The Athropocene

by
MANUEL LIANANTONAKIS
GEORGE MAGOUTAS
2nd Experimental Junior High School of Athens
Project in English 2017

Contents
A. Prologue / The essence of civilisation
B. Agrarian Era (from 4000 B.C.- 1000 B.C.)
C. Modern Era (from 1000 A.D.-1950 A.D.)
D. Digital Era (from 1950-2000+ A.D.)
E. Future ( from 2500+ A.D.)
F. Sources
G. Ending

Prologue
Once upon a time, a huge amount of energy was accumulated in a
particular sphere and then exploded. This was the Big Bang and it
contributed to the creation of matter. After a long period of time the first
species of life were formed, just like the bacteria, and they started to
evolve by natural selection. Before, approximately, 4.000.000 years ago ,
a new kind made its appearance on Earth, which would have the biggest
brain according to his magnitude, the human.

Prologue (part 2)
Humanity had to adapt to the harsh conditions of its natural environment
in order to survive and augment the population of its members. So, the
human used all the resources that were provided to him by nature so as to
improve his lifestyle. He created new equipment, he explored the world of
science and he developed systems for his organisation, great
achievements for any life form. A lot of different human types have
existed, just like Homo habilis, Homo floresiensis, Homo ergaster, Homo
erectus, Homo heidelbergensis, Homo neanderthalensis and the Modern
human.

The essence of civilisation
and now something about culture ...
BEHAVIOUR CONSIDERED "CIVILIZED"BY A PARTICULAR
CULTURE MAY BE JUDGED SENSELESS OR EVEN SEEN WITH
HORROR BY ANOTHER CULTURE
The Civilisation : is the national identity of a country which includes the ensemble
of achievements of people and of traditions and national characteristics, just like
history, religion, technology, science, e.t.c. Actually, it belongs to all humanity and
it is a global human heritage.

AND NOW THE
COMPARISON OF ERAS…..

AGRARIAN PERIOD
One of the first innovative inventions of modern human (homo sapiens
sapiens),was “Animal - powered transportation”. This was actually one of the most
crucial achievements of our species that showed from the beginning one of our
most useful, for our survival, ability, which was the one that made us capable of
dominating over all the other animal species.

More specifically, primitive people back in 4000 BC after taming many animals
(like cattle) that are now so commonly seen among human territory, like horses or
cows and most importantly the one that is the most distinguishing of all when we
talk about “Animal- powered transportation”, the ox. So what people used to do,
and are basically still doing when they cannot use any automobiles, was to try to
benefit from the tremendous power that they have in order to move faster and by
saving energy, or to even farm their crops, which were new to them as a method,
as farming was invented during this period.
http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ab79

WHEELED TRANSPORTATION
Wheeled transportation as a method is actually connected very much with “Animal
powered transportation”, as it requires an animal in order to move the “wagon”,
which is an invention of 3000 BC. The “wagon” is made of two wooden wheels
which are turning after being placed on an axle. The wheels are made out of a
single piece of wood or 3 joined wood planks. However this construction was
pretty heavy (about 700 kg) and was very slow due to its weight. Wheeled
transportation is commonly found in this era from northern Europe to
Mesopotamia, western Persia.

TAMING THE HORSE
Taming the horse, was a very important improvement in human transportation as
the horse can pull objects much faster than oxen. Taming it or domesticating it (as
it can be called otherwise) was made around 2000 BC in the region of
Mesopotamia. This event was extremely important for the developement of
humanity.

Long-distance ships in Polynesia
As their name itself explains “long distance”
ships were invented in order to fulfill the need
of people to move from one place to another
through the sea, in this occasion in the
Polynesian sea as they where invented by
Polynesians. So around 1500 BC
Polynesians started migrating to other nearby
islands using double-hauled vessels which
were used to carry goods and people to their
new homes, and so through this process
they became colonizers.

