A.OJ.

GABRIEL
R.L. FAGBENLE
J.M. JAJA .

-.....
c..
~--
-:JIIIr~
.,-
.. . ..' ~.
.• - ~
..."\.

F)I '~ W O RD
I I I'wl , II gb mle and Dr. [aj a's the History of Science and
"' " 'I' tit" is aptly titled. It truly provid es a most com prehen-
I 111 ' account of th e development of science and technol-
II Ihll U h the ages and acro ss civilizations. Such a persp ective as
I II I n va luable for most m odem day readers.par ticul arly
III 1\ In" and technology, who frequently lack a sense of history
'Ill I tly study their disciplines in a vacuum.
I" I" lory a/ Science and Technology in Perspective has many attributes to
11 nd it. first 'of all, it is a veritable source-of "frui tful knowledge" in
II n de fined by the au tho rs, of knowledge that continu ally reveals
I nil 'l ons with new form s of knowledge and leads to the construction of
the book explores many topic al issues such as the debate on technology
transfer versus appropriate technology, applications of.biotechnology nd
modem environmental issues. Through this text, students will be empow-
ered to engage in meaningful discussions on the ethics of scientific discov-
eries and technological innovations, a discussion that.is a vital prereqw.site
to scien tific activity in the third millennium.
With the exception of the rather brief and qu estionable incursion into
medieval church politics and the Reformation, which sometimes bother on
ontoward p ro sely tisation. The History of Science and Technology in PeT8f't!c:ti'vt
is a well-researched, timely guide for all of us who wish to understan,d and
use nature for the betterment of our communities and the nation large at
both now and in the years ahead. I recommend it highly.
.-,
11thoMatch, 1998.

I n ng ful con texts within which growth and d evelopment of new ideas
ENGR PROF C.O.G. OBAH
, l kc pl ace. As we seek in unive rs ities acro ss the nation to impar t
Vice:.Chancellor
I m olving skills, it is essential that our students learn to interpret the
Federa~ Universit]rof Technotogy
r ph-tun md to ma ke sense of th e present and the future by making
Otoorri;
I (01 It 'l or with the past
It II I cha racteristic of The History of Sciencelind Technology in
Chainnan, Committee 0/
Vice-QUmcelltws yjf
I It I orvatio n of cultural affinity through frequent allusions
FederalUnwersttits.
II I , I I I I md cus toms both of Nigeria and Africa. Many similar
Iy II I I, ilicnating as they focus exclusi vely on the contribu-
I , " III Af lean civilizations. TheHistory of Scienceand Technol-
III 1'1' • fully combines a full account of thecontnbutions
I 111111 B,lbylon, China-and other Asian countri es with a
I

1 • I I 1111 11 of the remarkable contribu tions 0'£ sub-Saharan

It Ih "v('lopment of Sd ence and Technology as we know
III III lIy you ng African scientists will be both thrilled and
I I 0\ I II .. uchievem entsof our ancestors inAstronom y,
I III I I' Ill' thetics, vaccination and surgery among oth-

I II" It, IIlI1Jo/Scienceand Technology in Perspect(ile is its

II III Illllh and people that have been significant in
,t III I I 1\' and technology. The book is at once
"I II Ill) logically and thematically integrated to
" " I t II I roncep ts and techniques now taken for
III I I I III III III and
y definitions of science technol-
I I I I II I nd abuses of science and technology,

Iv
 --- - - - - - -

II 'FACE TABLE 01' CONTENTS

II, I , off I l'cchnology in Perspective has developed out of the

I 1/. I UI/(1
If II t of the authors to crystallize ideas on issues bordering
111111
II" II I oil 111'11111 c ence and Technology. It is oftenthe case that the terms De~ ~_ .._~_ _•••_••__•••••••••••.....••••.•••••••••••••__••••••••••. il
I I III lid ' I I" hnol ogy' are conceived as being shrouded in mystery that
I' I III' II It bla in the humanities in particular, are held in.a trance by Preface .•••.••...........•......................•......•....................................•.•••.••.•••••.•. iii
I II 11\ ' ,II 11, tudents in the general studies-programme find it difficult to
11111 1" t· with wide coverage that adequately address issues in science and Foreword...•..•. ~ •...••....•.••.•••.........•..•..........•...........~; ......•....••.•.•~ ..•••••.••.••_•• iv
I( ( hnology as well as provid e the fundamental background needed. Bearing
till in mind this text has been so developed and in a language that makes BiogTapfric .................••......,•............................: __...••..•."
it amenable to the above target groups but also to any oilier reader other than
.Content ~ :.. "i
the uni versity student. .
From the historical stance, developments inscience and technology from
the earliest beg innings through the twentieth century in many p~s of the CHAPTER
world h ave been discussed. Contemporary environmental considerations
with regard to science and technology have also been addressed. Whil~ the . ')

authors do not claim a comprehensive documentation, the broad perspec- 1. Basic ~~.pts.of Science and Technology 1 -
.. . ~ . .
tive no doubt covers gaps left by specialised texts . The book is subject to ~':" ....
furthe~ irnprovement until the reading public is sufficiently satisfied. ..2-.~:Historic and Ancient <Civilizations ................................•...._..... 23i
We wis h to thank members of our famili es, friends and students who
encouraged u s to embark on thi s project. To the authors whose works we i 3. Middle Ages or Medieval Period ..................•......•..........................71
have quoted or borrowed from, we remain forever indeb ted . " . !
4. Scientific Revolution , 90
·A .O.I. GA BRIEL
5. Biotechnology 129
R.'L.FA GBENLE ·
6. Technology: Transfer and Use : 143
J.M. JAfA
7. Environmental Issues ~ •.........; 1~

8. Rejerent:es ~ , 174

9. Subject Index , ~ ~· ~~.181- 185

10. Author Index ~ ~..................•........ l~ 191

vU
 CHAPTER 1
BASIC CONCEPTS OF SCIENCE
AND TECHNOLOGY

T h e struggle by ma n to survive in his en v ironment

necessitated the development of a body of knowledge and
skills w hich from man's early beginnings was rudimentary.
Following develop ments through various epochs, science and
technology as organized endeavours which can be used to cater
for a wid er range of human activities oth er than the basic need
for food, h ave become serious areas of study. In ord er to under-
. stand the dynamics and im portance of this twin gem, a less
complicated exp lanatio n of their characteristics has been at-
tempted .

