week 3 to 4 part 1

• Ancient World


  • Transportation and Navigation
  • Communication
  • Security and Protection
  • Health
  • Architecture and Engineering
  • Mass Production
  • Aesthetic
  • Record Keeping
  • Problems During The Ancient Times
• Stone tools have been the first recognized technology (or craft?) made by one of our direct ancestors (H. habilis or H. rudolfensis) 25,000,000 years ago
• Mesoamerica


  The region that is now Mexico and Central America, which was the most densely populated region of the Americas in pre-Columbian times
• At the Height of Power Timeline

  • Olmec (1200 B.C. – 600 A.D.)
  • Maya (250 A.D. – 900 A.D.)
  • Aztec (1200 A.D. – 1521 A.D.)
  • Inca (1438 A.D. – 1533 A.D.)
• Olmec


  • Lived along the Gulf Coast of modern-day Mexico in tropical rain forests and lowlands from around 1200 BCE to 400 BCE
  • Both the Maya and the Aztecs were influenced by the Olmec civilization, the earliest known civilization in Mesoamerica
  • Sculptures and temples indicate that kings or priests led the Olmec society
  • At former religious centers characterized by pyramid-shaped temples, giant stone heads weighing 10 tons stood up to 11 feet tall
  • Developed a form of writing, as well as a calendar
  • Through their trade networks, the Olmec were able to spread many characteristics of their culture, religion, architecture, and social structure north to the Valley of Mexico and around Central America
• Cultural Hearth


  The Olmec are considered a cultural hearth by historians
• Maya


  • Lived in modern-day southern Mexico and Central America, including the areas that are today Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras
  • An agriculture-based society that grew corn, beans, and squash, and practiced many crafts such as weaving and pottery
  • Their central location made it very easy for them to trade and interact with other cultures from North and South America
  • Built a large and complex system of roads to stay connected with other cities and peoples
  • Mayan ruins include huge ziggurat and observatories used by astronomers
• Mayan Contributions


  • Created a 365 day calendar by watching the stars
  • Used math and were the first people to use the zero
  • Developed glyph writing using symbols that stood for words
• The Maya cut slits in the bark of the rubber tree and collected its sap, which they used to make water-resistant shoes and clothing, and to make balls for their ritual ball games
• Mayan Ball Game


  • The court was approximately 25 feet wide, by 75 feet long
  • The ball was six inches in diameter and made out of rubber and weighed about eight pounds, making the game very difficult to play and potentially causing severe injury
  • Two teams of two to eleven players would try to get the rubber ball through a small hoop that was about twenty-seven feet off of the ground, using only their hips, thighs and forearms (no hands or feet allowed)
  • When a player successfully got the ball through the hoop, the spectators would have to give him their jewelry
• Aztecs


  • Settled in the Valley of Mexico and what is now Mexico City
  • Were fierce warriors who used military power to build a huge empire
  • Collected taxes from the conquered people to become wealthy
• At the height of Aztec civilization there were over 300,000 people living in the capital city of Tenochtitlan and approximately 30 million living in the entire empire
• Aztec Religion


  • Priests were highly respected
  • The most important god to the Aztecs was the Sun God
  • To please their gods, Aztecs offered human sacrifices
• Contributions of the Aztec


  • Doctors learned to set bones and dentists learned to treat cavities
  • Engineers created bridges to connect the island capital together
  • Developed an accurate calendar
  • Established schools
• Inca


  • Developed in the Andes Mountains in what is now Peru
  • Were ruled by an emperor who had absolute power
  • Cut terraces into the mountainside and built aqueducts to farm the steep land
  • Grew mostly corn and potatoes
  • Built 14,000 miles of roads on which runners carried messages to far cities and the capital of Cuzco
• To keep records the Inca used quipus which are knotted cords used as counting tools
• Aryan Empire in India

  • The Aryans were a nomadic people who arrived in the northwest area of India around the Indus River
  • With iron technology they were able to create weapons to conquer land and the creation of the iron plow allowed them to farm in the Ganges river area
  • Set up city-states, each with its own ruler (called "Raja")
  • Around 1000BC the Aryans developed a system of writing called SANSKRIT
  • Developed a social system called the Caste System, with "Untouchables" or Pariah at the bottom
• Mauryan Empire in India

  • Existed from 324 BC to 183 BC, founded by Chandragupta Maurya
  • The greatest ruler was Asoka, who wanted to improve the lives of the people by building roads, hospitals, schools, and converting to Buddhism
• Gupta Empire in India


  • Existed from 320 AD to 550 AD, founded by Chandragupta
  • Expanded through war and trade, but fell due to Hun invasions
  • Referred to as the Golden Age of India, with accomplishments in universities, art, literature, math (zero, infinity, Arabic numerals), science (charting stars, knowing the earth was round)
• The Huang He ("Yellow") River and Yangtze River were important in the development of Chinese civilization
• Zhou Dynasty in China

  • Lasted from 1027BC to 221BC
  • Gave land to nobles for military service and conquered neighbors to expand China
  • Two religions appeared during this time: Confucianism & Daoism
  • Established a belief called the "Mandate of Heaven" where the ruler was chosen by heaven and could be overthrown if they were bad
• Qin Dynasty in China

  • Lasted from 221B.C. to 206 B.C.
  • One ruler expanded the dynasty's territory, but was a harsh ruler who rejected Confucianism and believed in Legalism (strong government to punish people)
  • Accomplishments included dividing China into districts, building roads and canals, creating a uniform system of writing and measurements, and building the Great Wall of China
• Han Dynasty in China

  • Lasted from 206BC to 220AD
  • Inventions included paper, lead glazed ceramics, and improved silk weaving
  • Promoted Confucianism and created a test for government officials to have the best people leading the country, weakening the nobility
• Roman innovations were largely more concerned with refinements than new ideas, as science had to provide useful information for them
• Renaissance


  • The Engineers and Scientists that led to a "Rebirth" in Technology, including Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo
• Scientific Revolution


  • The emergence of modern science during the early modern period, with developments in mathematics, physics, astronomy, biology, and chemistry that transformed societal views about nature, unfolding in Europe between roughly 1550-1700
• Scientific Revolution Developments


  • Parabolic Motion
  • Inertia (Newton)
  • Thermometer
  • Telescope (made observations of the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, and the Milky Way)
• The Information Age (Digital Age) began in 1973 and continues to the present, with a focus on information itself and its handling and conveyance, driven by progress in electronics and computers
• Advances in biology during the Information Age included the genetics revolution (recombinant DNA) and the understanding of the immune system as an information processing system
• Information Age


  When the focus of science, technology and society became "information" itself (handling and conveying it), as progress in electronics and computers caused information to become one of the most important commodities
• Before the Information Age

  People were viewed as complicated mechanical machines
• During the Information Age


  The human mind is pictured as a complicated computer
• DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) during WWII developed ground-based communication, giving rise to the Internet
• Alan Turing developed the concept of computers and the idea of artificial intelligence - the use of machines to imitate the way humans think and behave