Moreover, wherever they were visiting or they were colonising, they were actually
affecting the environment around them, because in their vessels they used to
carry plants and animals from the place they came from, and they were actually
enriching the flora and the fauna of the places they were going to, by this process,
and so without noticing it they were actually changing the lifestyle for many other
creatures, as new species were added to these ecosystems affecting the local
food chain.
http://www.pbs.org/wayfinders/polynesian2.html

State-built roads and canals
The first state-built roads were made in ancient
Rome in order to ease passing of the army, the
citizen, inland carriage, official communications
and to trade goods. They were made in different
shapes and widths depending on their importance.
They were mainly stone-paved and metal and
there was also a kind of drainage system.
Canals also existed in ancient Rome and in China
and they were very useful for may reasons as they
were used for irrigation, drainage, land
reclamation, flood control and navigation (if it was
possible). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_roads

COINAGE
Coin is defined as “a small, flat, round piece of
metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of
exchange or valid currency backed by the
government. They first appeared in ancient
Greece,China and India around 6th and 7th
century BC. But they were actually used on a
massive scale for the first time in the Roman
Empire, where there was a for-all-the-state
currency, the Denarius.

SHIPBUILDING AND NAVIGATION IMPROVEMENTS
The ship is one of the oldest and most useful means of transport for humanity.
Since the ancient times, these vehicles have travelled throughout the oceans and sailed
along a great number of seacoasts. The ship is the symbol of commercial activities,
especially of marine trading. Actually, nowdays giant tankers transfer petroleum from
Asia. A lot of countries have become rich and many others are provided a huge variety
of original and valuable products. After the log that man called <<ship>> and the ships
that were created during the ancient times man improved shipbuilding and navigation,
during the first millenium AD and the beginning of the second one.

The 1st millennium AD was a landmark of change in
shipbuilding in the Mediterranean but also northern Europe.
This change is known as the “Transition in Construction” and
it had to do with major improvements in ship design, building
methods, and ways of construction.
https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/radiocarbon/article/viewFile/17445/pdf

Roman ships:The Romans used chiefly the same ships the Greeks have used and they
built up the largest merchant fleet of ancient times. Their biggest ships were
approximately 55m long and 14m wide and they could haul more than 1000 tons of
cargo and more than 1000 people.
Chinese ships:The chinese people had made many vessels in order to transport easily
and their sailing vessels existed from 200 AD and they could carry round about 200
persons. They are said to be the first sailors who used a magnetic needle in order to
find their destination, which was the ancestor of the compass.

A Mediterrainian vessel of 15th century

The Byzantines: They evolved their ships depending on ancient Greek and Roman
ships, but their big discovery was the creation of the << liquid fire >> which totally
burned the opponent ship because it was so flammable that it did not stop burning. The
recipe is a secret……
The Arabs: They conquered a lot of seacoasts of the Mediterranean sea and they were
for a period of time the most economically powerful country of all. The Belitung is the
oldest discovered Arabic ship to reach the Asian sea, dating back to 1000 years.
Geography and navigational sciences were highly developed, making use of a magnetic
compass and a simple instrument known as a kamal, used for celestial navigation and
for measuring the position of the stars. When combined with maps of this period, sailors
were able to sail across oceans rather than move along the coast.They developed
maths, astronomy, medicine, cultivated the land and made their clothes.

The Vikings: These warriors created the best vessels built in northern Europe
between 700 AD and the late 1000’s. The people of Scandinavia have a long
tradition as seafarers. They were the terror of the seas for a long period of time. Their
ships, especially their warships, were very long and they were more than 24m long
and more than 5.1 meters wide. They could carry 20 oars on each side or even 30
oars on each side. They were so powerful that they could cross the Atlantic Ocean in
only 28 days. They could trade and colonise in America.They built hollow shelters
like caves to hide boats, wooden boats and large cargo ships called knorrs.
Other types of ships were the cog of the northern Europe and the Mediterranean
vessels, especially those of the Venetians, that were used for easy transport of
products.

