STS

• In the ancient times, people were concerned with transportation and navigation, communication and record-keeping, mass production, security and protection, as well as health, aesthetics, and architecture
• Transportation


  • Was significant during that time because people were trying to go places and discover new horizons
  • They traveled to search for food and find better locations for their settlements
  • They also traveled to trade their surplus goods in exchange for things that they lacked
• Navigation


  • Assisted them in their journeys to unfamiliar and strange areas in the world
  • It allowed them to return home after they discovered new places or completed an important trade with another group of people
• Communication


  • Was also essential in their endeavors to discover and occupy new places
  • They needed a way to communicate with the natives of the areas they visited so as to facilitate trade and prevent possible conflicts
• Record-keeping


  • They needed to remember the places they had been to and document the trades they made with each other
  • It was also vital to keep records of their history and culture so they could establish their identities as they tried to relate with other cultures and civilizations
• Increase in size and number of nations


  Connoted increased demand for food and other basic necessities
• Increased demand for food and other basic necessities


  People must be able to produce food at a given time and space since resources were getting scarcer as more people struggled to share the basic necessities
• The people thus needed a form of technology that would enable them to increase food supplies and other survival needs without them traveling more or working harder
• • The people were not content with beautifying only their infrastructures and surroundings
  • Being able to prolong life with the mass production of food and advancement of medical technology, as well as raise the quality of life by making complicated and difficult tasks easier, humans later on developed the technology to improve how they look
• • The developments in science and technology, aside from affecting the lives of the people, were the results of many prior antecedents
  • Out of necessity, people in ancient times were able to discover and invent things that would impact the lives of the modern people
• Sumerians


  • Known for their high degree of cooperation with one another and their desire for great things
  • They are not content with the basic things that life can offer
  • This desire pushed them to develop many things connected with science and technology
• Cuneiform


  • One of the major contributions of the Sumerians is the development of the first writing system known as cuneiform
  • It is a system that utilizes word pictures and triangular symbols which are carved on clay using wedge instruments and then left to dry
  • Cuneiform allowed the Sumerians to keep records of things with great historical value or their everyday life

  
• Uruk City


  • 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 in the world but also for the way it was erected
  • The Sumerians were able to build the city using only mud or clay from the river, which they mixed with reeds, producing sun-baked bricks—a true engineering feat
• The Great Ziggurat of Ur


  • 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 sun-baked bricks
  • The ziggurat served as the sacred place of their chief god, where only their priests were allowed to enter
• Irrigation and dikes


  • As the 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
  • As a solution to this dilemma, the Sumerians created dikes and irrigation canals to bring water to farmlands and at the same time control the flooding of the rivers
  • This method was considered as one of the world's most beneficial engineering works
• Sailboats


  • Another challenge to the Sumerians was transportation
  • They needed a mode of transportation that did not require much human resource
  • Some sources attribute to the Sumerians the invention of sailboats to address their increasing demands
  • Sailboats were essential in transportation and trading as well as in fostering culture, information, and technology
• 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
• Plow


  • Another farm technology invented by the Mesopotamians is the plow
  • Humans evolved from being food gatherers to farm cultivators
  • 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
  • They made the roads with the same technology they used in making the sun-baked bricks that they laid down on the ground
  • They later poured bitumen, a black sticky substance similar to asphalt, to smoothen the roads
  • The invention of roads was very useful especially during the rainy season when traveling in soft and muddy roads proved to be too difficult
• The Hanging Gardens of Babylon may be considered as one of the greatest engineering and architectural achievements of the world that is almost impossible to replicate
• Aside from engineering technology, the Egyptians have contributed other practical things that the world now considers as essential
• Paper or papyrus


  • One of the earlier contributions of Egyptian civilization was the paper or papyrus
  • Papyrus was a plant that grew abundantly along the Nile River in Egypt
  • They were able to process the plant in order to produce thin sheets on which one could write down things
  • Since papyrus was lighter and thinner than clay tablets, it was easy to carry and store
  • This invention was a major accomplishment in Egyptian record-keeping and communications

  
• Ink


  • When the Egyptians invented the papyrus or 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
  • Although some say that hieroglyphics was adapted from the early writing system established in Mesopotamia as a result of trade between civilizations, the Egyptians believed that this writing system was provided to them by their gods
• Cosmetics


  • The Egyptians also invented the use of cosmetics
  • Although cosmetics in the modern times are used to improve and highlight the facial features of a person, their function in ancient Egypt was for both health and esthetic reasons
  • Egyptians also believed that a person wearing make-up was protected from evil and that beauty was a sign of holiness
• Kohl


  • Egyptians wore Kohl around the eyes to prevent and even cure eye diseases
  • It was created by mixing soot or malachite with mineral galena
• Wig


  • Another cosmetic invention of ancient Egyptians is the wig
  • During the ancient Egyptian times, wigs were worn for health and wellness rather than for aesthetic purposes
  • 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 a wig allowed heat to escape
• Another contribution of the ancient Egyptians was the water clock
• Make-up in ancient Egypt

  Used for both health and aesthetic reasons
• Egyptians believed that a person wearing make-up was protected from evil and that beauty was a sign of holiness
• The cosmetic industry is a booming multi billion industry at present
• Kohl


  Egyptians wore it around the eyes to prevent and even cure eye diseases, created by mixing soot or malachite with mineral galena
• Wig


  Another cosmetic invention of ancient Egyptians, used to protect the shaved heads of the wealthy from the sun's harmful rays, considered cleaner than natural hair as it prevented head lice
• At present, wigs are used to enhance the appearance of people who are balding or those who want to try new hair trends
• Water clock


  An important ancient Egyptian contribution, utilizes gravity to measure time by the flow of water from one vessel to another
• The water clock was widely used as a timekeeping device during ancient times
• Greece


  An archipelago in the southeastern part of Europe, known as the birthplace of western philosophy
• The Greek civilization has contributed much to the world especially in the fields of science and technology
• Alarm clock


  Invented by the ancient Greeks, used complicated mechanisms with water (or small stones/sand) to time the alarm
• Plato was believed to have utilized an alarm clock to signal the start of his lecture