Eventually Ptolemy
III added one day to the 365 days every four years.

13. Clocks
In order to tell the time Egyptians invented two types of clock.
Obelisks were used as sun clocks by noting how its shadow moved around its surface
throughout the day. From the use of obelisks they identified the longest and shortest days of the
year.
An inscription in the tomb of the court official Amenemhet dating to the16th century BC
shows a water clock made from a stone vessel with a tiny hole at the bottom which allowed
water to dripped at a constant rate. The passage of hours could be measured from marks spaced
at different levels. The priest at Karnak temple used a similar instrument at night to determine
the correct hour to perform religious rites.

14. Surgical Instruments

The Edwin Smith Papyrus shows the Egyptians invented medical surgery. It describes 48
surgical cases of injures of the head, neck, shoulders, breast and chest. It includes a list of
instruments used during surgeries with instructions for the suturing of wounds using a needle and
thread. This list includes lint, swabs, bandage, adhesive plaster, surgical stitches and
cauterization. It is also the earliest document to make a study of the brain. The Cairo Museum
has a collection of surgical instruments which include scalpels, scissors, copper needles, forceps,
spoons, lancets, hooks, probes and pincers.

15. Wigs
Ancient Egyptian WigDuring the hot summers many Egyptians shaved their heads to keep
them clean and prevent pests such as lice. Although priests remained bald as part of their
purification rituals, those that could afford it had wigs made in various styles and set with
perfumed beeswax.

16. Cosmetic Makeup

The Egyptian invented eye makeup as far back as 4000 B.C. They combined soot with a
lead mineral called galena to create a black ointment known as kohl. They also made green eye
makeup by combining malachite with galena to tint the ointment.
Both men and women wore eye makup; believing it could cure eye diseases and keep them
from falling victim to the evil eye.

17. Toothpaste
At the 2003 dental conference in Vienna, dentists sampled a replication of ancient
Egyptian toothpaste. Its ingredients included powdered of ox hooves, ashes, burnt eggshells and
pumice. Another toothpaste recipe and a how-to-brush guide was written on a papyrus from the
fourth century AD describes how to mix precise amounts of rock salt, mint, dried iris flower and
grains of pepper, to form a “powder for white and perfect teeth.”

18. Mummification
The Egyptians were so expert at preserving the bodies of the dead that after thousands of
years we know of the diseases they suffered such as arthritis, tuberculosis of the bone, gout,
tooth decay, bladder stones, and gallstones; there is evidence, too, of the disease bilharziasis
(schistosomiasis), caused by small, parasitic flatworms, which still exists in Egypt today. There
seems to have been no syphilis or rickets.

C. Greek Period
1. Botany
Greek influence on agriculture was the establishment of the science of botany. Botany is
the study of all aspects of plant life, including where plants live and how they grow. The
Greek philosopher Aristotle, who lived during the 300's BC, collected information about most
of the plants known at that time in the world. He also studied other sciences and math.
His student Theophrastus classified and named these plants. Theophrastus often called the
father of botany. Aristotle and Theophrastus developed an extremely important type of science
that is studied all over the world. Botany is so important because all the food that animals and
people eat comes from plants, whether it be directly or indirectly.

2. Earth Science
Earth science is the study of the earth and its origin and development. It deals with the
physical makeup and structure of the Earth. The most extensive fields of Earth science, geology,
has an ancient history.
Ancient Greek philosophers proposed many theories to account for the from and origin of
the Earth. Eratosthenes, a scientist of ancient Greece, made the first accurate measurement of
the Earth's diameter. The ancient Greek philosophers were amazed by volcanoes and
earthquakes. They made many attempts to explain them, but most of these attempts to explain
these phenomena sound very strange to most people today. For example, Aristotle, speculated
that earthquakes resulted from winds within the Earth caused by the Earth's own heat and heat
from the sun. Volcanoes, he thought, marked the points at which these winds finally escaped
from inside the Earth into the atmosphere.
Earth science allows us to locate metal and mineral deposits. Earth scientists study fossils.
This helps provide information about evolution and the development of the earth. Earth science
helps in locating fossil fuels, such as oil. These fuels compose a major part of the world
economy. The Greeks came up with the idea of earth science, and most importantly laid the
foundation for the scientists who lived hundreds of years after their time.