OTHER INVENTIONS
During this period the Arabs created libraries and they developed for the first time
types of payment. They created the first banks, they created accounts in the
banks, they created the payment-check for an easy transport of money and they
created subsidiary companies.
They also built sanctuaries and the Byzantines built a lot of temples, just like the
temple of Saint-Sofia.

SECOND MILLENIUM / 1400 – 20th
century

UNIVERSITIES
UNIVERSITY OF BOLOGNA / ITALY ( 1088 AD )
UNIVERSITY OF PARIS - SORBONNE / FRANCE ( 1150 AD )
UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD / ENGLAND ( 1166 AD )
UNIVERSITY OF MODENA / ITALY ( 1175 AD )
UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE / ENGLAND ( 1209 AD )
UNIVERSITY OF PADOVA / ITALY ( 1222 AD )
UNIVERSITY OF PRAGUE / CZECH REPUBLIC ( 1348 AD )
UNIVERSITY OF KRAKOVIA ( 1364 AD )
UNIVERSITY OF NYREMBERGH / GERMANY ( 1386 AD )
UNIVERSITY OF MUNICH / GERMANY ( 1472 AD )

THE EPOQUE OF DISCOVERY
During the period between 1400 AD - 1600 AD, the expansion of the Ottoman Empire was an
obstacle to the commercial communications between the countries of the Mediterranean sea and
the paths of silk of Asia. Moreover, the Venetian Empire lost the monopoly of valuable and
original products coming from Asia, just like silk, because the Venetians lost their ports around
the seacoasts of the Mediterranean sea.
Furthermore, the mines of gold had dried up and the development of the first nations, each
nation wanted to search for new commercial paths and to make colonies.
Therefore, the Europeans evolved tecnology : the new compass, astrolabe, the <<portolans>> a
new type of a map with many details and a new kind of ship <<the caravel>> which had
more capacity than others and were more powerful and flexible. Some examples due to these
developments are the discovery of South America by Chris. Colombus , the discovery of India by
Marco Polo e.t.c.

THE RENAISSANCE
The transition in time and culture between Middle Ages
and modern times, which took place during the 14th and
the 15th century AD is called the Renaissance (re +
naissance). The sciences, literature and arts flourished
and the ancient Greek civilisation was studied.
<<Humanism>> was an inspiritual movement, during
the Renaissance, that is famous for the study of Antiquity
( the Greek and Roman culture ). According to
<<Humanism>> the human is creative and has his own
opinion, while his needs are in the middle of life.

ENLIGHTENMENT
Enlightenment:
The Εnlightenment is an inspiritual and political movement
that started in England and expanded to the whole of Europe,
between the 17th and the 18th century.Its main ideas were:
1) Man should avoid and not believe in the authorities
2) Man should solve his problems through critical thinking
3) Man should always be supported by his logic.
4) Man can always improve his society.
Due to the Enlightenment, a new social class was created,
the urban class.

ENLIGHTENMENT
The purpose of this movement was that people could learn in order to acquire their
liberty so as to have a happy and valuable life. Moreover, these inspiritual persons
started to explain to people what their rights were, their liberties and their obligations
as citizens. According to the <<social contract>> a theory of John Locke the father of
the Enlightenment, people should give up some of their liberties to the nation in order
to live together in harmony. However, if the nation performed illegal actions, the
people could start a revolution in order to take control of their country.
These ideas would cause the beginning of essential revolutions, just like the greatest
of all the French Revolution, according to which the person was not a servant of a king
but was a citizen of a democratic nation, a group of people who have the same
culture. Also, for the first time the meaning of political parties appears and the people
since then, even today , have the power to rule.

