STS  Security and Protection - weapons and armors are
important
The Dawn of the First Civilization
- archaeological excavations and discoveries
- the first civilizations emerged independent of one
another along fertile river valleys in Mesopotamia, Egypt,
China and India
- discovered, learned and developed science and
technology essentially as the consequences of their
search for food and other survival needs
- began to settle down in places suitable for cultivating
plants and raising animals
- the first civilization rose in the Tigris-Euphrates valley in
the Middle East during the 3500 B.C.
- other civilizations emerged in the Egypt’s Nile Valley, in
the Indus valley and in Huang Ho valley in China
- developed a unique way of life, religion, form of
government, language and system of writing, arts and
crafts advances in their applications of science and
technology (astronomy, agriculture, medicine,
mathematics, engineering and architecture)
Historical Antecedents
Pre-Historic Times
1. Stone Age: Paleolithic Age (300-1000 B.C.) and
Neolithic Age (9000-5000 B.C.)
- first tools were made of stone (pebbles pre-shaped by
nature, picked up simply from a river bed)
- stone tools of various shapes and sizes suited for
chopping, cutting and digging
- discovery of fire (percussion method)
- metallurgy, pottery, brewing and steaming are
applications of pre-historic cooking
2. Bronze Age (3500-2500 B.C.)
- people in the Middle East were smelting copper and
making bronze tools and weapons
- started in Northern Europe in the 2500 B.C.
Ancient Times (3500 B.C. - 1200 A.D.)
 Transportation - go places and discover new
horizons
 Navigation - allowed them to return home after they
discovered new places or completed an important
trade
 Communication - to discover and occupy new
places
 Record keeping - to remember the places they had
been to and document the trades they made with
each other
 Mass production - increase in size and number of
nations connoted increased demand for food and
other basic necessities
 Health - different illnesses and diseases, both
natural and man-made, hampered the full potential
of human being
 Aesthetics - developed the technology to improve
how they look
 Architecture - development of engineering, this
allowed humans to build structures that would
address their specific needs and wants
Sumerian Civilization
- Sumer in Mesopotamia is the cradle of the world’s
earliest known civilization
- agricultural way of life eventually transformed their
nuclear families into communities and tribes then
eventually cities
- invented the world’s first writing system called
Cuneiform, a system that utilizes word pictures and
triangular symbols which are carved on clay using
wedge instruments and then left to dry
- Sexagesimal system of counting and place notation
(using the number 60 as base)
- intricate system of canals, dikes, wires and reservoirs
- metallurgy and architecture
- houses were one-storey mud structure made of bricks
with an open court surrounded by several rooms
- kitchen pots and pans were made of clay and stone
- potter’s wheel
- built streets within their walled cities
- must have built the first known wheeled vehicle, made
of solid wooden wheels on axles
- developed a complex but systematized technique of
farming
- wool from sheep were made into textiles woven into
fine cloth
- mastered the art of bleaching, dyeing, mixing pigments
and preparing paints, cosmetics and perfumes
- invented the sailboat and brought their goods for sale
along the Persian gulf where precious stones, ivory and
other luxury items would be obtained
- made use of assorted botanical, zoological and
mineralogical ingredients for medicine
Other Sumerian Contributions:
 Uruk City - the first true city in the world. A true
engineering feat
 Great Ziggural of Ur - also called the mountain of
God (temple). This served as the sacred place of
their chief god where only their priest were allowed
to enter
 Sailboats - transportation
 Plow - farm technology
 Roads - facilitate faster and easier travel

Babylonian Civilization
- developed an elaborate irrigation system of canals
flanked by earthen dikes
- system of bookkeeping, a simple but adequate system
of double-entry accounting
- measurements were made of fractions, squares and
square roots
- models of planetary motions and other heavenly bodies
proved their ability to compute complicated mathematical
problems
- made accurate predictions of solar and lunar eclipses
and other astronomical phenomena
Egyptian Civilization
- a desert country thriving on agricultural economy
- early settlers were depicted as animal hunters, with
weapons and traps
- tools, weapons and utensils made of metal (copper and
bronze) as well as pottery, potter’s wheel
- weavers used horizontal looms to weave their linens
- large monuments were constructed as burial places for
their kings
- wrote with ink and brushes on paper made of papyrus
seeds
- Egyptian writing was in the form of pictorial symbols
known as hieroglyphics, representing individual objects
or actions
- Egyptians studied the heavens to record time, calculate
distances and directions, forecast the seasons and
predict the annual flooding of Nile River
- the earliest Egyptian calendar was based on their
observations of the regular disappearance and
reappearance of Sirius
- cosmetics used for both health and aesthetic purposes
- wig for health and wellness rather than for aesthetics
purposes
- another calendar was based on the phases of the
moon consisting of 29 and ½ days
- the first to divide the day into 24 hours, calculated the
time by means of water clock
- developed an intricate irrigation system
- extracted cooking oil from linseed, saffron and sesame
- breeds of ducks, geese, pigeons, pigs, goats, cattle
and sheep were domesticated as their source of food
and clothing
- women were engaged in weaving and making perfume
while men were experts in carpentry, pottery, glass-
making, metal working, leather making, paper making
and boat building
- Age of Pyramids: pyramids still stand today as the
monumental evidence of the scientific expertise and
technical skills of the ancient Egyptian in geometry,
engineering, architecture and labor management
- knowledge on human anatomy, physiology, surgical
and medical plants enabled them to master the art and
science of embalming their dead
Greek Civilization (1100 B.C.)
- transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age which
was followed by centuries of cultural development in
Greece
- first to systematically separate scientific ideas from
superstition and stressed the logical development of
general principles or theories about natural phenomena
- Thales of Miletus (624-547 B.C.) father of Philosophy
taught that nature was composed of air convertible into
water
- Anaxagoras (500-42 B.C.) argues that matter was
compromised of countless tiny particles
- Archimedes (200 B.C.) performed experiments which
led him to discover the laws of the lever and pulley that
resulted in the invention of machines
- sky maps which the ancient Greek astronomers left
contained surprisingly accurate locations and
measurements of the heavenly bodies they observed
- Ptomely (100 A.D.) postulated the geocentric theory of
the universe with precise geometrical measurements
and logical deductions
- alarm clock made used of water, small stone or sand
that dropped into drums which sounded the alarm that
tells them when to start and when to stop
- water mill which used in agricultural processes (milling
of grains)
Roman Civilization
- Julius Ceasar (102-44 B.C.)
- excelled in architecture and engineering
- contribution to theoretical science is nil, they merely
applied the wealth of scientific knowledge they
assimilated mostly from Greeks
 Newspaper - one of the major contributions, the first
newspaper was known as gazettes
 Bound books or Codex - for record keeping where
they document historical events and newly legislated
laws
 Roman Numerals - standard counting method that
would meet their increasing communication and
trade concerns
Arabic/Islamic Civilization
- interest in the pseudoscience of alchemy encouraged
them to mix and manipulate chemical elements and
conduct experiments to transform base metals into gold
- first to use glass lens for magnification
- first to manufacture the black powder
- produced the first gun— a bamboo tube reinforced with
iron that used a charge of black powder to shoot an
arrow
Chinese Civilization
- formed settlements where rice is cultivated,
domestication of some farm animals, built walled
settlements with heavy gates
- made bronze weapons, tools and ornaments
- used pictographic and ideograph script
- learned the technology of silk production
- development of the horse-drawn war charlot
- building and road construction technologies
- Great wall of China
- irrigation engineering and military capabilities
- coinage system
- astronomy, mathematics, engineering, medicine,
alchemy, geology, geography and technology
- poetry, painting, music, literature, philosophy, civil
service system
- water powered mills
- apothecaries and acupuncture, healing drugs and
herbs, tea production
- gun powder
- advances system of pharmacology
- earthquake weathercock (seismograph)
- paper making and the printing press
- calligraphy, water color painting and block printing
- refinements in the use of loadstone
- coal as fuel, water wheel, wheel barrow, flexible
bamboo pole to transport heavy load, copper coinage,
artistry of wall paper and porcelain, ocean going ships
Indus-Hindu Civilization
- construction layout of its cities which featured water
wells, bathrooms, waterpipe or drains in nearly every
house
- large buildings included a public bath and granaries or
storehouses
- gikes
- tools were made of stone, bronze and wood and iron
- arts and skills in farming and building cities
- excelled in mathematics and medicine, surgery
- value of pi
- trigonometry, spherical geometry and calculus
Middle Ages (400-1300)
- introduction and spread of the Hindu-Arabic number
system throughout Europe trigerred the development of
mathematics and its application in business
- first European universities were established
- Johann Gutenberg was able to invent the printing
press
- microscope developed by Zacharias Janssen
The Renaissance (1300-1600 A.D.)
- technology for printing books
- process for making paper improved using wood pulp
- Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), astronomy, anatomy,
botany, geology and mechanics
- the rebirth of science began in 1543 with the
publication of 2 books: On the Revolutions of the
Heavenly Spheres by Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-
1543) and On the Fabric of the Human Body by
Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564)
The Scientific Revolution (1600-1700 A.D.)