Science
The term "science" has been severally d efined. However, Anya -
(1977) qu oting Kosambi, defined science as th e cognition of
necessity. From this definition the following can be ded uced :
1. that there must be a felt need;
2. that this need m u st be app reci ated in its totality and
understood;
3. that human imagination, ingenuity, hard work are in -
volved in the process of satisfying the need;
4. that, finally, material rewards and'; or services whi
enhance humanw elfare will be p rovided. All these
invariably lead to the understanding of the inherent
lem and the desired solution.
 BA JC C OM U'/ !. (" ,l ll 'lI N. I I N I' III II NI ' / ' 11, 1
~~~~~~----~~~~-~_.:...-
" ", I ' 0' " NI' 111M'/{ /( IN PUJ,. TM
concerning matters of fact or desirable policy, But as a meth: ,<I 101
I ,I ( 69), on,the other hand, defines science as the tackling problems, the scientific method is recognized as b ,jng
t 1 Yof nature and its environment. From this defi- made' up of the process of observation and experimen tation
hvious that the human being iscutious to understand which lead to a rational expl an ation for the nature of things or of
h entire environment in w hich he / she lives. How- processes.
I, . • Sogolo (1985) noted, a mere satisfaction of finding It is necessary to p oin t ou t that the scientific method is not the
, I 1111 d rstand ing, and of knowing is.'itself intrinsic an en=d exclusive preserve of the scientist because other disciplines and
""-...,u ..... which is at present unforgettable. Consequently, su professionals like psy chologists, historians, sociologists, d etec-
k"'('~II!Cltfe sh e r.vant to the individu al is d aily busin , tives, and lawyers adopt this approach. Again it has been argued
.n whi cuts a , ilw\y fa of uman activity. that scien tists sometim es have resorted to subjective judgment
EM .A. Ukoli (1985) recogntzes the difficulty of providing where mere intuition, feelings and taste cometo p lay. Thu s it is
, y or a specific meaning to science.'Rather he opines that) seen that in such "instances, reason based on knowledge is usu-
'I mce would be easily understood by d escribing the activities! ally not enoug h ..
th scien tist engagesin. Despite this problem, science as a l Conclusively, the whole exercise of d efining science has been
oncept has the following attributes. " succinctly put by Anya (1982) who wrote that "the aim of science
1. It offers logical, rigorously tested and consistent explanta- is to observe and compile aseertainable facts lead ing to ~_
tions for the occurrence of various types of natural phe- definitioll 'of. a general prindp~e ,of aecepted generalized valiC!'-
nomena . ity." 'The scientific method; 'he added, "do'es accept that general
principles may undergo amendment andmodificatioa in the
It is opp osed to knowledge-or explanation based on' gues&- light of new .facts. Thus, there cannot be within the scientifi c
work, prej udice, traditional beliefs or d ogma. framework (and by methodological definition) an absolute value.
II rational mode of thought as opposed to magic,
I 1 ploys A final conclusion holds only -iJ:.l so far as no new facts have
"I I utlon and non-verifiable m odes of though t. " emerged to abridge it. '
II , I I,I.lllc tion of the concept of science, will be better
I III II I I. I 11 Hit-ring what scientific atti tud e or scientific
Science andKnotoledge
I II III I The search for knowledge and the truth is basic to the stud y 01
science. The question' of what know ledge is, how to k no
• (1""'1/1, h I tlu«! something, the sources of knowledge; etc., borders on the n III
,
Ih . ielltllll ill Iltlll III , l o r ulation of hypothesis, col1ec- of epistemology or the theory of knowledge. Epistemo l o, ~ v I
tion of d. t, , , 11. I I , lit tion, interpretation, generali- component of philosophy. '
zation and con elu. ron , 'II I III I II I I i ions are reached on According to J.A.'Akinp eht (1981), ty pes of know k ( "
the basis of interp reti ng I , I ( systematically with their sources, and their methods of acquisitioi I I
collected, applying criti 1 tl '1' ( I thods of as- tion, The characteristic knowledge in m ost religio I

sessment and checking the In) t of v mptions knowledge which 1s receiv 'thro ' g~ fe1'I.l"t1nn
3
2

v I t n i exemplified by that which the Prop het
tn d as the basis of Islam. The Holy Quoran for
Iniu: this type of know ledge for the benefit of
oly Bibleis also another source of knowledge
If I v led knowledge. Thus knowledge through rev- '
I lIy omes through some sup ernatural sources. One
I I II d v ntages of this type of knowledge is that it cannot.
1
1'1 111 1 t ltv Iy verified . Again, it is personal to the receiver. The
1 I V r m y not even be a ble to record most ot all that is
I d . Closely related to revelation is Faith. Faith lays ere-
to something which one does not blow or understand. It
. ouree of knowledge t hrough which, for -example, m an
that a suprem e being, deity,"etc., exists. ,
mpirical or scientific knowledge is ob tained through
rv tion of the things around us or our environment. How do
ow things around us or understand our environment?
f what we know 'comes through our serisory organs
h n bit us have primary contact with the external world .
-h I licipation in activities within our environment we
, I t xperiences too. Thus empirical type of knowl-
h r cteristic of science-based disciplines is much
I I type of knowledge lends itself to verification
I n its truth. " . determination, p erseverance, and adventurous spirit. However,
I 1 '1 of knowledge is derived, by reasoning. It is
I, 1 v, lion but is rather logical. The body of
I I justified or rationale. According to S. 1.
I 111\ ( n be defin ed as a justification or
I t II «. an act of putting ideas or reasons
lugt'll ' I 1111 I II I II I iving at a conclusion. The rational
typ of k no ,I " I III king inferences (new knowl-
ed ge ) from whoI I II nown . However, the conclusions
inferred must lugH.III I II. II I wh at was before.
There are two lyp II I l'IIIIII'~se~ that are useful in
the process of acquinn ~ I I They are the~t'inductive"
- - - 0--- B ASIC CONCl.'Pl'S_ or Sl IJ Nl I ,-4 N l1 J I ( II N( '11 . 1
and "deductive' processes. Inductive reasoning proce. " ~1I I
involves making universal statements, claims or g en era liza uo ru
from p articular exp eriences. For inductive reasoning, observ.
tion through the external senses or empirical experience is cru
cial , How ever, to the philosopher intern'al experien ce (not only
external" exp erience) is of interest. This refers to feelings and
states in the body. Deductive reasoning refers to the process of
arriving at a p articular conclusion or statement from a universal
statem ent or generalization .
Conclusively, epistemology derived from tw o Greek words
"ep isteme" (knowledge) and "Logos" (science / study / reason /
justification) which means the scien ce 01 knowledge enables the
indi vidual understand the origin, nature and scope of knowl-
edge. Bu ilding upon this, it is p ossible to judge the genuineness
of various forms of knowledge held by the individual or people.
Approaches to Scientific Investigation
It is possible to find out how the mind of the scientist functions
through the scientist's app roach to scientificinvestigation. Firstly,
it is necessary to recall that th e scientist is curious to explore his
,physical environment, seek and p rovide explanations fo r phe-
no m ena that "a re 'not und erstood . Such herculean task would
requ ire hard w ork, drive, initiative, resourcefulness, inge nuity,
" he would have been fired by dissatisfaction with existin g .vents
and prevailing ideas. "
One of the app roaches is the ind u ctive or Baconian m ethod
which according to Ukoli, is the collection or accu mulation I I
data without any preconceived ideas or prejudice and wrlh tl
hope that ultimately, a generalization or hy pothesis w i11
Induction w hich proceeds from particular instan . ItI
conclusions has two common forms : ~eneralizati
arguments. In generalizations, adequate num
presu med to be typical of a class of object
5

I". " , " 1 " " , NIl I,. II N I "I I ." tNP I"HSf'[. 'nvr
Ih .uu es conclusions are drawn about the character-
I I II
III I Ill>. vrva tion for all members of this class of objects.
I q~ 1I1 W ilt is a method of discovery and proof, beginning
," ~ 111Iw u c: use and reasoning toward its probable effects, or
11 glllllll ,.. with a known effect and reasoningtoward its prob-
II
I It I H " ion and deduction are far from being opposed methods.
'I' y, ctually interpenetrate each other continually. Historically,
III u tion was closely associated with the development of scien-
tific method. Ancient and medieval logicians paid little attention
t the analysis of induction. But with the rise of the scientific
method during the Renaissance, Sir Francis Bacon became the
philosophical exponent of induction. 'It was in the nineteenth
century that scientists and logicians seriously undertook to
clarify the m ethodology of induction, beginning with William
Whewel and John Stuart Mill. Mill's five ~c~nons of causation
formed the classic early exp osition of the application of induc-
tion to scientific meth od. However, later study of logic disre-
r the former distinction between induction and deduction.
I f d, II so-called inductions were regarded basically as deduc-
I v , III II h deductions are usually based upon principles
l uidu tively from repeated observations or experiences.
II t irs to the Aristotelian -or-hypothetico-deductive
I I h a hypothesis is subjected to rigorous testing by
I h I by deduction the hypothesis is either dis-
I I d or confirmed and accepted . De duction
I 'I I Ih t there are particular hypothetical conclu-
01\ , I I ' I II I h through reasoning are held to be valid
bee u til 11 111 1 general principle orlaw. This general
law or I III I I widely accepted for the sake of conve-
nience in inv 'I ', III 'I ument, or as what is supposed to
have been pr viou I I ,. II hed . A classical example is: ' Ute knowledge is both correct and precise. For ex 1 I , I'
Major I) I 1I men are mortal
Minor Prom J II n.is a man
Conclusion is ~ortal
B ASIC C ONCEPTS or SarNO , AN I ) T I l l/NO
i
Both approaches are very useful even though the latter approach
is believed to have produced some of the best of scientific resul ts.
Attributes ofa Scientist
Human kind possesses three qualities that are vital ing redients
for scientific development. Anya noted that the great pioneers
and initiators of ssien tific revolutions irrespective of the ir other
human attributes had integrity of building on the id eas and
accumulated data of their predecessors. This aspect which the
historian engages in, provides the scientist the launch pad upon
which to build. Science is seen as a collective endeavour, conse-
quently, the ach ievements, worksand ideas of predecessors
become very relevant.
A fertile imagination and persistent stamina for hard work are
other attributes. with these the scientist is fired to determine tne
direction and content of significant developments in science
through various stages of human development More succinctly,
Ukoli noted that the scientist must have a good curiosity, an
inquiring and questioning mind arid great powers of observ a-
tion (but with the capacity for selecting what .is worth .observ -
ing) , The scientist should also show indomitab le perseveran ce, :
courage and tenacity of purpose in the face of repeated failur
and frustrations. Most successful scientists, he added, show th
.aforementioned quality attributes.
The good scientist is able to keep abraastwithdevelopmenf ill
his field or discipline by studyingscientific literature, attend '
conferences, seminars, workshops, public lectures, fairs, t .
Nature of Scientific Knowledge
Scientific knowledge is both exact and fruitful. It i
I
hot day 's omeone say, "This is a hot afternoon", th J J
conveyed knowledge that is true but not pr ci , It tI
7

I fruitfu l because the knowledge is related to many other it 'ms of
I I II,, ' I -mporature has not been less than WOOF" , then
11111,\
1111 I I I III \ h dgl' has been conveyed. Another type of precise
I I "l III I ' " 1'0 11 Ilarcourt is a large city with a population of
II • II 11 1111111 " !\ II hough these statements bear numerical specifi -
111111 , II I' not always that precise knowledge is expressed
'I'" 11111 . hvv ly. For example, it will be precise to state whether
Ihl" I' • dick in clock or Geiger Counter or a line of a certain
I o il HII" Ill, spectrum . Numerical specification therefore, is one of
1111 ways of achieving precision. Fruitful knowledge is one that
I clat .d in some significant way to other items of knowledge..It
I. not merely a series of correct and precise statem ents. For
t' ample, if a person is shown the numeral "2" in isolation, it does
lit I I convey fruitful knowledge as in 2 x 2 = 4. The comprehe nsive
n.iture of fruitfulness subsumes key concepts of scientificme thod
. practicality, sim plicity, and pred iction. When the se are ex-
pl. in d, th e concep t of fruitfulness will be clearer.
Practicality
I',. d it' II knowledge is not synonymous with fruitful knowledge
I, I II l tful knowled ge may not necessarily be practical. For
I1 I1 i
III I III I' , ,11t'1l one learns the multiplication table, the knowl-
I If I 1111 11 I Ii.· fruitful because it is related or relevant to many
II I II I I I 1111 11'1 Ig ' . Bu t the practical value or the usefulness of
\I It III I I•• Ifl Ill. Y not be considered relevant to the task at
II I cI I II II I 11111111 Moneleev predicted the properties of germa-
11111 11 1111 I 1.1 11 I ' We S un known at the time, it w as fruitful
I I I ell 1111111 lit I practically useful then because germa-
1111 III II eI III II II II I II I ov red. Many years later, this fruitful
(bill III I II I I lit 111111 ) nowledge was put to practical use
111 I h O il III " II II II I I II I lor.', which serve as the living cells
I
II II 1I I I I I I 1111 111111 I II 11t. Th e know led ge required to
I II 1111111 I I II ra or to supply the city of Port
II I I II '1111 I II I I I nd fruitful knowledge. It is
J)A ';J< C ON! 'I 1'1'.<; 0 1' St II ,Nc I ,'I N f i 1/ I I/ Nt /I III' 1
knowledge, such as the atomic weight of uranium.
Thus fruitful knowledge mayor may not be immediately useful,
but fru itful knowledge that is useless .to one generation often
becomes useful and practical in another. Fruitful knowledge is
always related in some manner to additional items of knowl-
edge, so that connections can be established with new forms of
knowledge which ma yor may not be useful. This new form of
knowledge resulting from connection has its own context which
.can with more connections form a wider context When this is the
case, fruitful knowledge is said to have the capacity for growth
and development into ever widening contexts. Contrariwise,
knowledge that is not fruitful is so singular and unique that it
leads to nothing and is incapable of growth and development.
This is because such knowledge is completely severed from any
context of additional knowledge.
Simplicity
Science is guided by simplicity or the principle of parsimony. For
example, the Copernican heliocentric description of the solar
system, in which the planets revolve around the centre replaced
the Ptolemaic geocentric description in which the sun revolved
around the earth, only because it was simpler. The heliocent ric
perspective was less complicated. But sometimes a mere sim pl«
explanation may be replaced by a complex one. For example. I hi'
atom was once "simple" but later became a complex stru rt u... ·
electron, neuron, proton. Thus the interplay of the simpl e H I d
complex in scientific method may be reviewed as a man ito: !,III I III
of the dualistic principle involved in the law of SII rviv I I II II
governs all fruitful knowledge.
Prediction
Scientific prediction is not mere forecasting or gil It 1
rather a- particu lar brand of fruitful knowl cd i;r hll Iflllll
9
 B ASJC C ONaPT5 0 1 ,I l( II N t I 1N I I /, I 11M II f "l, ~

II I 111 .t1" PIOVl to be especially appropriate at a mig ht ru n as follow s:

I I I I! 111·l llll1c dl' Vl'lopment. But a scientific prediction (a) on e of these three keys will unlock the door
J

I I I I II I I ( l ll H true.
II, t 1111 I '\I' II H'oryofrelativity is scientificbecause, am ong (b) the first and second keys d o no t unlock the door
r Ilun , 1111 I I I 'd iction that light rays bend around the sun (c) the third key/therefore. must unlock the door.
I • • blc , But when the social sciences or behavioural
JI I
The deduction of (c) from (a) and (b) wo uld be so convincing .
I con: ide red the view th at prediction is an essentia l
that it would be considered' as waste of time to test the third key.
I ci mtific knowledge does not hold. The social sci-
Thus the correctness of (c) depends absolutely upon the correct-
not predi ct human be haviour as effectively as th~ ness of (a) and secondarily upon the correctness of (b).
1 ciences predict the behaviour of p hysical sys tems. .
Experimental proofs always involve testing procedures and
, scientific knowledge enables the individ ua l to mak e
reading results while logical proo f does not n eed testing. Sup-
ns .
pose that one wishes to know whether Bronzeis an alloy of
coppe r and tin, it would be necessary' to test mixing both ele-
ARA CfERISTIC OF SOENTIFIC METHOD
ments before a d ecision could be reached. Such test might be
hieve knowledge that is both exact and fruitful ? performed by collecting.both elements, and mixing them before
major types or means according to Atwell interpreting the results. This procedure is typical of experimen-
): tal proof. Modern scien~e use s both kinds of proof:
hieving correctness, which are logical and.
I roof; Instrumenta tion
Instrumentation refers'to obtaining, precise numerical specific
hi -ving precision, whichis instrumentation; tions by means of measuring instruments. A ruler, tape measur ,
calibrated measuring rod, graduated beaker, etc. provide preci
fruitfulness, which are discovery and and better measurement th an using the "the foot"; "eyes", t
I'
The use of an electron microscope rather than ordi nary hi '
power microscope will give estimate of,the number of g'
the chromosomes of vinegar flies, for example.
Precision is usually determined and iinproved by rn.' ,.nu
there are two'types of proof. They
instruments. With each improvement in instrum en t.
precision, new p ossibilities are opened up for 'furtl
i identifying the correct key to a meritsthroug h the'discovery of still better instru m
out of three ina bunch. Having ever, probabilities and constants are used wh
without success, it -would be vrefinement of instruments is limited.
.n ord er to .identify' it as the
'd U~OCl by logic alone..The proof

11
 I I I " , j I I HI
\ le for the grow th and development of
b use it facilitates obtaining new con -
1~ d relations. For exam ple, Copernic us
t I iotions of the planets can be explained as well
1\ 1\ tric theory as by using a geocentric theory is
II. (overy. Again Sir Isaac New ton 's discovered
tric system can be considered as a small sub-
e general network of gravitational forces, illus-
ov y.
u h series of changing contexts resulting from dis-
rl b sketched from Aristotle's conception of man as
\011 ) animal to the view of Sigm und Freud that h e is a
t (f ubconscious drives.
II III ence
. involving logical deduction and prediction could
I ecial kinds oflogical inference. New thon 's law
I ) of vitation for example, asserts that th e gravi-
I I 'WI n tw o masses is directly proportional to
v r. ly proportional to the di stance between
\ I 11 f rred th at the force between the earth
I that between the sun and any mass
irface of the earth. This would also
nd on the earth's surface, the greater
Ii ft. Once a set of relations is fixed
v as a basis for logical inference.
•C'method, particularly since
following essential ingredi-
mentation, discovery and
flexible way. In actual
et is followed by being
BASIC C ONCEPTS or S,,// No 'I ..IN" / / . IIN,,' I ~ . '
used in applying the results. Marie Curie reported the discov 'ry
of radium in 1898. It w as isolat ed in 1902 after its existence had
been experimentally proved by instrumentation . It then became
p ossible to infer the atomic weight and its other properties .
Dmitri Mendeleev discovered the law of the periodic ta ble
(formulating his periodic law for the class ification of the ele-
m ents) from which he inferred"ekasilicon" which, with the aid
of instrumen tati on, was later discovered to be germanium.
Scientific Method in Practice
There are many variations of the scientific method of investiga-
tion but the general pattern involves asking simple or complex
questions based on some definite assumption. The qu estion s
may seek any information about a new or little known phenom- ·
enon or object.
From the question it is possible to.kno w what has already been
discovered abo u t the subject of concern, whether any studies,
e~en th ose attem p ting to answer different question s, shed ligh t
on the issue at stake. Failure to ob tain answers to the questions
even from special literature, exp eriment is cond ucted or where
experiment is not feasible as in determining the orbit of a comet,
mere observation is resorted to.
In using an exp erim ent to elicit objective answers to th e
question, there is need for a control. Observations are mad e
during the experim ent. The experiment may be modified 0
different line of experimentation might become .necessa ry. All
things being equal, conclusion would be arrived at.
Conclusion after experiment may be simple or comp le , <J1I II
tative or qu antitative, and may or not include an aH. II t I II
concerning the complete structure of the subject / i. II
verified.
13
 , , N fl " I" M I' f ', ,, IN/ 'll( ,', . IIV lJ
1 II 10 10 II
II I" IIIUlogy is used to refer to the application and
I I n 'l which yield s or produces thin gs of industrial
. I v lue to human kind. What this means is that the
hy whi h scientific knowledge and skills are tra ns-
I II) pr ctical use is what could be termed technology.
I I 0 10 ~y ffects many areas of human endeavour..Often times
1 I ology' has been used as a synonym of 'technique', yet they
'. tinct notions or terms. 'Techn ique' refer to a combination
of 0 l rations usable in the prod uction of a given commodity
whit 'Technology' is the capacity to create or choose different
I chni ques and to instal, to use and perhaps to pe rfect those'
I hniques. From this perspective, 'technology' refers to a range
)1 n iwledge while 'technique! Refers to a range of processes.
ri, F. (1982) cited twoexamples that explicitly differentiate
I 101< Y from technique. He wrote that the use of linotype
h n nd photocomposition i n printing are two different
I q II for the production of newspapers which relate to
I I I II ( hnology. Again, pressure and solvent exhaustion are
' "' , II I n-c hniques u sed for the extraction of oils and relate
I I I 11 11111)' Y, do pted with the transform ation of oily sub-
II , II I -vident that techniques can be substituted for
I I I II I chnologies can only improve and d evelop,
I III t ( I lu ith's (1967) definition oftechnology as 'the
t I I I II , t II II )f scientific or other orga nized knowl-
t ItI II ", id that of Reuber (1973), as 'knowledge
.....'.'.'nlll 1 lit III III I ts' clothe the terms ' technology' and
't h 1 IU ' II , '" I I III of an extreme kind. Baransons's
(I 69) d iniuon "I
III II I . of production and the manage-
ment systems s ·t up, () III or ranize and carry out theproduc-
tion plans', he said, i. I y p ll . I example of super imposing the
terms 'technology' and' t III H) , one upon another. It would
appear that technology e.. 'ntl lIy attemp ts to increase .or to
improve prod uction. Techn I y i also human's capacity of
14
BASIC CONCEPTS Of SOrNa: ANn ~ { "
harnessing-nature to human kind's prouduction effort. .'
Technology is relevantto Agriculture, Health, Education, Com- .
merce, etc. More specifically, technolo gy facilitates food preser-
vation and distribution, location of minerals (gold, diamond,
copper) and petroleum deposits and the processing of these and
other raw materials and to initiate new products.
The production of faster moving vehicles and more reliable
methods of transportation for maximum and profitable use of all
natural i~sources has been possible through technology. Tech-
nology has also made possible the harnessing of atoms and
electrons discovered by Scientists for the prod uction of power
used in homes and factories.
Technology Versus Science
The role of science in any society is closely associated with the
fundamental application of scientific knowledge to technology.
The scientist's procedures, methodology and techniques -are
emp loyed daily in industries, agriculture, etc., to solve immedi-
ate problems which hitherto were solely carried out by skilled
artisans. It is often difficult to demarcate distinctly the lines
between the areas of the artisan and the scientist because technol -
ogy embraces a large zone bordering both areas.
How can the techniques of the scientist who is interested only
in new conceptual schemes and those of the technologist who i
interested in an improved machine or process be distinguish
It is because of this difficulty that modem science andtechn I
co-operate for the common good. However, there wa
when such was not the case. In the mid nineteenth c t
instance, there was this distinction when great scienti t ' I
themselves together and the corresponding ted n I
the same too, Those who engagedin applied scion
down upon by those working in,pule seien c. 1\ I II
of modem living, however, ended such a divi
15

, , , ,. I , /I l lll'l i l IN I II H \ / 'I, 11\ /
- - -- - - - -
1I'Idi I 1111',1, lid t'chnologists an integral part ofthe overall
I 111111111 1'11 11111',
I, III\' " 1.'11•• ' leveloped as a result of man's practical experi-
1'111 I I III Ill ' ' Irllggle for existence. Historically, it was only after
1.11 " ~,I ,Il I umulation of such experiences th at science ap peared
1111 Ihl' ,,( 1'1\1'. What is being argu ed is that there had been long
Ill, c111'I'd .rafts an d arts before a knowled ge of science was used
II I .' pi, in the practice and existence of the se crafts and arts.
lro rn this basic step developed the techniques of analysis
w hich now began to play an im portan t role an d to in flu ence
invention and technologi cal d evelopm en t. For example, the
simple balance w as employed in Egypt for m ore than 1,000 years
before even th e first kn own for m al th eor y w as pu t in treatise
form. Thus, early in history, science did not fu nction as a d irect
infl uence on practical tech nolog ical achiev emen t, bu t rather
c cted as a m eans for communicating knowled ge and as a simpli -
fier an d gene ralizer of known practice and techniques. Science as
an organized body of study or as a disc ipline (as practiced t od ay )
was th e contribu tion of the Greeks. But the ancient Babylonians,
Assyrians, Egyptians, Indians, and Chinese, however, had highly
develop ed technology before the Greek civilizations advanced
m ost of its concep ts.
, Most of the basic or fundamental technology u pon which
classical and medieval economic life was based had be en in-
ven ted or d iscovered in pre-histori c tim es. For exam ple, the use
of simple tools, fin', agriculture, d omestication of ani mals, p ot -
l ry, wea ving, shi ]» , I Ill' arc h, the pulley, and oth er devices were
well know n nd w 'I(' lilt' empir ical found ations for the early
srt cncc < nd tho mOI (' ,I<IVoIIIII'd hchnology.
Milton Cold sll'lI l (11)11 I), dl)', II( 'd lhd I"l'h nology and science
I lop 'd slowly l, lI ll II" .. II '1111111 till ' d O'H' of the 18th
1111 11 11I0, l i ud us tr i.rl 111 01.1111\ 'I v d " 011 ,ll lll ll'd (If wood .
III I II II " nd h ', 111I 111111 . dill 1.1 p.I L .uu ] th ough
I I I II I d nl't', in nu-l, I WOI IIlg h.id 1'('('11 mad!' in th e
I II
B ASIC C ONCEPTS Of Se l ENCL AN D 'I'1:CI lN tJ/ (x .,
- - - -
Middle Ages and the early modem period, th e uses of m etal were
not greatly in creased .for many centuries.
By th e latter half of the 18th century, many significant develop-
ments were made in metallurgy, particularly iron and steel.
These developments led to a greatly expanded use of metals and
machines and the system of interchangeable - part manufacture
an d m odern m ass production technology. Separ ationofscien-
tists from technologists is no longer fashionable for as Rose and
Rose wrote but quoted in Ukoli 1985,
"Science coniinuouslu transforms and informstechnology
which in its turn plays no small role in the creation of new
techniques which make it possible to test more elegant scien-
tific hypothesis .. Each scientific advance brought new tech-
nology, and new technology made'new science completing
what in electronic or computer language would be termed as
self-excitatory positivefeedback link".
, 'H ow ever, in ord er to establish the mild 'd istin ction between
science and technology here is an example, again by Rose and
,Rose (1978) .as quoted by A. Youdeowei (1985).
, A Dutch sp ecta cle - maker studied the behavour of l~nses and
subsequently developed the law of optics. This was a purely
scientific study. The Italian Galileo later utilized this knowledg.
to develop the telescope which was sold as a new technology 10
the merchants of Venice as a device for studying the planets. TI ll'
utilization of the laws of optics in the development (II t ill'
telescope constitute technology.
From the foregoing it can be understood that science i. It" II
or fundamental, and the pursuit of knowledgewitho ut (T I di ll
practical application while technology is the transl at i l li l III I I
tallization of scientific knowledge into product s p, 11111
with the aim of solving practical problems. Morr pn (I , I ltd
technology aims at ali increase in returns, d l' p" lI d lllj', 1111 II I
ever m ode of p rod uction ad op ted, seien - is ru II It, III I I ' I
17
 " " ' " ,• •• ., t l' M ' 1NII " I II Nl llt " , ) INI'I'/(SPl: 'TIVI :
III III lilly", rtirular application. It would app ear that while
IH understan d nature, technology seeks .to use
, 10
II III H 'I'lu- I. ws of genetics, for example, are scientific findings
Will tlu- tTO,'S 's achieved in agriculture, (animal farming and/
o ,11111 cross breeding) are technological achievements.
U ofScience and Technology
Th by-produ cts of SCIence and technology pervade many as-
I p cts of life and are everywhere around us. The most easily
identifiable of th ese are the material ones such as hospital,
i nd ustrial firms/ transportation and communication system, elec-
tricity and agri cultu re just to mention but these. Significant bu t
110t easily seen are other manifestations engendered by .the spirit
of science such as-values, attitudes, and modes of thought which
underline science. . rocketry and space science. Through this too the mysteries
Iya Abubakar {l969).n oted the following milestones in the
history of scien tific development which have also benefited
human kind:
(i) the,invention of gunpowder in the Middle Ages increased
the fire power of war and enhanced the ability of govern-
m ents to exert their authority more effectively;
(ii ) the discovery of mariner compass enhanced exploration
which brought about greater contact between different
na tions and cultures. From such group interaction resulted
exchange of ideas and scholarship for the benefit of human
kn owledge.
(iii) the stearn engine was significant for the commencement of,
the industrial r volution and automation: The introduc-
tion of the fl ilwr y~ f( ilitated transp ortation and the in-
d ustrial r volu tiou b nll gh t bout increased p rod u ctivity.
lth the dcv 101 t \ III
th It lq;r ph , t \ t
other things, electricity powers the motor en gine, tele-
phone red u ces distance and makes for easy contact. Its is
remarkable to recall the earth-moon telephone conversa-
tion between President Nixon of United States of America
and Astronaut Armstrong. The radio and television also
bridge the gap between people of different nations of the
world among other things.
(v) The discovery of the processes for controlling atomic fu-
sion and thermonuclear fission led to the production of
atomic reactor which have created radioactive isotopes
Radioactive isotopes are useful in the treatment of disease
and in both industry and agriculture.
(vi) human kind is no longer restricted to the confines of the
earth and it s en virons as a result of developments in
of the moon and outer space which seemed like fantasies
have become realities. Human beings, hitherto terrestrial
animals have also become extra-terrestrial animals by
venturing into outer sp ace
(vii) the construction of tall buildings are the result of the
advances made in geology and soil mechanics, which
facilitate a knowledge of the sub-soil strata underlying all
area as accurately as possible. Suitable foundations can lw
provided for buildings with the knowledge of the sub -so il
conditions.
(viiilconstruction of darns (e.g. Kainji Dam on the River ig r],
an engineering feat, has been made possible th n ll t l ~ 1I til
application of science'and technology, Apart f l'OI II II I I
ing' electricity, darns provide water for irr i!'.. I II I II II I I I
•. distant places where water is scarce. D 1III I I
I . I It tty rn the teleph one reservoirs for water supplies to cities in Illl II. v
d I' ud t I vi ion. Am ong when the sources of raw water su p lv h 1111111 III I
19
 1/1 l l! " '" 0 """ , NIl ' 0 /l1'II >lOC;Y IN P CRSPECn vL
I >,11 \ 0 P om ot e deep water fishing and aid navigation
lown the river.
(i ) in r ias in food production, ability to cultivate non-arable
Ie nd s, prod uction of crop s in areas which are not their
natural habitat have become possible because 'of applica-
tion of discoveries in,the biological sciences and technol-
ogy. Agriculture is mechanized with the introduction of
machinery as tractors, planter, sprayers, threshers, etc. The
utilization of nitrogenous and phosphatic fertilizers, breed-
ing of cattle, goats, etc., for more milk and meat ate all
products of science and technology.
(x) application of medical knowledge and scientific techniques
have relieved man of pain by using anesthetics, antibiotics,
etc., it has produced the artificialkidney and facilitated
heart transplant. Vaccination has reduced in cidence of
epidemic diseases such as measles and small pox.
(xi) the tools, machinery and other aids employed in industry
are products of science and technology.
(xii) science and technology have played a great role in educa-
tion.Educational scientific research is useful in the teach-
ing and learning process while technology has provided
more effective media for teaching and learning'.
, From the above it is clear that scientific and' technological
.d evelopments have profoundly influenced human life. This can
be shown in the new opportunities and innovations in human
medicine inv olving organ transplantation. Consequently, banks
for natural transplantabl organs "parts" exist. Again, artificial
organs are developed and implan ted. It is common kn owledge
that success,has been record id in imp lanting artificial hearts
with power sources which last for (' V P Il five Y rs. ontraceptive
d~gs which lower fertility rates ha ve been pr duced and they
.help in checking over-population.
· 20
B ASIC CONC fPTS Of S CJf NCI: " N" Ti, 'li Nt/ I " , ;)
Th e use of sophisticated comp uters and oth er information
handling machines with in-built complex and pervasive opera-
tions can facilitate central storage of data and which could be
accessible to the wider public. Such accessibility will red uce
privacy particul arly in medical and legal data. Imm unizing
agents that protect against most bacterial and viral diseases have
been developed .
It is plausible that new grounds would be ventured into as
more sophisticated new machi neries are produced. For example,
protein may be prod uced from petroleum to enrich non-.
proteinous foods while mining of ocean floor for minerals will be
, undertaken .The choice ofthe sex of offspring using nonsurgical
techniqu es may become possible while chromosome typing
could be use d to discover human abnormalities in the early
stages of concep tion. It is obvious that there is an unending list
of the influence of science and technology on humankind for
there is no facet that is yet to be affected. The influence becomes
more profound as new areas are explored and' as problems
. generated are also tackled with more complex innovations.
Abuse of Science and Technology
The negative effects of the application of science and technolo y
are also many. In fact almost every discoveryin science has it
goo d as .well as its ,bad effects. For example, war casual It
increase with th e introd uction .of .gunpowd er, The marir '
compass gui~ed European pow ers to Africa and Asia th '
playing a powerful role in -colonialism and imperialism Nt I
physics an d technology have produced weapons of I \ ,
struction such as the hydrogen and atomic bom b.' or. II 0
tionof organs may lead to immoral acts such as III 1 I ,
. ping or tam pering with fresh corpses mere y fo
organs for sale to banks that preserve such I
,may become an addition to the arsena of bi
21
I". II I II I II ' I " l ' 1 j·I ' 1 " " I I/ t ' t , ) IN J JU~ ~/ 'I I ''' \ 1 :,

1'"11 11.1 "II: l'd. For exam ple, contraceptive drugs which
III ' \ ' 1 "'111 II IY ",lll'S can be administered to the masses in the form
I II .H'III ilL, or .idded to' some s tap le foods or water merely to
CHAPTER 2
• It I Itorminate a particul ar group.
(II I'

1'1\1' tI. vvlopm mt of sop his ticated computers and other infor- , PRE-HISTORIC AND ANCIENT
111.111011 h.uidling machines can facilitate computer aided crime.
CIVILIZATIONS
1111 I. bl'c. use th ese machines are programmed by human
hI, I~lg .• ~Ild skill ed programmers can use them negati vely. Inno-
V.IIIOIlS 111 human reproduction which permit the choice of sexis
IIb;I',t to abuse whe n a socially desirable sex disequilibrium. is
l.rvourcd. It is plausible that the female sex in particular will be
• t 1 disadvantage
C ivilizatio.n' as .the discussion in this section would reveal,
, . . refers to the collective advancement of Human kind. That
is, the things that are most universal in human life. The features
of universal civilization as H.G.I. Evans (1976), identified are
technology; rational politics; economic policy; food, clothing,
housing, working and leisure habits of human beings. While
universalistic civilization is appreciated as arising from funda-
mental needs of human kind for survival, the difference in form
of environmental p eculiarities coloured the processes through
which these were att ained and fulfilled.

Africa -Egypt ,
Civilization in ancient Egyptrecorded significant progress in
science and technology in many areas of human endeavour and
to which Africans can proudly claim antiquity.

Agriculture:
Agriculture developed early in Egypt as lower Egyp t w
I favoured by a warm but fairly wet climate of the entire low er Nil-
valley. Here, silt from annual Nile floods increase soil fr-rtilily fll
planting millet, wheat, barley, lentils, beans, onionscu. II Il bl'l ,
cabbage,'grapes, figs, pomegranates, lettuce, etc.
"" /II' / ,"w/,r H. Latimer of his inventto» ojthe first practical electri c Ancient Egyptiansinvented the plough by abo ut lon H, , It I
II" v IIr [ Will Vall Sertima (p 235, 1990)

2
 P Rf - [JI STORJC .'INO ANt /l N t "II 1/ I ./It

incrca: ed farm ing acreage, use d domestic animal to tread the Burial System or Preseroaiion of Corpses:
. ueds into the thi ck mud arid sep arated individual or group
farm.' by buil ding mud walls, of a foot or two high. This was done Ancient Egypt was remarkable for the preservation of corpses,
P rtl to retain w ater-in the soil for the plants and for distinction The artificial preservation of the body was not necessary at the
of farm ar 'as. However, because flooding usually occurred from time'corpses were buried in the ground in what could be referred
July to November and pulled down these mud boundaries, they to as ordinary graves. This was because the curative quality of
h id to be reconstru cted yearly, every November. sand and the hot climate of Egypt enhanced the preservation of
I
The need for conscious conservation of Nile water to facilitate
.
corpses for a long time. But with tile construction of the m asaba
more extensive harvests gave rise to irrigation system. Nile and ambitious tombs which removed the bodies from the cura-
water was controlled and made to flow over certain parts of the tive qualities of the hot sand an alternative process was sought.
I nd by construction of dykes, trenches and sinking of wells. This It would be mentioned here that Egypt'seoilcoatains preserva-
wa y req uisite no urishment for plant growth was ensured. With tives such as resin (a type of gum) and,bitumen (a sort of tar)
in proved irrigation system, Flax and Papyrus plants, which which facilitated preservation of corpses. The artificial preserve-
hith rto grew wild were carefully.planted. From 'Flax, linen tionprocess involved firstly, the removal of the brain through the
l tl' i I, an important article of clothing was produce while nose, then other organs through an incision made on the left side,
I' I Y II. W S raw mate rialfor producing paper. near the groin. These parts were stored separately in special jars
( dVe I till' 0 currence of annual flood, people watched anx- . because the Egyp tians could not imagine a body without these
111'1 I Ie H '~Jl, of a rise in Nile river level. From this observation parts. But by the twenty-first dynasty, these parts we re wrapped
tI I I f that floods n ormally occurred a few days after and returned to the ·body~ the heart and the kidneys were not
II I I II II h. d PI eared at dawn d uring summer. removed. The heart was the seat of understanding.The body was
II II ' " , of tlood marked th e beginning of their new the n Veated. with natron, Mri.ch facilitated dehydration but left
I II "" II h Hood ' lculations the Egyptian Sun calen- the sKin supple. The body cavity and skull were most commonly
I ' I IlIlh cd Ihirly days each with extra-days at the stuffed with resin and linen. Other ointments and preservatives
I I I ('II' IIll' inundation began, special stones we used to treat thebody and colour the skin. Artificial eyes
III III. TIll' inundation was marked by w sometimes fixed in the eye sockets before wrapping up the
I I " " I I jni ing . e . y With linen (bandage) produced from flax plant. Nose and
111111,,1 were reared in thefarm .. . " were often plugged. Later foo, they did .subcutaneou
I I I " II h . clivities) The animals pac:kine of ilie.limhs with a malleable substance t~ preserve th
III Illd I 01 II I II II \ O() B. . King Menes outward body better, .. . ,f/;" . ... . '
of Upp« I" , 1'1 " II I I I I , ,I I'l lid un ited both King- A poorperson was merely enclosed in a thick layer of bitu
doms. H c d enuu.«t I tI ll I 1111.1111 ' rlv tlooding and for w~e that of a noble person or pharaoh would be soak
a fairly even di t I Ih" 1 I III I I I I tI ointments and bound in linen'. Corpses of rich perso w
~rated ~ p~us stones and pieces of gold. F
,
." fashiooed
. .
.~ the.
'
image.
.
of the person wasused as COV ...

2S

I,,, III 'I''', til ' I II NI I 1NP 1 ' 1 tl Nf l/ ( JI,r IN ! JI:NS/'r CTIVL'
Ihl I \ SO that the depar ted soul could recognize its
(,1111 ' 0
I ody wh II v 'r it visited .
Th P i sts were very important people and they conbibuted
lot,o g \ographi.cal knowledge. By careful observation they
tudied the behavi our of stars and the planets, which enabled
t~ m know tha t- th e nile flooded every year at about the same
time when ~he stars were in the same place in the sky. Thus they
co~ld predict fl~od or famine and advise people when to plant
the~r crops. This kn owledge was not from the gods as th e
?rdmary people thought.
Writing:
. The knowledge of writing featured .as early as 3200 Ble. Hi-
ero?lyph~cs (priest carving) was .a form of picture writing in
whi~ a little picture was drawn to represent an idea or a word.
The pictures were inscribed on flakes of limestone rocks solid
rocks and on th e w all of buildmg using sharp pointed instru-
ments. Other re~ords reveal writing on a baked cla~ sheets of
~ax or lead. ThIS form of writing was:later simplified so that
pIctures now rep~esented sounds as well as ideas. Later still
many of the pictures represen ted single letter or combinations
.of lett~rs: almost like present day use ofalphabets. Hieroglyphics
was difficult to read because it contained pictures which we re
words, sounds and letters.
Hieratic script (priest writing) was a simpler form used for
accou~~ of every day life. Only few people could afford the time
for wnting, comp~icated hieroglyphics. However, busy traders
later produced a SImpler version calledDemotic (popular script).
The papyrus plant provided ready raw materials for making
pa~. The s~ks.were ten into pulp before making baskets,
c~tame~, building of pIc ur bo ~, fishing boats and fem~
wAichsaiJed ':'0 :theNile. A brush reed dipped in ink (from soot,
. . . ~"gum).was.used for writing on p r I papyrus roll. A
.~ sbiM which had three different forms ofwdting was.
P RE- H ISTORIC AN D /\Ne ll .NT' l ·' VII II.M I(l N S
found in 1799, near Rosetta, by two French soldiers in Egypt. On
th is stone were Hierogl yphics, d emotic scrip t and Gre~k. It
.
recorded honours given by p riests to Pharaoh Ptolemy EpI~ha­
nies. This stone was sent to England in 1802, and was d eposited
soon after wards in the British Museum .
Architecture:
Egyptian architecture varied from sun-bak~~ mud-brick ho uses
to spaci ous houses and temples. Most exc~tJ.~~ wer~ the pyra-
mids. Poor people lived in brick or mud buildings WIth roofs of
palm leaves. A rich person' s home might c?nsist of a nu mber of
two-storey buildings. A large house contained as many as sev-
enty rooms. The id ea of bui~ding pyramids probably developed
from the simplest Egyp tian square stone tombs w~th flat tops.
These were called mastabas (coined from the Egyp tian word for
a bench). . , . .
Pharaoh (Great HO$e) Zoser at about 3000 BiC. was buned in
a tomb of six mastabas of decreasing size placed, one on top of the
other, This resulted in a step or traced Pyramid c?n~ct:i0n. This
kn owledge influenced the Sakkara or Zakkarah p yramid, ~o~ th
of Memphis. The six steps varied from 29 to 38 feet thus gIvmg
as a elevation of 200 feet high. .
Later, the steps were filled in to form a continu~u~ slopm 1:
surface. Th e sm opth slope (the steps no longe r VISIble) ~a s
coated with w hite limestone, Although many other pyramids
were constructed, the most remarkable were those at Giz~h, no.i r .
Cairo. The largest of these, known as the ' Great Pyramid ' w . •
built for 20 ye ars . It w as about 480 feet long. More t!1(l1 ~ l\ II
million huge blocks of lime~!C?t:le ~d granite fr~m q~arn l'~: I II I ",c
eastern hills were used for this Great Pyramid, Kin g till I I I
pyramid. The ston es were cut ~ith soft bronze 1<1\1 v I"
knives had harder inset cutting-edges, These storu
adversely affected by w eathering. Khufu's pyr, mul I III III II
the h~&he~t buil d ing in the w orld until the lqth t 1111\1 Y I )
27
Z6

. an b.~gan to construct skyscrapers', '
i
w was Khufu's s<?n built the Great Sp~ astatute
f I<hafra but the body of lion.·lt was carvees
out,ot-· "
bo~t 187 fe~ long and 66 feet high. 1lletaee.OffldS· ,-,;
i h n WIth human face in a crouched position, waS 14'feet
a ,p yramid was also built behind this objee,t. There
ume~able sphinxes pf smaller sizes in Egypt. Inside he
t Pyranud and the sphinx were numerous'dwft IS and
pa8:sa£Ii.'~ . The pyramids attracted 'robbers becausethe Phmohs
w buried with valu~ble goods in the pyramids. For example,
ward Carter, an archaeologist succeeded in' finding out the
tomb of the boy King, Pharaoh Tutankhamen. This tomb which
d been shut for about 3,270 years, had 60,000 objects, piled in
om ~ feet lon~ and 12 feet wide. These object which Egyp-
believed their Pharaoh would need in the next world
lu ed goldt,ounces, chariots, painted boxes, furniture and
Id tatu~s of the-.I<ing and-his-servants. Ina second room was
King's body,e~Qsed in four gold, coffins, It .was adorned
old ~ars,rings and\traFt:le~. ffis fuce ,m~sk~~:ai~
f goldaad decor, t¢'Wlth prea~usstones. By his-side lay
ge . ,F~ce m , ere used to Olver th~.corPse's.face so'
h eparted soul would rero~ i~ body when .it ,re-'
nowIedg~ of Prr~d design and construction ~
Imhotep, an Egyptian noble manwho designed the
,OVt 1un ll d f Pharaoh.~. He waB then 'Oliefofthe Works
Jpper and,-Iowet Egypt'. ' ' 3300 to - 2400, north-western Africa, and the Sahara had r 1
was ned,for monumental building. Mbch of
II II 1''ltilC:Jn u from Tura quarries, 'from ''Sout}l.;eaBt' of
. Sand tone was u sed for the temples at Karnak,
anite front' Aswan was
used for Khaefre -desired
sum artar) was used'more as an aid k, correct
~ ~gei1t. , " search stimulated the use of the flood not for agri lit
, , , b t to prevent damage of properties. Thu i
PRE,HJSTOIUC AND ANl 'lINT ( 'II~I
. ~ .. AT/lIN,
"
C~afts:
Egyptian crafts, weaving.pottery.on wheels baked in enclosed
. furnaces (not open air) objects of coppe r.bronze, gold, silver and
'iron depict their scientific ~d technological knowledge. They
invented glass end made, glassware that was admired and cop~
ied allover th e ancient world. They we re very good at stone-
carving.The obelisk (pointed column) called Cleopatra's needle
now found' on river Thames Embankment, London is a typical
exainple. 'On' it is carved the story of Pharaoh Thotme's battles.
~ Mostof the raw materials used for these crafts were imported.
Wopd came'from Lebanon in Syria, copper and turquoise (pre-
.cious stone),from Sinai across the Red Sea; gold from Nub's hills
in Nubia (south of Egypt).
Many modern scientific and technological advances owe an-
cient Egypt a tot, By 700 B.C~ AssYrian~'cbnqueted .Egypt. The
Persians took over by 525 B.C.; then Alexander the Great (325
B.C.), ont'o hvhose generals, Ptolemy, founded a new dynasty of
Greek kings, and finally Egypt became a province of Rome in 30
B.C.
The idea that Egypt would not have existed without the River
Nile might be considered a basic truth but then this river im-
posed severe requirements on Egyptians which they became
accustomed to only over a long tim e. For according to Mokhtar
(1981), Egypt became inescapable to the usefulness of the Nile
river only after 700 years of Egyptian civilization. For between
,r
tively moist clim atic system and provided .for cattle-rai ir ,
hunting and fanning. Again, the gain s of living and h vi ' to
cope with the demands of this geographical local of Egypt wh I
have crystallized into the remarkable civilization of E
ably started with th e search for control of the Nil
29

I ", I I/ /' ' f , " , '" /I N' I ' Nil I" lI N rocr IN I'l:RSI'ECn VE
W II lid h.1 -be m built more to protect erosion of villages than for .
I I h I II , I • nals would have also been dug to channel water
0 ..
I W I Y f I () III farms and fields. These experiences in constructing
til '" 1.1111:, and canals becam e useful whe n climate changes in
i\ t I It I, II insformed the im mediate neighborhood of the Nile
v.ilk-y, both in Egypt and in Nubia into a desert. The techniques
II : tI in buil ding dikes, dams and in d iggi ng canals were per-
tl 'I d over the centuries. It is very lik ely that the irrigation
iystem which became crucial for agriculture given the change in
climate partly originated from -the dike and canals construction
t ichniques. The Niledid not always favour ad equate irrigation.
Sometimes flood s destroyed every thing in their'passage and at
other times they w ere too slight to provide adequ ate water.
onsequ ently, the Egyptians stockpiled grains to feed the popu-
lation even for the future. Storage was in granaries under th e
control of the central government. From th e surp lus stored,
government officials and th e workers in medium-s ized .estab-
li: hm nts (shipyards and weapon factories, spinning mills at-
I. ch d to some temples, etc.) were fed .
TIll' remarkable feature of the civilization of Egypt particularly
\til ing till' r ign of Pharaohs rests on the legacies bequeathed to
)1h I I lilt 1I r' and the relevance to the study of this perspective
011 th hi to y of science and techn ology. The Greeks, Romans.
• III I I I) II III fited from these legacies. For example, the spread
of ~ 1 1 , I 1 In ~ t rchniques to w orld civilization can be credited
to Egyp t. (,I.I was used for heads, and vases of varied shapes.
The W I It Ilti tl roughout the Mediterranean area, imitated
by the Pho 1\11 I ll , 'ported to Rome where its manufacturing
techniques WI'I\ lopt ed, and even exported as far as China.
Whil e it can b l oIl II wi dged that· there were glass-making
industries at othc ( 1'111 .uch as Mesop otamia and the Indus
Valley, the spread all (J.lli this knowledge is what stand Egypt .
in great stead . '
\()
..
. The Papyrus industry owes its origi~ ~o the 'and~nt Egyptians.
It was the most practical of all the wr iting mat~~als u~ed from
antiquity. Papyrus from wh ich the word 'paper IS denved.was
adopted by the Greeks, the Romans, the Copts, t~~ Byzantines~.
the Arabs etc, Apart from making pa~r f?f writing, papyrus
fibres were used for mats, ropes, boat-making, baskets etc. .
The search for some raw materials used in build ing temples
and palaces as wei! as ores and precious sto~es etc: f~r other
crafts largely contributed to the.spread of Egyptian technique~ to
. Asia and other parts of Africa. Gold was got from the Arabian
desert and Nubia, Copper was got from the deserts but that of
a
Sinai proved better quality. However, Egypt depended more on
copper from Asia, Hardstone used by bu~lder~ and sculpt~rs,
were largely' from Nubian desert and they . include granite,
gn eiss, d iorite and basalt. Li~estone . fro~ Tura (T~ura) and
Silsila sands tone, Sinai turquoise and Nubian cornehans were
also important for crafts . It would be noted t~a~ gold an~ copper
working did not .orig inate in Egy pt .but It IS plausible that
techniques inv olved in working them Improved . .' .
The m'agni£icent stone structures of EgYJ:>t typified In the
pyramids reflect a great deal of the lev~l of science ~d technol-
ogy of the Pharaonic Egyptians. More Importantly ISth e math-
ematical involvement. Lumpkin, B. (1990) ~rote that they ~se~ ,
the proportionality of correspo~ding ~ngles, a property of S~I­
lar triangles which is the baSIS of ~ngo~ome~ry for pyramid
construction . Th is assured smooth or straight SIdes ,0£the pyr~­
mid an d that th e four sides termin ated- at a ·point. Egyp t
architectural achievements reflect their contributions to the d
velopment of Mathematics, particularly arith~etic~ al~ebr III
geometry. Evidence from Papy.ri d~cumentation md)~ca t tl ,
numeration was based on the decimal system.. The I I II I
calculation system used a series of rriU1~ipl.ic.ations and d VI I
by two {duplication). In divisions a fraction wa. . tw. Y ilt (I
.duced whenever the div idend was not exactly divi hi t1
31
 I II. II, , ' I I II I /I No I NO I,. I/ NOLOCY IN PtRSP1:CTlV£
J
I I III '( 011 try the y knew how to calculate the area of a f'
,I " I I, the volume ofa cylinder, of a pyramid and of a "
Ih
ir to Cheikh Anta Diop (1985), the Egyptians were
I I( c I ulate the surface area of the hemisphere for which
Ih d v loped the formula S = ii R2. This formula, found in th e
III Ih -m.iti al p apyrus of Moscow predated Archimedes for-
I 1lI1.1 Y about 1,700 years. He concluded th at (i n spite of
I( 11In~('des,ideas which he strongly arg ues was influenced by
II 0 'bgyptIans) the Egyptians passed down to p osterity the
II f I Hila of the exact surface areas of the sphere. To ob tain the
11 r I, I c reas to th e wh ole sphere, the surface area of the hemi-
"hl'l(' was multiplied by two. The re were also formulae by
I );" pll,II1S for calculating th e volume of th e cylind er, and the
I I . I rtace of the circle. It must be pointed out tha t Archimede s
III I ir' tion from Egyptians work. He furthered his stu dies
I I I nd it was after th is, th at he returned to Gre ece and '
Ie I I Ihl,' body of figures which he arranged andpresented
I I II 11 • y. In fact on his return to Greece, he "invented" the
II I knowledge and invention that clearly were of ,
I " [ui ty and used for th e extraction of p ercolated
I II II, mastery of the theory of levers and inclin ed
I
I I I d Ar himedes treatise - On th e Equilibrium of
I I I I II ( .ravity of Planes. The Egyptians we re the
I tI
I I I nornetry, as some problems in th e Rhind
II
II II (RMP). sho w eviden ce of calculations of
II I II
I III , . sine, tangent and contangent. Calcu-
l.ruo u " " ,. of elemen tary figures such as rect-
allg l . , I II I old, volume of cube, and para llel pipe
whoso b. . I I I 1I11t. ined in the RMP. The RMPreflects
mastery 01 , d~ I II IIII II I nd arithmetic progressions, all of
which the Egy, III II
It may be sur pr i I I I I I II t Egypt has such remarkable
influence on Europ I II I I in th e ancient and classical
1'I,£ ·/-IISTORI. "N " , IN' /I N ' ( 1\ '11 ' / II . oN'
,periods of the development of science and technology. 'lh is
phenomenon can be partly explained by the fact that in Athens
(a Greek city state), philosophers and scientists were persecuted
while in Egypt the development of science, philosophy and arts
w ere encourage d. Conseque ntly most of the philosophers and-
scientis ts who were persecuted fled from Greece to Egypt for
refuge. In fact Diop claims that almost all the scientists who gave
