Gewargis Samuel
HIS141 World History
Dr. Cord Scott
November 15, 2013
Ancient Technologies
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. It was the growth of the ancient civilizations which produced the greatest advances in technology and engineering, advances which stimulated other societies to adopt new ways of living and governance. I will be discussing about the ancient technologies of Mesopotamian, India, China, Greek, and the Romans.
The peoples of Mesopotamia have been credited with the invention of the wheel but this is no longer certain. They lived in cities from 4000BC and developed sophisticated architecture including use of the true arch. They developed extensive water systems. Writing was invented there, and many cuneiform texts survive on clay tablets and stone. And, they were early adopters of bronze. The Babylonians were meticulous astronomers, keeping a series of records spanning 800 years. They were able to plot the motion of planets and predict eclipses. However, Mesopotamian people invented many technologies including metalworking copper working, glassmaking, lamp making, textile weaving, and flood control. They were also one of the first Bronze age people 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. And, The Mesopotamians used a 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. The Mesopotamians had formulas for figuring out the...