The general will, a theory suggested by Rousseau, is the
synthesis of individual wills through which the public interest
is expressed. The general will is expressed in the
participation of people in decision making.
Rousseau Jan-Jaques

THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
The Industrial Revolution is the transition from the agrarian
hand-work to the urban and industrial work and activity.
It started in England (1750 - 1780 AD ) and it expanded to the
whole of Europe and then to the whole World.
During this period of time, after the epoque of discoveries, the
population had multiplied and the cultivation of the Earth had
improved. Furthermore, the original and valuable products
that were provided to Europeans became even more
significant and some nations had the monopoly. The
utilisation of great machines, instead of people, the discovery
of new sources of energy, the improvement of technology and
the development of the urban class contributed to this fast
economic evolution.
England before and after
the Industrial Revolution

THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
Very soon Capitalism surpassed human rights and the rich bourgeoisie held the
biggest amount of money. Generally, the industries were flourishing and a big
wave of migration to the cities and to other developed countries started, because
some poor people wanted to make sure they had a better quality of life.
The urban class oppressed the workers and socialism emerged. In order to
protect the workers, some organisations were created that provided syndikalism,
a belief that workers seize control of the economy by starting a general strike for
example.
The rights of a worker continue to exist nowadays. But in some nations where
personal desire is more important than the social will, in order to economically
flourish they need more power. Therefore, in order to find new resources, to
acquire new ports and sell their products, they decided to expand through
colonialism.

RAILWAYS
The railroads are one of the fastest vehicles that man has created and they can
transfer a lot of cargo, just like coal, grain, lumber, machinery and passengers along
railroad tracks around the world.
The modern idea of a railroad is associated with a particular person, George
Stephenson who created the first steam locomotive (1821) and after some
improvements by the utilisation of a new steam engine, he persuaded the directors of
the railroads to use it. Therefore , the modern type of railroad was born. Actualy, the
first rairoads were built during the ages (1820-1830 AD), but the first and improved
famous public railroad was used (1830) as a typical railroad-line from Manchester to
Liverpool. It was the first time that someone could travel on Earth at a speed of 40
kilometers per hour. In the next few years the railway network was developed in Great
Britain, France and other countries. Essentially the railroad revolutionized transport.

RAILWAYS
During the late 1800’s and the early 1900’s a great number of railroads was built
in the U.S.A. The first one was completed in 1869 and helped to open the
American West to the settlers. After a lot of years railways went through an
economic crisis. Nowadays, railways are transformed into metros, trams, e.t.c.

STEAMSHIPS
Due to the rise of the Industrial Revolution, the steam engine was developed and it
contributed to the evolution of shipbuilding. As a result, nowadays someone will not
observe seagoing sailing ships, because the power of this engine, by the use of
carbon, replaced the muscles and the uncertain wind which propelled the ships. After
the invention of the first steam engine (1769 AD), in nations where the urban class
flourished , steamships replaced the old wooden ships. For many years steamboats
were created and finally a lot of years later the first steamship was built.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE
Various scientists and engineers contributed to the development of internal
combustion engines. In 1791, John Barber developed a turbine. In 1794 Thomas
Mead patented a gas engine. Also in 1794 Robert Street patented an internal
combustion engine, which was also the first to use liquid fuel, and build an engine
around that time. In 1798, John Stevens designed the first American internal
combustion engine. In 1807, Swiss engineer François Isaac de Rivaz built an internal
combustion engine ignited by an electric spark. In 1823, Samuel Brown patented the
first internal combustion engine to be applied industrially.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE
In 1860, Belgian Jean Joseph Etienne Lenoir produced a gas-fired internal
combustion engine. In 1864, Nikolaus Otto patented the first atmospheric gas
engine. In 1872, American George Brayton invented the first commercial liquid-
fueled internal combustion engine. In 1876, Nikolaus Otto, working with Gottlieb
Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach, patented the compressed charge, four-cycle
engine. In 1879, Karl Benz patented a reliable two-stroke gas engine. In 1892,
Rudolf Diesel developed the first compressed charge, compression ignition
engine. In 1926, Robert Goddard launched the first liquid-fueled rocket. In 1939,
the Heinkel He 178 became the world's first jet aircraft.