I, Greece its scienti fic fame trained in Egypt. Among these were
Anexagoras, Socra tes, Aristotle and Plato. Be that as it may, th e
Egyp tians bequeathed humankind th e legaci es of thoughts in
the fundamental physical quantities, of concepts like d istance,
area, volume, weight and time. As Pappademos, J. (1983), wrote,
Europe is indebted to Egypt for the invention of standards, units,
, and methods for accurate measurement of all these quantities.
The Egyp tian calendar represents the most scientific measure-
ment of time ,w hich is what we use today (but with only two
minor modifications) as a scale of absolute chronology. This
calendar was ba sed on the rising of Sothi s or Sims (the brightest
star in the sky) which appeared every 1,460 years. The calendars
were two. One reflected 365 d ays while the other contained 365
1/ 4 days. From th eir calcUlations, they were knowledgeable
about the leap year an d had created all these by about the fourth
Millennium (4236 B.C.) Again, th e practice of dividing the day
into 24 hours and starting the day at midnight was derived from
the Egyptians. With Sundials and water clocks Egyp tians mea
sured smaller ·interv als of time. It is believed th at they invented
the most ancient sundial ab out th e 15th century and the w tt I
clock about 2000B.C. In Europe, the water clock was used ( VPIl
. 4. in the times of Galileo, who did use it for one of his expe im 'III
on accelerated motion.
Related to the calculation of time with calendar w
development and use of tables of star culminations nli t
star rising for nocturnal observation ), practice ' 1))1
which facilitated time measurement. Shado t y t
 1 111 II, I I I , • •, ' /t N' I " I' It I " "" Uf lll,) INP, I<l.,/lf Cf/V/
,I Pappadcrnos, 1983 enabled the Egyp tians
III/dlllg 10
II tell ot the summer solstice (june 21), shortest shadow
01 \I' (I)( ember 21) longest sha dow; and the dates of the
•'Ill I uul utumnal equinoxes (March 21 and Sep tember 21),
l set fracture by using wooden or pasteboard splints, drain abscess
.luu I I he dow solstice (December 21); etc. Diop (1985) wrote
th, I during Alexander the Great's battle ag ainst Persians (who
III h i (lllg ucred Egypt), an eclipse of the sun caused widespread
I)' I J (mong the Greek army. Aristotle, who was the king's tutor
I , ild .not explain th e ph enomenon rather it was a priests, an
Egyptian astronomer, wh o pro vided scientific explanation to its
urrence and restored calm .
The technological progress achieved by ancient Egyp tians was
P rtly due to th eir advances in theoretical physics. However,
I hnology also stimulated advances in technology. The knowl -
dgt' of physics also stimulated advances in th e sciences. The
owl >dg,e of p~ysics is evident in the construction of pyramids,
nd Ob lisk barges of Qu een Hatshepsut (1500 B.c.) which
. III d Obelisks of 57 meters high each weighing 2400 tons. The
" 11' w s h uled by abo ut 30 tug boats. Imh otep 's de sign and
(III II 1II'IIon ()~ the step -pyramid of Sakkara conveys the idea of
,I" I 1IIIIln les such as the lever and inclined plane .
I I
III
I
II
I" 'I
'Id of medicine and medical technology (he alth is
III "CllIIlO up with techn ology), much is to be learnt
'ItllI " 1\ 1'111 I\gyptian s. From mere embalmment the Egyp-
II, II lu I d 10 111 ummification which entailed a mastery of
" t II III I III" I Ity. I CS chemistry, surgery and medicine. While
I christians created a yawning gap in relationships between the
III. 1I0l, I 1111 ICI pi in how they arrived at specific kno wl-
'dgl' I,ll • ( It I I I " of nowledge, it is plausible that their long
.' pl'r1l'n"p : I ) I II" I I rn good stead. For example, natron, found
III th e toadi cl N. 11111 P rt of Egypt contains chemical com-
I ? unds of sodium c, Ihon, I >, sodium bicarbonate, salt and so-
h rrn sulphate (from. II Iy '" in modem times) which was an
, ' ntial component IHI I III Imment or mummification. For
till ' process the bod~ wa () ( d in natron for seventy days. The
rnovaI of the brain thr u the nostrils and the intes tines
34
P RE- H ISTORIC ANV A Nt 'II N I l "I\ '1/ II, W , IN
through an incision ma de in the side of the body show a good
knowledge of anatomy. Evidence from Smith Papyrus, Mokhtar
noted, confirm that Egyptian surgeons could stitch up wounds,
fill holes in the teeth with a mineral cement, join shaky teeth with
gold wire etc.
Given Egypt' s contributions to the development of science and
technology from the an cient time s to the medieval times it is
pertinent to wonder why the sciences did not flourish thereafter.
It would be noted that Egypt's decline in the science, was largely
due to unfavourable political changes which exposed Egypt to
the rule of Turkish Mamelukes and the Ottoman Empire.During
this period emphasis was on strengthening of feudal structu res
not scientific output Already, from North Africa to Spain, Sicily
and Southern Italy Arabs has spread learning to Europe which
now blossomed and overtook other centers from the period of
Renaissance. Again, Egypts economy was devastated und er the
feudal rule of Ottoman Turks and the Mamelukes while that of
Europ e progressed through capitalism an d industrialization.
These factors made for competition, innovations and inventions
which stimulated a great deal of challenges in the sphere of
science and technology in Europe. The political clim ate of Eu-
rope favoured scientific.and technological studies, researches
and advancement while that of Egyp t did not. The religious
di fferences between Muslims-who ruled Egyp t and Europe's .
two groups and did not favour exchange of ideas in scientific and
technological advancement in later years.The role of slave trade,'
colonialism, misinformation and racism in later times would not
be ignored as factors that retarded scienctific and technolog ic,II
development.
35

1 111 I II ' I" t, , "
(>ti't" , Iri fill ilvilizations
Tit ' It h 1 Ihe t human kind, indeed the development of science
.uu h dmology benefited from legacies from Egypt is not in
oubt but there is abundant evidence of scientific and techno-
I 19i1' I contributions from other African civilizations to diverse
f. 'pis of human endeavour. Sertima, lV. (1990) vividly accounts
for th se in his book entitled Blacks in Science: AncientandModem.
I lere are some higWights which are very revealing.
Astronomy
I'he discovervof emastronomical observatory on the edgeof iake
,rll ~kan~ in Kenya which d ated 300years before Christ. gave an
II\SIght into further revelations.that attest to the development of
( 11 accurate and complex calendar system based on astronomical
oning in eastern Africa. HIS probable that the calendar
(1. ' on the rising of certain stars and constellations) predated
f i t. In fact the hugestona pillars at Namo ratunga II, (19 in
I I ) w hich w.e~ arrcu.tge9 in rows and set down at angles
th. I I til' t an orden ~d-.precision corroborate evidence of
u iwl ~' nd practices in asti'ono~~This hunch was however
ttl oved correct, . approach to science by the Dogon from what the West is con:er-'
• 1)( h( n f Mali" also had an extremely complex knowledge
of trouom v T lu y had a similar concept of the solar system and
the lIllI I 1'1 Ih · ings of Saturn, the moons ofJupiter, the spiral
str u ctu re of Ihe' Milky Way Gala?')', in which planet Earth is
sit ua ted, ,Illd hll h s ems to be th e modern view. To th em a
billion wo Id. I' " III d in space like th e circulation of blood in
the body. TIll' mou n u y said was barren like dried blood. Even
stars which no Oil l' ild see except with the most powerful of
telescopes was know these astronomer - priests of theD ogon.
In fact they had th iwledge of a star .within the Sirius star
: s~~tem and ~s necesi itt their performance of a ceremony to
:SinUS every.sixty ye , w n the Orbits of Jupiter and Saturn
.: converge. However, furth vestigation about this ceremony
Pvr-Hisrcs»: ,IN " ANW NT c " VI' rL,\nON
revealed that the ceremony was not to Sirius, the brightest star in
the sky but to its compani on, Siru s B, a very small star which even
medieval science was not kno wledgeable about.
Modern science has confirmed the Dogon's view that Sims B.
had an elliptical orbit around Sirius A and that it took 50 years to
complete. But the idea that Sirius B which.the Dogon regard ed as '
a "dwarf" has an orbit of one year aroundits own axis for which
they held a special.celebration (the bado) in honour of that orbit.
is yet to be confirmed by modem Science. It is worthy to note that.
the belief by the Dogo n that Sirius B is composed of a me tal
brigh ter than iron which all men on ear th wou ld not be able to lift
is confirmed by modern science. The explanation is that Sirius B
has a compact nature whose mas s is many times greater than a
star w hich appears many times larger. From these findings about
the Dogon which w as stu died by two French anthropologist,
Marcel Griaule and Germaine Dieterlen itisclear that the Dogon
astronome r-priests developed an ad vanced scientific knowl-
edge of th e heavens which until the 20th century escaped Euro-
pean observation. The Dogon would have largely d epend ed on
both observation and intuition. They also drew diagrams of their
observations. The issue if any controversies arise as to the m ode
.of inquiry for the Dogon findings, is that there is a very di fferent
sant with . For the Dogon and m ost other Africans, there IS a, ' I
subtle blend of both the empirical and intuition th at facilitated
d evelopment of knowledge, without the use of th ose instr -
ments which are considered necessary. Yet more archaeologi ill
and anthropological inquiry may be needed to establish that the
Dogon did not use any instruments. It is plausible t hat they US('l f
telescopes from.Egypt because of their trade contacts with Pg YI)I
Literature reveals that the Russiansfoundcrystal lensc " I' I
fectly spherical and ofgreat precision, inancient Egypt, dill Ill!',
the period Africans dominated. Indeed itis possible to I'I.Il ( Olll'
lens in front of another to make a basic telescope and u II III n-lv
·37

(10 n. It is possible to acqui re astronomical know]-
I
gl • cute and sustained observations with th e naked
yt th ogon did. The Chinese report as regards the moons
01 luI' t , 2000 years before Galilee was based on a similar
t' pt' i Ill.' ' . They sigh ted them wi th the naked eye. To authenti-
l.llt' Ihi», China's Institute for th e History of Natural Science of
/ (' /\llt mi ' Sinica condu cted an experiment in 1981 in w hich
.11 lout six Chinese astronomers confirmed seeing Jupiter's moons
~i t h (he naked eye. The .Dogo n's kn owled ge of ~he rin~s. of
Sa tu rn, the moons of [upiter and one of the stars In th e Sinu s
system, which they also showed in the ir drawings in various
st: tes of emergence th rough acute and sustained observation
with the naked eye or even telesco pic lens from Egypt before the
l're of medieval and mod ern science and technology in Africa
.md b 'yond, is remarkable.
f\ hii( i /It'
I rhan s (. hibited great knowledge of plant science, psycho-
111('1 'lI lY, .111 sthetics, vaccination, surgery etc. Among the Con-
r,oll' (. th( n- is vidence of removing a bullet successfully by
u: 1111', t h-phant hairs (both for searching for it and its removal).
M.l,'.1i IIlL('OIl, ' in Fast Africa h ave been known to have success-
tull y I (.111 d pl('\Irisy and pneumoritis by partially collapsing
th o IU Il j', .1I1d dtillillr a hole in to the chest of patients. Performing
a cat. .11'( .\11 • I I I It lit in the traditional African setting Was a feat in
the k nowh-dj;« 01 M dicine. This eye -witness account by a
missio nar y dod"1 n. me d Felkin, as Finch C.S., (1990) reports is
most th rill ing .1I1d VIndicating. The Cesarean section was per-
form ed on a h(·.dlh Ie oking primip ara (first pregnancy) of
about twenty ye. . 01 III Banyoro surgeon in Uganda in 1879.
The lady (laid on .111 in lin d bed) was half-intoxicated w ith
banana win e (anesth . i.r), w r s tied down to the bed with bands
of bark cloth over 'the th u r.: .iud thighs. Her ankles were held by
one m an while another man s tood On her righ t st ead ying he r
.Ii
P.,{J'-J IJsro/Ot .., Nfl ' \ N t II j I ( /1 11 11 \ III W ',
abdomen. The su rgeon, with his surgery knife stood on her left
side and muttered an incantation after which he washed his
ha nds and the patient's abdomen, first with banan a wi ne (an ti-
sep tic) and then water. The surgeon quickly cut upwards from
just above th e pubis to just bel ow th e umbilicu s severing the
w hole abdomi nal wall and uterus so that amniotic fluid escaped.
Some bleeding points in the abd ominal wall we re tou ched with
redhot irons'. The surgeon completed the uterine incision, the
assistant helping by holding up th e sides of the abdominal wall
with his hand and hooking two finge rs into the uterus. The child
w as removed, the cord cut, and the child was handed to an
assis tant. The surgeon th en squ eezed th e uterus until it con-
tracted, dilated th e cervix from inside with his fingers (to allow
post - partum blood to escape), removed clots and the p lacenta
from the uterus and then sp aring ly used red hot irons to seal the ,
bleeding points. The peritoneum, the abd ominal wall, and the
skin were pushed back together and secured with seven sharp
spikes . A root paste was applied over the wound anda band age-
of cloth was tightly wrapped around it. After six days all the
spikes were removed .
This eye-witness account reveals an understanding and use of
anesthesia, the imp ortance of an tisepsis and a know ledge of
advanced surgical technique.
The mano of Liberia understood that ascites was due to excess
fluid and tre ated it with diuretic herbal preparations. They also
exhibited an understanding of ba sic public health principles in
develop ing a quarantine system for the treatment of small pox.
Because of its contagious nature a "sick bush" w as set asid
affected patients. The patients were left ina bush far away
the village and attended to by .only one person . The bu
was burnt after the person's recovery.'
During an epidemic of small-p ox, there is evid I
knowledge and use of inoculation to combat spre
of a sick person is scratched into the skin of un f (
with the aid of thorns. While some persons di
39

I 11.111111 1 I ~ained protected against small-pox some
1111 I P" 1111 , I' n enced a mild non-fatal form of the disease
,111 'Il .II II I ovided them immunity. This is a clear indication
I h I "It . I d vised an efficient vaccination method against
11 1ll ,
'I h I. \1. '( ofNiger~a exhibita wealth of knowledge of physi-
(l/of II their test for Impotence. The patient is laid on his back
· I III or thorn .is lightly rub bed on his thigh to observe th~
movement of hIS scrotum or testicles . If any movement is ob-
.' -rved the individual is considered potent. But if there is no
rnov~ment th~n the individual is considered impotent. Modem
medica l practice would explain this as a test of the cremasteric
reflex wh ich pulls the testicles upward (when the inside of the
thigh is stimulated) as the crema ster mu scle contracts. This is a
clear testimony of an understanding of the body's physiological
pro('t's, 'P,', . be revealed beyond what is obtained in Egypt.
1\I, il <111 }H'rb~l medicine is very rema rkable altho ugh there is
110 ( o III P vhvnsive study and docum entation on them. Africans
ln-, h'd .. wider range of ailments than have been discussed and
I IH', ( we-n- c. ricd out in the African way centuries earlier than
their out.u I with the Europeans.
W ritill g SI/ //'111
, Remark. hl fo 1\ f writing were used by ancient civilizations
or cultur '. \I( I th Manding and the Akan. The Manding,
located in th . h redated the Mandingo by thousands of
years. They inv It f rm of writing (script) which was used
by ~ande group li th Vai for developing scripts suited to
their ,own lang uag . '( th t it is correct to say that the Manding
pr~~Ided the proto , l ' t for that developed by the vai. The
ongm of the proto-M 1 form of writing can be traced to
deman,d s of tra de, for th M nde have an authentic repute for
long-distance trade. What , hould be noted is the role of mer-
chants in the development of . form of writing which enabled
40
PRE ·H!STO/UC ,\NO IlNCIIN I t IVl/fl lIllll N
them keep records of their business transactions. Howev , he
script became useful for other purposes such as for prese vi
religious doctrines and writing obituaries, just to mention bu
these. Inscriptions using the Mande script have been found W I
spread in the Western Sudan in places like Air, Mauritania and
Morocco. There are inscriptions engraved on rocks (obituaries)
and / or talismanic burial sites. Apart from writing on stone,
wood and dried palm leaves were used. Soot was one of the
ingredients for ink.
The Proto-Mande script is syllabic with about 200 to 350 signs
and up to 40 variations. Much of the limitation in discussing this
ancient script arises from the fact that the script was not used by
a larger population of the citizenry. The evidence of a Mande
writing system presupposes the need for more intensive and
extensive research into African civilizations. A lot more is yet to
Metallurgy
About 2,000 years ago, Africans produced carbon steel in pre-
heated forced-draught furnaces. This evidence found in commu-
nities living around the western shores of Lake Victoria isinfor-
mative of the knowledge and use of a method that was techno
logically more sophisticated than any developed in Europe until
the mid-nineteenth century. A similar furnace used by the Hay
people in Tanzania (western sho re of Lake Victoria) presen
lucid account of this wi despread technology. Debra Shor '
(1990) accoun t of Peter Schmidt and Donald Avery's findi
among the Haya corollate with archeological findings of An
F. N. and Andah, B.W. in West Africa. Thus iron tech
indeed metallurgy, was widespread in Africa.There ar
of furnaces for the metallurgical processes invol
technology. The Haya type reveals a bowl of ab
inches deep dug in the groundand lined with mu t
41

I ,n I ', I. " 1' I, . U NI' N il t i, /I Nti"'. " IN P I.l<SI'n "ll V[
uu 1I1l11 ause of its refractory material. The shaft, or
01 t i l teet high is made of old, refractory slag (prob-
I 011 ltl d I om a previously used iron stneltingsite and of
t· ut I iud). At the base of the furnace are eight blow pipes or
' I Ulft rc '(i .'l rted) which are tw o feet long. There are also eight
111 1 Bows covered with goat skin which are connected to th e
'/uyt'rt' ' for providi ng air. Firstly, the bottom of th e furnace is
h t with swam p reed s before charcoal (produced over open
ir ) i introduced, for the smelt-charcoal and iron ore are fed in
't hrough the top of the furnace. A temperature exceeding 18000C
(3275°F) is said to have been attained in th e blast zone of the
furnace. However, the furnace w as dismantled after th e smelt to
facilitate removal of lumps of steel called bloom, which settles in
the bed of swamp grass charcoal at the bottom of the furnace.The
Haya pre-heated iron ore they mined in pit furnaces densely
packe d with wood probably to attain much higher furnace
t mperatures. In the pre-heating process in the pit, there is a
Ii ited access to oxygen and a chemical reaction takes place
,.h • .,i.."o which carbon penetrates the iron ore and it is deposited
. These chips m elt in the cone furnace giving off carbon
noxid e carbon infiltrates the slag. The result are crystals of
I g forming bloom-steel. When "carbon from the -
grass is absorbed into the iron, carbon steel
,tI re is evidence of the pit or bowl furnace, the
......' ....-al furnace and the dome furnace . The pit
' II ly Egypt accounts and in Lejja (Nsukka in
, JI ) consisted of a shallow pit measuring
between 30 0 \I . am eter and 30-40cm in d ep th . It was
Usually lined w t I , ected with bellows by a clay nozzle
or 'tuyere' (mad )( I ). The Nupe (Nigeria) forge, though a
bowl furnace with a ) \ .on chamber (pit) of 90cm deep had
its bellows kept be hin y wall probably to protect-the
smelters from the furnaceh , the'clay nozzlewaspassed through
PRE-H,STOf(lC M' /I
IiNP NI ( IV/II Ii ll 'iN
an opening made at the base of the wall. The difference h 'r i th
protection wall and an aperture from the pit to ano ther pit 10
separating slag. However, th e clay nozzle attached to the pit
furnace protected iron smelters from excessive furnace heat. Th '
clay use d in lining th e pit was a protective device. It also made
cleaning of the pit less cumbersome.
The Shaft Furnace
The shaft furnace is also called a cylindrical furnace because it
consists of a cylindrical wall with bellow surrounding it arou nd
the base. Umu ndu (around Nsukka) in Enugu State of Nigeria
has evidence of shaft furn aces of abou t 70cm diameter, 9cm w all
thickness and about 1.7m high . Amo ng the Idoma (Benue State
of Nigeria), shaft furn aces feature. These also feature two open-
ings at the base of the furnace through which fire is introduced
before smelting and for off-loading the furnace after smelting.
The Dome Furnace
The dome furnace as t he name implies is hemispherical arou nd
the combustion chamber but with a little.opening like a chimney
at the top. It is an improved version of the shaft furnace. Some
have as many as six large holeswith about two tuyere and
bellows per hole. This type of furnace as found in Nigeria, Si rra
Leone, Ghana, Guinea, Niger, and Burkina Faso to mention but
these had provision for collecting liquid slag through a dr. ill
pipe connecting a .slag pit and th e bowl furnace.
Iron Smelting Process
The.lucid account of raw materials and the smelting P (
West Africa leaves no do ubt about human ingenuity, n I
standing of science and the necessary technology in ( I
metallurgical process.Although endowed with a J l I I
tities of meteoric iron (iron in usable state nil I i II
43
 PRE-HJsrOll~ AND " T
•.....restrial i on in various oxides or ores of
, limonite and Magnetite iron. The first The limitation of discussion on metallurgy to iro
rites and residu al rock while Magnetite iron does not disregard the factthat other Africans produce remarx
. tream sands. Fire wood provided the major able artifacts in bronze, brass and gold. Nigeria, Ghana, Zi
though dried grass was often used to preheat bwe have ample evid ence.
ber.Smelting ofiron or reduction can be achieved
(iron oxide) is heated with burning charcoal WEST ASIA
) d oxygen from the air combines with carbon to f~rm BalJylonia
noxide gas w hich passes through the furnace, rea~ng
iron oxide to facilitate reduction or removal of deposited Between .rivers Tygris and Euphrates situated the fertile plain
which produced the ancient civilization of Babylonia. This lo~­
this process provision of excess charcoal.and.the c~ntrol
upply axe important so that the carbonIl,lOnOX1d~ WJH not tion in West Asia now called Iraq was known as Mesopotamia
v rt d to carbon dioxide (this can occur if there IS excess (the land between the rivers). Bounded by mountains (the Zagros
chain and Kurdistan) on the east and north, by the Syrian and
Iy f oxygen / air). It would be noted thatatthis ~t~<!e the
p rod u ced has not been.melted but has only been.chemically
Arabian deserts on the west and south, many groups of people
lived and contributed to this great ancient civilization. Rivers
small quantities. They adhere to one another or
Tygris and Eu phrates rise in the Armenian mountains and flow
I f ous impurities) and to unburned charcoal. ~en
f 1 ) is heated further and hammered; wrought iron
into the Persian Gulf. The climate is hot and dry in summer, cold
and wet in winter and in the spring the rivers overflow their
II 1) is produced but when it is allowed to '<!p~rb
banks, flooding vast areas of the plain. The major groups who
hI s of carbon it becomes steel and can be hardened
( t .ron is.hard and brittle. . \ contributed to Babylonian civilization include: Sumerians,
Akkadians and Babylonians.
}f t ra ture for iron reduction 'o r sm elting is
The semi-arid climate of Sumeria which could not sustain
WI t 1 \ ortant is that the level of temperature
cultivation of cereals, an orchard or a garden necessitated artifi-
w rkable bloom differs dep'e~aln.g on the
cial irrigatio n by canals. Early, during their settleme t i n '
f - .ed. Whereas some iron on!! re'fbire a .
region (5,000 and 3,500 B.c.), they bull -earth tanks, ch
high t ()Oll or BOOo to 9000, it is possible that natural
(canals) and d itches to control the river. floods whe e
draught tong and regular harmathan winds
wanted it to go. Among the crops they cultivated wer w
could cau r i without a constructed furnace (Andah
barley, vegetables-lettuce, cucumber, onions, elates,
1979). How ve , t I It' point of iron is 1500°(Anozie 1979)
people engaged in fishing as attested by fishbone ,
and would hav I en attained as the spongy mass of
and clay models of boats. The presence of flint ho
iron (the' bloom) w F 1 d after melting.
agriculture, baked-clay sickles, and impres .
Iron implements ·- to f warfare, agriculture, enabled man
wheat an d barley row, date pits confirm the
act upon his environm t f r his adaptational n eed . Ritual
crop. Animal husbandry is reflected by th
objects were also fashioned iron.
oxen clay models.
44
45
,. "" I I' " , . , Nit I, " Nl ll l't , \ ' NP IN..'i ""~ ' ''J\"l" P Rc ..H JSTORIC ,I NU l I N' II N I ( "II ' \" " N

f pottery and the use of the potter's wheel. Akkade harbour. Another significant achievement in this n'glOn
n i
gh succeede d the use of hoes. In architec- was th e construction of a very large ziggurat during the reign of
I (I temples, later improved with huge pillars and King Ur-Nummu (2113 - 2096 B.C.). The Ziggurat was a py r
w ,t clay nails featured. The oldest wheel, which mid -like temple, with an earth mound in the centre but enclosed
to 3000 B.C. was disco vered from Sumeria. It was by a sloping wall of 200 feet long and 8 feet thick. Three stairways
I pie ces of w ood joined tog ether. Paint ed clay of 100 steps each led to the top . From these stairways, a single
d in the near East show that the spoked wheel was flight step led to the part sacred to Nannar, the Moon god.
i, rly as 2500 by human kind. It was later, by 1500 B.C. The Amorites conquered the Akkadians and built a new capi-
th t gyptians used spoked wheels which made chariots move tal at Babylon. The se Semitic-speaking semi-nomads from the
t t -r, To Sumeria can be credited the first wheeled veh.icles, desert (Amorites) settled down and adapted to the civilization of
v n by oxen along stone paved streets and even ownership of the Babylonian plain . By about 1763B.C Larsa was conquered.
h riots as revealed by grave objects. Sumerian mathematicians and the remainder of Old Babylon shifted further north with
worked out the number of days in a year, divided the day into Hummurabi (sixth member of the first dynasty of Babylon) as the
ho i , minutes, and even seconds . Divisions were based on 12's focalpoint. According to A.K. Grayson (1980), the Old Babylonian
n 60' '. period and especially the Hammurabi Age which is generally
Wr'tmg in picture script Cuineform (from Latin word for regarded as the classical period in Babylonian Civilization wit-
w 'ip" 1 s) the signs of which were incised or impressed on nessed the first flowering of distinctive culturecalled.Babylonian.
w t 'I y t bl ts which were then dried, develop ed. A highly However, this culture was the product of a conglomeration of
d v 10 ' Y t m of numerical denotations feature in this writ.. various ethnic stra ins, viz: Sumero Akkadian civilization of the
I . l'h i w m used for accounting. But before 2750 Phonetic Babylonian plain during the period 3000 B.C. The Babylonian
v lue: f igns developed and their neighbours, such as language, a dial ect of Akkadian, a semitic tongue, was written
th A wed it. with th e cuneiform script which w as originally invented to
Th d towns at Ur (Urim) Kish, Larsa and express Sumerian. In religion, law, science and the arts there was
Nipp . oyal Cemetery at Ur yielded evidence of a clear contin urn from the previous civilization with gradual
gold, p t ark good craftsmanship. Kings and alteration brought about by new political realities. Legal practic
queens w their wealth, servants and attendants. was basically the same, with a few .intrusions such as the I x
In about 2300, h i ns under Sargon I conquered Summer talionis (an eye for an eye, a tooth.for a tooth) which came fro
(Shoomer). Akk I 10 ted where th e Tygris and Euphrates the Amorites.
rivers come togeth 'J gion also witnessed the develop- Hammurabi (Hammurabi) built a new ziggurat in Babyl
ment of great centr trade as well as great southern the legendary 'Tower of Babel' in the Bible. The di I
Mesopotamian capitals. 'I include Kishi, Akkade, Babylon, guages spoken by the builders of the tower of babel f to
Selucia, Ktesiphon and B d. languages and dialects spoken by the different BabyIo n tllIl ,.

In Sargon's period, tra with India, Egypt, Ethiopia, etc., and slaves from other countries.
flourished. Sea-going cargo v 1. from these areas sailed to the After Hammurabi came the Kassite dynasty.11
adapted themselves to Babylonian civiliza tio
47

I,,, I I, II " I til l..,l " Nt I Nil f H II NOI 0( ; ) IN PrI< SI'l:1.n v r
- - - -- - - - - - - - - - -
Ih I I• • t f • Il Obi t called a KUDURRU. This was a:large stone
(I l nul, I I tone) upon which were inscribed details regarding
, I' 01 I I d Of grants of tax exemption on land. Many ofthese
01 1 I. I 0 l' incised symbols of the deitie s which were invoked
III till t t t guard the legal stipulations. In fact, Mesopotamian
111 .. pi, C -d such "divine" markers on their frontiers in order to
PI I ve-nt terrestrial en croachment.
H. by lonians were we ll kno wn in the practice of astrology for
1,1 0 It 747-734 B.C. th ere was a systematic observation and
-ompilation of astronomical phenomena, a development related
to the practice of Astro logy which was in vogue. This knowledge
p duced among other things th e Babylonian Chronicle ~ries, a
1 onide of event s in Babylon . By the 7th and 6th centunes, B.C.
t practice of astrology permeated society and the activities of
( st ologers p roduced detailed records of movements of heav-
ily bodies They used thi s knowledge to predict when rain,
i or flood would corne an d calcu lated accurately, the solar
I n. r year. Th e Babylonian calend ar w as ba sed upon the
y , dividing the year into months, days and h ours.
, . basically the contribution of astrologers particularly
hn gaged in the observation of the stars and planets,
I II I. laid the foundation of the science of astronomy
I (Ivlli zations dev eloped . They had a knowledge of
I III 'I)', 1t planets, disting uished the twelve signs of the
II I I I I I \ I II' t-. () t fixed stars, and measured time by means of
UI I I .Iur tu ~ 111 day and water-clocks by night.
B 10111 II (1I11t III d most ofthe trade routes leading to the
Black .' , Y I • I 1 inc and Egypt. Grain, wool, skins, oil and
dates; gol I ' ltv', 0l I r, iron, spices, marble, precious stones,
teak and cedar wo w rc all imported . They were among the
first to use m9ney ternative to trade by barter. Lumpsof
silver of a given wets ented the articles to be exchanged. .
For~ple, a sad< of said to beworlhsontanyshekels
(ounces) of silver. In fact, .t for valuable artides that gold or
P R£- J-J/STOlllC AND A N< u m ( I VlI U AI/ <W '
silver bars reckoned byweight w as used.
They pioneered the study of arithmetic.The idea that a number
changes its value if moved left. The y multiplied by sixty not ten ,
Because they liked to count in tw elves, today we reckon in dozen,
divid ed a"day into twenty-four hours and a minute into sixty
seconds. Seven was a lucky number probably because they
wo rshipped seven planets. This idea began and influenced the
custom of having a w eek of seven days. The. Jew s, Saxons and
Vikings copied th is seven-day week. .
Manufacturing woolen cloth an d rugs w as an important in-
dustry. Raw materials were abundant. Bright colours featured in
th e·garments of rich Babylonians - kings, nobles and priests
while those of the poor an d slaves we re less gay and costly.
Because Babylonia lacked stones, brick-making thrived. Most of
the buil dings w ere constructed with sun dried bricks baked in a
kiln. Prominen t among these edifices were temples and palaces .
Casting in metals w as also an important industry. Various ar-
. tides of bronz e, iron, gold, and silver w ere produced.
High up th e Tigris Valley, and far to the north of Babylon w ere
the Assyrian s with their__capital at Assur (Ashur). Avery milita-
ristic p eople and ancient rivals of Babylonians, shook off the
Babylonian yoke by 1600 B.C. with their iron spears, battering-
rams, siege-machines an d horse drawn chariots, they conquered.
Babylon under their ruler Sennacherib (7040681 B.C.) and trans-
ferre d th e capital to Nineveh, higher-up the Tigris river. By 606
B.C. the Babylonians' assisted by the Medes and Chaldeans
captured an d destroyed Nineveh. But by 539 B.C. this indep en
dence gained by Babylonians w as d estroyed by Cyrus, King of
Persia.
Unde r Assy ria, architectu re was influe nced by Assyri n P (
tice. Assyria had limestone quarries so that stone was II '( d 101
foundations and gateways of royal places as w ell a: for , cu l]
tures, Assyrians w ere famous for sculptures. For x mph, Oil tlu
alab aster slabs of the p alace w alls w ere sculpt I n '. 01 lion nd
49
 ''''' '' 11''',
II I "I u t« , ' NIJ I tlItNUI O,. ) lN Pl::RS P£CTlV l:
. es, etc. Many of these are found in th e
rid , , hunts, br ttles, sIeg
1\1111 h Mu: oum .
T ill' ( 'h. I ll', n King, N ebu ch ad n ezzar II, aft er d estroying
I lilt Vt h I vhui lt Babylon. This period witn essed the wonder of
I h 1,IIII lII I. ' I lang in g Gardens, ris ing by m eans of terraces toa
ht'l ', h i l l! .ibout 300 feet. Bus iness was'well org anized . Business
It ('(Hl l ds were tendered at d receip ts gi ven on clay tabl ets. Let-
I 'I wore en cased in cases of th e sam e material (d ay) and a
f,u lar ~ost~l ~~rvi~e, with relay s of fleet couriers developed. "
ft byloni an civilization w as carried bey ond their boundaries.' '
Europe
A iarly as 3000 B.C. two ancient civili zations had already been
)tl d in Europe in a place called Crete, an Island situated to th e
. ruth of Greece. While th eir origin is uncertain, Crete -w as
I II ted on the direct route between Egypt and the mainland of
( ~ e. The earliest inh abitan ts were an inve n tive grou p w ho
w -re not dominated by in flu ences flowing from the vast conti-
I nts of Asia and Africa. But it provided a 'stop over' opp ortu-
r i ty for travellers and v.oyagers from Africa, Asia, and Europe,
the by receivi ng, adapting and evolving a blend of culture, This
nci nt civilization b eca m e 'known as Min oan civilization be-
.1lI.' ' some of the Kings of Crete w ere named Minos.
I) laces were di scovered in variou s places in Crete. The palace
t os os spread over six acres. It had a central courtyard 170 feet
IOIlp, « nd 80 wide with m any passages and rooms as w ell as
cI inc gc system. Som e rooms w ere used to store grain and oil,
II I r. ontained precious jew els and one throne painting show-
Ill)' 1. r k hired "Y0men and athletic men featured on the walls.
I It uncn, ladies of the cou rt had thick make-up, jewelled
II Ib III Ih ir hair, and w ore long, gracefu l g ow ns. The m en
I 11 I ort tr ou sers w ith feathers on their heads. The
I I I I II .uul building of complex palac es, of paved roads,
I Ir i ll. e sy stem s, irrigation channels and hatbours
50
". "'IIN
1',11 llJ!' IDI HI ..\ N It I \ M It N , ( " " I,
'
testify to a rem a rkable know ledge (of engineering, as R.E Will 'l
, (1980) noted .
There were sp ecialist craftsmen and artisans who showed expe r-
tise in alloyin g of metals, the moulding and hammering of bronze,
the manipulation of gold, silve r, ivory and lapislazuli forinlays;the
carving of stone, eve n rock crystal, basal tand obsidian. The raw
materials for the se crafts came by.sea transport from neigbouring
countries . For exa mple, Crete which stood conveniently on the
ancient trade routes betw een Egypt, Palestine, Asia Minor' an d
Greece was opportuned to export wool and timber, buy copper
from Cyprus, tin from Greece and Luxury goods like p reciou s
stones from Egypt. Coloured glass was fashioned into jewelry, gold
and ivory statues also featured.
Pottery works were decorated with pictures of octopu ses, plants,
grass and, sometimes, a curling '5' line . Minoans agricultu ral basis
was co mbined with hunting, fishing and stock raising . Minoans
possessed large fleets because they had plenty of.wood for ship-
building. Again, this facilitated maritime trade with herneighbours.
, 'Cretan writin g featuredf?ictographicor hieroglyphic scripts and
Linear sc rip ts. The latter w as d ivided intoIinear A and B. The
pictographs were engraved on seals, tablets and ba rs, wi th som e
resemblances to the Egyptian hieroglyphic. The linear scripts'w ere
signs composed of simple straight or curved lines. Linear A r e-
ferred to these used bythe ancient Cretans while Linear B.was used
at Knossos w here about 3000 clay tablets of'this scrip t was foun d
in th e ruins of the pal ace and other buildings destroyed at the same
time. The finds were about ten times m ore than the total of linear
A texts so far available. Li near B w as la tte r found 'on the Gr k
mainland at Pylos, Mycenae, Tiruns and Theb es. It wou ld b
recalled that the earliest known Greeks, called Mycenaean 0
qu ered Crete in ab out 1450 B.c. and entered Greece from tI no t I
in about 2000R C. From Crete, they copied the Minoan iv I 7. I in,
'This p artly explain s h ow Cretan civilization, th e cr 1 )( ' 1
pean civilization, entered the mainland of Eu rop .
,51
, ,, " "I I II '. II N, . NI l I ., IIM Jl Ot . r IN 1' T.IB /'I,( ' rJ\/1
-, seals were also found . The seals bore cult scenes and antJrnw
ificd their palaces with circuit walls; consisting
It
II
Itt
) 1 g roughly dressed boulders, with the interstices
II stones and rubble Palace walls were decorated"
t ) paintings (knowledge borrowed from Crete) with
involving warfare and the chase, rather than ladies. This
use they loved fighting and hunting wild animals like
d wild boar. Their buildings had megaron - a large
u ish room with anteroom and vestibule and circular fixed in
h c ntre of the floor. This hearth was probably for sacrifices.
rior to the Mycenaean period, the inhabitants ef Greece had
buried their dead in pits dug out of the ground or in eists (simple
rectangular graves lined with stone slabs). These types of graves
isted alongside the shaft graves at Mycenae (c 1600 -1500B.C.).
These consisted of shafts sunk into the ground, the floor was
lined with pebbles, the sides built up, and the tomb closed by a
roof ( of stone, sometimes decorated with scenes in low relief)
were set ~p over some to the Shaft Graves. After the Shaft Graves
were mOLOI (round burial chambers). Tholoi were (singular -
olos) constnicted by making each course of stones overlap the
ne below, until a slightly pointed dome was produced at the-top.
A dromos (a long, sloping entrance passage) was made at its
mouth which had doors. The largest known tholoi were the
"Treasury of ATERUS" at Mycenae. Mycenaean tombs display
virtuosity in art and craftsmanship and their very size and
-I ho ration, give a vivid impression of the architectural and
ngineering expertise at the disposal of the Mycenaeans, espe-
ly in the period after 1400B.C. Mycenaean pottery looked like
those of mainland Greece but decorated like those of Crete with
tifs of Minoan "marine" and vegetable styles. There w ere
" lace-style" jars, "pilgrim flask", false necked jar (stirrup jar),
I II jugs, goblets, large bowls (craters) - decorated with chari-
t wi th stylized animal scenes. The Greeks and Cy priots
) ought most of these wares. There were terra-cotta
51 .
t'U · H ,SI'QIUC ,1:-10 II NU I N J I 11'Il J All oIN
figurines. in human (woman )and animal shapes. Gold n
~atiOQS~gl y~~o~ Minoan work. Gold
~ lQrdeath mas~ ,cups,ett. :Ivory was
used inC81'Vi118 boxes,
plaque&, etc. ' (
,MycenaeadS cultivated w heat, bade)', millet and peas. Vines
We!e cultivat~ and the wine rna~e from the grapes was sweet..
ened witl\ honey. They traded with Meditemmean COUl\tria
Their ships brought goods from Syri~ Sicil}', CyplUS and per-
haps.Britain. ' . '
The Dorian tribes conquered Crete. Many Mycenaeans Sed .
and settled in Attica and Asia Minor. These refugees are kaown
as lonians afterthe Greekdialed they spoke Doriansan4 10Dians
grew to be the two most famous Greek laces. The chiefDorian
-city was Sparta.The most important in loma was Athens.
Greek Civilization
Siijdence of Greek civilization in the period teferftd to ~ ~
Archaic Age is derived from oral traditions, Vic or H$ ~m
Olympia and lists of kings or magistrates kept by .~~ dries
'6wot:ksby Aristotle (political developments) an a~ ~t
and 'local customs). During t!ri9 ~d~ A-rdlWc G~ lp, ~1-,
5OO B~C:), theCreeb welescatftetOO in smaHJ. seitlemen~ ~illif{)J ~~
f()rm anatiori) throughout mainland ~;, A il ~~ .
(Crete ·inclusive~, in cities on the es" roast of Asia ,
;1iislandS of the eastern Mediterranean such as Lesbos, Chio&,
.Sames, Rhodes.and cyprus and in colonies establiSiedia §hIt1"
l"d1td~ern Italy tate in'the agbth century B.C. Althoug
Greek city state was .autonomous· and , developed in wi
different ways the following activities -wtited them:
.(1) Jbf! -Greek ~~g~ha4 many,dialecb
. .,form before 700 B.C.
.': ~2) worshi.p ofthe same gods basically in tbe&lI.lru.· ll~ tnll1'J
53
I III II/ I' '/'1 1' 1 "l /I N l I \NJ t J " II NUl (X;) IN [J CRSPIX nV£
W II It 10c.I1 variations in the cult;
(I) II, tlcipation in three pan-Hellenic cult centres - Olympia
(with its Gam es), Delphi, and Delos;
( ) iliad, Odyssey, and other poems of the 'Epic Cycle';
giving the Greeks and glimpse of their heroic past;
( ) the veneration of pan-Hellenic heroes, espe cially Heracles.
Thus whether they were Dorians (living in the northwest, in the-
a stal states of the Peloponnese, in Crete, Thera, and Rhodes)
A olians (in Boeotia, Thessaly, and Lesbos), or Ionians (in Attica
d the southwest of Asia Minor), the above distinguished the
reeks from non Greek peoples (barbaroi).
It is believed that the Greeks belong to the Aryan branch of the
ucasian race who wan dered from cen tral Asia into Europe
b tween 200 and 1200 B.C. and occupied the pe ninsula now
C' lled Greece. They later referred to th emselves as 'Hellenes'
(descendants of Hellen ) from the 7th Century B.c. Its plains and
valleys during this period were secluded from neighboring ones
by rugged heights, and th e lack of roads made communication
between one valley and the other difficult. Because the city-states
did not grow uniformly in size and importance, Athen s and
Sparta emerged the most powerful with time, sparta was on land
while Athens was a sea-faring state. Athens-with its port at
. aeus had a fine navy. Athens and the other Greek sea-faring
tes were among the most important traders in the Mediterra-
and even the Black sea. They traded.oil ~~ wine for grains
whi ch their soil -did favour. They copied the use of silver coins
m the Lydians (in Asia Minor and sometime th eir overlord)
who had invented such coins. Thus in this early period the
oks were familiar with com currency.
reeks grew more olives and grapes th an wheat. Th ey
utiful pottery jars to hold Wine and olive.oil for export .
were decorated with geometric designs, in this early
54
PRE-H IS-rDHH- AN/J AN' /IN ' I 11"11 1/ ~ 11 " "
- - -- - - - - - - - -- _ :. .:. :. . :. :.:.:.:. :.: :. . .:.:.:...:-
per~od. By the seventh century Greek pottery featured orient I
desl~as a result of the eastern trade. The designs were mainly
Motifs of animal, human-beings th ere w ere monumental seu I p
tureofminiature art in stone, day, ivory, wood and bronz e. Gree k
architects built temples with stone. More rem arka ble is the
- division of th e temple by columns into a wide central area such
as in the Doric Temple. The temple had two narrow side aisles.
As ~. T. Hooker, (1980) wrote, massive flu ted columns sprang
straight from the floor along all four sides; they supported an
architrave, upon which rested a decorative frieze of alternate
triglyphs and me~opes; at the ends, the frieze as itself sur-
mounted by,atrfangular pediment commonly containing sculpted
groups: '
Political Development
Most Greek poleis (cities/settlement) during this early period
were monarchies, in which the king (basileus) came from one of
the noble families (Sparta had a different system ). In some cities
the oligarchic element was stronger, in others the monarchic, bu t
the king was nowhere an absolute ruler. While tyrants seized
power in some cities p olitical rights was spread to ~tizens other
than members of noble families. A mercantile 'middle class'
which arose in the 7th century also acquired new rights and
d~tie~ in ~oth political and th e military sphere. Forexample, the
~~o~atic cavalry who led retainers into battle was replaced by
disciplined ranks of heavy-armed infantry.
- Developments in Athens and Sparta provide us a picture of the
Gteek initiative and contribution in the science of government.
_Athens had begun changes which culminated in the develop-
ment of 'Democracy' a Greek word which means 'govemm nt
by the people'. As ordinary citizens (not slaves) 'wan to
participate actively in politics,theldng was now con with
supervising state religion. The nobles (often opp ssive) h d
55

I
T HE HISTOItY Of 5 CIE/lICE AND T EaiNowdY IN P ERSPECnVE
taken pver. Military duties and judicial functi~ns (hitherto car-
ried O\.1t by the King) were exercised by nobles, Command er-in-
Olief (plemarch~) and an archon respectively. These function-
aries (king inclusive) came from a few noble families and were
elected annually later in the 7th century six other magistrates,
who repl'9Sented some interestof the non-aristocratic classes
~~~. the other gov ernment functionaries. 'Each magistrate
joined the'Council of the Areopagus which formed the executive
bOdy of the polis at the end of this tenure of office. Though
Athenians attributed their first written law code to Dracon k620
B.C.), justlfittle of this is known excep t for the articles dealing
with homicid e. However, Solon (archon 594 B.C.) continued a
thorou~ go~g political refonn which tried to rectify prevailing
economic evils, whereby th e rich op pressed their dependants
and debtors, by political means. As Hooker, (1980) noted, Eco-
nomic resources replaced social status as the test of a man 's
eligibility for magistracies, and even citizens without property
acquired the right of electing magistrates, of sitting in the assem-
bly (ekklesia), and of being empanneled as jurors. The ekklesia
merely voted on issues presented to it by the magistrates and so
h~d no so~e~i.gn voice in th e state. But in contrast with Sparta
was significant progress in the art of governance.
parta featured two hereditary kin gs (not absolute) who en -
joyed more ~uence than the Athenian king. He was assisted by
a council (gerousia), consisting of the kings ex-official and ~8 .
elders elected for life: the assembly of citizens and five ephors
elected annually. The Ep ho rs exercised execu tive powers and
presented proposals to the assembly, , . i .
hllosophy
thinkers at Miletus initiated the entire history of philoso-,
eculation as these terms are understood in the 'west-
wo":ld. PromineDt among ·th~·thinkerS :·in 6th-czentutj'B.C.
, . der, these nu!n were concerned With the
. 56
PRE-HISTORIC .4ND ANe ll NT"( II ' II I/ ,W O N
nature of the perce ptible universe and the way in wh ich the
universe is to be related to a supreme being (not the place of
human being in the universe). Thales, astronomer, and math-
ematician propounded the view that the universe is fashioned
and from which it takes its life-giving force . Anaximander, an
astronomer, taught that the primal'stuff' from which every
thing had evolved w as the boundless' out of which the elem ents
of our world have been produced by the interaction of opposites.
An aximenes, held the same view of the primal stuff as being
infinite but identified it as air, which produces everything else by _
becoming either d enser or more rarefied. These thinkers were
dogmatic in their teaching, each thinking that he had arrived at
the ultimate truth about the constitution of matter. Heraclitus of
Ehpehesus in the 6th century B.C. believed in a constantly
changing universe and an underlying principle (logos, fire)
which maintained a balance between opposing forces in the
w orld . Pythagoras of Samos believed in the tran smigratio n of
souls an d the belief th at a definite relationship subsists be tween
objects and numbers. He believed th at numbers were the purest '
of ideas, in which everything else could be expressed . He de vel-
oped the Pythagoras theorem. .
•I
Classical Greece featu res relations wi th Persia, riva lry be-
tween Athens and Sparta and the Achievem ent of Athens. Th e I
Greeks were att acked by Persians (also to Aryan stock) of the
Oriental world. But in 490 B.C. the Greeks defeated th e Persians
at Marathon . Ten years later in 480 B.C. the Persians burnt
Athens. A combined force of Spartans and Atheniansfinally
defeated Persia.
Between Athens an d sparta w as th e qu est for supr~ma cy.
While this section does not reflect on the de tails therein, w hat is
,, of interest is the adventure, experiment and enterprise of Athens ,
Sparta was conservative, militaristic and retained her cu'f iollsly
. egalitarian, p rivilege-rid de n system . .
In Athens, Solon in 594 B.C has put forward the p rinciple th.it
57
 1/11 /I,,, oI' , " N' I Nil I I , I/NU /()(, Y IN I'I:K5 PI:~TIVI:
l J w It above any individual or collection of individu-
l J
J w () Ight be granted or take upon themselves the right to
I I I p t It. By the mid 5th century every Athenian male citizen
dt c me responsibility as any other for the management of
II, o i ty. A cou ncil (boule), chosen annually by lot from the
wh I citizen body and in the law courts whose juri es were also
hosen by lot was evolved and added to the existing system .
'hief executive powe r, civil as well as military m ove from.
I archons to a body of ten generals (strategoi) chosen from the
traditional ruling families. The individual's performance greatly
influence the peoples choice during elections.
During the later part of the 5th century B.C., the study of
History and other reputable stu dies tod ay (economics and psy-
chology excluded) developed. Hippocrates and others created
the study of medicine, prognostic, diagnostic, curative, and laid
down principles of medical practice. In Athens, Socrates, Plat o,
Aristotle contributed greatly to the discipline, Philosophy.
The Era of Philosophical Speculation
"Scientific questioning of the world of human exp erience had
begun in the 6th Century B.c. This lessened th e influence of
traditional modes of understanding of issues. There were ap -
proaches to scientific ques tioning. One approach rejected the
evidence of the senses but relied on a model of reality, perfect
without variation, unchanging, which derived, not from obser-
vation but from an a-priori logic of predication . Ano th er ap-
proach combined theories of the basis of physical reality and the
powers that control it" with the pursuit of spiritual salvation
through mystical beliefs and rituals of purity. Thus Philosophi-
cal /truth' was treated as a secretrevelation, not to be divulged to
the uninitiated .The third approach attempted, by inference from
observed phenomena and by argument from analogy/ to reduce
alty to
its ultimate constituents and "its origins in time; if
h d ultimate development in the highly a-priori atomism of
58
P RE- HIsTORIC liND AN, /I NI l "'/I I 1/1 ' 'N
Democritus which described the world in terms of irreducibk
particles of matter form ing chance conjunction to produ ( till'
physical world of experience. These forms of speculative think
ing according to John Gould (1980) was characteristic of th
period 5$0 and 400 B.C. the last few decades of the 5th century
he noted featured a shift of interest, away from Cosmological
Speculation to human experience and human society itself, its
origins, forms and values. This age featured sophists, "who we re
teachers of skills and techniques ofpersuasion, masters of public
argument anddebate. These sophists were professional teachers
of th e leisured class in cities such as Athe ns. Protagoras, for
example, did no t hold the view that it was p ossible to posses
absolute knowledge of-the wo rld or of divinity: He believed that
man was the measure of all things and -that man had the cap acity
to solve almost all the problems that experience presents to
human kind .
Gould, aptly discussed the shortcoming of Greek sp eculation.
He noted that despite the variety of their intellectual endeavour
about man's experience, issues relating to techn ological devel-
opment were disregarded . What could be reg arded, as techno-
logical skills we!e the design of build ing (temples ) not for
human use but for divinity. Human problems in the areas of
transportation and agriculture among others were sta te respon-
sibilities and not ad dressed as issues relating to the universe,
hu man kind, and gods.
Greek thought could be best described in t he following terms:
realistic; an unwavering reg ard for fact, absence of escapism or
sentim ent ality; a passion for accuracy and precision of state-
ment.
Writing
Writing in Greece began probably in the mid eight century B. '.,
havirtgbeen borrowed from the Pho enicians.TheGreeks adapted
this writing to suit their own language. "Today, the world alpha-
59
 '" III /l IR t til" ~\.'I ENC£ AND TrC HNOLOGI IN fJ f R.'I'L\' f/lT
h t was derived from alpha and beta, the Greek names forA and
B. The Greek D is delta from which the word delta, meaning a
I( ce where rivers join to make a triangle with the sea. Greek .
I tters are used as symbol s in mathematics. These include sigma
0:); Pi ( Jt), , etc. The Greeks like the Phoenicians had twenty-
four letters but the Greeks added vowels to their letters.
The Greek calendar was a lunar one with the year divided into'
a series of religious festivals. Usually, there were twelve months
of thirty days, but if a month had twenty-nine day s the news was
announced by a town crier. But individual towns had different
calendars.
Succeeding the classical period of Greece is what could be
referred to as the Golden Age. Pericles rul ed Athens after th e
Persian wars which devastated Athens. The glory of Athens had .
to be restored and this was a challenge to Pericles (460-429 B.C.).
Assisted by architects, sculptors, painters, poets, dramatists,
historian. philosophers, scientists, and skilled craftsmen of vari-
ous kinds, numerous marbl e buildings and statues were con-
structed. In far t this period was also styled "The Age of Marble".
The most remarkable of these buildings was the Parthenon, built
on the Acropolis, a limestone plateau about two hundred feet
above the lev el of the plain. The- Persians had destroyed th e
earlier temples there of which the Athenians were so proud. The
Parthenon (Temple of the Maiden) was erected in honour of the
goddess Athene, after whom the city was named. Pericles was in,
charge of the new building but he was assisted by architects -
Ictinus and Callicrates, and a sculptor, Phidias. This construction
lasted four years. This wonderful temple to Athene was 228 feet
long, 101 feet wide and 65 feet high with 58 main columns and
over SQO carved figure s. All its lines appear to be straightbut in
fact all were curved. Bronze and marble statues were erected . A
huge gold and ivory statue of Athena also stood ana high point
that sailors, miles out at sea could see the sun reflecting on her
I h lmet and know that they were nearly home.
60
Pottery was an important trade commodity. TI ll' • 1I Il 'I
terracotta from clay of Attica which turned orange an I d
colour when baked also featured black patterns and figur ,
when the red background wa s painted . In the Golden Ag "
pottery wore .glossy black colour with red figures. Pots of differ-
entshapes and sizes and for different purposes were produced.
It will be recalled that Pythagoras laid down various rules in
geometry. He too declared the world to be round when many
thought it was flat. Aristarches was the first man to suggest that
th e earth and plants moved around the sun, instead of the other
way round. Archimedes of Syracuse, a Greek scientist, realized
as he sat in his bath that a body placed in water displaces the same
volume of water as itself.
By 338 B.C. Philip of Macedon conquered ~reece. His son
Alexander succeeded him . He conquered Persia, and Egypt
(here he established the city of Alexandria). Egyptians welcomed
him because they wer e tired ofPersian:oppressive rule. Alexander
carried on his conquest into India but died in Babylon while
retreating. His generals divided the Macedonian empire into
three. Antipater took Greece, Seleucus took Babylonia and
Ptolemy took Egypt. Through Alexander's exploits. Greek ideas
and language spread beyond Greece.
Rome
Rome is situated halfway down the west coast of Italy, about
fifteen miles from the sea. Rome before the Republic -was estab-
lished was inhabited (c 753 B.C.) by the Indo-European - speak-
ing pe ople from the Danube basin. Archaeological evidenc
shows that these people were animal rearers.There were peasant
farmers on the bank of river Tiber, they grew com, olives, gr
etc. They were called Latins, which means "men of t.\ wi
plain" . Rome had big salt beds around the Tiber whi h th Y
mined and traded.
61