- the Scientific Method by Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
- Galileo Galilei (1564-1662) applied this new scientific
method in his study of astronomy
- believed that observation was the guide, experiment
was the test and mathematics the language that proved
physical reality
- growing supremacy of reason over religion in human
affairs
- Rene Descartes (1596-1650) strengthened the power
of reason
- Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) made the crucial
discovery that the orbits of the planets were not circular
but elliptical
- Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) careful and accurate way of
conducting investigative experiments, recording
observations, using scientific instruments like the
telescope and the sextant, formulating mathematical
solutions and arriving at logically valid conclusions
Origins of Science and the Early Sources of
Scientific Knowledge
Prehistoric Attitudes toward Nature
- early technologies and tools for survival and for
obtaining necessities for life
- evidence of practical knowledge of science of
prehistoric men manifested in certain practices in
agriculture, fishing, hunting and healing of the sick
- the Ice ages, Paleolithic age, Neolithic age, Bronze age
and the Iron age (the discovery and use of metals)
Oral Tradition, the Only Means of Communication
- content of oral tradition
- fluidity and continuing evolution as features of oral
tradition which made transmission of ideas and beliefs a
difficult problem
- invention of writing greatly helped in the development
of science
 Partographs - written sign which stood for the
objects itself
 Lopograms - word sign created for important words
 Syllabic writing - sign for every word or syllable caused many deaths among the nobles and military
(1500 B.C.) leaders
 Alphabetic writing - sign for each sound (800 B.C.) - the Arabic conquest of Asiatic countries
- Islamic science
Sumerian Civilization - the Dark ages translation of Greek words into Arabic
 Cuneiform - first writing system that utilized word
pictures and triangular symbols carved on clay Renaissance (14th-16th centuries)
 Uruk City - the first true city in the world with the - arrival of European culture particularly in Italy
use of baked bricks using nly mud or clay mixed with - retranslation of Greek words into Latin
seeds - rediscover of Aristotle’s works and other Greek writing
 Great Ziggural of Ur - also called the mountain of - Thomas Aquinas grace perfects and builds on nature
God (temple). This served as the sacred place of - Roger Bacon study nature through empiricism,
their chief god where only their priest were allowed mathematician
to enter - intellectual ferment
 Irrigation and Dikes - bring water to the farmlands, - spirit of free inquiry
control the flooding of - paper making
 Sailboats - transportation and trading - geographical discoveries and navigation
- establishment of modern universities
 Wheel - used for farm work and food processes
- economic growth, increased wealth and opportunities
 Plow - mass production of food
- population growth and the revival of culture and interest
 Roads - used sun baked bricks, very useful during
in scientific pursuit
rainy season
The Rise of Modern Science
Babylonian Civilization
- biology
- unit of lengths, weight and capacity, multiplication
- chemistry
tables, geometry and land surveying, systematic
- Newton’s contributions
measurement of time, astronomical observations,
- scientific academics
astrology
- development in the different sciences and mathematics
- Hanging Gardens of Babylonia, built by King
- geographical discoveries
Nebuchadnezzar II for his wife Queen Amytis
- 19th and 20th century science
- the publication of the work of Copernicus on the
Egyptian Civilization
Revolution of the Heavenly Bodies in 1543 started the
- religious attitude and science, invention of the wheel,
scientific revolution. His ideas were promoted by Galileo
arithmetic, astronomy , medicine, papyrus, hieroglyphs
and other scientist
(carved at the walls of pyramids), cosmetics (kohl
- scientist saw similarities between the human body and
around the eyes) and wig. water clock/clepsydra (time
machines (heart and water pump by William Harvey on
keeping device)
blood circulation)
- instruments were developed and refined to enable
Greek Civilization
scientists to pursue their investigations
- philosophy and mathematics, coliseum, Olympics,
- close interaction between science and technology
alarm clock and water mill
- scientist interact through publication and for a
- scientific academies, universities and international
Roman Civilization
scientific organizations
- newspaper (gazettes), bound books of Codex,
- giving of Nobel prizes was started in 1901 by Alfred
architecture, roman numerals
Nobel (Swedish chemist and engineer who invented the
dynamite)
Middle Ages
- refer to the period of a thousand years between the fall
of Ancient civilization and Italian civilization
- referred to as the “Dark Ages” because the cultural and
political traditions of the ancient world were eclipsed with
the collapse of Roman civilization and conquest of
Europe by Germanic tribes
- shortage of currency, industry, agriculture, commerce
and trade ceased to be active and productive, war