3. Public Water Works

Public works were one of the greatest influences in Ancient Greece. They helped boost
the economy, and acted as an art form, and they also led to a more sanitary life style. The system
of planning the public works was invented by Hippodamus of Miletus, and was admired
throughout the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Cities were built according to this scheme and old
towns were reconstructed to fit this system. The Greeks were proud of the establishment of the
public works and spent a lot of money on it.
There were many ways to bring water into the city for people to use. Many great thinkers
such as Archimedes, Hero, and Eupalinus discovered extraordinary ways to draw water more
economically to the cities of Greece. Of all the many different inventions, there were three major
inventions that made important contributions to the water supply of Greece.
The three inventions are:
 Archimedes' Screw - Archimedes, one of the greatest thinkers of ancient Greece,
developed this invention. It was used to lift water from a lower elevation to a higher
 elevation by means of a tube that is internally threaded. The threads on the inside
collect water and as the tube rotates, the water is brought up and put into a storage
tank. This massive device was run by human power. The person running the screw,
usually a slave, held onto a rail at the top and used his own muscle power to propel the
water upward.
 Aqueducts and Bridging - The Greeks also used techniques such as aqueducts and
bridging valleys. They used these devices because the Greeks thought that the water
could only be moved if it was moving downward or on a straight path. So in order to
keep the water flowing they built aqueducts through mountains and built bridges over
valleys. In the sixth century a Greek engineer by the name of Eupalinus of Megara
built the aqueduct of Samos. This tunnel measured more than 3000 ft. long and it was
started on opposite ends hoping to meet in the middle. When the two met, the tunnels
were only fifteen ft. off from each other. On the average, aqueducts were about
fourteen feet deep and they were completely lined with stone. The aqueducts were
either single route or they branched off into many branches that supplied different
areas with water. There was also a form of manhole covers that allowed the workers to
access the aqueduct more easily if work needed to be done.
 Siphon Principle - Hero, a Greek who lived after 150 B.C. was the first hydraulic
engineer. He modernized the obtaining of water through a method known as the
siphon principle. The siphon principle allows the pipes that carry the water to follow
the terrain of the land and the aqueduct and bridging techniques were no longer used
as often. For example, such a device was used for the citadel at Pergamon. The pipes
that connected to the citadel had approximately 300 pounds of pressure per square inch
and the pipes were most likely made of metal in order to withstand the pressure.
Priests chosen to pray to Apollo had to drink from a secret spring at Colophon before
praying. This water was thought to shorten the lives of the priests. The spring has very deep
meaning because it was supposed to have formed from the tears of a prophetess. She had wept
over the destruction of Thebes, her native city. There is also a punishment in Hell that uses
water. People that were unmarried or uninitiated during their lives had the same punishment. The
task was to fetch water from either a well or a stream and fill a broken, leaky wine vase for
eternity.
The slaves who had the responsibility of cleaning and repairing all of the public utilities.
The more progressive cities had drains under the street that carried both fresh water and sewage.
At times these slaves were used to watch over the fountains so that no one did their laundry or
bathed in it. They also had to make sure that money thrown into the fountain for luck was not
stolen by anyone.
Most of the public water-supply was used for public buildings, such as baths and street
fountains. For example, in Alexandria, in Egypt, each house had a personal cistern for their own
water for their own use. The slaves also had to clean these cisterns. These private owners of
cisterns and users of water had to pay a water rate to the city. It is sort of like the first public
utilities company.

4. Biology
 Many important people contributed to Greek scientific thought and discoveries. Biology, a
very vast and interesting topic, was studied by Hippocrates, Aristotle, Theophrastus, Dioscorides,
Pliny, and Galen. These men were among the main researchers of Greek biology who
contributed many ideas, theories, and discoveries to science. Some of their discoveries were
observations, descriptions, and classifications of the various forms of plants and animal life.
Other discussions in biology were natural selection and zoology.
All living things were the basic concern of biology. Greek biologists were interested in
how living things began, how they developed, how they functioned, and where they were found.
These sorts of questions that ran through the biologists' minds are exactly how they began to
discover the basics of life. At such an early time, about 300 B.C., science was just beginning to
enter the minds of the Greeks. Aristotle, a Greek biologist, made contributions of his own to
science. However, around 300 B.C. there was much more to be discovered, which enabled other
scientists to add knowledge to the discoveries of Aristotle, during and after his time.
Natural Selection is the manner in which species evolve to fit their environment - "survival
of the fittest." Those individuals best suited to the local environment leave the most offspring,
transmitting their genes in the process. This natural selection results in adaptation, the
accumulation of the genetic variations that are favored by the environment.
Many Greek scientists thought about natural selection and the origin of life. Anaximander
believed that marine life was the first life on Earth and that changes happened to animals when
they moved to dry land. Empedocles had the idea of chance combinations of organs arising and
dying out because of their lack of adaptation. Aristotle, a Greek philosopher who contributed
many works in the sciences, believed that there is purpose in the workings of nature, and
mistakes are also made. He thought that nature working so perfectly is a necessity.
Aristotle believed that nature is everything in the environment, like the sky rains, and the
plants grow from the sun. Aristotle's theory fits very well with natural selection.
Natural selection makes it necessary for animals and nature fit perfectly - 'survival of the
fittest'. If they didn't, then that specific organism would die out, weeding out the characteristics
that were unfit for that environment.
That same organism's species might evolve over time and acquire adaptations suitable for
the environment, so that newly evolved species can survive and flourish with offspring.
Lucretius, who lived about 50 AD in Rome, believed that evolution was based on chance
combinations; heredity and sexual reproduction entered only after earth itself had developed.
Then with the organism developing characteristics that might make for survival in the
environment, the organisms that don't have favorable characteristics are incapable of survival
and disappear. These ideas from Greek scientists are all theories, of course, but the fossil
evidence suggests that species evolved over time.