'THE HISTORY Or S CIENCE "'NV 'I't dmoWGY IN PERSPE.CTIVE
Their political system, during this period had the Senate, an
dvisory b dy chosen by the King from the heads of the principal
f. m ilic ~ the t had settled in Rome. They weilded both political
md ligrous power. Th eir status was hereditary: the descen-
d. It. of "Fathers" appointed by the kings were known as
I) I ci ns and formed a separate class within Roman society.The
1'1 LJ did not belong to thi s elite class. The plebians included
1'00 pe sant labourers, rich merchants and artisans,
, I,: 'h et!'nic unit had a curia (ward or parish). Curiae (wards or
p. ishes) were established as new groups joined Rome.Thus the
( 'uriate Assembly had voting units and was concerned with
I \Inily matters such as wills and adaption and bestowal of
pi('nary power (imperium). Contact with Estruscans influenced
Romans. As city dwellers an d fine craftsm en, they provided
ngineers who drained.the central area of Rome . Estruscans had
nowledge of constructing subterranean water tunnels. With
I his knowledge, they constructed the main drain which made it
possible for separate communities of Rome to unite in a common
market plac e with common temples and place of assembly. The
Forum which previously served as burial ground now housed
public buildings su ch as the Palace (Regia). 'Roman artifacts,
pottery and social organization was influenced by Etruscan
ideas.
Citizens were now classified on the basis of their wealth other
I h n curae membershi p of classic conferred political rights on
I lu- ind ividual as well as qualified one for citizenship. A new
• . ernbly was created and it becam e the main body for public
L cussion of issues, for law making and for the election of
III gistrates. This assembly did not take cognizance of distinc-
lion between partricians and plebians rather every male had a
y in the affairs of th e State. Greek vases were found in Rome
I I ring this period that Etruscans ruled . The presence of Greek
111 r was probably derived from the Etru scans who imbibed
(,I ulture. Rome conquered many of her neighbours, allied
62
P RE- H ISTORIC AND ANCIEN I' C/ VILrI. Al'IO N S
with the Latin peoples and by 507 B.e. ended Etrus can hege-
mony an d established a republic.
Republican Rome
Power during the republican period shifted to the patricians who
monopolized religious authority, and the annual dual magis-
tracy (consulship ). A large group of the citizenry - land owner,
artisans, peasants, etc., was excluded from any real say in gov-
ernment. As the economy dwindled and many people seceded,
the plebia ns set up their own official, tribunes and their own
assembly at which plebian matters were decided. A commission
of Ten was set up because of the friction between plebians and
patrician. They codified and published th e Twelve bronze tables
in 451 B.e. which set out for the first time for all to see the rights
and privileges of all Roman citizens under the law.
The Romans built good roads using a peculiar method. Firstly
a deep trench was dug in the soil and filled with foundations of
mainly layers of stones, crushed rubble and concrete. The surface
was made of paving stones, carefully fitted together. Drainage
ditches were cut along the roadside, while in the towns, a kerb
separated the highway from the pedestrians foot-path. The
highways had milestone at intervals marking distances to Rome
and nearest towns. Greek sculpture, painting and literature was
copied by Romans. They also learned Greek as a secon d Ian",
guage.
Rome conquered Car thage, Macedonia, Greece, Asia Minor,
etc. to become an empire. During Julius Caesar 's brief rule the"
Roman calendar changed . Its twelve months, measured by the
moon and making 355 days in a year no w ,changed as Caesar
ordered that the Egyptian solar (sun) calendar of 365 days with
a leap year every fourth year be used. He renamed'the seventh
month Julius (nowJuly) alter his own name. The next ruler of
Rome, Augustus, called the eighth month August.
63

