LESSON 1

• Transportation is the movement of goods and people from one place to another. In ancient times, people crafted simple boats out of logs, walked, rode animals and, later, devised wheeled vehicles to move from place to place. They used existing waterways or simple roads for transportation.
• Communication

  Humans have been using different

  methods to communicate from the

  beginning.

  1. Cave Paintings

  2. Symbols for communication

  3. Smoke signals

  4. Carrier pigeons
• Mass production began in the ancient world when food security and warfare were the pressing needs of the day.
• Weapons and Armors In their hunger for power, humans have always searched for the perfect weaponry. The careful selection of weapons at times proved to be the crucial difference between winning a battle or being slaughtered on the field.
• Engineering and Architecture The science of civil engineering truly commenced between 4000 and 2000 BC in Egypt when transportation gained such importance that it led to the development of the wheel.

  Structures built during the ancient times. Sphinx

  Ziggurat of Ur

  City of Uruk

  Hanging Gardens of Babylon
• Sumerian Civilization

  located on the southernmost tip of ancient Mesopotamia

  known for their high degree of cooperation with one another and their desire for great things
• Sumerian Civilization

  not contented with the basic things that life can offer. This desire pushed them to develop many things connected with science and technology.
• CUNEIFORM

  It is the first writing system known as cuneiform.