AIRPLANE AND SPACESHIP
An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a powered, fixed-wing aircraft that is
propelled forward by a jet engine or propeller. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes,
shapes, and wings. Some of the many uses of airplanes include recreation,
transportation of goods and people, military purposes, and research. Commercial
aviation is a huge industry that enables the flying of thousands of passengers daily.
Most airplanes are flown by a pilot on board but there are also some aircrafts
designed to be remotely controlled via computers.The Wright brothers flights in
1903 are recognized by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), the
standard setting and record-keeping body for aeronautics, as "the first sustained
and controlled heavier-than-air powered flight". By 1905, the Wright Flyer III was
capable of a stable flight for long periods. The Wright brothers were influenced by
Otto Lilienthal for their decision to develop manned flight.

AIRPLANE AND SPACESHIP
World War I served as a testing structure for the use of the airplane as a weapon.
Airplanes were used as mobile observation platforms and machines of war capable
of massive killing. The earliest known victory with a machine gun-armed fighter
aircraft took place in 1915 near the village of Luneville, France, by German fighter
pilot Kurt Wintgens. Another fighter ace was Manfred von Richthofen.
Following WWI, aircraft technology continued to develop. Alcock and Brown crossed
the Atlantic non-stop for the first time in 1919. The first international commercial flights
took place between the United States and Canada in 1919.
Airplanes were used in all the major battles of World War II. They were essential for
the military strategies of the period. Some of the most important battles they were
used in were the Battle of Britain and during the air battle in Germany called the “Big
Week” in 1944.

There are jet engines, electric engines, rocket engines and other types of engines
inside an airplane
The Concorde, a supersonic airplane

Sputnik 1 was the first artificial satellite. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth
orbit (LEO) by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957. The launch lead to new
political, military, technological, and scientific developments that in turn led to the
beginning of the Space Age. Sputnik 1 also helped measure the density of the
upper atmospheric layer, since the satellite's orbital changes had to be measured.
It also provided information regarding radio-signal distribution in the ionosphere. It
also helped with the detection of meteors.
Youri Gagarin was the first Russian astronaut to travel into outer space in
1961and in 1969 Neil Armstrong walked on the surface of the moon, for the first
time of humanity.

Internet
The Internet is the global system of
interconnected computer networks that ink
devices worldwide. The internet is very
important for about 81% of the people in
the developed world. It can be a very
powerful tool to those who use it sensibly
and in moderation. The Internet is
expanding as information is added and
more and more people over the past few
years have access to it. The internet has
changed the way we live and it still does.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet

Technology
Technology means “science of craft” (and as we know it is a greek word) that tries
to overcome certain situations using special techniques or processes (mainly
through machines). People always depend on simple natural resources, which can
be used to make great machines which help us live in a better world and make our
lives easier and more pleasant. Technology can also have many side effects of
which the main one is the possibility of affecting our environment in a negative
way, by polluting it or even by wasting our non renewable natural sources.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology#Skepticism_and_critic
s

Genetic Engineering
Genetic Enginnering (or Genetic Modification) is the direct manipulation of an
organism's genome using biotechnology. Actually, what we do is to modify the
DNA chain of an organism in order to make it have each time some desirable
characteristics. So genes from many organisms are mixed and are being put into
the cells of the organism who is being modified. The organisms that have been
genetically modified are called (Genetically Modified Organisms, or GMO). This
method is very advantageous as we can create more efficient crops, larger
animals, increase a plants’ durability to diseases and insects etc. Moreover,
GMOs are a very questionable issue in the scientific community as they are
thought by some people extremely dangerous and a global threat for us and the
environment. However, there is no certain proof against them until now.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_engineering