T HE HI STORY OF SCI ENCE AN D T ECHNOLOGY IN P ERSPECTIVE
Roman baths were recreati on centres whe re people of all
classes could bathe, exercise and chat. There were hot, cold and
war baths as wellas massage rooms where bath ers had their
bodies oiled and massaged by specially trained slaves. After this,
they could relax in lounges, libraries or restaurants. Aqueducts
(canals) which carried water from hillsid es into the city where it
fed public tap s and fountains or was piped directly into the
homes of the rich were built. Amphitheaters (oval shaped arena
/ with seats rising all round), colosseum (opened massive enter-
taining arena), and ordinary swimming pool were features of the
Roman empire.
After two centuries of peace, prosp erity and strong govern-
ment Rome collaps ed but with the eastern part, Byzantium still
"alive but also fell to the Turks by 1453 A.D.
Ancient China
Chinese civilization began in three valleys of Yellow, Yang tze
and Huai rivers. Shang China or the people of Shang; located
around the tributary of Yellow river developed a civilization that
featured a palace erected on an earthen platform, houses, storage
pits, wells, kilns and a cemetery. Bronze vessels used for ceremo-
nial rites of an cestor worship, city walls and bronze foundries.
There were oracle bones with inscriptions showing primitive
Chinese writing and advent of literacy. Numerous human skulls
II:
even those of animals reflect human and animal sacrifice in this
; .
early period, 1766-1Q.27 BiC. that is, from about the seventeenth
century, B.C.
Deep channels were constructed to conduct the streams to the
sea, irrigation and flood control activities were also quite promi-
nent. Conseque ntly, farmers benefited as they recorded surplu s
harvest of crops, millet, w heat and rice . Oxen, sheep, horses,
goats, do gs, chicken and pigs we re reared while hunti ng and
fishing activities were also undertaken. Handicrafts comprised
64
·1' 1(1.· / /ISHl RIC AN D I\1)ICIEN T C n7L.fLA rJONS
, ) .
I I , LlI o uz " bon , leather, stone, jade, wood, silk and wool
t / r lies.
I
thur Cotterell (1980), vividly des cribe Shang's ~arly archi-
l re of which the major method of wall construction was
l ed earth. Dry earth was rammed into woodenshuttering
II 'I it became solid, The shuttering waul be ata hi$herJevel.
boo or another wooden materialmight be placed between
h layer to absorb moisture; The walls id not bear weights
eaves were generously employed. Palatial buildings were
cted on stamped earthen terraces. Stope pillar bases were
1 ced on the earth foundation. Th e pillars, cross-beams and
.dge-poles were made of wood. Finely plastered earthen walls
urrounded the structure. The roof composed of a mixture of
rass, thatch, rushes and bamboo.
Homes of ordinary people were semi suq~erranean buildings,
with floors as much as .9 feet (2.7 ill) below ground level. This
mderground location was to avert destruction of the dust laden
winds blowing off the Gobi.desert, They were about 14 feet (4;3
m) wide, with earthen walls and stone based centre columns as
well as subsidiary: posts thatsupported overhanging thatched
roofs. There were earthen 'steps to th ese buildings. The other
underground structures were workshops, storage pits for grains
and archives for bones with Inscriptions and tortoise shells.
The Chou people 'overthrew-the last Shang ruler but. Shang
civilization influenced those that developed in 9'e HU4Ji river
valley, on the northern baakof the Yangtze. rive~ and in the
Shantung Peninsula. The Chou people worked Withbroqze but
then'vesselwere less fine than those of Shang. ·WIth construction
of canals and .imp rovedirrigation system agricultural output
improved . Found ries of cast-iron or possibly steel weapons
facilitated manufacturing of weapons for the various conquests
between lO2? B.C: and 256 :B~C~~ the· pe~od ()t the' Chou dynasty
(the longest in Chinese history). . ..,
With .irOn· technology improved agricultural tools were pro-
duced to ease the burden ofthe nungIpeasan farmers). The
.ss
" ...:.'

Tnt: HISTORY Of SCIENCE AN D TE CHNOLOGY IN P ERSPECTIVE
cr?ssbow c~e into lise and influenced the social structure. With
this technical ac~i~vement the feud al levies fired these weapons
from the d efensIvr walL. T~us the ordinary people could over-
throw,the ~obles with this weapon. The 'Kung (artisans) worked
on found ries ~d w orkshop while the Shang (Merchants), taking
advantage of Im p roved communication' facilities -roa ds and
I :
canal~ p lies! their tr~de in the Kingd om . They exchanged' iron,
~a1t, fish, lacquer, silk, w ood, precious stones, bro nze vessels,
cl~th. and musical ins trumen ts. Coin currency was in use as the
min ting of coins in copper and go ld dendmi nations featured
before the w arring states period (722-'481 BLC.).
. From 221 B.C. ~e~dalism ended and Prince Cheng became the
first Emper~r umtl1~g all the'pe opl e with a cen tralized political
system. Ancient Chmese civilization flow ered within the frame-
w ork of a unified empire. Apart from earlier mentioned develop -
ments ~uch as roads, writing, currency, etc., the Grea t Wall
starte~ in 214 B.C. and introduction of treasury notes made from
the skin of a white stag we re unique/
Early Science A n4 Technology
As early as 1.7 million year~ ago man lived in Chin a in the'Yu nan
, province. At this site, the presence o~ ashes and charred bones
" suggest that man used fire. Other finds corrob orate this evidenc e
but included charred .stones, stone tools- h ammers an d flin t
scraper.'
The~e is e~idence of farming, stone axes an d sp ad es for tilling
the ~oI1, an im al husbandry - pigs an d cu ltivation of mullet.
Sewmg and ~e~ving were reflecte d in the presen ce of ston e
w~orls for sp mmng thread an d bone needles. Stone chisels and
sto ne edges served as tools for crafts while bone harpoon heads
.~ d bone arrow heads .w ~re fishi~g and hunting tools respec-
tively. Pottery bore textile imp ressions, and some with Chinese
scripts and num erals. All the se belong to the N eolithic Age in
66
, P Re - II/ STORK AN D ANOENT C IVILizATIONS
China and were found at Pan -p'o site in Shensi. Homutu culture
(Homutu site in Chekiang province) revealed paddy rice cultiva-
tion, domestication of animals such as cattle, d ogs, pigs and
sheep, hunting and fishing. Ploughs made of animal bones-were
found. This culture dated c 3000 B.C. '
Bronze Age
The late neolithic period between the late 4thfU\d early 3rd 'F
millenia B.C. had a culture, around the Yellow river which .
featured black and white pottery made on the potter's wheel.
Bronze vessels, pottery moulds for casting bronze,bronze foundry
confirm that this age was entered not later than about 1700 B.C.
Bronze objects were mainly for ceremonial purposes.. Proto-
porcelain wares made of kaolin clay with yellowish-green glaze
on the surface about the mouth and translucent deep green glaze -
on the inner and other surfaces were found . At Anyang were '
inscribed bronze vessels, bronze seals, bronz e mirrors, etc.
Oracle Bones
Oracle bones at Anyang were carapaces of tortoises and should er
blades of oxen used for divination. They contain the oldest
known Chinese written records - epigraphic evid ence. Oracle
bones show the use of luni-solar calendar, with each year consist-
ing of 12 lunar months of either 29 or 30 days' each .an d a 13th
lunar month added about once in every 2 or 3 y~ars: They also
u sed a deean .of 10 days. A cydeof 10 ordinals, ca-lled the
II celestial stem". Another cycle of 12 ordinals called the terres- II
, trial" branches were used for naming days and probably also the
months. These two Cycles formed a sexagesimal cycle. The oracle
bones also containrecords of eclipses, novae, and names of stars
and constellations that made up a few of the 28 groups of stars
along the Ecliptic the Chinese called "Lunar mainsions" . Gold,
jade, pottery, shell objects, wooden artifact, etc., w ere,fou n d
67

