Science and Technology during Sumerian, Babylonian and Egyptians

Science, Technology
and Society (STS)

Introduction
Science
is a system of knowledge of the natural world gained through the scientific method.
originally called “philosophy of the natural world” since it stemmed from the ancient Greeks’ desire to know about
nature.

Introduction
Philosophers as a Scientist
The first scientists were called “philosophers of nature.”
They sought to discover the truth behind material things and natural things.
They observed the world and beyond, and discovered what makes materials the same and what them different.

Introduction
Philosophers as a Scientist
They were able to name and classify the objects found in nature and was seen as the first step towards
knowledge.
They were able to recognized the usefulness of language and the ability it gave to describe, classify, and explain
the different objects of study.

Introduction
Technology
The term comes from Greek words “tekhne” meaning art or craft and “logia” meaning a subject or interest.
The term has come to mean “practical applications of what we know about nature” using scientific
principles for the betterment of the human situation .

Historical Antecedents in the Course
of Science & Technology
ANCIENT TIMES
 With all these in mind, we can conclude that 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.

THE SUMERIAN CIVILIZATION
 Sumeria is located on the southernmost tip of ancient Mesopotamia.
 They are known for their high degree of cooperation with one another and their desire for great things.
 They are not contented with the basic things that life can offer.
 This desire pushed them to develop many things connected with science and technology.

Historical Antecedents in the Course of
Science & Technology

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

The Great Ziggurat of Ur
 It is an engineering and architectural feat of the Sumerians.
 It is also called the “mountain of god”.
 This structure was constructed using sun-baked bricks.
 It served as the sacred place of their chief god, where only their priests were allowed to enter.
 This structure showcases the remarkable technology used to build it.
 Even until today, people still enjoy and marvel at the preserved Great Ziggurat of Ur.

Irrigation and Dikes
 The Sumerian 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.
 Through the dikes and canals, the Sumerians were able to enjoy
year-long farming and harvesting, which increased their food
production.

Sailboats
 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.
 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 the Sumerians’ history, they 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 wheel and axle, mass production was made easier.
 Farmers where able to mill grains with less effort in less time.

The 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.
 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 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.
 This invention was very useful especially during the rainy
season.

THE BABYLONIAN CIVILIZATION

 Babylonian civilization emerged near the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.
 It is located about 60 miles (100 kilometers) south of Baghdad in modern-
day Iraq, the ancient city of Babylon served for nearly two millennia as
center of Mesopotamian civilization.

 The Babylonians were great builders,
engineers and architects.
 One of the great accomplishments, if the
ancient stories are true, is the construction of
the Hanging Gardens, a wonder of the ancient
world, which some believe was built by the
biblical king Nebuchadnezzar II for his wife
Queen Amytis.

 The ancient scientists who lived in the city made important discoveries in mathematics, physics
and astronomy.
 Among their many accomplishments, they developed trigonometry, used mathematical models
to track the planet Jupiter and developed methods of tracking time that are still used today.
 Ancient Babylonian records are still used by modern-day astronomers to study how the rotation
of the Earth has changed

 Michael Seymour, a research associate at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, writes in
his book “Legend, History and the Ancient City of Babylon” (I.B. Tauris, 2014) that an
irrigation system that distributed from the Euphrates and Tigris rivers had to be used
to grow crops.
 Once established, however, such a system could reap the benefit of rich alluvial soils
and support extremely productive agriculture on the levees of canals.

THE EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION
 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 the infrastructures established by the pharaohs.
 Aside from engineering technology, the Egyptians have contributed other
practical things that the world now considers as essential.
 It is thus safe to say that the pyramids are not the only contributions of the
Egyptian civilization to the modern world.

Historical Antecedents in the Course of Science & Technology
Handheld Mirror
 The simple handheld mirror one finds so commonplace in the
present day was created by the Egyptians.
 These were often decorated with inscriptions and figures, such as
that of the protector-god Bes, and were owned by men
and women alike.
 More ornate wall mirrors were also a part of middle- and upper-
class homes and were likewise decorated.
• The ancient Egyptians were very aware of their self-image and
personal hygiene and appearance was an important value.

Toothpaste
 Toothpaste was made of rock salt, mint, dried iris petals, and pepper, according
to one recipe from the 4th century CE, which dentists in 2003 CE tried and found
to be quite effective (although it made their gums bleed).
 Another earlier recipe suggested ground-up ox hooves and ash, which, mixed
with one's saliva, created a cleansing paste for the teeth.
• This recipe, lacking the mint, did nothing for one's breath and so tablets were
created from spices like cinnamon and frankincense heated in a honey mixture,
which became the world's first breath mints.