  It is system that utilizes word pictures and triangular symbols which are curved on clay wedge instruments and then left to dry.
• Another important contribution of the Sumerians is the City of Uruk. It is a great wonder not only because it is considered to be the first true city of the world but also for the way it was erected.
• Another engineering and architectural feat of the Sumerians is the Great Ziggurat of Ur. The ziggurat, also called the mountain of god, was built in the same manner that they constructed the City of Uruk, Without much building materials, the structure was constructed using sunbaked bricks. The ziggurat served as the sacred place of their chief god, where only their priests were allowed to enter.
• IRRIGATION AND DIKES As population increased, so did the demand for food. The Sumerians were challenged to mass produce food items but the elements in the environment seemed uncooperative.
• The farmers in Sumer created levees to hold back the floods from their fields and cut canals to channel river water to the fields. The use of levees and canals is called irrigation.
• SAILBOATS Another challenge to the Sumerians was transportation. At that time, the wheel was not yet invented; the main mode of transportation was through waterways such as rivers and seas. Boats were used to carry large quantities of products and were able to cover large distances.
• WHEEL In the latter part of their history, the Sumerians were able to invent the wheel since the specialized tools needed to create it were already available. The first wheels were not made for transportation but for farm work and food processes. With the use of the wheel and axle, mass production was made easier. Farmers were able to mill grains with less effort in less time
• PLOW Humans evolved from being food gatherers to farm cultivators. However, farmers needed a technology which would enable them to dig the ground where the seeds would be planted. The plow was invented to dig the earth in a faster pace. As the plow breaks the ground, the farmer would just drop the seeds and farm work would already be done. With this tool, farmers could cultivate larger parcels of land faster, enabling them to mass produce food without taking so much effort and time.
• ROADS In order to facilitate faster and easier travel, the Sumerians developed the first roads. With this work, the flow of traffic become faster and more organized. They made the roads with the same technology they used in making the sunbaked bricks that they laid down on the ground.
• Babylonian civilization emerged near the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The Babylonians were great builders, engineers, and architects. One of their major contribution is the hanging gardens of Babylon, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world
• HANGING GARDENS OF BABYLON Today, people can only marvel at the beauty of the famous Hanging Gardens of Babylon from stories of historians and paintings that portray the place. It was said to be a structure made up of layers upon layers of gardens that contained several species of plants, trees, and vines. According to legends, the great Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II built the gardens for his wife, Queen Amytis.
• CODE OF HAMMURABI of laws, a collection of 282 rules, established standards for commercial interactions and set fines and punishments to meet the requirements of justice. Hammurabi’s Code was carved onto a massive, finger-shaped black stone stele (pillar) that was looted by invaders and finally rediscovered in 1901.
• Another early civilization famous for its legacy is the Egyptian civilization located in North Africa. Many stories tell about the engineering feats of the Egyptians especially regarding about the infrastructures established by the pharaohs.
• Aside from engineering technology, the Egyptians have contributed other practical things that the world now considers as essentials. It is thus safe to say that the pyramids are not the only contribution of the Egyptians civilization to the modern world.
• One of the earlier contributions of Egyptian civilization was the paper or papyrus. Although Egypt was not the first to develop a system of writing, they were able to make writing easier for the world. Before the Egyptian innovation, clay tablets were used. However, safe-keeping and transporting them were a major problem. Clay tablets were very fragile, heavy, and delicate to handle. So, bringing them to places was a major challenge.
• INK When the Egyptians invented the papyrus of the paper, engraving ceased to be used in writing. As a result, the Egyptians invented ink by combining soot with different chemicals to produce inks of different colors. The ink must withstand the elements of nature since it was used to record history, culture, and codified laws. It must also be tamper-proof so that people could not simply tinker with those written down by authorities.
• HIEROGLYPHICS Like the Sumerians, the Egyptians also developed a system of writing using symbols, known as hieroglyphics. This form of writing can still be seen today and remains to be a famous as the pyramids where they were found. Hieroglyphics was the language that tells the modern world of the history and culture of the ancient Egyptians. Their records were well preserved since they were carved at the walls of pyramids and other important Egyptians structures
• COSMETICS Cosmetics in the modern times are used to improve and highlight the facial features of a person, but, their function in ancient Egypt was for both health and aesthetic reasons. Egyptians wore Kohl around the eyes to prevent and even cure eye diseases. Kohl was created by mixing soot or malachite with mineral galena. Egyptians also believed that a person wearing make-up was protected from evil and that beauty was a sign of holiness.
• The wigs were used to protect the shaved heads of the wealthy Egyptians from the harmful rays of the sun. Wearing a wig was better than putting on a scarf or any other head cover since wig allowed heat to escape. Moreover, it was considered cleaner than natural hair because it prevented the accumulation of head lice.
• WATER CLOCK / CLEPSYDRA This device utilizes gravity that affects the flow of water from one vessel to the other. The amount of water (or its height, depending on the method used) remaining in the device determines how much time has elapsed since its full. In the process, time is measured. The water clock was widely used as a timekeeping device during the ancient times.
• Greece is an archipelago in the southeastern part of the Europe. Known as the birthplace of western philosophy, some of the major achievements of the Greeks include in-depth works on philosophy and mathematics. More than coliseums and the Olympics, the Greek civilization has contributed much to the world especially in the fields of science and technology.
• ALARM CLOCK One of the most utilized gadgets today that was invented by the ancient Greeks is the alarm clock. Although the alarm clock during that time did not resemble the present-day alarm clock, the purpose was just the same- to tell an individual when to stop or when to start. The ancient Greek’s alarm clocks used large complicated mechanisms to time the alarm. They made use of water that dropped into drums which sounded the
• WATER MILL Watermills were also considered as one of the most important contributions of the Greek civilization to the world. They were commonly used in agricultural processes like milling of grains which was a necessary form of food processing during that time
• The Roman Empire was perceived to be the strongest political and social entity in the west. It was considered to be the cradle of politics and governance during that period. Because the Roman Empire was so large, other civilizations looked up to it as their model in terms of legislation and codified laws. Aside from their contributions in politics, a lot of discoveries and inventions still relevant today can be attributed to the Roman Empire.
• NEWSPAPER The first newspapers, known as gazettes, contained announcements of the Roman Empire to the people. Made before the invention of paper, these gazettes were engraved in metal or stone tablets and then publicly displayed. These documents were edited and published on the same day that they were recorded. This way, the Romans enjoyed easy access to government information the same way we benefit from present-day newspapers.
• An aqueduct is a watercourse constructed to carry water from a source to a distribution point far away. In modern engineering, the term aqueduct is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose
• ROMAN NUMERALS Roman numerals originated in ancient Rome, but survived for some uses after the end of the Roman Empire. The numbers in the system are represented by combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet
• Chinese Civilization is considered to be the oldest civilization in Asia, if not the world.

  Also known as the “Middle Kingdom”

  It is famous among other ancient civilizations because of its silk trade

  Composed of 4 Major Dynasties

  Shang, Zhou, Qin and Han
• The Xia dynasty was the first Chinese dynasty. It was founded by the legendary Yu the Great (c. 2123-2025 BC), known for developing a f lood control technique that stopped the Great Flood that ravaged farmer’s crops for generations.
• The Shang dynasty is the earliest recorded Chinese dynasty supported by archaeological evidence. 31 kings ruled much of the area along the Yellow River
• Under the Shang dynasty, there were advances in maths, astronomy, art and military technology. They used a highly developed calendar system and an early form of modern Chinese language
• The Zhou dynasty was the longest dynasty in the history of China, ruling the region for almost 8 centuries
• Under the Zhous, culture flourished and civilisation spread. Writing was codified, coinage was developed and chopsticks came into use.

  The Zhous also developed the Mandate of Heaven – a concept that was used to justify the rule of kings, who had been blessed by the gods