THE HISTORY Of SCIENCE AND TECH NOLOGY IN PER SPECTIVE
alongside oracle bones,
Astronomy
From records kept bet-reen 72.2 B.C. (Spring and Autumn An-
nals) are records of so\~r a~d lunar eclipses, come ts and meteor
streams.This record ll1~ntioneda comet in 613 B.C. which can be
regarded as the earliest sighting of Halley 's comet. Ho Peng Yoke
(1980) stated that the arliest records onthe shadow measure':'
ments of the sun usi~& the gnomon at the winter solstices were
found in 655 and 522 B,~. Iil the 5th century B.c. the Chinese had
knowledge of and us~~ Quarter -Remainder Calendar which
was based on the equi~~ent of 365 days to one tropical year and
237 lunatioris to 19 tropical years.
Chinese also plac~d.!he meridian passages of certaierstars in
relation to the seaso ns·'.t and
.
the fixing of the intercalary lunar
month before th e Hsig dynasty. The early Chinese star cata-
logues, star map.jrositions of stars in terms of polar distances
and distances from the determinant stars of the 28 lunar man-
. sions d~te about 4th century B.C.
A bronze sundial, water clocks sunspots; nova, the pr ession of
th~~~quinpx.e s were all known to theChinese.
""'''-,' ? ' " -'~~' .
iH~::' jron Age
Objects of Iron discovered in Ancient China include a double-
edged steel sword dating back to the late Spring and Autumn
period (770-476B.,C.) This is the period China is believed to have
entered th e Iron Age . Two weapons with iron plates from a
meteoric source, other iron implements, iron mines and industry
of cast iron were discovered.Chinese cast iron differed from cast
irontechnology in Europe .
The "Hundred Schools" of Philosophical Teachings
. . Chinese Scholars refer to the period between the sixth and the
fourth centuries RC. as the "hundred schools" of philosophical I
68
AjE-HISTOIUC AND ANCIENT C M LlZA170 NS
teachings. These schools helped in recording early history of
science and technology in China. For example Confucious (551-
479 B'C)' edited'the'I Ching (Book of Changes) which embodies
a system of 64 hexagrams, believed by some pe ople to hold the
secrets of not only the future of human affairs but also the riddles
of the universe. Mo-tzu in his book, discussed the focus and the
image produced by concave as well ~.s convex mirrors, th e
inverted image.produced by a pin hole,.abd the balance. Chinese
theory of five elements (fire, water;-wood, .metal and earth)
unlike the elements of modernchemists suggest motion rather
than rest. The Greeks on the other hand had fire, air, earth and
water.
Mathematics
By the evidence on oracle bones; the Chineseused decimal place
value system.They held that in the.ratio 3 : 4.: 5' the square on the
longest side equal the sum of the squ ares on the other t wo sides.
This special case of the Pythagoras theorem is attributed to a
mathematician named ShanzKaO,m ·t;h~ eleventhcentury, Re.'
Bone, and bamboo counting rodswere.used for calculatioa s., ~
Rules for the.area of rectangle,trapeziums, triangles, circles, arcs
and annuli, percentages and proportions, partnership problems .
and rules of three; finding the sides of figures given the areas and
single sides, using square roots and cube roots, finding volumes . : ,
r-
of solid figures, like prisms, cylinders, pyramids, circular cones, :" .
frustums of a cone,' tetrahedron's, wedges, etc., pu rsuit and
allegation; a Chinese algebraic invention known as the "rule of
false position", used mainly for solving the equation ax = b;
simultaneous linear equations involving both positive and nega-
tive numbers, and prop erties of theright-ang led triangle ex-, .
pressed'algebraically are recorded in an influential early Chinese . v:
mathematical work, the Chiu Chang Suan Shu (Nine Chapters of ..
the Mathematical Art) . Other works dealt With measurement of
heights and distances, magic squares"MCi.thmeticaI series, 'differ-
69
 1'11/: I {IS"'()~ Y () 1 S n l:NU : AN /) 'j'c:cm! OW (;Y IN P ERSPfCHV1:
ent forms ot the abacus, very large numbers, divination methods,
and the magn etic compass.
M edicine
In Chinese herbal m edicine, gold and silver needles used for
acup\lDcture characterized their medical knowledge even before
113 B~. As Yoke, wrote, tw o medical treatises, one on fever and
the other on dietetics were wr itten by Chang Chi (Chang Chung-
Ching) towards the end of the second century A.D. By the early
third century A.D., general anes thesia was administered bythe
use of wipe called ma-fei-san, which is now supposed to contain
Indian Hemp , Pulse-reading was an important technique used
by Chinese physicians for diagnosis. There were also medical
books oninfectious diseases, giving prescriptions for the treat-
ment of various typesof sicknesse s, including eye trouble and
beri -beri.
.m otion to othersalthough it had no star attached to it. Each of
Illu strat ion f rom Dr. R. W. Felkin 's descript ion of 'h e caesa rean section. Edi nburg
.~ Med ic al Journal , 1884. Courtesy of Ivan Vall Sertima (p 152, 1990)
70
CHAPTER3 .
MIDDLE AGES OR MEDIEVAL ~ERIOD
T he medieval period, 4th ., 1450 (mid 15th century):refers to
.1 that period between the Dark Ages and the Renaissance . It
would be recalled that learning, the spirit of inquiry and knowl-
edge about ancientcivilizations were dormant for about three
centu ries (500-800), while the Dark Ag~s lasted. It was during the
later middle Ages that man began to take interest in affairs such
as learning, commercer discovery,. etc. l\\That then was the Med i-
. :/
eval Period like?
T he Medieval Period was dominated essentially by religion so
that the Church held man literally from the cradle tothe grave.
the world was indeed a, microcosm of the eternal macrocosm of
the universe which was also graded hierarchically, For example;
omnipoten t and om niscient, God th e He avenly Father sat.en-
throned over all, in equal majesty at his right hand was ChristHis
Son, and below were the heavenly spirits or intelligences, ser-
aphs, cherubs and thrones, principalities, archangels and angels
(which as the lowliest qf celestial beings moved the sphere of the
Moon, the least perfect of the heavens). Again, deriving from
Dante's poem, the Divihe Comedy, wri tten at the start of the 14th
century, the Earth wasconceived as being enclosed within the
spheres of the Moon, Mecury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter and
Saturn. Next was the sphere of the Pixed stars, then the nint h, the
sphere of the Firs t MoverIl'rimum Mobile), which imp arted
these traRspar~t, cry stalline globes (the univ erse was repre-
sented as a series of ten translucent ar- d concentric globes or
spheres) was moved by intelligences or spirits; the ninth which
 Till: II/STORYOF SC/E:NCE: AND '{ [ , '1I
, '
I<X;l IN I'I:RSI'I"<TIl'l:
.moved more rapidly than the rest, as indeed fitting for the sphere
-nearest to He aven, was impelled by th e highest of celestial
beings. The Em pyrean Heaven constituted th e ten th and fina l
sky, and, being the home of God and His saints, was immobile,
etern al-and infinite..Th is wa s the goal of all human efforts and
;" di~ine movemen t. In the cen tre of th is system the unmoving
Ear th w as, pl aced, at the heart 'o f w hich lay the holy city of
Jerusalem. Beneath the Earth,'Dan te visualized the abod e of the
imperfect spirits, Purga tory, and the home of the damned, Hell.
I ,
~owever, it is to be noted that the above d etailed cosmology
which w as accepted in the Mid dle' ag ~s wa s more from the
hyp otheses of Aristotle (Greek Philosop her)and the Alexandrian
geographer, Ptolemy than Christia n theology. But in the course
of time it became Christian, a Christian Philosophy of life which
everyone accep ted implicitly. In his Summa Theologica, Thomas
Aquinas, th e Dominican Friar attemp ted tQ resolve the tension
b~tween th e conflictin g claims of reason (or p hilosophy) and
i;r •
faith (or th e? logr). In thi s exposition or philosophy, nothing
compared WIth hfe . God, the first Mover unmoved ,' out . 'of his
sublime l? ve cr~ated the un iverse, the world and man. Although
man fell m to sin, God ou t of his unlimited love sent His Son
Christ who redeemed mankind . The Church, which H~ estab-
lished and end ow ed with a he ad in the perspn ofPeter. who~e
authority was tra nsferred from age to age th rough successive
P?pes, was there to guid e man, by its teaching and worship, to
~lS eternal ho me; it was there to help him through the ministra-
t~on of the sacram ents, throu gh the H oly MflSS and the Confes-
sional, through the gift of grace, to de feat sin and so to earn God's
all-loving reward . ' . ,'
This briefly cons tituted the foundation of -existence which no
medieval man was likely to question. He might indeed criticize
an d condemn the activities of God 's appointed representatives,
the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor. He might grumble at the
d em ands which the Church constantly made upon him ; but he
72
knew that life on earth wasapreliminary to an eternal existence,.
withp~~tofY~ ,cuni4. .w~ ·hQ~ between -the abode of.bliss;
Reuen. . . d .the .~s,ofthe d~ed 'jn Hell.
.!6edieV'CJI· man.~gine4:·witdtes weavmg .rid. . an
·broomsticks to.local .covensj.he kriew th at comets and shoeting
stars portend ed the fate of nations"His christian counterpart was
, also superstitious. .The reverence.which he paid to the saints 'and
to the Blessed VIrgin Marybecame uncritical worship, some-
times superseding thepraise .d ue.to God the Father and Christ
the Son , Both Emperor and Pope ow ed their-authority directly to
God; and. in som e sense. tfteir,pow.er was a mirror of His.
. Medieval society was so patterned 'and graded from labouring
serf to' mighty prince fhat it w as thought a disturbance of the
divinely appointed order for a man to seek to rise out of. that
grade.of society to which .God had been pleased to call.him,
except through.the appointed channel of the Church. All author-
ity was thus divinely ordered . Ideally the Emperor represented
the temporal power an d the Pope moral and spiritual power, but
from the late eleventh century, there was a clash between.the two
authorities which ~~ in the long run to exhaust the Empire and
to lead to the moraldegeneration of thePapacity. The kings and
princes of EUJ?9pe received their commission to .rule at ·their.
coronation or enthronement. All were committed to serve God's
Holy Church arid to provide good government for His children.
Medieval life was rooted in the land where a Lord was served
by labourers, varying in status, and bound to the soil. European
society, was predominately rural but was' also, continuously
changing. In spite of th e gradual changes, the society possessed
a sort of economic stability. Lack of communications forced it to
be more or less self-sufficient. As a feudal society.feudal obliga-
tions and ancient custom gave th e peasant some prescriptive
rights an d imposed many burdens and services upon him. The
exis~i class structure was not threatened by the movement of
serfs ~~ yilleins to the towns but it was the ri~ of industry and
73
THE HJ sTORY OF S a ENCE AN D T ECHN OW GY IN PE RSPECTIVE
r:
the development of trade and commerce, especially inthe cloth-
ing'towns of Italy and the Netherlands, that threatened to over
throw Europes stratified society. Indeed the Church, particularly
in the early Middle Ages distrusted the businessman, whom it
condemned without much qualification. Given the tenancious
hold of the Church over society, who in the Middle Ages would
not.intheory (but not in practical terms ) have preferred tempo- .
rary poverty to eternal damnation ?
Such was the setting of the medieval world a small world
bounded by unexplored seas and continents flowing around the
/
Mediterranean . Peasants were not affected by stories about
eastern lands. They Were glued to their lord' s lands often raft by
famine and plague. Towns were little more than large 'villages,
centre of local market orannuakfair, However, some towns were
magnificen t with uni versities o( fine repute, as at Paris, and were
splendid with gabled houses and towered cathedrals. Ina place
like this were the elements of a polite society, and the seeds.both
of future industry and large scale finance. According to Green,
V.H.H. (1964), it was a partly static and yet a variegated commu-
nity; .a wo rl d of baronial castles an d church spires; of great
cathedrals served to impress the worshipper with the substantial
superiority of the Church; a world of basic poverty and great
wealth, of gargantuan banque ts and grating hunger, of unre-
strained passion and unexpected mercy; a mixed world of bar-
ons and prices, bishops, monks and friars, of merchants and cloth
weavers/ of peasants tilling the soil, of ugliness and yet glittering
with a strange beauty, in fine a "fair felde ful of foIke" living
within an ordered universe in which man's final beatitude was
asserted to be the 'contemplation oftruth'.
The Decline of the Middle Ages
The pronounced gap between the ideas that people accepted in
the Middle Ages and what they actually did signalled the decay
74
M IDDLE A GES O/{ M J1)11. \ ',1/, I' I:I< JOI)
I
of this period, People believedthat a misgoverned life m,ght lead
them to the long-enduring fires of Hell yet i~ did not \P~e v e n t
inj ustice and vicious living. The Pope, the Vicar of CHp st, f~ r
example; used the powers of excommunicati\~m to further ~lS
family ambitiohs or to consolidate territorial po:wer. The confhct
between the Pope and the Emperor had led to a deterioration in
th e prestige of both . Trade and commerce continued to grow
despite the Church's distrust of trade. In fact monasteries had
borrowed funds at interest from wealthy Jews to build their fine
abbey Churches. European states were much rent by war; En-
gland versus France, the Turks against the Eastem.frontiers.of
Europe, the w ar of the crusade s, etc. There w as truly ~piritual
and political debility. Frustrated.people became more interested
in mysticism, and irrational faith which in its utter simplicity and
promised ecstasy contrasted with the complexities .Q£fn.tit~$
scho lastic discussion of Thomas Aquinas..Indeed peopJe we~
fru strated 'with the teachings of the Church and o f the schools.
There was now a renewal of interest in black magicandwitch-
craft; it is not without significance that it was Renaissance Italy
which saw' witchcraft accepted as a reality by a papalbull,
Summis desiderantes of Pope Innocent VII (1481).
The emergence of a rich merchant class brought about changes
in Land-holding, and the investment of capital in sea wall, dikes,
and pumps worked by windmills began changing the.hithert o
rural economic frame- work of society. Commercial de velop-
ment of Europe> and the increasing sophistication of.business
enterprise waxed strong. Florence, Venice could boast of wealthy
merchants and clothiers controlling an industrial prole tariat; a
complex system of international credit and exchange.and even
to some extent a division of labour and some form of specializa-
tion. Increasing wealth gave rise to investments in land , in
shipping and in new industrial projects. ,
Man's release from the religious sanctions which had hitherto
governed his behaviour appeared also in politics where practice . _ j
,75
 T HE liJsTOIlY OF ~ AN v 1 t:L-HNOLO<. ;1 IN I-'f K<Pf, ' UI'I'
, 1 . c;;
and to-a less extent ideas we re preparing the way for the rise 0 f
the,national. state. The d ecline 'in im perial arid Pap al prestige
p,r0v ided an opportu nity for the na tional monarch . Another
blow to politics in m edievalChristen d om came from w ritings of
p eople like, Ma rsilio of Pad ua, who in his book DEFENSO R
RACIS, written in the 14th century asserted that law derive
ultim ately from the people or r~her from the more in fluential
(valen tior) of them. .
The glorious culture of Greece and Rome was succeeded by the
Dark Ag es, a period of European history extendi ng from the
decline of the Roman Empire. It lasted between the fourth or fifth
cen tury and th e 9th and 11th centuries. During th is period the
light of civilization was dimmed or extinguished across those
gloomy cen turies. It w as how ever, succeeded by th e Middl e
Ages, during which Europe an life was more or less d ominated
by the [udaeo-Christian tradition. Thistradition which the cul-
ture of Greece an d Rome excluded, was essentially irrelevant to
human progress in the arts and sciences. The Middle Ages, mid-
fourth to mid fifteen centu ries later gave way to the Renaissance,
which w as specifically a rebirth of the Craeco-Rom an spirit of
scientific curiosity and virtuosity, and of humanism in arts.
The Renaissance
The Renaissance made man the m easure of things and allowed
for his full development, not beyond the w orld (sp iritua l wo rld)
as theologians taught in th e medieval times, bu t with in the
w orld . The Renaissance movem ent effected a ch ange in man 's
attitud e.tow ards the problem of human existence. Renaissance
implies re-birth and rene wal. It wo uld be recalled that during the
earlier centuries of the Middle A~s, the peoples of Europe were
m ainly interested in tighting and religion. Th ere was little
.freed om of thought, for m en 's minds w ere subject to the author-
ity of the Church . Thus the majority of th e p eople w ere , ~ot
familiar with the learning and culture of Gree<:e and Rome.
76
. MIDDLE AGES OR MED IEVAL P EllJOD
It is the contrast between the Dark Ages . (500':'800) when
civilization made no progress in Europe and the rebirth of
'learning, commerce.and discovery, that-marked the great di~r- '
-ence between these periods. Renaissance, here would be d lS- .
cussed as it applied to the revival of classical learning, scienc ,
and technology in Europe. On a wider context as Green (1964) ,
:
'
wrote, Renaissance was used to d escribe the revival of ancient
learning w hich b egan in Italy, to the reformation ofr~!!~_~~ .
which,'starting in Cerrnanyinaugurated areligious revolutiea,
as well as to the reception of Roman' Law which also began in
Germany and later sp read throughout Europ e. It should be
noted that the Renaissance started as a minority movement ofa
few scholars and artists who were patronized by princes and rich
merchants. aut by means of the printing press their view 'Spread
through out Europe. A study of events during the Renaissance is
necessary because those ev ents contributed in shaping the
modern world .
_The Renaissance movement in Italy made much impact on art
and literature than on metaphysical speculation and science
(except ill the realms of-optics and p ersp ective): Many ~reek
scholars who settled in Italy after the capture of Constantinople
(1453) went away With their documents which contained thoughts
of the classical period. They set up schools and taught in both
Latin and Greek, that the ancient ideas or knowledge of the
classical period influenced events of this period. However, it has
been argued that Renaissance in Italy developed from ideas that
existed and were common in Italian cities. These w ere id eas,
particularly in Law and med icine, an d they were more advanced
in Italy than ,else where in Europe. Italy housed learned .m en,
lawyers rather th an theologian s, who h ad for long be~n inter-
ested in the literature of ancient Rome and who to a great extent
were free from the dominant theological outlook of medieval
learning. Cultu ral activities in Italy w ere not dominated by
religion, they were secular so that though there was a strong

T HE HI STORY OF S CIENCE AN D T ECHNOLOGY IN PER SPECTIVE
continuity with the past, there was also a fresh attitude towards
every human endeavour, literature, art and problems of living.
Humanists, rich urban patrons of art and literature stirred
events during the renaissance period in Italy. Leonard d(li~nci
I I
\'lA52-1452), Michelangelo (1475 - 1564), Titan (1477 - 1576) and
'Raphael (1483 - 1520) were famous artists in Italy. Brunelleschi,
an architect designed the dome of the Cathedral and the famous
Church of Sun Spirito while Leon Alberti planned the Palazzo
Rucellai for a rich merchant. Donatello, a sculptor was from
Florence in Italy, Lucadella Robbia worked with marble and
terracotta. . I during which man laid the foundation of science and technology
By tq~ early sixteenth century, Rome became the centre of
Renaissance, Here Michelangelo who had worked for forty years,
on the tomb of Pop e Julius II de signed the dome of St. Peter's
Basilica Cathedral. Michelangelo and Raphael were also great
~ artists in Rome during the Renaissance. Michelangelo also ex-
cetled in poetry and sculpture in stone and marble.
The Renaissance period witnessed many geographical discov-
eries by early explorers, many of whom were Italians. For ex-
ample, Christopher Colu mbus was a Genoese and Cabot a
Venetian. The exploration of new seas and strang e lands re-
quired enquiring spirit which these explorers exhibited. Their
new discoveries were received with a feeling of enthusiasm and
.genuine delight - a characteristic of the Italian Renaissance and
of the times. Indeed the Renaissance, from the fourteenth to the
. lat~~,teenth centuries produced the growth of a more secular
spirit-and a renewed interest in classical civilization,'of the pre-
Christian world.
Schools and universities were established and they generated
both new culture, new attitude to life and new scholarship, new
text books and new -methods of teaching. People not only learnt
about classical authors of Greece and Rome but manners and
physical training so that an all round education was provided.
The invention of the printing press encouraged a wider diffu-
78
;\ (/DOLE : ll;ES OR M EDIEVA L ! 'fR/O/)
sion of culture and spread of learning of humanism from books.
A German, John Gu tenberg of Mainze in 1450 developed print-
ing on movable type which facilitated learning. The ~ ermans s~t
up printing - p ress in Italy and' in Sorbonne at Pan s (~470), 111
London (1477) and Madrid (1499). It was from Italy (Vemce more
precisely) that Greek and Latin classics spread to Germany,
England, etc. Books were cheap an d many people.could a~ford
them. More importantly there ar.ose a new rea ding public of
informed people with an informed public opini on.
From our discussion so far, the d emise of th e classical peri od
gave way to the Dark Age, and w as followed by th e Middle Ages
when little learning and little ad vancement in science and
technology w ere recorded. The Medieval period (Midd le Ages)
was characterized by the domination of religion, feudalism, the
institution of chivalry. Chivalry (cavalry) had a -number of rules
for th e gui dance 'o,f th e livery perfect gentle Knight" . The n oble
class who engaged in fighting an d h untirig enjoyed chivalry
while the common people were engaged in manual w ork. Dur-
ing the Middle Ages children of noble families were groomed in
this regard and Knighted later as ad ults. Theyvowed to defend
the Christian faith, to be brave in war an d fight for their overlord,
to be courte ous to women, to assist the poor and ne edy and to
lead a pure and noble life (Gu est, 1972). The war of the Crusades
(1096 -1292) between Christians and Muslim s for religious su-
premacy amo~g othe rs also feature during the Middle.Ag~s. The
above feat ures - religion, chivalry, feu d alism , and fighting or
Crusad es prevented progress in science an d tech nology. flu t
with the gro wth of towns, development a m erch ant class, till'
bourgeois ie, decay of feudalism, bi th of nation states, m.in
became interested in learn:ing, commerce and discovery d II n 1\1~
the later Middle Ages. Ren aissance w as born, to usher III tlu
modern world. . , .
The rev ival ofleaming (l5th and 16th centurics):c l1h·d l l \ I
79
 T IlE l-hsrORY OF. SomCE AND TECHNOW GY IN P ERSPEClJV E
sance, recorded.a measure of progress in science and technology.
There \yas m ternationafrsm in 'learning firstly, w ith Arabs/ Is-
lamic~vilization ~1n fhe Middls Ages .'to revival of classical
'knowledge and an improvement upon all these-id eas. The invert-:
-tiari"Oi'.prin tirrg and spread (of knowledge through cheap book _.
and the development of a readhng culture and inforined public .
o pi ion. ell ushered in t he modern world of scientific enqu iry
. cpld · technolo~al ad vancement. . .
..... ... . - .._. -" .
~ '''''';':a:=~ .< .l>;* .:. - ' "
-~ ' . ' -" . -" --
Contributions ofArabs (700 - 1,000 A. D .)
Rome lost control of Western Europe by about (476 A.D.) the fifth
century A.D. But the Eastern Roman Empire with its capital at
Byzantium (later Constan tinople) con tinued until A. D. i 453
when it was captured by the Turks. The Arabs cap tured many
parts of the Mid d le East an d N orth Afr ica, Spain and. even
France. It could be said that the rise of Islam transformed the
course of European science and p hilosophy because the Arabs
were eirs to the Hellenic Greeks and acknowledged their role as
custodians of thatculture, Wha t is being explain ed 'is that with
th e collap se of early centres of classical knowledge - Greece,
Rom e; etc., in Europe, the Arabs borrowed and spread Greek
knowledge of science. They also borrowed those of Syria, India
and so on. Their conquests and 'extensive travels facilitated -the
borrow ed knowledge. . four centuries,
The Arabs founded sc~ools such as the Academy of science at .
Baghdad . It is believed th at the establishmen t of schools by
Arabs was p urely an imitation of Greek idea of. formal' educa-
tion,. .Although the Arabs respected Greek learning .a nd the
Philosopher, Aristotle some Arab scientists rejected Aristotle.and
argued for a more experimental app roach to science.. FOi' ex-
ample [abir or Gebir.(C. 721 - 815 A.D.), also known asthe ufather
of Arabic Chemistry" described the lIUUlufclctUie of.::mtlic :acid.-,
and ho w it ay be used .' extracting silver and gold:'frotn their
80
M IDDLE A GES OR M EDIEVAL PER IOD
ores or salts. He left evidence of a systematic approach to this
science and w as not influenced by alchemical superstitions. The
Arabs made pap er in Baghdad for the first time in 793 but this
was made possible by their capture of Chinese paper makers
when they invad ed China in 751. It was at the battle of Samark and
that these Chinese we re captured.
Arabs di scov ered Indian mathematics when the y invaded
India. Indian mathematics used the now universally used num-
ber system, the zero symbol and de cimals. Al-Khwarizrni (780 -
c850), an Arab mathematician published his treatise (in 830 A. D.)
on Al-jabr wa 'l muquabala, from which the word algebra is
derived . This was a combination of Greek and Indian mathemat-
ics. He also contributed to the development of quadratic equa-
tions. Latin translations of his works on mathematics was stud-
ied in medieval Euro pe.
Astronom y was ano ther area in which the Arabs developed.
The trigonom etrical tables they developed were used to calcu-
late exact prayer tim es or hours and to navigate the Indian
Ocean. With Ara b presence in Cordo ba in Spain, it became th e
adv anced intellectua l cen tre in Europe. Here Euclid's book, a
mathem atical text on elements of Geom etry (written by a Greek,
Euclid at Alexandria Egypt in c300) wa s studied. It was from here
that.a cop y of Euclid's book w as tak en to other parts of Eu rope.
It served as a mathematical text for feudal Europe for the next
Al-Rhazi (a physician) and Al-Khin di (a scientist) and philoso-
pher who object ed to alchemical and Aristotelian teachings
taugh t new knowl ed ge of the nature of motion and heat and
encouraged the use of experiments for solving scientific prob-
lems.
.Arabs contributed to the knowledge of medicine and phar-
macy by bringing knowledge of Persian and Indian drugs and
. spices such as camphor, cloves. cassi a, nutmeg and senna to
Europe. •
81
 Arabs geog rap hers prod u ced maps showi ng seas and land
m asses based on their concept th at th e world is rou nd an d
encircled by th e ocean ,
From Chinese the Arabs also brought the knowledge and use
of gun- p ow der, magnetic compass, printing with~e-type
and efficient horse harness. Chinese water clocks, seismograph
for detec~irig~rthquakes::-~'ild so""on were brought into Europe.
Despi teothe se.sl&nificant cantribu tion s, Arabs are n ot credited as
th e founders' of modern science. It is worthy of note that the
Arabs translated most of the classical texts in to Arabic thereby
preserving thelomowledge of the classical era.
Arabic science reached its peak in the 11th century. It was in the
( I. . .
12th century (the Middle Ages) that the influence of Arab science
began to show in Europe with the introduction of Arabic nume r-
als.Arabic numerals were significant because of the impact it had
on bu siness in powerful business world of Italy where m on ey
was usedas a medium of exchange. At this tim e the Arab lands
and China were yet to develop an economy based on money.
There was also a rapid growth in the silk and glass industries
of southern Europe, the use of coal an d the development of this
technology is credited to Chinese expertise, it was through th e
Arabs that the Chinese experts came to Europe. After the visits of
Marco Polo, Europe (Italy) traded extensively with China and
now directly acquired this desired knowledge. Actual manufac-
turing of-silk began in south Italy in the 12th century but by the
13th century water-powered silk sails were already being used in
sea travels, The manufacture of standard glass wind ows (12th
century ) and coloured glass by the addition of particular metal
salts (those of copper for green; those of gold chloride for re d;
iron or silver for yellow and cobalt for blue) testified and dem on-
strated the high-level glass technology found in Europe at this
time. Coal was used for smelting iron after about 1159. Furnaces
which burned ch arcoal an d prod u ced a' reducing atm osphere
suitable for iron-and steel-m aking we re used before th e intro-
82
duction of bla st furnaces . Cast iron w as made by m elting and
moulding the metal. This was first produced ,il~ Europ~ in lil t'
13th century. Higher furnace temperatures facl~ltat~d this tech-
nology. Avicenna (Ibn Sina) 980 -1037 and al-Bl,rum" 943 -~0~ 8
were great Arab encyclopedists of science, who lived m Persia In
the early 11th century. While Avicenna vv:rote o~ astronomy,
physics and medicine, which he also practised (hIS theory. an~
methods w ere taught in Europe for the next 700 years), Al-Biruni
wrote on m athemati ~s, astronomy an\~31strolog y, geography and
history. He was th e "first botanist to anal~s~ ,the, structure of
flowers by m ethods important to plant classification. Alhax:n
(Ibn al-Haitam) c965 - 1038 wrote Optical Thesaurus, (the optics
of the eye) and this influenced the work of Roger Bacon, an
English Scholar in the 13th Centurr Omar Khayy~m (clO.48 -
1122), a Persian poet and mathematician solved CUbl~ equations
by geometric methods. While working at the Sultan s court, he
reformed the Muslim calendar
Medieval S cience
It would be ,recalled that the demise of the Roman Empire in
Europe gave rise to th e feudal sy stem ,w i t~ a multitude of
individual strongholds of local military chieftams. Many people
depended on Arabs (Arab Encyclopedists) for knowle.dge, pre-
cisely old (classical) knowledge wh~ch th,ey looked at m a more
individual wa y. Leornado Fibonacci of Plsa (elI SO - 1250), Ita~y
who lived with his father on the Barbary coast, learned the Arabic
language and arithmetic there. He intro,duced Arabic numerals
into Europe on his return. He wrote the first Western textbook on
algebra in about 12000.
It would be recalled that after the conquest of Egypt by
Alexander the Great of Matedonia'(325 B.C. - 323 B.C. th e city of
Alexandria was constructed and here, the products an d i eas of
people from the city stat~s of N6rfh Africa, Asia Mil~or, ~.reece,
India and China mingled and blendedfor further SCIen tific and
83 .

1'111: I " ,<TOR r OF :;,' {I:nfr. AN n T r CIINOi ,O<.:r IN 1' 1"1<" /'/\ : 1"11-'/
technological advances. This ferment of ideas and the s~bse­
quent spread was partly influenced by the presence of a great
museum and library at Alexandria which attracted many sea-
soned scholars (and from which m any generations of Egyp tian
students trained and benefited).For example, Euclid and Claudius
Ptolem y were Alenxandrian rrtathematician and astronomer
respectively. With the d ecline of the Greeks, the Romans c on -
quered Egypt. But the subsequen t collapse of th e Greek an d
Roman empires created a vacuum which was filled by Muslim
Arabs until the eve of the Renaissance, a period of almost 1,000
years. It is in this con text and rega rd that the contri bu tions of
Arabs to the preservation, improvemen t and spread of scientific
and technological kn owledge well in to th e medieval period
must be ap preciated. Arab Muslims do minated Spain and Italy
such that inuch of the intellectual activities in Europe was carried
on by Moors from N orth Africa (who were also Mu slims). For
example, Moorish mathematicians brought 4,000 years knowl-
edg e ~f African-Asian math ematics t o Spain an d italy. Having
established other cen tres of learning in Baghdad, Basra, Tunis
~nd Cairo, the ~uslims also establish ed a great centre of learning
111 Cordoba, Spain, where a whole series of new inventions (10th
century) becam e av ailable - steel, silk, porcelain and paper.
Though African papyrus paper was used, pulp paper from china
was being used more wid ely. Muslims encouraged the exchange
an d spread of knowledge among Egypt, Persia (where they ha d
gre at influences), In dia and China. Thus from abou t the eighth
century until the fifteenth, Ar-abic was the language of Math- '
ematics science an d tech nology.
Abou t 773AI-Fazari translated the Indian Siddhanta to Arabic
thereby popularizing the Hindu decimal system - the zero is
r nated m ed ieval perio d. As Lum p kin B. (1985) wrot~, K~mi1's
believed to have corne into use later at about 876 A.D. Thabit Ibn
Qurra and his scho ol, Lumpkin, B. (1985) wrote, produced
excellen t Arabic translations of Euclid, Appolonius, Archimedes,
Ptolemy and Theodosius and made important ad ditions of their
84
(
lVlwuw A Go> () I< Ivll: fll/Y,'II. 1'1'/<1< >1 '
own (826-901) - the original Greek versions were lost. It w~uld
also be recalled th at Muslim Algebra and the Hin du - Arabic or
Arabic-H ind u numerals and arithme tic were introduced into
Europe through l-Khowarizrni's (al-Khwarizmi) book Al-jabr toa'l
muuablan from 'w hich the word alg eb r~ was taken. From th e
author's name, "algorithm " a ma thematical proce~ure .was also
d erive d . How ever, the introduction of this Arablc-H1l1~u ~u­
merals in Europe w as resisted as laws were passed forbi dding
their use bu t their superiority over the then used Roman n~er­
als could not stop their adop tion and use. Al-hazen (AI-1!azt~m)
an outstanding mathe matician - physicist who worked .m Egypt
was the first of other Muslim m athematicians who pioneered
studies on no n-Euclidean geometry. His work and those of his
successors, Omar Khayyam and Nasir Eddin, Inspired Europe-
ans, gave scientific explanation of refrac,tion, reflec~on, fo~s~g
with lenses, the p inh ole camera, sp hencal aberration, an d bin-
ocular vision': He built spherical an d parabolic mirrors and w as
th e first to calculate the height of the atmosphere using a correct
concep tion of air' pressure. His w orks were studied by Rog~r
Bacon, Kepler and other stu dents of science in Europe. The .Latin
translation of Alhazen's book, "Op tics" had a profound influ-
ence on Europeans, science an d included studies of the magnify~
ing po wer of lenses. .
Leon ardo of Pisa (Fibonacci) is said to have copied wholesale,
a more advanced form of algebra which was written by al.. Hasi~
Abu Kamil (850-930). In fact his wo rk influencedmathemati-
cians for almost 300 years after his death. This reve~s the exte~t
to which the contribu tions of Arabs an d Muslim Africans.domi-
w ork inclu d ed the use 'of several variables (Khw arizmi was
restricted to one), a study of equal roots of quadratic equations
and especially the use of irr ational numbers as terms ~f prop or-
tions, ro ots and coefficients of equations. Al Battam n (d . 929
A.D.) a greatMuslim astronomer produced data l~ter used br
Copernicus. He refined and extended the data of Ptolemy s
85
 1 111 1 1' >l Ol ll O f 'CIIN CE
•. . AND
TECHNl I/ I 'l " IN fJ t l<SPLCTIVL
MJDOU AGES OR M EDIEVAl, PER IOD