Biotechnology
Biotechnology is the use of living systems and organisms to develop or make
products, or "any technological application that uses biological systems, living
organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for
specific use". Biotechnology is very similar to genetic engineering as it aims at
improving our living standards through new organisms. Through biotechnology
many medicines are now massively produced and are being given to those in
need, like insuline which is now much easier to produce. However, the
fundamental processes of biotechnology are being used for many centuries by
humans e.g. the making of cheese, medicines and agriculture.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biotechnology

OUR OPINION
Noone knows what is going to happen in the future. Humanity has the opportunity
to study the Past and the Present in order to observe mistakes and develop our
modern society. However, we can not predict the future but we can prevent
mistakes so as to protect the unity of our kind. We think that Humanity is so
developed, but man can not realise the responsibilities that arise from such
technologies and their power. Nowadays, poverty, unemployment and other
problems have contributed to the decline of our values. Personal interest prevails
over the social one. We do not want to be pessimists, but a very possible senario
is that humanity will use the essence of civilisation and of technology in order to
participate in wars, so as to flourish economically.

OUR OPINION
On the other hand, there is the hope that societies will change and logic will
prevail over personal interest, in combination with feelings, and man will triumph
and will evolve in all the fields of science.
Technology and all other sciences will definitely be developed very fast and we
suppose that all this information, maybe, will push humans to madness.
There are limits, let’s explore them. However, we ought not pass them.

AUGMENTED REALITY
Augmented reality (AR) is a technology that layers computer-generated
enhancements atop an existing reality in order to make it more meaningful through
the ability to interact with it. Augmented Reality is developed into apps and used on
mobile devices to blend digital components into the real world in such a way that they
enhance one another, but can also be told apart easily.
AR technology is quickly coming into the mainstream. It is used to display score
overlays on telecasted sports games and pop out 3D emails, photos or text
messages on mobile devices. Leaders of the tech industry are also using AR to do
amazing and revolutionary things with holograms and motion activated commands.
For instance, a huge variety of games as Pokemon Go have flourished and the
Augmented Reality continues.

SPACE TOURISM
Space tourism is space travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. To date
only orbital space tourism has taken place provided by the Russian Space Agency. In
addition, SpaceX announced in 2017 that they are planning to send two space tourists
on a lunar trajectory in 2018 aboard their Dragon V2 spacecraft.
The official price for flights by Space Adventures to the International Space Station
aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft ranges from US $20 to 40 million, during the period
2001–2009 when 7 space tourists participated in 8 space flights. Some space tourists
have signed contracts to travel into space in order to conduct certain research activities
while in orbit.

INTERNET OF THINGS
The Internet of things (IoT) is the networking of devices, vehicles (also referred to as
"connected devices" and "smart devices"), buildings, and other objects that are able to
connect , collect and exchange data. In 2013 the Global Standards Initiative on the
Internet of Things (IoT-GSI) defined the IoT as "the infrastructure of the information
society". The IoT allows objects to be aware of conditions that are controlled remotely
within an existing network infrastructure. This allows the integration of the physical world
into computer-based systems that promote efficiency, accuracy and economic benefit
without human interference.

IN VITRO MEAT
In-Vitro meat is the (idea of) manufacturing of meat products through
"tissue-engineering" technology. Cultured meat (= in-vitro meat) could
have financial, health, environmental advantages and animal protection
over traditional meat. The idea: To produce animal meat, but without
using an animal. Cells are taken from live animals without hurting
them, they are put into a culture medium and with the help of a bio-
reactor they start to multiply, independently of the animal. Basically,
this process would be efficient enough to supply the global demand for
meat. All this would happen without any genetic manipulation, i.e.
without the need to change the cell's’ genetic sequence.

more
SOURCES
Main Sources are found as links under slides and the rest of the information can
be found in:
Encyclopedia <<The world book encyclopedia>>
Book of history - 3rd Year of Junior High School
http://www.futurefood.org/in-vitro-meat/index_en.php

The Athropocene

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