Toothbrushes
 Toothbrushes and toothpaste were invented because of the grit and
sand which found its way into the bread and vegetables of the daily
meals.
 The image presented in the modern day by art and movies of
Egyptians with exceptionally white teeth is misleading; dental problems
were common in ancient Egypt, and few, if any, had an all-white smile.
 Dentistry developed to deal with these difficulties but never seems to
have advanced at the same rate as other areas of medicine. While it
appears doctors were fairly successful in their techniques, dentists
were less so.
• To cite only one example, the queen Hatshepsut (1479-1458 BCE)
actually died from an abscess following a tooth extraction.

Paper or Papyrus
 One of the earlier contributions of the Egyptian
civilization was the paper or papyrus.
 Papyrus was a plant that grow abundantly along the
Nile River.
 The invention of paper was a major
accomplishment in Egyptian record-keeping and
communications.
 People then were able to send letters or
correspondences anywhere in the world.
 Documents would not take huge storage spaces.
• It was easier to keep them away from raiders who
often destroyed records of the nations they invaded.

Ox-drawn plow
 Among the many inventions or innovations of
the ancient Egyptians was the ox-drawn plow
and improvements in irrigation.
 The ox-drawn plow was designed in two
gauges: heavy and light. The heavy plow
went first and cut the furrows while the lighter
plow came behind turning up the earth.

Irrigation
 Egyptian irrigation techniques were so effective they
were implemented by the cultures of Greece and
Rome.
 New irrigation techniques were introduced during
the Second Intermediate Period by the people
known as the Hyksos, who settled in Avaris in Lower
Egypt, and the Egyptians improved upon them;
notably through the expanded use of the canal.
 The yearly inundation of the Nile overflowing its
banks and depositing rich soil throughout the valley
was essential to Egyptian life but irrigation canals
were necessary to carry water to outlying farms and
villages as well as to maintain even saturation of
crops near the river.

Ink
 The Egyptians invented the 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, the hieroglyphics.
 The Egyptians believed that this
writing system was provided to them
by their gods.
• This form of writing can still be seen
today and was the language that tells
the modern world of the history and
culture of the ancient Egyptians.

Cosmetics
 Cosmetics in the ancient Egypt was used
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.

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.
• It was considered cleaner than natural hair
because it prevented the accumulation of
head lice.

Water Clock or Clepsydra
 This device utilizes gravity that affects the
flow of water from one vessel to the other.
 The amount of water remaining in the
device determines how much time has
elapsed since it is full. In the process, time
is measured.
• The water clock was widely used as a
timekeeping device during the ancient
times.

Pyramids
 Pharaohs of the Old Kingdom has immense
pyramids built to serve as their tombs.
 These demanded not only the greatest skills
of Egypt’s architects and engineers but also
the labor of thousands of workers.

Obelisks
 The creation of an obelisk, for example,
seems to have always involved the exact
same procedure performed in precisely the
same way.
• The quarrying and transport of obelisks are
well documented (though how the immense
monuments were raised is not) and shows a
strict adherence to a standard procedure.

Embalming (Mummification)
 The bodies of people who had died were
carefully preserved before their burial.
Chemicals were used to dry out or
mummify the body.
 The mummy was then painted, wrapped in
fine linen, and adorned with jewelry.
• Egyptian embalmers were so skillful that
modern archaeologists have found
mummies that still have hair, skin and
teeth after thousands of years of burial.

Medicine
 Medicine in ancient Egypt was intimately tied to magic.
There are three best-known works dealing with medical
issues of medical knowledge.
 The Ebers Papyrus is a text of 110 pages treating
ailments such as trauma, cancer, heart disease,
depression, dermatology, gastrointestinal distress, and
many others.
 The Edwin Smith Papyrus is the oldest known work on
surgical techniques and is thought to have been written
for triage surgeons in field hospitals. This work shows
detailed knowledge of anatomy and physiology.
• The London Medical Papyrus combines practical
medical skill with magical spells for the treatment of
conditions ranging from eye problems to miscarriages.

Dentistry
 Based on the evidence of mummies who have been
examined, as well as letters and other documents,
ancient Egyptians seem to have experienced fairly
severe and widespread dental problems.
 Dentistry does not seem to have evolved at the
same pace as other branches of medicine but still
was more advanced and showed a greater
knowledge of dealing with oral pain than later
remedies practiced by other cultures.

Dentistry
 The first known dental procedure dates to 14,000
years ago in Italy, according to evidence published in
2015 CE, but the first dentist in the world known by
name was the Egyptian Hesyre (c. 2660 BCE) who
held the position of Chief of Dentists and Physician
to the King during the reign of Djoser (c. 2670 BCE)
showing that dentistry was considered an important
practice as early as Djoser's reign and probably
earlier.
 This being so, it is unclear why dental practices did
not evolve to the same degree as other medical
fields.

Science and Technology during Sumerian, Babylonian and Egyptians

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