Almagest, as well as 1ll1 ki~'=n~~t-;h-~'- -- - - - - - - - - - The 15th century witnessed the creation of Gutenberg 's book
buttons. ' goer Important and original contri -
printing industry in Nuremberg. [ohann Gutenberg c1400 - 68 of
From the foregoing the f ' Strassbourg beg an printing with movable metal typ e, a process
te 'hn ological id d d re was a erment of sCIentific and
which spread toe~~:l e evel?pments in Africa a~d Arab world invented' in Korea in the 15th ceritury, Gutenberg's books were
th e first to be printed in the West (Europe) in this way. Explorers
r
b Ii zi P ,at a time when Europe was dominated
I re rgions, the dogmatIc teaching of the church and feudal' could travel to all parts of the globe because of the steady
a~;:et~~~kt;:va;ds th; en~ of ,t~is, period the dominant theol~; improvement in sea faring. It wo uld be recalled-that as early as
ism which cons~;:ra~~CIendhficmghuiry, adventure and human- the 13th century stern mounted rudders were first fitted to
an set t e stage that mad E European ship s. However, the Chinese had invented them cen-
over take others even in to the 19th centur europe turies earlier. Navigational charts, were first us ed b y European II!
Roger Bacon (1214 - 91) y: , sailors in the 13th century too. It was intensified efforts upon this
telescop es and' proposed combmatlOns of lenses for
mIcroscopes He g . b ' foundation that launched the Europeans into extensive seafaring
cal explanations of why a 'spher~~=ls~l sktanhfally correct opti~
burni I as 0 water acts as a from th e 15th centu ry. Schools of Navigation were established
rnmg g ass to concentrate the rays of the sun and h where men were trained in mathematics. There were Navigation
lens produces ifi d ' ow a convex
wa s on e of tha Tagl1I e Image of an object beneath it. Bacon schools in Portugal and Spain. Henry the Navigator also taught
- e orerunners of m odern science h ' 11 navigation to people from many other nations.
balanc~ d experiment a~ld theory. This English Sch~l:r :mel~ae~ Textiles industries in the 15th century used alum to fix veg-
~~~;spttOa~orrecdt d~fectIve vision and this probably was the brst etable dyes such as indigo, madder and saffron to cloth . Gig-
pro ucmg spectacles. mills were also in use at this time .
Drift nets about 110 m (360 ft.) long, towed behind fishing
Science and Tec1m olugyin the 15th Century boats, we re in troduced by th e Dutch in 1416 for use in their
Trade and industr ' E h fishing indu stnies, These improved nets also improved and
centu y rn urope ad been retarded in the 14th
, ry,by the occurrence of Black Death, 1348- 52 Thi 1 increased the hauling of herring. Fish processing was by salting; , '
epIdemICalso affected the supply oflabou b th IS P ague/ a process improved by th e Dutch.
~dversely. Labour-intensive industrir-, sU~h ~s e,c~mmon c!ass The Dutch used Archimedes screws to lift water in their dams.
mg suffered great set back f mmmg and fish- I
Hollow-post mills were invented in Holland. They were an
. or over a century This d Ii .
population positively affected labour as the b . " ec me In improved version: of the windmill which was earlier in use. The
labou rers increased and afforded th th argamm~ power of hollow-post mill unlike th e windmill had red uced rotating sail
peasan ts in particular) em e opportul1Ity to (the arms arid ~ 'shaft which passed from th em (rotating sailarms)
end of the 14th escape s~rf?om. Arab science, even by the
, through a hollow post to dri ve machinery in a building below.
wan derin schOl~:~t~ry ~as h~'lUted to the teachings of a few
t echnical treatises on military engineering and ballistics were
tific reaso~ing and ;ed~:~7~~~~~f:~~c~:~~~~ accurate scien- _ written in thi s pe riod especially in Gennan and Italy. Konrad
Kyesser of Germany wrote Bellifortis in 1405. Rifles were first
made c.1475. These were mainly muzzle loaders which used lead
bullets.
86
87
 MlDou; A CES OR MEDIEVAL PERIOD .

or
When on All Saints' Eve, in 1517, Martin Lu~er p as!ed on the
THE HtSTOllY SCIENCE.<Nll TECHNOWGY IN PERSPECTIVE

Reformation d oor of the Castle Chapel at Wittenberg, mnety-~v~ theses

The second and third decades of the sixteenth century witnessed
the rise of reformation movement in Europe, which caused a split
in the Church, leading ultimately to the developmentof the
Protestant Church. Many factors have been attributed to the rise
of reformation. While changes were desired in religious teach- ·
ings and practices the gradual change in social Jif€ and outlook
among Europeans during the later part of the Medieval period
greatly induced and sustained reformation. . problem s, broke away to form the Chu.rc~ of Engla~d or the
. Firstly, there ,w as general discontent with practices in the ,
Church such as abuse and corruption by some officials of the
Church who sold dispensations . There was spiritual decay as
some popes wereseen to be unduely interested in their secular
papal states. Cardinals who elected the pope weke alleged to
have compromised their oaths, and so on. The Renaissance spirit
which fostered secular attitudes increased the dislike for adora-
tion of Saints and the mediation of priests.
Social and economic changes arising from the collapse of the
condemning the sale of indulgen ces an~ the abuses therefrom,
the muchdesired leadership among the dlscontented and resent":
fui group s hadbeen provided.The first Potestant Church emerged
.in Germany under the name: Lutherrans, n~med after Rev. ~r.
Martin Luther. The Reformation did not stop m Germ~y, Martin
.Luther's country. It also spread to England where King He~ry
Viii, who had disagreement with the Church over hIS mantal.
Anglican Church. John Calvin led the religioue rev~lt. ~ Fr~~~,
where the Protestants were called Huguenots.In Britain , Ca1~­
ists who were also called Puritans, .as w ell as th e Meth9dists
founded by Wesley; broke away from the Church.of ~gl~~. .
The development of science and technology du,nng this penod
are vividly expressed in the scienti fic revolu tion of the 16th
century,
_. 2. . .:W!.
• .~ .

feu dal economy, depression experienced during the later Middle , ' . .. '
;~:
Ages contributed to the emancipation of peasants from their
hitherto servile condition and status as their prosperity in-
creased with the growing bargaining power of their labour. But
~~I
. ..•. .-
rJIJ_ . ..... ..
.

..•. ..
__ c; .~ .
for the princes and nobles who were adversely affe~J>p by the . '; : . ' It ..
depression, black death, ~tc., the wealth of the Ch~.f.l)~ecame a , '
sourc~ of envy. They WIshed their weal;~h,)~,o~'~~lVe been
substituted for that owned by the Church /Thiis the stage for
opposition was set. The middle and working classes who had
emerged since Europe's march toward industrialization also
opposed the privileged position of the Church and government
w hi ch were seen to support one another. Similarly, the mercan-
tile class whose activities, that is, usury bias for high and inter-
ests, the Church discouraged became resentful of Church tea ch-
ing. .Darden ·col~ets computer data d ring a wind tum,d test of.~ uperson(c aircrap . Court~
of Ivan Van Sert;",a (p 2571 990) .; ',. .
-' '.'
:;
89
88

CHAPTER 4 The Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe U546 - 1601) m ade accu-
SCIENTIFIC R EVOLUTION
. \
T he scientific revolution of the sixteenth century was a direct
. aftermath of the intellectual ferment of the Renaissance as
~a (l9~2) wrote. It represen ted a revolu tion in hum an percep-
tion and Id eas of the n atural world. Indeed the scientific revolu-
tion w as one of the general m ovement that transformed the
Middl e A.ges in~o the modem world . During this period people
~~d their studie s and investigations on old ideas of the classical
pen~d for fresh light and knowledge. It must be stated that some
medieval scholars had scien tific aptitude, (most of them were
more int:rested in ~hilosophical and .logical systems) but they
we.renot ~terested n the description of natural objects, statistics
or m practical experiments which characterize m odem science.
!i0wever, the advances made in m athematics d ue p artly to Arab
mfluence or Islamic civilization, and so on became useful tools
fo~ scientific revolution which favoured enquiri es into natural
science.
MOre significant during this period was the revival of ancient
Gre~ theory that the universe was infinite by Cardinal Nicholas
of Cusa. He also expoused that the earth must have motion. He
wrote,~at the Ea~ and nct fhe heavens revolved.. dai1y. This
exposition contradicted both the accepted ideas of Aristotle and
Ptolemy's views of the uni verse.
~opm:mcus' ..vie~s about tQe universe were developed during
this penod. HIS.views al~o contradicted those of Aristotle and
Ptolemy and were useful to the study of astronom y by his
uccessor . For him, the earth moved round the sun. The sun not
the Earth was the centre of the universe. Protestants and later
atholics disliked.Copernicus views because they were opposed -
to the teachings of the Bible. · . _
rate observations of the plarietary movements and stated that a
bright 'new stat' was further away from the earth than the moon ..
This opposed Aristotle's teaching that this kind of change was .-
impossible. Five years later he identified the appearqnce of a new
comet which passed through what Ptolemy and Aristotle thought
as impenetrable transparent crystal spheres. He calculated that
there were 777 fixed stars. .
John Kepler (Johannes Kepler, 1571 - 1630f calculated the
actual orbits of the planets, which he described .as ellipses and
not perfect circles. It is believed that his results established
astron omy as an observational science which is free from any
religious considerations. He also affirmed the heliocentric theory
of the universe (Copernicus idea). Galileo (1564 - 1642) also
upheld Copernicus system of the universe. Giordano. Bruno who
also propagated the copernican system was burned by the inqui-
sition as a heretic (propagating this anti-religious id ea). He was
burrit at the stake. Precisely, Giordano Bruno, thoughco nceived
of the universe as infinite in time and space also explained that
it w as filled with a multitude of suns each bearing planets,
everything being in constant motion, -. ., ' ~ / . .
OWing thiS perio~ some progress was made in the explanation
ofthe circulation of-blOod. However, it was-iJ:l the 17th century
tnat" a ·mote viVid account was provided by ·WlllWnHarvey.
y~~.s," .~,9k/pe .Fa~ca, which depicted th~;h~an body in ~
~allY, na~~, ~d' $ci~l\tifj.c Way, arid Se~ve~s discovery of the
~~p~~c:n¥~t!~n~~~;~e ,~~~4:l'rec.~~~d :liarvtlf.' ~, ~~r~,~,
·:rt\~.sC1entiac revolution . wiUch.beg~ m ~~ 16th century still.
sUffer~ d oppoeition fro.m'.:theQl¥4, yet advances were re-
corded'.ill the medlcalsdence
.. ..
(anatomy
.
in particular).
.
For ex-
91
 Til! fInroar OF 5aEHCE lIND T EOfNOWGY IN PERSl' tCTlVE
ample, although the dissection of the human cadaver had been
practiced everi from the 15th century in Europe, it was only in the
16th century that systematic dissections commenced in schools
of Padua in Europe. The re was larger-scale iron production and
mining techn ology. Blast furnaces were now used to produce
large quantities of cast iron used for weaponry. There was mass
production of brass objects in Italy, through casting technique.
, At this time also the coach was invented in Hungary and
'adapted in England. Coins containing a mixture of copper and
- ,g~ld or silver were used in Europe early in the 16th century. For
tl\e production of coins some silver was imported from Peru by
Spain~ By the 17th century (1600) science was firmly based on the
experimental method and theology no longer had much influ-
:ence on it.
Industrial Revolution
The'early phase of Industrial'Reyolution which commenced in
Britain was remarkable for developments in the coal mining
industry, invention of steam engines, production of cheap iron
DU;lchirtes and iron structures among others. While the focus is
noton the factors that contributed to the revolution in industrial
development some clarification is needed to keep one in per-
spective with the basis of scientific and technological advance-
ment in the eighteenth century. It would be noted that Britain
with,a thriving 'commercial economy, active labour force, im-
proy«i agric:ultural sector and colonial influence abroad had set
the foundation 'for industrialization. Again, with intensive and
exttmsiv~ interest.in science and technology since the 16th cen-
,~the invention of steam-powered engines, and other ma-
chines in the 18th century was not surprising.
The Industrial Revolution refers to the movement whereby the
~. llUU\ufacture and use of machines changed people's way of life
:;': ,' and their methods of production of goods. In the classical (an-
',':, dent) and medieval times people spend long hours of manual
92
labour to prod u ce even simple objects. Human and animal
energy or power were used. But this time during the middle of
th e 18th century coal and steam engines provided energy to
operate the mac ines. By th e early 19th century locomotive
which improved transportation on land.andsteam boats which
facilitate d transportation on the sea (rather than the use of sails
and rudders) changed people's life greatly. Another~ature of
this revolution which is basic to industrialization is the factory
system, w hich grew from cottage industry.
Steam Engine .-.
In 1705 Thomas New come n invented a crude slow-moving
steam engine. Crude as it was, it w as,useful in the coal mining
industry. Here it was used to'p ump water out of mines to keep the
mines from flooding. In 1763 [amesWatt, a Scot mechanic while
repairing Newcomen steam engine noted how crude and ineffi~,
cient the engine was, carried out a se .es of improvements that
now equipped the steam engine with a practical d evice ,that
provided energy tor machines and moved them, By 1769 James
Watt p atented his steam engine. Indeed, i t was.e~cierit, for
factori es were now located in mo re convenient arid desired
locations. Watt's engine used a separate cylinder for condensing
steam and w as the first to produce rotary motion. In 1784 he
improved upon this engine by inventing the d ouble acting
engine.
The significance of the abo ve invention can beappreciated
when it is realized that mills and wheels used in factories before
the invention of the steam engine were powered by running
water (i.e. before indus trial rev olution) which provid edrhe
motive force for many processes such as grinding com and
spinning yarn. Thus the location of such factories w ere where
water power ,was readily available. Water driven machinery
now feature.
, ',
93

'['I/E H!sTOI1.YOr Soma' A~D TECHN OLOGY IN,P ERSPECTIV E
Coal Mining andIron Industries
Coal mining and i~~~ working industries used stearn engi~e~ in
their op erati on. There was in creased ou tp ut in coal ~1l1mng
because of increase in the need f-or domestic and industrial fuel.
Coal was used as fuei even for generating stearn power. Steam
power on the other hand was used to pump water out of ~ines
by employing steam pumping engines . The c?ncent~atlOn of
industries around coal fields rather than on hilly regIOns (for
wind) after the de velopment of efficient stearn pow er can be
partly explained by the significance of coal as ~ source ~f fuel.
The iron industry depended on charcoal for Its smelting and
output was lowor small at this time. Indeed in this early .pe~od
ironwas scarce and costly becau se of small scale production
caused-by the fact that England 's forests could not supply
enough charcoal for smelting ore. It was also often the case th~t
steam engines were used to pump water to create the ~raft In
blast furnaces o f iron smelting. However, the Darby family and
iron masters had been experimenting' with coal as a fuel for
smelting. Three generation s of effort in this regard led to the
success oftransforming coalinto coke.'This discovery by Abraham
Darby, of coke smelting at his Coalbrook dale ~orkS' revol~tion­
ized the production of cheap iron and e~abled It to be used in ~he
first machine and iron structures.The discovery of coke smelting
process created a new demand for coal and laid th e foundati~n
for British coal industry, The next sig~ificant advancement In
iron production was in the 1780's when Henry Cort d~veloped.
the processes of puddling and rolling. Through puddlin? there
was success in the production of almost pure malleable Iron.
Factory System
The factory system of manufacture during this period contrib-
uted to the increase of the amount of goods produced and the
decrease in cost. With the use of labour-saving machinery, par-
94
SO ENTIFIC RE VOW TlON
ticularly in the cotton or textile industry which witnessed tec~­
nical breakthroughs in weaving, spinning and other processes, It
was no longer difficult for British merchants to obtain enough
goods to supply their markets.
Sir Richard Arkwright (1732 -92) a pioneer of the facto ry
system built his cotto n mill at Cromford Derbyshire. The first
factories were textile industries where mechanization, the use of
water power and then steam, made concentration of production
essential. John Kay invented the flying shuttle (in 1733) which
enabled only one man to work on a wide loom more rapidly than
two persons could operate it before. This inven tion led to riots
because it displaced those who previously had thrown the hand
shuttles and enabled a loom to be worked by one weaver alone.
Lewis Paul and John Wyatt (1741) invented a.frame for spinning
cotto n thread with rollers. This invention contributed a lot
toward solving the problem of machine spinning even though it
was not commercially practicable.Then in 1764James Hargreaves
invented the spinning jenny a machinery which increased the
output ofspun cotton.James Hargreaves contribution was mainly
in improving the spinning wheel. He was both a weaver. an? a
carpenter, skills which facilitated the production of the spmmng
jenny which was patented in 1770. This machinery enabled one
workman to run eight spindles instead of one. It was also about
this time that Richard Arkwr ight developed a water frame, a
machine for spinning with rollers operated by water power; In
1779 a spinner, Samuel Crompton, combined Hargreaves jenny
and Arkwright's roller frame into a spinning machine, called the
'mule' .This invention was unique during this period in the sense
that it produced thread of greater fineness and strength than the
jenny or the roller frame. Yet the mule being large and heavy had
to be installed in mills (factories) where they could be run by
water power. Edmund Cartwright further improved we aving
technology when in 1785 he patented a power loom. Hand looms
were not completely replaced until 1850.
95
 T Il£ H ,Sn lRl l1F SClENCI: AN D T El HNO LOGt 1N P ERSP£c"nVE
Some other machines which contributed to the progress of the
textile industry inclu de Thomas Bell's (of Glasgow) cylinder
printing of cotton goods in 1785, for block printing; Eli Whitney's,
cotton gin, J. M. Jacquard's (1804, Frenchman) loom on which
patterns could be woven in fabri cs by mechanical means. This
loom was later adapted to the making of lace.
With these developments and the harn essing of steam power
to machinery in the cotton (textile) industry, the factory system
in which the production proce sses were concentrated under one
roof became possible. In fact by the early 19th century cotton was
the most industrialized 'sector of the economy as it was almost
entirely mechanized. This mechanized process undermined the
rural cottage industries as thi s and other inventions concen-
trated wi thin the town which became the main sources of em-
ployment. Other developments in transportation, communica-
tion, banking, architecture and so on, were stimulated by the
spirit, of thi s period - scientific enquiry an d technological ad-
vancement.
Ptolemy (A D 100 - 170)
Ptolemy Latin Claudius Ptolemaeus, a Greek astronomer, math-
ematician, and geographer, was born in Ptolemais, Egypt. M0St
of his wo rk in astronomy was' carried out in Alexandria. He
catalogued some 1,028 stars, suggested a theory of eccentrics and
epicycles to describe planetary movements, and discovered an
irregularity of the moon 's motion (evection). He rejected the
'h eliocentric cosmology attributed to Aristarchus of Samos (and
others before Ptolemy) th at the earth is round and revolves
around the sun, and sup p orted the geocentric cosmology of
. Hipparchus and others - accord ing to which the sun, moon,
planets, and stars all revolve around the earth.
Ptolemaic sys tem, the geocentric theory of the universe was an
attempt to account for the observed motions of the heavenly
bodies. It postulated that the earth, is spherical and is the centre
96
SC1£N n n , ~ I VO W l/ON
of the universe.a vast sphere, the premium mobile rotating dally
about this fixed centre and carrying with it all the heavenly
bodies: and stars embedded in fixed positions on the surface of
this sphere. This view held sway in Europe until (it dominated
medieval science which was largely spatial) the Copernican
system in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Corpernicus, Nicolaus (1473 - 1543)
Nicolaus Copernicus was born in Poland. He studied astronomy,
mathematics, canon law medicine, and law.
Nicolaus' primary interest was in the area of astronomical
investigations and which he pursued intensively. Sequel to 'his
investigations, he produced a treatise, De RevoltitionibusOrbium
Coelestium (started 1507 and ended in 1530). In this work, which
sought to provide a new the ory ofthe universe, he'exp~ained ~
relationship of planets in the solar system to one another, Accord-
ing to his hypothesis from which the theory, Copernican system
developed, he stated that the sun is the centre of the solar system,
and that the earth and other planets revolve around it periodi-
cally in orbits:Th e Copernican conception of the solar system is
heliocentric (i.e. Sun centred). .
To Copernicus, the planets, (the earth inclusive) revolve about
the sun in an orderly fashion, each in its own orbit. Thus the earth
was declared a sphere that revolves about is axis once a day.
However the earth completes a circular orbit (i.e. moves round
the sun) once a year. The rotation of the earth about its axis
explain the rising and setting of celestial bodies, corresponding
to day and night. The Corpernican system was a logical explana-
tion of observ ations that simplified the study of astronomy and
led to the development of astronoinicallaws. Copernican system
became the basic explanation of the universe as a result of th
contributions by Kepler ~. Galileo .
._.0._.• •..

THE HIsrORY OP SaENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN P ERSPECTIVE
Fo~ centuries people thought that the earth was the center of
the universe with sun, moon, planets and stars moving around
the earth in an orderly manner. Before Copernicus, men used the
Ptolemaic theory of the universe to predict astronomical move-
ments: This theory was made increasingly complicated to ac-
count for additional observations of the universe. Because of the
m any inexplicable con tradictions in this theory and others,
Copernicus was inspired to bridge / fill the gap. The consequence
of which is the Cop ernican system . Copern ican 'system was
opposed to the whole medieval concept of astronomy based on
the geocentric system of the Greek astronomer Ptolemy. Th e
heliocentric system proposed by Copernicus was supported by
the Italian astronomer and physicist Galileo Galilei.
Copernicus De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium is gener-
ally regard ed as causing a revolution in the develo pment of
science bu t it must be understood that he was greatly influenced
by the views ofmany ancient philosophers, such as Aristarchus
of Heraclides of Pontus, Seleuc us of Seleucia, Demoeritu s and
more ancient astronomers of Egypt, who held the notion that the
earth moves and is not the center of the universe. He also found
data published by th e great Muslim astronomers such as al _
Battani (d. 929 A.D.) useful in the course of his study and
pred iction of his heliocentric theory. Copernicus did not just
repeat the earlier heliocentric theories but he thoroughly studied
the works of the ancient astronomers that were available to him
and then presented a distinct theory wi th quantitative argu-
ments - a dimension that ga ve his th eory an advantage and
advan cement over the earlier theories.
Galilei, Galileo, 1564 - 1642
Galileo was born in ·Pisa to an impoverished Florentine family in
Italy. He .became a mathematician, physicist, and astronomer.
His early education in the school of the monastery of vallombrosa,
near Florence exposed him to the study of Latin, Greek and
98
c
ScmmfIC REVOLUI10N
Logic. Although he was to study ~dn~ andp~~hy.in ~
University of Pisa when he was admi~ed m 1581.1 h!s interest was
soon diverted, however, to mathematics.and physics. By 1585.h e
could not afford to stay at the University and so returned to
Florence . He did not, however, abandon research in physics.
At 19 years he made the first of his many .imp ortant discover-
ies, namely, that the tim e of the swi ng of a pendulum does not,
depend on the leng th of the arc through which it sWings.H~ also
invented a hydrostatic balance. His interest and resear~ in ~e
fields of dynamics and mechanics made him condemn.Aristotle.s
assertion that bodies of different weights fall With speeds
proportional to their weights. His conclusion as to f~ing bo~ies
were based on direct observation and careful expenmentation.
His study of the'motions of falling bodies enabled him discover .
that the y accelerated constantly toward the ear~..---: . _
Galileo also benefited from the legacy of SCIentific -thought
bequeathed to Europeans of the 13th th~ugh the 17th ceri~es
A.D. by the Egyptian, Greek and M~sh~ autho~s of vanous
national ities. For example, at the University of Pisa where he
studied and later became a professor (1589-92), Galileo studied
the works of Euclid, Ptolemy, Archimedes, Pappus, other Greek,
Mu slim, and Egyptian scientists. Archimedes. and~hilop?n~s
were Calileo's heroes and were frequently mentioned ~. Galileo s
books. It is plausible that Philoponus' (Alexandrian Egypt ~
losopher) theory of impetus influenced Calileo's ~echamcs.
Philoponus, it would be recalled, showed by expenrr.tent that
Aristotelean dogma (that heavier objects fall more rapidly than
ligh ter objects) was false. This experiment and proof was m~de
known about a thousand years before Galileo. However, Galil~o
is credited for proving the Aristotelean dog~a false b~ hIS
reputed experiment of dropping two balls of different weights
from~ the Leaning Tower of Pisa. . .
In the field of mechanics Galileo also benefited from ancient
Greek and Egyptian students of mechanics indirectly as a result
99

T HE HJ STORY O F S CJENCE AND T ECHNOLOG Y IN P ERSPECTIV E
of his study in the university, of the works of [ordan us, Tartaglia,
Bradwardine, Baridan etc. who Pappademos (1985) refer to as
Calileo's European 14th and 15th century precursors. The work
of Jordanus and his followers, for example, was known as the
Science of Weig hts in th e later Midd le Ag es in Europe . Thi s
science he also-w rote was influe nced by texts on mechanics
written by Heron an Egyptian , Thus Galileo indirectly benefited
from Egyp tian scientific thought. How ever, it is known that
Calileo's famou s stud ies of accelerated motion w as derived
largely from the theory of proportions developed by Eudoxus, a
Greek philosopher trained by the Egyptians. It is also evident
that Galileo used a water clock, an Egyptian invention in his
experiments on motion to measure time intervals.
Mathematician, physicist, and astronomer Galileo Calilei by
his investigation of natural law encouraged the scholars who
came afte.rhim in the use of the experimental method in science.
Observation of nature and applied mathematics were for him the
first steps toward scie f 'fie truth. He then made experiments to
verify his observations an d demonstrated them to others.
In the field 'of military engineering and mechanics another
interest area, he invented a crude thermometer between 1590
and 1603. This instrument also called thermoscope was merely a
thermometer without a scale. He also constructed telescopes
wi th which he observed the phases of Venu s and the-phenom-
enon of suns pots. From such activities he validated the heliocen-
tric theory of the solar system as expounded by Corperni cus. But
later he retracted his belief that the earth moves for the fear of
being declared a heretic. In fact the knowledge that Giordan
Bruno, was burnt at the stake for heresy largely influenced
Galileo from retracting his belief that the earth moves. It would
appear that Europ ean society at this time still held tight to
elements of religious dogma which necessitated the infliction of
harsh punishments on heretics. Yet Galileo's conclusions based I
on observation an d experimentation .
100
SCIEN11RC REvownoN
DEVELOPMENTS IN SOEN CE AND TECHNOLOGY
FROM TIlE 17fH TO 20TH-CENTURY
-
/' , -
Introduction
The Renaissance in Europe (14th to the late 16th century) which
encou raged the development of a more secular spirit, inquiry
into nature, inquiry into the place of man In theuniverse and the
quest for new knowledge led to a renewed interest in classical
civilization and an increased respect for literature. From this
period too there was a critical examination of ancient /dassical
'ideas, particularly of Greek science which was Widespread . The
resu lt of this fresh reappraisal of ancient ideas made people
discard ancient practise of astrology and alchemy. Indeed some
scientists and philosophers realized and espoused that nature
shou ld be investigated rationally. The consequence of this ratio-
nal approach'to 'scien tific investigation made Copernicus pro-
pose in 1543 that the Sun, not the Earth was the centre of the
universe. Based on this Coperican system, a spate of other ideas
from precise observations were stimulated. For example, Tycho
Brahe (1546 - 1601) laid the basis for 17th century discoveries
with fhe.telescope. Johannes Kepler, Francis Bacon,Gallleo
G~~f~re other scientists of this period whose contributions
had profound consequences on scientific and technological ad-
.vancement.
Seventeenth Century
n
Isaac Newton (1642-1727)improved upo and expanded Galileo's
demonstration that the movement of objects could be directly,
determined by a combination of experiment and mathematical
reasoning. Newton, showed that all the then known physical
aspects of the universe and nature could be completely described
by 'mathematical theory utilizing laws consistent with experi-
ment. Thus Isaac Newton calculated th e speed at which a body
!
101
 TllB H1smay-or 5aE:Na: AND T ECHNOLOGI IN PERSf>/j<;rrW:
1
projected horizontally from flte top of a .m ountai.n would· l~avl'.
the earth and begin revolving around It. He laid the basI~ 01
differential an d integral calculus, elucidated the na~ure of hg~t
and colour and explored the usefulness of ma thematical analysis
to physical theories. , . . .. .
.Newton's book, Philosophiae N atu ralis Princ ip ia Mathe~atica
(1687) was one of the most important works of modern SCIence.
It was in this book he defined his laws of motion (an im prove-
ment on Kepler 's and C alileo's work), and he formul at~d the law
of universal gravit ation. He inv ented calculus, an Import~n.t
contribution to mathematics. He w rote another book, Optiks
(1704) and in 1728, the year after his death, .his diagram of the
path of an artifi cial satellite was published. . in the sixteenth century.
.I n the realm of Op tics, Galileo, had used the telescope earher
but New ton improving upon it, perfected the first reflecting
telescope in about 1668. This led to further discoveries, as well as
the use of the telescope as a celestial measuring instrument of
great precision. National observatories in Paris and ~t Green-
wich (1675) owe their foundation to Newton's perfection of the
telescope. The Royal Observatory at Greenwich w~s es~ablished
pri ncipally to compile a new star catalogue for navI?ahonal use.
It became an important centre for accurate astronomical ~b~erva- .
tions. The meridian of zero longitude (standard meridian of
longitude is at Greenwich ) still runs through Green~ich; Again,
in this period, Willibrord Snell (1591 - 1626) determmed,the ,law
of refraction of light, while Newton showed that white hght
cou ld be split by a prism into components of every colou r.
_Chris'tian Huygens (1629 -95), a Dutch physicist built upon th e
knowledge of refraction of light an d Kepler 's study of lenses to
improve telescope and also propounded a wave th~ory .of light
in 1690. Newton had proposed a particle theory l~ his book
.Optiks which was published in 1704, Newt?n's particle,the ory
'.of light was upheld for almost a century before Huygens s wave
theory wa~r:evived .
• / .\ ~.: ~ ,; : . ' "0 ' " .
102
Thomas Savery invented the first practical steam eng ine in
1696 while that of Thomas Newcomen was an atmospheric
steam engine.
In medicine William Harvey in 1628discovered the circulation
of blood while Anton Van Leeuwenhoek (1632 - 1723) a Dutch
biologist discovered protozoa (1677) and bacteria ' (1683). He
devised his own microscopes which also facilitated his study of
blood, spermatozoa and other microscopic life forms. .-
Nehemiah Grew (1641 -1712) used the microscope to study the
sex organs of plants, while Robert Hooke (1635 -1703), John Ray
(1627 -1705) and others began to reclassify the plant and animal
kingdoms thathad begun appearing in botanical encyclopedias
,
Robert Boyle (1627 - 91) a British physicist, experimented on
the physical properties of air and found that gas pressure varies -
inversely with volume. He then formulated his law based on the
relationship between the pressure and volume of a gas.
The above remarkable changes and developments in science
and techn ology during the 17th century we re made possible by
rationalism and observation which replaced Superstition and
dogma as scientific guidelines. It is not surprising that scientific
societies were founded and that they began to flourish. 11te
Royal Society (1660) in London and the AcadeIIlies des Sciences
in Paris 1699 are typical examples. .
the Eighteenth Century
The 17th Century it would be recalled was a period when the
truth about the nature of man and his world couldbe discovered
by the use of reason, and when critical interpretation of the
Scriptures and an interest in comparative religion brought abou
a weakening 'of religious orthodoxy, The achievements of the
17th Century led to greater developmentsin Scie~ce and tech..
nology in:the 18th century. '/ ,\! '
103
i' . \
, Tile H ISTORY O F Scitncc ANIl Ffd /NOW (; Y IN l ' r l<.' I'rn W f
S~ie~tists and explorers during .the 18th century who had
asslII~date~; t~e d evelopments of the 17th cen tury began to
question many 'accep ted views about the universe an d th e ori
gins. Greater kno w ledge of the non-Europ ean world (Which
~ere tm~nown:)hi~herto ) exci ted Europ eans. They took keen
mterest .in th e wide ran ge of exotic fauna and flor a and its
geography. The stage' was now set for more dis coveries, inven-
.
tions and impro vement of existing works, mach ineries, id eas,
and so on . Navigational instruments su ch as the sextant an d the
m ar~ t~me chronometer facilitated scientific exploration. rhe
maritime chronometer was developed by John Harr ison, an
Englishman from 1726, to aid navigation. Earlier, the Latitude
had been easy to fix for cen tu rie s but it w as difficult to fix
Longitu d es because they d epen d ed on time . H~rrison 's (1693-
1776) chronometers had th e compens ating p end ulum so 'th at
they kept.pe~fect timein whatever climate the y were used and so
made fixm g of Lon gitudes easy. This contribution revolution-
ized maritime naviga ion in th e 18th century. Cap tain [a es
Cook (1728 - 79) com m anded three voy ages of exploration
b~tween, 1768 and 1776, us ing these ne w navigation al te ch-
mques. Edmo~d Halley (1656 - 1742), British Astronom er Royal
pr?p~sed the Idea that comets orbit th e sun an d using New thn:,$ .
pnncrple, correctly predicted in 1705 the return of the contef'tli1U
IS now called H alley's comet. " Geology advanced the th eory that the processes of geological
Gabriel Fahrenheit, a German physicist (1686 -1736) invettted
the mercury thermom eter in 1711.
.William Herschel (173~ - 1822) used an improved tel~seop.et(Q'
d~scover the planet Uranus in 1781. During this period, scienttric
~lS 'overy depended a lot upon improvem en ts in instrumenta-
tion I ,Electricity was di scovered in th is p eriod by Luigi Galvani
In _hemis~, Joseph Priestley is credited with the discovery of
o 'gen. While An toine Lavoisier (1743 -94)revolutionized chem-
istry by eliminating the magical and mystical remnan ts from it
and consequently, laid the foundati ons of modem chemi stry. By
104
c SCIENTl flC ReVOLUTION
means of experiments he formulated a theory about.the nature of
combustion . Lavoisier heated mercury and air in a flask with a
curved neck, which enabled him to me asure exactly the decrease
in volume of ga s and gain in weight of mercury during 12 days
heating. From this experim ent he sh ow ed that th e chan ges could
be explained comp letely in terms ofth e active constituent of th e
air discovered by Joseph Pr iestly, to which Lavoisier gave th e
nam e of oxygen. Hitherto, the nature of combustion had been
ascribed to the transfer of a substance called phlogiston, the main
agent of chemical change som et imes released as fire. Wit
Lavoisier's experimen t, the idea of phlogiston w as regarded as
superfluous and chemistry could develop as a rational science
based entirely on quantitative measurements. Experiments gave
rise to theories that w ere then tested by other experim ents.
Joseph Black, (1728 - 99), a Scottish Che mist, d efined th e
difference between heat and temperature, and di scovered spe-
cific and latent heat. This discovery enabled James Watt to build
steam en gine. Black also discovered carbon dioxide in ·1756.
He nry Cav end ish (1731 - 1810), a British scientist discovered
hydrogen in 1766 and calculated the Earth's mass.
The found ations of modern geology w ere laid dow n in the
18th century with th e stud y of rocks strata and with atte mpts at
ge ological dating . Charl es Lyell 's (1797 - 1875), Prin ciples of
change were long, slow and uniform, and this w as as true of the
rem ote past as of the present. His work formulated an evolu tion-
ary theory of th e earth rejecting earlier writers w ho had tried.for
theological fossil evide nce with literal int erpretations of the Old
Testament.
(1737 - 98), an Italian in 1771, when he found that two metals in
contact w ith a frog's body caused it to twitch.Iunknowingly he
had produced current - electricity ). While he d iscovered "gal-
vanic" (current) electricity, Alessandro Volta obtained it from his
"Voltai c pile" or battery, which quickly made electrolysis p os-
105
'lit IIIITOIIY Of SCIENCE AND TE c1moLOGY IN PERSPEC17VE
ible.
Most of these scientific findings stimulated economic activity;
tr de, ind ustrial processes and affected changes in life generally.
The in d ustrial revolution, for example, was an 18th century
movement or phenomenon.
Thomas Newcomen, an Englishman, invented 'the first indus-
trially significant piston and-cylinder steam engine. Thomas
Savery h ad patented a steam enginein 1698 which had neither
pistons nor cylinder. Thomas Newcomen, Thomas Savery and
John Cawley joined forces and built the first working atmo-
spheric engine at Wolverhampton, England in 1712, improving
on it in later designs by converting from surface condensing to
internal jet condensation. The Newcomen engine marked the
effective beginning of the utilization of steam power, and the
Newcomen engine was used for raising water for a period
spanning 75 years especially with improvements on it intro-
duced by John Smeaton (1724 -1792). It Gould pump water to a
reservoir to power a water wheel supplying rotary motion for
grinding wheels. . laid the gro undwork for the ba sic id eals of the atomic theory of
James Watt later made a scientific and technical revision of the
New comen engine; and his patent of 1769 claimed improve-
ments obtained through insulation; large temperature differ-
ences between the steam cylinder and the separate condenser;
the use of an air pump to dear the condenser and the steam
cylinder; and the use of the 'expansive force of steam. Together
with the industrialist Matthew Boulton of Birmingham, James
Watt later developed double-acting reciprocating engines of .
rating up to 80 horsepower. The real advantage in Watt's work
w as the increase in thermal efficiency which reduced the cost of
<>peration, resulting in a Wider market for the engine.This indeed
was a major step in the industrial revolution of the 18th ana 19th
centuries.
'"
l
106
Scu unnc REvow njJN
Higher pressures (60 - 80 psi instead of the 13.6 psi attained in
Watts~ engines) were only possible through improveme nts made
from 1775 to 1850 in iron manufacturing technology, Oliver
Evans of the USA an d Richa rd Trevithick of Britain being earliest
experimenters betwe en 1800 and 1801. Thermal efficiency had
imp roved from 0.5% to about 7.5% by the end of the 18th century
due to Watt's contributions >
-,
-,
The Nineteenth Century
The early 19th century saw th e development and gradual accep-
tance into science of the atomic view of matter as opposed to the
old caloric therory of Antoine Lavoisier and his predecessors in
which a tenuous fluid is th ought to flow inside matter. The great
Isaac Newton's erroneous static mod el of gases propounded in
his bo ok, the Pricipia,was finally overturned in favour of the
kine tic model of matter. The Englishman, John Dalton (1766 -
1844) in his great opus ANew System of Chemical Philosophy"
1/
Chemistry. The book was published in two parts in 1808 and
1810.
' The Italian physicist, Amed eo Avogadro (1766 -1856) ex-
pounded the hypothesis that all p ure substances-must have the
same number Of molecules in one mole, and that at standard
conditions, this number which is approximately 6.02 x 1023
occupies a volume of 22.4 litt ers.
There was intense work in Chemistry in this period on the
search for regularity among the kn ow n elements of the time.
Alth ou gh many scientists across m any nations contributed sig-
nificantly to the understanding, it was th e insight of the' Russian
chemist Dmitri Ivanovitch Mendellef (1834 ~1907) and later of the
German chemist Julius Meyer (1830-1895) that w as the culmina-
tion of th e six decades of qu antitative investigations and specu-
lative inductions since Dalton's atomic theoryfirstbecame gen- '
erally.:known.
..
'/ " c. ;
107
, /1/ ,,, f(Jln O f SOENer .~ Nl' TI "<'I' ~(1' ,. :, t»: I',.~~ ,.,
- - - - - - - - -_._ -- . -- -
Mendellefs papers in 1869 and 1872 led to the arr~ge.R\ent of
th known elements in what is now kn own as the Periodic Table,
classification according to their phy sical and chemical charac-
t risti cs in rows and colu mns. The arran gemen t thus was able to
predict characteristics of elements, even those yet to be di scov-
ered at the time.
the kin etic-molecular theory in its earl y beginnings had C<:>l1-
tribu tions from all are as of science. For exam ple; the English
botanist Robert Bro wn w as the first to observe and rep ort the
irregular and .perp etual dance of plant pollen in 1827. The
phenomen on, now called the Brownian movement, :was later
confirmed as evidence of the bombardment from all SIdes ~f the
relatively larger pollen particles by the much smaller but highly
agitated (as a result of their abs~lute temperat~re) molec~les ~f
the surrounding fluid . The kinetic th eory has since found appli-
cation in isotope separation, electronics, nuclear po wer, etc.
The Ind.ust~iai Revolution 'continued into the 19th century
with improvements in the stearn and hydrau~ic motive power '
sources . Richard Trevithick of Britain and Oliver Evan s of the
usA among many others made significa~t contribution~ to the
develop m ent of the basic James Watt engm.e of,the earlier cen-
tury, Thermal efficiency of th e steam engme Improved from
about 0.5% of the 18th centu ry James Watt engine to about 7.5~
by the' first decade of the 19th century, The res~lting decrease.m
coal cons.umption was so significant that coal mme~ and fa~tones
using the engines placed more orders, thus furthen~g t~e indus-
trial revolution. There we re also better control devices invented
iIi this period such as the D-slide valve, the cylindrical valve, ~e
governor for maintaining constant speed, ,and the f~~ous C~rhss
valve 'gear patented .in 1849. Ste~m .engI~es wer~ increasingly
used on steamships, in land applications in factones, for pump-
ing water and in ·d redging . · . . The su ccess of th e gas engine sp urred many attempts to use
Develop ments in boiler design ~d co~struction led to the first
successful steam locomotive engme trials by the Stephenson
.:,.",'
1; .r:\1<' CONCf.PTS O F SCIENCE AN D T ECHNOLOGY
brothers (George and Robert) on July 25, 1814. As the mills and
workshops increased in size and number in the late 19th century,
the demand for larger engines inc reased. Steamships by the late
1800's were using triple-exp ansion stearn engin es and so did
land applications such as electric power stations . .
The steam turbine development of the late 18th century pro-
vided very serious com pe tition for th e reciprocating steam en-
gine of James Watt. Indeed, within two'decades ofits introd uc-
tion, the steam turbine had driven the reciprocating steam en-
gine out of existence . Important features'contributing to the huge
success of the steam turbine include its lig hter weight (and
weight-to-power ratio), its much higher thermal and overall
efficiency, its higher sp eed find ease of matching the 1000-1500
rpm required by the Thomas Edison 's first large dynamos of the
late 1870's; its virtually non-existent vibration com pared .with
the terrible vib ration of the reciprocating engine. Within thirty
years of its exis tence, steam turbines 60.,000 hp in a single unit
were common place and they quickly became the 'standard unit
in the electric power industry. ' .
The steam turbine in tum aiso had serious competition' from
internal combustions engines, especially the dieselengine 'after
the discovery of petroleum in large quantities in 1859, for small-
and medium-power range applications by the late 19t1i century-
to the early 20th century. .
J.J.E. Lenoir of Fran ce produced the first commerciallysignifi-
cant internal combustion engine in 1860, using a mixture of gas
and air in his 3 hp engine. Later, De Rochas's workled to the
development of the four-stroke cycle which forms the basis of
gas and oil-engine practice today. De Rochas laid the theoretical
basis for the work of the German engineer Nikolaus f:\,()tto, who
patented his famous "silent gas enginerin 1877.
other fuels beside gas. By 1886 Gottlieb Daimler had succeeded
in building a gasoline engine operating at 800 rp~ and of a light
108
.
.•. •...<
~
109 ,
11/' l l r., r OR¥ CJF SCIENCE AN D TE CHNOWGY IN PERSPECTIVE
weight-to-power ra tio nee ded for road and air transp ortation .
I Iowever, gasoline was at this time still a laboratory material,
and the engine was used only by barges and boats. Development
of oil engines was initiated by Priestman as early as 1884 using
a fuel with specific gravity of about 0.8 similar to kerosene, and
it was carried out by sever al inventors, perhaps the most notable
being Rudolf Diesel who patented his oil engine in 1892. That
engine, now named after him (as well as the oil itself), was first
constructed in 1897.
The hydrau lic turbines also saw tremendous improvements
from the contributions of such practical engineers as Benoit
Fourneyron who patented a 50-hp turbine wheel in 1832 with the
outer ro tating wheel supporting 30 curved vanes. James B.
Franscis in 1855produced the reaction turbine which became the
pr edominant American water tu rbine and also now known by
his name, the Franscis turbine. Th e simple imp ulse turbine
wheel de signed in the 1880's by Lester Allen Pelton and now
known as the Pelton tu rbine produced higher speeds and consid-
erably less splashin g, the feature of which was 'the centr e ridge in
each bucket to split the water jet so tha t it would glide smoothly
over the tw o halves.
Although Mechanical and Civil engineering dominated tech-
nology until the last quarter of the 19th century, by the early 20th .
centu ry electronics an d electrical engineering had become the
leading field of technological advance, due largely to the purely
scien tific groundwork of Benjamin Franklin, Michael Faraday,
Ampere, Ohm, Oersted, and Henry, among many others, By 1834
the first practical electric motor had been constructed by Thomas
Dav enport of Vermont, USA. The first direct current dynamo
had been invented in 1860 by Antonio Pacinotti, and by 1870 .
followed the first commercial dynamo built by Zenobe Theophile
Gramme of Belgium. In 1887, Nikola Tesla of the USA built the
polyphase motor which mad e the Widespread use of alternating
current possible.
110
SC1£Nn I1C 1, ' V() I/ II M N
"Samuel F. B. Morse's telegraph of 1837 and Alexander Graham
Bell's telephone of 1875.were significant inventions w hich oper-
ated successfully on dry cells, accumulators and we t batteries
that were th e main power sources of the day. The motors and
dynamos which were then being produced required much more
power that only the steam and water tu rbines could.provide,
thus providing impetus for their further development.
Thomas Alv a Edison, after a long series of experiment and
trial s, finally succeeded in demonstrating eled ric lighting using
carbon filam ents in an evacuated tu be on October 21, 1879, thus .
ushering the age of electricity into the life of all mankind. .'
The theoretical work, experiments an d inventions of many
notable people, am ong them Heinrich Hertz (1886),Jon Ambrose
Fleming (1904), James Clark Maxwell, Henry, Kelvin, Kirchoff,
Heaviside, and Helmbholtz, all ushered in the success of Marchese
Guglielmo Marconi who, in 1899, demonstrated the practical
transmitting radio - the wirel ess. Further developments in cir-
cuits, tuning, radio wave detectors, magnetic, electrolytic, .and
crystal detection method s eventu ally l ed to transatlantic radio
communi cations by the turn of the 20th century in 1901.
The wind tunnel played a significan t role in the development
of aerodynamics, leading to the supersonic aircraft in bo th .
military and civil airplanes of the late 20th century. Ludwig
Prandtl .played a leading role in wind tunnel studies of aerody-
namics of flights.
Otto Lilienthal, a German engineer, had devoted considerable
efforts to his flying machine called the hanging glider in which
he had made more than a thousand successful flights before he
w as killed in a glider a ccid ent in 1899. The Wright brothers,
(Wilbur & Orville) succeeded in flying the first heavier-than-air
machine that was power-driven at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina,
in the USA in 1903 afte r a large d ose of enthusiasm, courage, .
determination, doggedness and a good understanding .of air-
111

rilE H ISTORY OF SCI ENCE AN D T E.C// NOLOGY IN PERS PECTIVE
craft flight dynamics. They-had even built the 12hp 4:-in bore and
stoke, 900 rpm engine of this aeroplane themselves.
Airship development was quite rapidin Germany in the'late
1800s with leadership being inspired by Count Von Zeppelin and
after whom the airships were named. One of the most successful
airships ever built was th e 1928 "Graf Zeppelin", a 3.7 milli on .
cubic feet airship powered by five gas engines, each of 530 hp
carried in five separate gondolas suspended from the envelope.
This airship made a flight of 2t500 miles round the world in
three weeks in 1929 carrying twenty passengers and a crew of
.forty. A larger airship, the Hindenburg was inregular service on
the North Atlantic crossing in 1936. However a series airship
disasters between 1920 and 1940 discouraged further develop-
ment of this mode of air travel, especially after the accident
involving th e largest American airship, the Akron, in which all 74
persons on board lost their lives and the cause of th e disaster was
never ascertained .
Towards the Ialtler part of the 19th century, 1870's precisely,
agriculture became more mechanized. Seed drills and threshing
machines had some success. Many new types of traction engine
or steam ploughing, and so on were produced.
Louis Pasteur worked on fermentation, on th e souring of milk,
on putrefaction and then on a disease in silk worms. He proved
that all these happened because of th e presence of airborne
micro-organisms. Hi s stu dy of other ani mal di seases enabled
him d evise a method of immunization by inoculating a toxin to
raise the host's resistance to more virulent types of the organism.
.Similarly.Claude Bernard studied the chemical'properties of the
digeetivesystemend the treatmentofinfection (basedonP,asteur's
bacteriological ideas). These ideas and the introduction of anti-
septics and anaesthetics / oC.-0i1tributed' to advances in surgery and.
Inunderstanding new ways to combat disease. . .., ".
112
SClf:NTlrJ, ' 1~ I: V()1.I IH ON
Tire 'Iioe n tictlt Ceu t u n ]
Two great revolutionary theories changed the face of physics in
'. the early decades of the twentieth century: The Theory of Rela-
tivity and the Quantum Theory. The Theory of Relativity was
essentially the creation of Albert Einstein and it came in two
installments: the Special Theory of Relativity, published in 1905,
and The General Theory of Relativity, published in 1915.
The general theory of relativity describes the force of gravity
and thelarge scale structure of the universe, scales ranging from
only a few kilometres to as large as 1024 kilometres.
The Quantum Theory, on the other hand, is the result of the
creative work of several great scientists starting with Max Planck,
~ho was the first to introduce the idea of .a quantum of energy
(light quantum) into physics at the meeting- of .the German
Physical Society on December 14, 1900. Quantum mechanics
deals with phenomena on 'extremely small 'scales, such as a'
millionth of a centimetre. Among the numerous scientists of note
in the rapid developments in quantum mechanics are the follow-
ing : Danish physicist, Niels Bohr who extended Planck's idea of
quantization of radiant energy to the description of mechanical
energy of electrons within an atom.
a
Loui s de Broglie, French physicist; in 1925 gave a wave
explanation to the Bohr quantum orbits of the electron. More
~xact n:athematical formulation of wave mechanics was pub-
lished In 1926 by the Austrian physicists, Erwin Schrodinger.
Werner Heisenberg, a German physicist enunciated the uncer-
tainty principle of quantum .mechanics almost simultaneously in
1926 In 1929the British physicist, P. A. M. Dirac used his Relativ-
istic Wave Equation to describe the motion of atomic electrons
and in the process suggesting that there must also exist positively
charged anti-electrons. His prediction was brilliantly verified a
few years later when anti-electrons were found in the cosmic
rays. The theory of anti-particles was later extended to elem en-
tary particles other than electrons, yielding such particles as anti-
113

11/, I I ,SroRY OF SCIENCE AND T ECIlNOLOG) IN PERSPECTIVE
rotons, anti-nucleus, anti-mesons, etc.
In experimental physics, Ernest Rutherford, a'former stu dent
of J.J. Thompson, (who in 1897 had shown by direct experiments
the existence of electrons in atoms), proved that the then newly
discovered radioactive elements called a (alpha-particl es) were
nothing other than positively charged atoms of helium mov ing
with tremendously high velocities neve r before encountered in
physics. Furthermore, his experiments on angular dependence
of 0._ scattering proved that the positive charge (associated. with
most of the mass) of the atom is not distributed all through its
body (as.in J.J. Thompson's model of the atom) but is concen-
trated in a little hard nut- the nucleus. Thus Rutherford's atomi c
model with its light negatively charged electrons moving through
free space around a positively charged heavy nucleus in the
centre somewhat resembled the Solar system.
Emission of a - particles from unstable heavy atoms of radio-
active elements had earlier be n discovered to be often followed
by the emission of electrons ~(Beta) -particles and high -fre-
quency electromagnetic radiation (gamma) r -rays, similar to
ordinary X-rays but having much shorter wavelength. H. Geiger
(of the Geiger counter fame) and E. Marsden's scattering experi-
ments had by 1913 completely verified the main featu res of the
theory of the nuclear atom H.G.J. Moseley, working from
Rutherford's laboratory, confirmed that the Bohr th eory was
indeed most successful in explaining the K« line but not the faint
~ line. Hundreds more theoretical and experimental physicists
contributed immensely to the great developments in twentieth
century physics, among them The Unknown Postgraduate stu-
dents in universities the world over.
The main efforts of the later decades of the twentieth centu ry
in physics continue to be devoted to the construction of a
complete unified the ory of matter in the universe, i.e. the unifi-
cation of the general relativity and quantum theories in one
114
L
SOENTlflC R Evo w n ON
singl~ theory. In attempting to construct such a unified theory in
phySICS, several un usual or "unnatural" phenomena continue to
be encountered such as singularities, back holes, space-time
curvatures, renorrnalizations, infinities, imaginary time, etc.
AmOl:g the great physicists of the later half of the centu ry
working .on the unificatio n problem in physics is Cambridge
University physicists Stephen Hawkin.
The later part of the 19th century and the early years of the 20th
c en ~ury saw rem arkable progress on locomotion through the
r~pld development of the internal combustion engin e using
either petrol (spark ignition engine) or diesel oil (compression
ignition engine ), with the most significant developments of the
time taking place in Europe. Internal combustion engines soon
became the mo tive power for train s, ships, aeroplanes, road
vehicles and agricultural tractors. They also were used for large
central power station drives for electrical generators for electri-
fication of cities and communities the world over.
The advent of the second world war in the late 1930s spurred
the dev.elopnwnt of man's most lethal weapons - nuclear weap-
ons, especially the Hydrogen Bomb which destroyed the [apa-
ne~e cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, bringing a rather
quick.and sad end to a horrible war. The after-effects are still felt
by survivors who are maim ed by the nuclear radiation. There
were peaceful uses of nuclear science too - in medicine, agricul-
ture, isotopic (carbonjdating in history and archaeology; electric
power generation, etc.
Following the hydrogen bomb have been otherNuclear bombs
- the neutron bomb and ~e atomic bomb, both horrific weapons
of man's destructive powers.
T he microchip revolutionized electronics - bringing dow n