5. Zoology
Zoology is the study of animals, involves studying the different species of animals, the
environment in which they live, and their organs. Aristotle was very persistent with his studies of
the zoological sciences and made many contributions to how we study zoology today. He made
observations on the anatomy of octopi, cuttlefish, crustaceans, and many other marine
invertebrates that were remarkably accurate. These discoveries on the anatomy could have
only been made by dissecting the animals. Through dissection, Greek zoologists studied the
structures and functions of anatomies of various animals. Some structures that were studied were
bones and membranes. However, to discover and learn about the diversity of animals, Greek
zoologists had to narrow their areas of study by attempting to classify the organisms.

II. Middle Period

1. Mechanical artillery
Counterweight trebuchet (12th) - Gravity powers these weapons revolutionized medieval
siege weapons by use of counterweights allowing it to hurl huge stones very long distances. It
was first used in the eastern Mediterranean basin. Trebuchets were used in the Crusades by the
1120s, Byzantium by the 1130s and in the Latin West by the 1150s.

2. Steel crossbow (14th, late)

The first hand-held mechanical crossbow, this European innovation Came with several
different cocking aids to enhance draw power. Large and appear by the end of the 14th century.

3. Agriculture
 Heavy plough (5th - 8th) - The heavy wheeled plough first appeared in Slavic lands
before it came to Northern Italy (the Po Valley). By the 8th century it was used in
the Rhineland. The Heavy Plough was important in cultivation of the rich, heavy,
often wet soils of Northern Europe.
 Horse collar (6th - 9th) - The Horse Collar went through multiple evolutions from
the 6th to 9th centuries. It allowed more horse pulling power, such as with heavy
ploughs.

4. Artesian well (1126)

A thin rod with a hard iron cutting edge is placed in a bore hole and repeatedly struck with
a hammer. Underground water pressure forces the water up the hole without pumping. Artesian
wells are named for Artois in France, where the first was drilled by Carthusian monks in 1126.

5. Wheelbarrow (1170s)
Useful in construction, mining, and farming. Wheelbarrows appeared in stories and
pictures between 1170 and 1250 in North-western Europe. First depiction in a drawing in the
13th century.
 6. Blast furnace (1150-1350)
Cast iron first appears in Middle Europe around 1150. The technique was considered to be
an independent European development.

7. Clocks
 Hourglass (1338) - A dependable, affordable and accurate measure of time. The
instrument isn't liable to freeze as other time measurements systems of the time did.
Hourglasses are a medieval innovation first documented in Siena, Italy.

 Mechanical clocks (13th -14th) - A European innovation, these weight-driven

clocks were used primarily in clock towers.

8. Vertical windmills (1180s)

Invented in Europe as the pivotable post mill it was efficient at grinding grain or draining
water. The first mention of one is from Yorkshire in England in 1185.

9. Spectacles (1280s)
From Florence, Italy, convex lenses to help far-sighted people. Concave lenses fro near-
sighted people weren't developed before the 15th century.

10. Spinning wheel (13th)

Brought to Europe probably from India.

11. Mirrors (1180)

First mention of a mirror was made in 1180 by Alexander Neckham who said "Take away
the lead which is behind the glass and there will be no image of the one looking in."

12. Oil paint (ca. 1410)

As early as the 13th century by Flemish painter Jan van Eyck around 1410 who introduced
a stable oil mixture. Oil was used to add details to tempera paintings.

13. Quarantine (1377)

 Initially a 40-day-period, the Quarantine was introduced by the Republic of Ragusa to
prevent the spreading of diseases like the Black Death. Venice began quarantines, then the
practice spread around in Europe.

REFERENCES
http://www.fathis.com/wendy-ann-blog/sumerian-science-technology
https://www.crystalinks.com/sumerscience.html
https://discoveringegypt.com/ancient-egyptian-inventions/
https://www.crystalinks.com/egyptscience.html
https://www.crystalinks.com/greekscience
htmlhttps://www.thoughtco.com/ancient-greek-scientists-inventions-and-discoveries-120966
http://medievalfayre.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=84&Itemid=85