costs and size of electronic goods from radios, television sets, to
personal computers etc. Indeed the television set is a mid-20th
centu ry invention as is the radio transmitter and receiver sets.
A very significant event of the later decades of the 20th century
115
Tnt: HISTORY Of SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN PERSPECnVE
is the remarkable achievement in space science and technology.
'By the last decade of the century, what began as science fiction by
Jules Verne in the 19th century hadbecome common-day 20th
centu ry experience: manned and unmanned space crafts to the
moon; landing of men on the moon; unmanned space crafts to
both neighbouring and distant planets, with breath taking pic-
tures of the surface of 'such planets regularly beamed back to
scientists on the earth; artificial satellites launched into geo-
stationary orbits round the earth carrying scientific instruments
and equipment for all kinds of studies; even unmanned space-
craft was sent to outside the solar system to probe the possibility
of life elsewhere in the universe, carrying .recorded greetings in
several languages which are continuously played back as the
spacecraft hurtles through infinite intergalactic space of the
universe!
On July 4, 1997, an unmanned spacecraft, named the Path-
finder, landed safely on Mars and immediately began sending
dozens of breathtaking pictures of the red planet back to the earth
which were beamed to millions of people the world over. This
was ~1 years after the first unmanned satellite, the Viking space-
craft, landed on Mars in 1976. ' Presid ent Kennedy charged Am erica n scientists through the '
Astronauts in the 20th century have lived in orbiting space-
craft iri space for up to ayear and they now routinely perform
complex tasks in space such as repairs of equipment, platforms
and even their spacecraft; manufacturing and production of
pure metals in the air -free.vacu um of the space environment;
building space platforms for future use; and installing scientific
,instrum ents and equipment in satellite spacecraft already in
orbit. Supply spacecraft routinely take supplies from the earth to
orbiting satellite spacecraft in the closing years 'of the 20th
century, the American space shuttle named Columbia ,being
perhaps the most advanced shuttle technology of the late 20th
century.
116
SCl EN11flC R £ VOwnON
The space age was ushered in by Professor Dr. Robert B.
Godd ard of Clark University, USA in the early 1900's, following
two patents covering the essentials of rocket prop ulsion issued
to him in July 1914. In July 1929, Dr. Goddard launched th e
world 's first successful liqui d - fueled rocket.
K.E. Tsiolkosky is regard ed as the father of modern experimen-
tal rocketry. In 1876, long before anyone had even flown an
airplane, Tsiolkosky concluded that only by the rocket principle
would ou ter space travel be possible. His th eory of rocket flight
came in 1903, his formula showing that the speed tha t any rocket
can attain d epends upon the weigh t of th e fuel load it can carry.
Terrestrial benefits of space exploration include solar photo-
voltaic cells, the microchipfor manufacturing computers, even
comp uter technology itself, fibre op tic telecommunicators, and .
" the whole range ofinformation techn ology products set to be the
hallmark of the 21st century.
, The above woul d probably not have taken place, or at least not ,
at th e same pace and manner, had President John F. Kenne dyof
the USA not responded to the launching of the first space vehicle
- the Spu tn ik I - by th e then Soviet Union on 4 Oct ober ) ~57 .
NASA (National Aeronautics andSpace Administration) to land:
a man on the moon by the end of the decade . And "ind eed on July
20,196 9 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edward Ald rin landed
onthe moon while Michael Collins wasin the command module
revolving around the moon. The total flight time of that ap pollo
flight was 8 days 3 hours and 18 seconds and the three astronauts
returned to the earth with 20 kg of samples of moon rocks for
analysis. It must be said howev er that this su ccess w as no t
without cost. Several trials and experiments on spacecraft, rock -
ets and space walks prec eded it. On January 27, 1967, an electrical
fire from short-Circuited wiring in a spacecraft being ground -
tested at Cape Kennedy started a fire which in the 100% oxygen '
, atmosphere, burned three astronauts in the spacecraft to d eath:
117

I II' 1I,,/tIN) or SCIENCE AND TE CHNOLOC) IN P ERSPECTIVE
Virgil Grissom, Edward White and Chaffee lost their lives in this
gic accident.
Space satellites have been launched in the last quarter of the
Oth century by several nations - even by those without the
launching pad technology but with the money to pay launchers
for such diverse purposes as telecommunications, weather,
geological and hydrological su rveys, defence, etc,'
Robotics in manufacturing technology followed on the heels of
NC (Numerically Controlled) & CNC (Computer Numer ically
ontrolled ) machines to do complex jobs in dangerous environ -
ments and atmospheres in manufacturing.
Th e Hubble Space Telescope, perhaps the climax of the 20th
century astrono my, was launched into orbit around the Earth on
April 25, 1990 at a phen om enal price tag of $3 bn. Although a
flawed main mirror needed a Space Shu ttle mission to correct it
(at another phenomenal pri ce tag of $1.66bn), it is no w hailed as
the most important development in the noble history of as-
tronomy since Galileo's invention of the telescope in 1609.
From its vintage po sition 600 kilometres above the turbulent
terrestrial atmosphe re, the orbiting observatory has a crystal-
clear view across the infinite darkness of space . The Hubble
space telescope data have been used by cosmologists to calculate
the age of the universe by calculating the Hubble Cons tan t, a
measure of the rate at which the universe is expanding. This
constant has been found to be less than 70 from the Hubble
telescope data-consistent with the age of the universe of about 12
billion years, down from the originally thought age of up to 15
billion years.
Astronomers have found the fantastic pictures beamed back
by the HST showing the glorious and turbulent processes in-
volved in the births and deaths of stars very. exciting. These
photographs will help astronomers understand the factors that
determine the destinies of different celestial bodies. Will they
emerge from
the glorious blaze of a supernova explosion to
118
B...~ CONCE PTS Of' St. II NTII II /'1 \.11' " " l IN
become a black hole" from which nothing escapes- neither li ht
nor matter - Or do they shrivel into a white dwarf in their d tl
throes?
HST lenses ha ve also caug ht the impact sites of Comet Shoe-
maker - Levy (discovered in March 1993) on Jupiter's sou thern
hemisphere. Th e comet was ripped apart in Jupiter's enormous
gravitational field and several fragments rammed into Jupiter in
July 1994. Different galaxies ha ve been discovered during a Deep
Field search of the universe and captured on film by HST.
Engine Technology
The success of the gas engine of the late 19th century spurred
many attempts to use other fuels besides gas (coal gas, town gas),
and by the dawn of the 20th century, Gottlieb Daimler .had been
able to build a gasoline engine that was later to find application
in road, air, and sea transportation. Also, the earlier success of the
steam engine in the 19th century led to attempts to apply its
principles to a gas turbine in the early 1900's. The first successful
commercial gas turbine unit was built by R. Armengaud and C.
Lemale in France in 1903.Since then; thousands of engineers and
scientists have contributed to the immense development of the
gas turbine which today powers supersonic airplanes across the
world's conti nents. Gas turbines also find application in marine
and ind us trial environ ments, in power generation as well as in
pipeline movement of crude oil and natural gas.
Electrical/Electronics Technology
In 1906, Lee De Forest improved Jon Ambrose Fleming's 1904
experimental diode - the thermionic electron tube - making
possible large amplification of the feeble radio currents, Further
developments of the thermionic. valve by Edwin How .
Armstrong among many others culminated in the superb t
.dyne circuit in 1919 and by the 1920's public radio broadcasting
119
 T HC / " STO RY Of SCIENCE AN D TCCHNOLOC~ IN I' LRSl' LLTJV£
had been mad e possible. The dawn of the electronics age thus
began with further intensive research work on vacuum tubes
and circuits leading to the experimental television by 1927.
The-first practical transistor was devisedin 1948 through the
research of J. Bardeen, William Shockley, and W.H. Brattain, fOT
which they were later awarded the Nobel prize in physics. That
the transistor has truly revolutionized life on earth is not W
doubt, with the advent of integrated circuits, the microchips,
personal computers, and the internet, among other 20th century
electronic technological wonders.
Radar, an acronym for "radio detecting and ranging", devel-
oped, independentlyand almost simultaneously in the USA,
England, Germany and France in the 1930's,has also contributed
in no small measure to the great developments in electronics in
the late 20th century. Radar applications in the military and outer
sp~ce flight has led to tremendous and rapid research in electron-
ics circuitory needed for radar, producing .spin offs for the
electronic ind ustry in such things as the semiconductor technol-
ogy and the microchip. Radio telescopes-for tracking outer space
flights also developed from the simple radar principles.
I~
Computers and TnJormation Technology ~ Cyberspace ~ (Internet)
A significant .s cientific and technological revolution of the late
20th century is the development of the personal computer PC .;:
into an information technology vehicle for the 21st century
Cyberspace. The revolution began with the application of com-
puters in other realms beside that of computation as originally
conceived. On the eye of the 21st century, ordinary communica-
tion is now taking place via computer to computer for Informa-
tion, news, business, scientific and technical literature search
and exchange, electronic shopping; billing etc. Ordinary users /
subscribers have their electronic mail (e-mail) addresses for
correspondence through the'Internet while advertisements and
i
I
I, , 120
SCIENT1f1C Rrvoumon
Home entertainmen t can also be found on the PC through the
World - Wide Web (WWW) of the Internet. Social issues also
bedevil the Internet - such issue s as the spread of pornographic
material, hate mail, bank fraud, credit card fraud, etc. Regardless
of these however, the Internet has been agreed as a free trade
zone with little or no government limitations worldwide.
Voice recognition personal computers are already in an. ad-
vanced stage of development in the last de cade of the century.
These are but a few of the fascinating developments in technol-
ogy of the late 20th century. The information technology is
possible through the Communications Satellite Technology and
the d evelopm ent of fibre optics that carry information at thou-
sands f old The p re-IT age copper cables. Truly tremendous
advances of the late 20th century, many of which are terrestrial
fall-outs of the space technology of the 1960sand 1970s, abound. .
Energy, Ecology, Environment and Sustainable Development
Global w arming, Energy, Environment, Ecology, Sustainable
Development, Ozone Layer Depletion, Environmental Pollu-
tion, Energy Depletion, Fossil Fluids, Renewable Energy; Toxic
Wastes, Acid Rain, Recycling; Green Issues; etc. These are late
20th century catching phrases which depict the concern for
,man's d amage of his environment through careless use of sci-
ence.
In the last decade of the 20th century man became vitally
aware of the interplay of energy, ecology, environment and
sustainable developm ent. In particular, the disastrous effect of
man's unbridled use of fossil fuel resources - notably petroleum,
coal and natural gas - on the ecology of the terrestrial globe an d
its environment became glazing. Such disastrous consequences
are the rapid d epletion of the world reserves of fossil fuels,
environmental pollu tion, acid rain, ozone-layer depletion by
chl~ fhlOrocarbons (CFCs) and the resulting UV radiation pen-
etration of th e earth's ozone protective belt. The inability of the
121
THE HiSTORY OF SCIEN CE: AN D T ECHNOW GY IN PERSPECTIVE
natural sinks of carbon dioxide - principally vegetation and the
oceans - to cope wi th carbon dioxide release by man's unguarded
use of fossil fuel and deforestation have combined in the phe-
nomenon of global warming - whereby the Earth's atmospheric
temperature have steadily increased by as much as 1.4 degrees C
in the past twenty odd years. Melting of the ice caps at the polar
regions of th e Earth and the resulting rising levels of the oceans
have 'f ollow ed the global warming, threatening the low -lying
coastal regions of the world with submergence.
Deforestation has resulted in terrible environmental damage
such 'as erosion and large-scale lan d degradation arid loss of
agncultural land . Even the very act of prospecting for fossil fuels
in an "environmentally - unfriendly" way has over time contrib-
uted..tp t;be large scale pollution of land areas near oil fields and
ocean waters in off-shore drilling operations, and land areas
around surface seam coal mines.
The Earth's protective ozone layer has been under siege for
several d ecades of the last part of the 20th century from the
release of ozone-d epleting refrigerants and halons into the upper
atmosphere from air conditioners, refrigerators, fire extinguish-
ers, sprays, foam s.
Global warming potentials for fossil fuel and Ozone-depletion
potentials for refrigerants and halons were established and
standards set through the Montreal Protocol for phasing out
CFCs in the refrigeration industry and Introduction of alterna-
tive ozone friendly refrigerants in the last decade of the 20th
century.
Con sid erable efforts have also been spent on reducing carbon
(dioxide) emissions by the industrialized countries of the world
who also happen to be the greatest consumers of the world's
resources of fossil fuels for their engines of production, - through
setting up carbon targets, introducing energy efficiency mea-
sures at the p roduc tion and end-use levels. Some of these efforts
are gradually filtering to 'th e rest of the world .and hopefully will
-, "-.
122
SClENTlflC RE VOW TlON
z:yield t~e desired .result of reversing the global w arming trend .
1SSue of toxic wastes - their production, storage, treatment,
sposal, ec onomics, have also taken the attention of consid er- . .
able part of the last quarter of the 20th century.Toxic wastes and
effluents from the Chemical industries, the nuclear industries:
and the petrochemical industries, have been targets of the "green
reV~lu tionfl greening the environment" - lithe green party" :'al1 .
_IJ 0
environmental ~ con scious mov ements the worl d over in the
closing phase of the 20th century from which Scientific techno-
logical and m oral solutions have been sought with not inconsid-
. erable success. Such successes no doubt have been aided by the
new .world order o~ the last decade of the, 20th century - the .
.demise o~ ~mmumsm as ~n.oppos~g ideology to ~emo.cracy' ·~ ;
(and cap italis m) and the dismtegrationof the old communist.' . _,
block led by the now dismembered USSR. In the closing decad~s:~ :·' ; . .
of th e 20th century, the poor third worl d countries became .:'
targ: ts of uns~rupulous businesses of the developed countries; '
seekin? dux:np~ng grounds far toxic wastes and some developing "
countnes d id ind eed exch ange toxic wastes for cash, regardless
of the dangers posed to their poor defenceless and often unaware
citizens.
Genetics and Genetic Engineering
.Genetic engineering has come a long way in the latter part of 20th
cen~ry and ~ankfully, in more positive ways for society. than
~ged byIts founders, prin cipally Fran cis Galton, a cousin of
Charles Darwin. Galton saw th at Darwin's theory of evolution ,.
impli~ the possibility that man might in part direct his own .
evolutionary fortune..He believed that it would be quite practi- .
cal t? produce a highly gifted race ofmen by judicious marriages
d uring several consecutive generations and accord ingly en-
dow ed a research fellowship in eugenics in 1904 and in his will
provided funds for a chair of eugenics at the University College,
London University.
12.1

- -
T HE)-bSTORY QF. SCIENCE AND TE.CHNOLOGY IN P ERsPE( n v E
. Genetic engineering had its humble beginning from the well
known clonal reproduction of cuttings from plants. In the la~t
.two decad es of the 20th century dramatic strides were taken in
. the areas of ar tificial insemination of women, both "in vivo" and
"in vitro'; fertilization of ovarian eggs . In "in vivo" the eggs are
.artificially fer tilized inside the woman's womb wit~ s~erms
from a donor that might not necessarily be the husband s as in ~~e
case of a husband with an unusually low sperm count In in
vitro", the eggs are fertilized in a "test tube," after extrac~on from
the woman's ovary and later re-implanted m the woman s uterus,
Both methods have scored successes and have also been fraught
with social dan gers. Among the successes ar~ ~h.e b~rth of.a b~by
to a 63 - year old woman through in vivo artificial insenunation
in 1997. , transgenic mouse bred to die young from cancer.
Genetic engineeringb is however fraught with great .SOCIal,
ethical and moral dangers in the realm of human .sp~Clm ens .
There was a 1997 case where medical secrecy was indiscreetly
broken and the fact that a child born to a couple was actually not
from the "father's" sperm in an artificial insemination b~rth
caused great stress and loss of self esteem to the wh~~e faml~y
Ano the r 1997 case invol ved a "s u rrogate mother - a third
par ty woman who had been paid for carrying all il~ vivo artificial
insemination pregnancy using the sperm from a childless couple.
Several months into the pregnancy this surrogate moth.er re-
neged on her promise to give the baby to the cO : ,~~'!e when ~t was
born, at first claiming she had lost the pregll.mc), but fm~lly
confessing th e lies she had told. Insuch case, the woman l~l a
childless couple would have been found to be unable to p:ovlde
viable eggs and that her uterus was incapable of carrymg an
externally fertilized egg to full term pregna~lCY. '~he trauma in
this case for the childless couple can best be imagined. Eve~ so,
there is the mo re bedevilling issue of controls on human clomng.
A nobel prize winner, Herman Muller had pr~posed ~he c~ollec­
tion, freezing and storing of sperm of men of high att~lI1men~, of
fam ily stocks as free as possible from direct de fective strains.
124
-
SOENTIFIC REVOWTION
These sperm could be made av ailable, perhaps several genera-
tions later, to wo men who desired "to assure themselves of
superior children. Thus, human beings could then he propa-
gated for diverse "valuable" characteristics of every sort and
imaginations! But where is the control to be placed? Where is the
line to be drawn? Who decides what characteristics are "desir-
able" for society, for individuals? In other words, who plays
"God"?
Even away from hu~'~ n cloning, thatiof lower animalsisno
less problematic. Genetic engineering involves patenting of hu-
man, animal, and plant genes, proteins, and cell lines. Entirely
genetically engineered crops have been patented for several
years now but transgenic animals are now also being patented .
A patent was granted in May 1992 for the "oncomou se" -a
.
. A Scottish biotechnology compariy, based in Edinburgh, PPL
Therapeutics, recently created the world's firs,t cloned sheep -
called "Dolly The Sheep" in collaboration with the Roslin Insti-
tute Surrtend, Edinburgh University and expectedly it was cause
for serious ethical concern for mankind. President Clinton 's
ethical issues on Dolly was the first time a United States Presi-
dent ever got involved in such kind of moral, ethical issue ever
since the splitting of the atom. PresidentClinton promptly
announced his ban on Federal money being used for research on
human cloning.
The objective of the biotechnology compfUlY above is to create
an animal which generates proteins that people with genetic
diseases such as cystic fibrosis lack. Nutritional supplements
and treatments foJ' some diseases are also envisaged from the
research of the companies. .
Dolly the sheep came from the breast cells of its "mother" .
Before Dolly, several companies had cloned 'animals from un-
born celle. by implanting the human gene responsible for protein
production into the chromosome of an animal, biotech compa-
nie s have found they can generate significant 'quantities of th
( 125
 , )

T HE HISTORY OF SCIENCE AN D TEC HNOWGY IN PERSPECTIVE

is ready to play God .
.proteins from the animal's milk. ,enetyping and DNA-Fingerprints and Legal/Moral
Out of the dozens of such genetically - engineered animals,
It i~ unlikely that, when J.D. Wa~on and EH.C. Crick proposed
only one.may yield a significant amount of the desired protein.
their now famous model of the DNA iri 1953, they had in mind
It is this one that will be eventually cloned into a herd of identical
its .~se in s~ch celebrated cases as the 1996DNA- fingerp rinting
animals-that will yield larger qu antities of protein -rich milk. The
testimony m court of American celebrity O.J. Simpson in Los
same company cloned the world's first tran sgenic bull named
Angeles, .uSA. Or, the use of DNA gene typing in numerous
Herman in 1990 and is at present working on cloning a cow
c~ses of dI~puted pregnancies in which male partners have either
which may result in even better method s of producing new.
been confirm ed as the actual progenitor father or not at all.
proteins. ~NA ?enetic fingerprinting use in crime protection is growing
Great moral issues still have to be resolved though. For ex-
rapidly as the 20th century runs to a close. All of which i&:directly
ample, there-are issues involved in ow ning a stretch of human
traceable to the Watson - Crick model of the DNA which makes
DNA. In April, 1991, a patent was granted to the Howard Florey
it possibl~ to en~isage how genes replicate their precise structure
.Institute of Experimental Physiology and Medicine in Melbourne
wh en their cop~es are synthesized. The nobel winning work of
Australia covering the gene H2 relaxin, the protein that relaxes
Watson and Cr~c~ also ma~es it possible to explain how a gene
.cennective tissue to allow a w oman's pelvic girdle to widen
can carry genetic information written in some chemical code as
during pregnancy an d childbirth. Wh en th e case came to the
well as to envisage how mutational changes in the gene are
appeal court of The European Pat ent Office (EPa )., the decision produced . .
to granta patent was upheld, stating that "DNA is not life". The
Th.e Acquired. I~munity Deficiency Syndrome (ALDS) epi-
European Union (EU) parliament had also ruled in mid 1997that
demic w~ose ongm was shrouded in controversy continues to
patenting of human and animal genes wa s in order.
be, perh,aps even more than cancer, th e most life-threatening
.Unresolved problems include implantation with 'eggs from a
disease of the late 20th century. In May, 1997, President Clinton
differen tracial stock - for example - a black woman wanted'an
of the USA challenged US scientists in a manner reminiscent of
implant egg from a w hite donor wo man . Such eggs mi ght
President John E Kennedy's 1961 space challenge, to find a cure'
conceivably be fertilized with sperm from another racial stock
to the Aid~ virus before the end of the 20th century. He provided
These are complex racial and moral issues that need to be
some considerable sum of money for the research into both Aids
resolved in.this maze of genetic engine ering. and HIV -virus, '
Among thorny social issues in science and technology in the
closing phase of the 20th century are : the right to choose death
Genetics and Race
or m ethod of death -euthan asia in preference to continued
treatm entin cases of "terminal illnesses or even old age;
/I Extre~ists .in the scientific research in gene tics hope to clone
Genetically-cloned humans, on which issue Dr. Ian Wilmot of th e supen or beings to dominate the earth and in the process they go
Roslin Institute, University of Edinburg h, collaborators with all out of their way to denigrate the "undesirables" of the earth
PPL Therapeutics, said ina BBC 6 March 1997 interview that who would be "cloned out" or cloned in to subservient roles"
1/

genetically cloned humans are only one year away! What fright- . for the superior clones. Among such, psychologists predomi-
ening dimensions this could take depends on how far mankind 127
126
 \ )

T HE H1STORY O F SCIENCE AN D T ECHN OLOGY IN P ERSPECTIVE

nate. In their book, "The Bell Curve", American social scientists

Rischard J. Hernstein and Charles Murray, unabashedly claim
that their scientific evidence demonstrates the existence of ga-
metically based differences in intelligence among social classes CHAPTER. 5
and races. The book sold over 400,000 copies in just tw o months
after its publication in early 1995,replete with all crude biological
determinism has always permeated the history of I.Q . (Intelli- , BIO TECHNO LOGY
gence Quotient) testing. People with racist tendencies have often
tried to hide under the scientific cloak but without success. They
B mlcro-orgamsms or cells and tissues of higher organisms to
disregard the Mendelism concept that all races are mixtu res of io t.ech nolog~ refers to any activity employing (parts of )
many types, the di stribution of gene typing among the races
varying in proportion rather than in kind, as evid ence by the supply goods and services. .
distribution of gene typing. The y put 'all the weighting on Some major techniques in Biotechnology include fermen tation
response to intelligence tests which invariably involve environ- an d food processing, microbial inoculation of plan ts, production
ment factors that favour those'culturally mo re fortu nate. Envi- and use of bio fertilizers, biopesticides and of veterinary and
ron mental and social factors are cast aside in favour of computed hu man drugs, pla nt cell an d tissue cultu re; enzyme technology; '
I.Q. scores for whole races. embryo transfer and genetic m od ification such as recombinant
DNA technologies. Biotechnology therefore, involves a wi d e
.•~~.
,"f " ' ',..
.'j;1,i;~,,
'i ' A'
',1 variety 'of technologies. This wide variety has over time been
"nl:~ ,
.
developed and applied by rural people, scientists and industries.
A general knowledge of science that contribute to m od em
biotechnology, such as microbiology, gen etics and process tech-
nology, can playa great role in understanding and improving the
local biotechnologies. Social sciences can enhance an under-
standing of th e use of the technologies in the specifi-c sociocul-
tural environm en t as well as help in designing methods for
technology development.

. . . ."-;' . . ., 4r4
... "" '.
.. ~ . / ../I' - r t il'
~~_~ " ""'- • , t I JJ.--" , j

.~ ~ Fermentation and Food Processing Biotechnology

. .~ I..)'. .'. ~~ ~.~ I .'
The knowledge of fermentation as a technique in food process-
ing is not new to Human kind. In Nigeria for example, fermen-
771is X-ray Lithographic printer is used to copy colt/plex patterns /01' microelectronic
circu its prC'ci sely milo II (,1)' s!l/ lI i I/C' wofr r. Brian Jackson (p lacing a wafer 011 . th e tation fonns a p art of processing foods such as iru (Yoruba) or
11/(/ ( hi 1/(') is invo lved ill C'xp/of(/!lJry desig» ofa rC'pla('('mellt tool. The new computer aided
dadawa (Hausa) 9f ogiri (Igbo), a spice used for cooking SO '1P, '
.1'.1'.11(' 1/1 "'(JII I(/IIII/ke 1IIfIl'(' fincl v dN l/ilt-(/ p atterus. Courtesy (If ! WIII Vall Sertima (p 276,
etc. The processing of fufu ;(Rro duct of cassava) and ogogo ro
/ <)f)() )

'1 2H

T HE HiSTORY OF SCIENCE AND T ECHNOW GY IN P ERSPECTIVE
(local gin from ra ffia palm wine) also involve ferr~entation, ":"hat
seems new isthe ability to manipulate the micro-orgarusms
resp onsible for fermentati on by mutagenesis in order to enhance
p erformance, such as a ',b etter enzymatic activity and ~a~O\lf
production. In 1981, the organisms involved in Iru (a traditional
fermented product of th e-seeds of the African locust bean,. (Parka
filicoidea) production Were identified. Ten years later, in 1991
Cadbury in Nigeria industrially produc~d it as Dawadawa for
seasoni ng foods. .; ", ,
The manipu lati on of J!licro-organisms that cause fermenta-
tion could be achieved by the SOLID ST~TE FERMENTATION
(SOLID SUBSTRATE FERMENTATION) OR SSE SSF has the
potential to produce valu able biological products su~h as e~­
zymes.tadditives, fine pharmaceuticals and agro-chemicals effi-
cien tly,' . ' !' •
Solid Stat e Fermentation (SSF) is a collective term for aerobic
processes which involve microbial growth and product forma-
tion on, or within the particles of a soli~ substrate. SSF can be
applied to solid su bstrates of a polymenc nature (e.g "polysac-
charid es, proteins and lignins) which are insoluble In wa~er.
However, th e required liquid that facilit ates th e fermentation
process is 't he w at er absorbed by the substrat~ p art~ c~es . Thus
humid state en hances the grow th and metabol ic activi ty of the
micro-organisms. Th e active organisms can be bacteria; yeasts
and fun gi. While bacteria and yeasts grow on th e surface of the
substrate, fungi p enetrates into the substrates's p articles. It h as
been show n that for this purpose filam entous fun gi have the best
cap ability to grow in the absence of free w ater. .
SSF processes can be eithe r by natural fermentation of ~he
sub strate as in traditional'food processing (usually found Africa
and South America) or by adding a microbial inoculum (China,
Jap an, South-East Asia). Fermentation technology, t~ere~ore, can
be used in producing microbial insecticides, orgamc a~dulants
(citric acid ), anti biotics (penicillin), physiologically active sub-
stances (giberellins and other p lant growth hormones), am ino-
130
H 10 I't'l'11NI H t )("';¥
acids and enzymes. The process can also be use d to decompose
waste m aterials as in compusting and ensiling which u tilize
n atural microflora . With the use' of mi cro-organisms p reserva-
tion, taste, digestibility and quality of textu re are improved.
In Taiwan tetracycline us ed to be produ ced by submerged
fermentation (it involves microbial grow th through ou t a liqui d
medium in which th e substrate is normally di ssolved or other-
wise dispersed. The only av ailable oxygen is that w hich dis-
solved in the m edium . Here microbial grow th is more uniformly
distributed), but this process was energy intensive and prod uced
large volumes of waste water.The change in production process .
by using SSF no t only saved energy costs but resulted in a more
stable end p roduct. The substrate used was sw eet potatoes
resid ue, abund antly av ailable in Taiwan. Tile SSt account by
Gerwin Verschullur is similar to substrate culture.
According to Walter Jaffe / Miguel Rojas (199,3), solid substrate
culture (SSC) or high density solid systems concerns the con-
trolled growth of micro-organisms, mainly on the surface of
water insoluble substrates. For exam ple , ethanol, commonly
found in alco holic beverages and p roduced by bakers yeast
(saccharomyces cerevisia e] is used in Brazil and U.s.A. as a
petrol substitu te. Th e traditional sys tem of Rroducing ethanol
whi ch requires, firstly, an extraction of soluble hexose from the
sugar crop (sugar cane sweet sorgh um an d fodder beets) and
then fermentation of h exose into alcohol.d oes n ot facilitate an
op timal separation of the solu ble hexose from fibrous plan t
solids. But through SSC it is possible to utilize most of the total
sugar contents of the plant. '99 per cent of the hex ose present in
the raw m ateri als is us ed up as th e sugar cane is fermented
directly. The sugar cane is cut into small chips and fermented by
yeast at the same as the alcohol is extracted.
It would be noted thus far, that a better scientific understand -
ing of the occurring processes in SSF I5.SC can be d eveloped
through the knowledge of microbiology, biochemistry and bio-
131
 THE HI STORY Of Sarna AND TE CHNOLOGY IN P ERSPECTIVE: according to Visser, B. are:
1. Deliberately construct deletio~ mutants'ins tead of select-
chemical engineering.
ing natural attenuated mutants. Here Recombinant - DNA
Medical Biotechnology techniques allow site directed mutations and / or de letions
in on e- or mo re of the virulence determining genes, that do
Medical Biotechnology refers t o the application of biotechnology not intervene with th e pathogen's immunogenicity. The
to human medicine. Efforts made in this area have contributed d esign of su ch 'attenuated strains results in vaccines that
tremendously to the health an d life expectancy of human kind. are both efficacious and safe.
Yet more efforts are needed in combating such deadly diseases as
malaria, AIDS, di abetes, etc. 2. Development of so -called subunit vaccines. Here, an im-
The hepatitis B vaccine is a typical example of a drug produced munological resp onse can be obtained through th e admin-
through the process of biotechnol ogy. Hepatitis B virus accord- istration of a single antigen of an invading organism, th at
ing to Bert Viser (1993) is the major infective agent of the liver that is a protein or carbohydrate, often located at the surface of
causes either accute or chronic he patitis. the pathogen (agents causing disease). Although subunit
/ The first hepatitis B vaccine he noted was derived from plasma vaccines can be produced using conventional techniques,
ofh~n carriers. Thi~ plasma was used to produce t~e so-called genetic engineering has increased the possibilities of their
hepatitis B surface an tigen (HBsAg) which was seemingly highly p roduction.
immunogenic. Because of th e source of the major ingredient,
A given an tigen can be produced in the natural organism (con-
plasm a, only limited supplies of the vacc ine were produced.
ventional approach) or in heterologus org anism (genetic eng i-
Again extensive tests for safety were requ ired in order to exclude
neering), after which it is p urified from the organism ; Th e
the presence of other living agents. Because of this reason, an "
heterologus organism can bea bacterium, yeast or insect cells
. alternative, biotechnological app roach was followed by donning
grown in vitro. As a result of the an tigen purification process, a
the gene for the hepatitis B surface antigen into yeast. The
subunit vaccine is inherently safer than an inactivated vaccine,
antigen is expressed in yeast and is isolated from the yeast cells
since incomplete inactivation can be excluded. This purification
(sub unit vaccine). This can now be made available safely (with-
out risk for contamination) in unlimited supplies. . process also reduces the presence of contaminating material.
The Hepatitis B vaccine was the first genetically-engineered 3. It is also possible to use pure peptides (short stretches of
vaccine, Following vaccination, Margaret Pinder and Georges E. amino acid residues, forming part of a protein) prod uced
Roelants (1993) wrote that, a degree of protection is induced and by chemical sy nthesis. In ord er to be antigenic, these
so -called memory cells are formed . Wh en a vaccinated indi- peptides should be correctly folded so that the imm un e
vidual is na turally infe cted, i.e. exposed to the whole virus, the system recognizes the proper tertiary structure of the
memory cells recognize the antigen and mo unt a stronger, or molecule. Also, the p eptide must often be coupled to a
rapid immune response to it, thus limiting the infection. Antigen carrier protein in order to be effectively recognized by th e
selection is of par amount importance in vaccine development. host organism . Both requirements and the need for kno wl-
Other biotechnolog ical a pproaches to vaccine development edge on the an tigenicity of th e various peptides that con-
133
132

T HE H ISTOR' Of ,~ CJrNCE A ND T ECHNO LOGY IN P ERSPECTIVE
stitute a protein often form bottle-necks to the application
of this approach.
4. The fourth option involves the use of a live recombinant
carrier or vector. The process here combines the properties
of a live attenuated vaccine (possibly a del etion mutant)
and a subunit vaccine. For this purpose the genetic infor-
mation encoding an antigenic determinant is incorporated
\ nto the genome of a host organism that is used as a live
vaccine and from which non-essential; genes, such as those
enco d ing specific virulence factors, may hav e bee n re-
mo ved. In particular, several viruses have been considered
as carriers or vector vaccines, including vaccinia and other
po x virus, herpes viruses and ade noviruses. Moreover,
bacteria, e.g. attenuated salmonella strains, might act as
carriers. Vector vaccine s are considered advantageous be-
cause of their potential high level of protection, physical
and ge netic stability, and its potential to be used as
mtitlivability, and its potential to be used as a multivalent
vector (conferrin g simultaneous immunity against several
I '
patho gens). A vacinna vectored rabies vaccine has been
tested in Iim ited field releases and appeared to be success-
ful in the control of rabies in canine species.
Conventional vaccines based on the causative organism in either
an attenuated or inactivated form. The live attenuated vaccine
,can be administered in low doses because the agent can replicate
,before inactivation by the immune system occurs. Because of its
close resemblance to a wild-type infection, the immune system
is challenged in a similar way by either a Wild-type or an
attenuated strain live attenuated vaccines are very efficacious
but very dangerous. They might even revert to wild-type infec-
tiousness.
. Inactivated vaccines, on the other hand, are often more stable
and heat resistant, but are also more expensive. For developing
countries, a perfectvaccine should be cheap, heat-resistant, easy
134
B IOTECHNOLOG,
to administer, effective and safe . In this regard, conventional
vaccines leave a lot to be desired. Consequently, biotechnological
approaches, particularly, th e recombinant - DNA techniques,
provide several options to overcome the limitations of the con-
ventional ·v accines. '
Biogas
Biogas refers to the Bio-Process Engineering of Methane Produ~­
tion. Here again a knowledge of micro biology is prominent and
essential . Biogas, or methane, according to Pandey, Beena and
Chaturvedi, Sachin (1993), is produced when organic matter is
decomposed by bacteria in an anaerobic environment (airless or
airtight condition). Biogas utilizes the energetic value of the
organic materialsIthat produce the gas) or biomass, agricultural
wastes, etc., without destroying their manure value. '.
The need to generate and utilize biogas necessitated the con-
struction of biogas plant. In a biogas plant complex molecules are
broken d own step by step into methane and carbon dioxide
thr?\Jgh t he simultaneous actions of differe~t .kinds of bacter~a.
There ate two broad categories of decomposition. They are acid
formation and methane form ation. During acid formation stage,
short chain fatty acid s such as acetic acid and formic acid.are
generated . In th e second stage th ese acids are converted into
methane and carbondi oxide. ,
The pH an d temperature are crucial for the effective perfor-
mance of the bacterial processes in the rea ctor. A temperature of
about 35 degrees Celsius is considered to be the optimum, while
below 10 degrees, Celsius bacteria cease to functio n. Carbo~ to
Nitrogen [C /N ] ratio, retention time, loading rate, total s?hds
concentration and mixing also influence methane production.
,Biogas provides energy for lighting and cooking. It is s~oke­
free, and saves cooking time. The digestedslutryfhat IS the
product left over after extraction ofbiogas, pro~ides asubsti~te
for chemical fertilizer for mushroom production, seed coating
135
 I
T~.HisTOR Y OF $ CIENCE AN D T ECHNOLOGY IN P ERSPECTIVE
and for fe'r tilisation of fish ponds. Biogasprodu ction in India is
a typical example. In 1981, the Indian Ministry of Non-Conven-
tional Energy Sou rces started the National Project on Biogas
Developm ent and popularized the use of biogas pl~ts. I ~
Decem ber 1991 biogas was gradually substituted for diesel od
which in turn led to the mo dification of diesel engines, into a dual
fuel/ biogas engine. Given the advantages of Biogasmore r~­
search was carried out with regard to 'improving the efficiency of
m ethane production.
One major way is by physiochemical and micro-biological
" methods to enhance the biodegradability of cattle dung and
Iother feed stocks. This could be carried out by genetic manipu-
/ . lation to obtain efficient consortia.of organism s, an d the de velop-
ment of low Cost biogas plants particu larly suitable for process-
ing leafy biom ass, crop resid ues., banana stem, etc.
In 1989, several governm ental, non-governmental bodies and
universities se t up a co-ordinated Project on Micro-biology and
Bio-Process Engineering of methane Production . Their activities
are:
1. Isolation of efficient cellulose degr ad ing enzymes and
anaerobic bacteria;
2. Development of bacterial consortia for the degradation of
aliphatic acids, aromatic acids and rice straw;
f
3. Pre-treatment of the organic m atter with fungal cultures;
4. Attemp t to optimize the mixture of organic -m atter to
improve biogas production; . hectare per year. Rhizobium phaseoli inoculants compete
5. Development of diagnostic kits to monitor cellulolytic and
meth anogenic bacteria activity;
6. The application of digested slurry for fish ponds, mush-
room prod uction an d seed coating,
7. establishment of the National Culture Collection Centre on
~ . Methanogens for supplying pure cultures of five species of
m eth ane bacteria.
136
. ---
B IOTECHNOLOGY
Biojertilizers
Micro-organisms play an important role in. the production of
biofertilizers which improves soil fertility. The use of che m ical
fertilizers wh ich contains three major nutrients; nitrogen, phos-
phorous and potassium seems to be popular. But these minerals
react wi th the soil and lead to imbalanced plant nutrition, loss of
soil structurean d soil fertility. This occurs because the read y
supply of these nutrients reduces the naturally occuring bio-
processes of the in situ decomposition of organic residues into
nutrients, consequently, ero ding the biodiversity of soil organ-
Isms.
Bio-nutrition involves the slow release of plant nutrients
through the break do wn of parent rock and 'org arllc residues; It
is a self regulating process, adaptedto the crop requirements or
the restock of nutrients in th e soil. Biofertilize.r produ ction im-
plies and involves full exploitation of biological nitrogen fixation
(BNF). Research efforts have been made in this area and there are
prospects of reducing importation and utilization of chemical
ferti lizers.
Rhizobium is one of the most important bacteria that fixes
nitrogen from the atmosphere into ammonia which is a form of
nitrogen that can be easily assimilated by plants. Thus Rhizo-
bium inoculants have been developed for crop legumes. Le-
gume~ like common bean (phaseolus vulgaris) have the poten-
tial of fixing nitrogen up to the equivalent of 50kg of nitrogen per
favourably with the nitrogen supplied by chemical fertilizers ;
Inoculants are sold to farmers. .
Biotechnology has been applied to the process of utilizing
beneficial micro-organisms found an.trees for the improvement
of soil fertilizer. In this case, Rhizobium isolates are prod u ced
from a wide spectrum of both indigenous and exotic ni trog en
137

T HE .HlSTORY Of ScIENCE AND TECHNOWGY IN PERSPEC11VE
fixing trees for BNF. A combination of rhizobium str ain s is
match~ ~th specifi~ tree .species and tested for nitrogen-fixing
potential m order to Identify more trees for Rhizobium strain.
. Myc?~hi.zal inoculation is an other technique used for
blo~ertilization. Mycorrhizai s ~ fungal strain on plant roots that
~SSISt the plant t.o extract phosphorous and other micro-organ-
Ism from the soil. Efforts in Zimbabwe revealed that this ap-
proach enhanced the mycorrhizal inoculation and increased the
dry weight of cowpea by 100 percent. . cane. Metharhizium anisophae, is a fungus produced on a static
In T~ania, ~e Food and Agriculture Organization (FAD) of
,~ ~. !he U~te~ Nations supported the search project geared towards
Identification of better strains of Rhizobia. A biofertilizer called
Ni~osia was develop ed through inoculation of soya beans with
vanous str.ains of Rhizobium. Tests showe d an increase in per-
c~t~ge of Infected roots as well increased nodule efficiency (the
activity of the enzyme nitrogenase per weight of nodule of soya
bean). The development of Nitrosia on a commercial scale was
c~ed.out brthe.Sokoi~ University of Agriculture. The Uni-
versity m conjunction with theMinistry of Agriculture and some
local non-governmental organizations have started extension
activities to disseminate the biofertilizer to local farmers.
Biopesticides
Th~ use of pesticides can be substituted with biopesticides for
basic pest management. Biopesticides application isa biological
contr?l system for .plant protection. The biological technique
~sed in the production of p esticides involves firstly, the produc-
tion of a n umber of biological con trol' agents called
entomopathogens (insects attacking disease agents) as well as
~ne or more ~pecies of the wasp (or any other control agent /
msect dependmg on the crops grown in the area).Trichogramma.
These agents were produced by Centres forthe Reproduction of
E~tomophages and Entomopath ogens (CREEs) in Cuba.
Tnchogramma species refer to a wasp for the control of Erinny s
138
c}
BI OTECHNO LOGY
ello, a pest of flowers and grains, among other crops.
The effectiveness of the biological control ~gents involved in.
biopesticides is well known world wid e. 50nm of them in~hlde
Beanveria, and Metharhiziu m apart from Trichogramma.
Beauveria bassiana produced in Cuba is fungus applied-to
control cosm opolites sordidllus (banana weevil) in banana and
plantain. cylasform icarious (sweet potato weevil), Lissorh optrus
breviros tris in rice an d Diatrea sacharalis (an insect) in sugar '
medium. The spores are harvested and app lied for the control of
C. sordidus, 1. brevirostris, several Moscis sp., P. Xyclostella, D.
sacharalis, and Galleria mellonella (greater wax moth) in bee-
hives
Baccilus th uringiensis - strains of this bacterium are collected
from endemic populations.in Cuba and. are cultu red on a static
medium made from a rice-based produ ct with th e addition of
juices from locally av ailable sources. It is applied to control
plutella xylostella (diamon d blackmoth), Erinnys ello, Heliothis
(p od borer) virescens, mocis sp., and several other importa nt
bepidopteran pests in a wide r:ange of crops .
Ventidllium Iecanii - t his 'fungus is being produced specifi-
cally for the control of Benuisia tabaci (sweet potato w hite fly)
attacking a wide range of crops . '
Agricultural Biotechnology
Biotechnological tools, such-as gene transfer or genetic engineer-
ing, somatic hybridization and tissue culture for vegetative and
clonal propagation are useful for improving food crops.
Success has been recorded.in genetic engineering on 'sw eet
potato. Sweet potato with varieties that are resistant to the
serious virus disease, feather ymottle virus, which causes huge
crop losses was developed by scientists at Monsanto (an agro
chemical company) in the USA. They took the gene that makes
the virus protein coat and implanted it into the swee t potato.This
139
 Tue H1 STORY OF. SCIENCE AND T ECHNOW GI' IN P E1<S PECTIVE
w~s. achieved by putting the gen e into a bacterium which has the
ability to tr~nsfer the g.ene.into the plant. With the gene inside th e
pl~t, pro.tem prod uction m the plan t is continu ous and p revents
~e ~vadI~g feathery m,ottle vi~us from multiplying an d damag-
mg It. ThIS w ay 200 vrrus-resistant Am erican sweet potatoes
have been developed .
Gene tran sfer en.ables direct introduction of des irable genes
~om other sources mto p~e-adapted cultivars. Selection of genes
IS by. DNA m arkers wh~ ch accelerate conven tional breeding
program m es, and !JNA fingerprinting that facilitates improved
germpl asm collection activiti es and management of gene banks.
The molecular marker is a stretch of DNA which is located close
to a de~ired gene for influencing ano ther gen e towards the
g~neration of a.new plan t. Sweet potato germplasm is stored in
VItro ~ut labOrIOUS to m anage in gene ban ks. Ho wever, tissue
culture.proved a better way of storing disease-free collections as
well as facilitating eas ier maintena n ce and d istribution of
germp lasm.
Tiss~e. cult ure ha s been used to produce large n umbers of
adventitious sweet potato plants. It is essen tial to the prod u ction
o f tr,a n sg e n i c pla n ts . It has . also m a d e possible
s? matIembry ogenesis of sweet potato an d prod uction of artifi -
cial seed s of the ~weet potato cultivar at the University of Florida.
These seeds, VVhIte Star, are encapsulated in gels. From japan and
France, sweet p~ta to plants ha ve been regenerated from proto-
plasts. Transgenic sweet potato plants expressing marker genes
have be~n developed by using .solid bacterium, Agrobacterium
tum efacisns as a vector for transformation,
Dev elopmen t of sweet potato cultivars resistan t to dis~ases
~as been achieved by transferring cecrop in gene from the giant
SIlk moth . The resulting transgenic plan ts demonstra te reistance
to bacteria and fungi. Th is is very im portant because several
fungal bacterial viral dise ses infect the sweet potato crop and
r duce ~ield . . biom ass and from natural gas with a potential replacem en t of
no
BIOTl:CllNO I.U<,I
Implications of Biotechnology
From the brief discussions of biotechnology, there is no gainsay-
-ing that the efforts in this field in the past 20years when it becam e
an organized study, will become the basis for the revolution in
food crop produ ction in the 21st century. Using cell protoplast
and tissu e, organ cultures o f p lants to produce high yieldi~g
varieties (HYV) of crops and fully developing plants from single
somatic cells, biotechnology is very adaptable for Nigerian crops,
albeit African crops such as maize, tomato, soya beans, tobacco,
etc. TIssue cult ure of vegetative and clonal propagation .for
cassava, potato, cocoa, rubber, avocado, yam tobacco, carrot! etc.,
are crucial. For example, a single potato will yield in 6 months, 2
billion tubers on a 40 hectare plot and yields 100,000 times the
normal naturally selected stem. One c.c. of tissue contains mil-
lions of individ u al cells each.potenti ally new plant. The spate of'
res earch, d evelopment of research institutions, funding as w ell
as extensive and intensive stud ies in m any fields of hum an
endeavour in Nigeria is obvious. It is necessary to note th at the
excuse of set back as a resul t of the slave trade across the Atlantic
Ocean would not be .vi able for -exp laining . the wide gap or
differen ce in adopting and developing biotechnology as is the
case in other cou ntries.
More striking, yet critical to Nigeria's future status and role in
the w orld, are the achievements in biotechnology which' threaten
th e very basis of Nigeria an d even Africa's existence. According
to Pius Okigbo (1991), high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) from
starch, produced throu gh immobilized enzymes, substitutes for
sugar, u p to 66 percent and has been in th e market since 1978.
Aspartame (200times sweeter), acefulsame-K (150 times sweeter),
and intensive sweete n ers from African berries ' (2000 · times
sweeter), have all been developed . DNA techniqu es have simi-
larlybeen used to produce single cell proteins (C.S.:P.) from
close to 33 .percent for soya beans for use in animal feeds. A
141
 .... }

Tn z H lsrORY OF SC IENCE , INO TECHNOLOGY IN PE RSPECl7V E

substitute for cocoa is being developed from low value vegetable

oil (palm oil) to account·for half the cocoa trade and cocoa butter
made from cell culture.
Th.e.h~:ili secto~ reflects the same trend with the production
CRAPIER 6
of ~ntiblOh<;s, v~ccmes, etc., using'biotechnology. Agai n, m t4fti:.
na.tional~ have virtually a good control of Biotechnology -Sandoz,
Pfizer, CibaGeigy, Upjohn, etc. They control well over 43 percent
TECHNOLOGY: TRANSFER AND USE
of the paten ts. Germplasm tha t contains the genetic code of th e
seeds (th e so urce) was freely collected from the third world
co~ntrie~ fo~ plan t breeding in the d eveloped world .
Bu t Nigeri a has to buy from p rivate companies in Europ e,
seeds of plants developed from gerrnplasm or tissu es taken free
T he use oftechnology, it is well known, permeates virtually
areas of life such as medicine, engineering, manufacture of
consumer goods, computerization of data in public and privat
of charge from our land to grow our stap le foods which th e establishments, investigation of the' outer space, communica-
sellers of the seeds do not eat. Th e same trend is no ted in all tion, etc. It is clear thateven from pre-historic times to the present
de velo ping areas with tropi calforests wherein foreign scientists each group of human kind has developed the type of technology
usually from interna tional pharmaceutical companies have free that has facilitated its adaptation and survival within a given
access to the tropi cal trees an d vegetation for biotechnological geographical location.Through contacts with othergroups, (d ose
uses; a trend that ha s cause d some countries, notably, Brazil, to and distant neighbours) there has been exchange of ideas in
enact la ws restricting such areas thro ugh payment of some terms of techniques employed in production of goods and 8t!I'-
roy al ty t? th e governm ent. O the r coun tries are expected to vices beneficial to humankind. Consequently, the issue of trans-
~ this d evel ?pment with in terest in protecting the genetic fer of technology is not strange. What seems to generate m ch
mate rials of the rich biodiversity of their fropical forests.- controversy and concern is the desire for monopoly of technol-
ogy involved in producing specific goods and services which
overtimehave contributed immensely to the socio-political and
economic domination of one group over the other. What is to be
appreciated is that aspects of technology in areas of interest can
.still be acquired at some level and by varying means if total
- -·or. transfer is not possible.

," . • __'&
& ,~ J
I . /r
•
,\~. ~...
..
, .,
t
' . •
Transfer of Technology:
• . -.' r _ 'til ~ [ "~, : ~ . , I
_. ' •. ~~cs~,
' ... ~ . •. - .. ..~J ... ; ,,-' '''''
I ", J ' ' ,' ,/ ~

,~
" ~ '.

-=-."'!!I!':i::;,~~~"~ ~~', " /j'r~

'

~ ~~,.;t, . .~.
..... ~. \. J~\" \ ft ~~
.
jJ ", .,r ,. ' Transfer of technology is often misconstrued to mean the acqui-
sition of a superior type of technology or technical know-how by
a less or underdeveloped country from a developed country.
Large Afri can water craft observed by Henry Barth . Camel carrying' boat on the Niger '
at say. Courtesy of Ivan Vall Sertima (p 173, 1990) " . ,

142

THE HISTORY OF-SCIENCE AI'lD T ECHNOLOGY IN PERSPECTIVE
This assum ption seems ridiculous when we realize that even the
developed countries seek for technology transfer from their
fellow developed countries. For example, Computer technology
in the United States is sought for by Britain and some other
Western courttries. Space technology from United States and
Russia is sought for by other developed countries. Aus tralia is
seeking nuclear technology'from United States for de veloping its
atomic energy power stations, Thus primarily, the basic truth is
that as human beings are confronted with problems beyond their
control, given whatever techniques they have, the need to imi-
tate or adopt strategies and techniques used by others in similar
situations becomes obvious. Again, there is also the tendency to
imitate the achievements of other human groups. There is no
doubt that this tends to promote the desire for transfer. However,
in a bid to remain unique or to address peculiar local problems
people engage in the process of adapting but not adopting, .
which renders the need for total or absolute transfer unneces
sary"
Closely related to the issue of transferring technol ogy is that of
choice choicebetweenTabour - intensive' and 'c apital - inten-
J - _.
sive' technologies. Labour intensive - technology as Enahoro. :
(1980) argues would suit countries that have an abundance of
manpower. This implies that such countries would not adopt
labour-saving technology and techniques without adapting in
order tocreate room for absorbing its labour force. Countries that
exp erience labour scarcity would rathet adopt 'labour-saving'
technology andtechniques, Capital-intensive technology which
is advanced technology utilizes minimum numbers of highly
skilled staff. Thus the choice of any form of technology has its
implications for the development of the country under consider-
ation.
It is also clear that the adoption of advanced technology means
the importation of the d esired equipment, the spare parts and
dependence on foreign exchange. These factors tend to cripple
}44
TE CHNOLOG} : TI(AN~ I Il' ,IN" " I
local initiative in the manufacturing ot equipment an d limit 1m . I
employment. India's experience in the est~bl~shmen( or a gI.l. 0
industry provides a typical example ofthis Issue. As E~a h Ol (l
notes, Indians imported automatic machines for.the glass m .lI o.
try but th ey had to depend on foreign exchange for l?roc rmj;
spare parts for the machines and such dependence eve~ tend v(I
to cripple the ini tiative of local personnel m manufacturmg '.uch
spare parts. Again, it,was discovered t~at this dependence stifled
local employment. Fu rther to the issue of what !ype of technol
ogy to be ad op ted is the argument that the adoption of advan ced
technology en ables only a' few large industries to make hu ' l'
profits that m ay not necessarily benefit many sectors of, t ('
economy even tho ugh such huge profits be plou?hed ~ack in to
the business to promote further growth. In adopting an interm '
diate technology which IS also labour intensive,.it is believ~~ th at
there is the opportunity for th e larger,population to p~rhcIp a t
inthe process of d evelopment since more persons are involved
unlike in the ' capital intensive' technology. What seems to be
obvious, the major difference, is the manpower ·inv~lved. In th
case of intermediate technology, there would be less demand for
high skilled m anpower while locally produced raw materia~s
would be use d.Again, productivity would rise gradually and, IS
believed: spread through other sectors-ofthe economy, From the
foregoing, the de sit ed form oftechnology determines who trans-
fers it. It could be from one industrialized nation to another or
from an in d ustrialized to an uni nd ustrialized or vice-vers a.
Secondly, the pol 'cy option arising from th~ aw areness, of th e
need for it gradual adoption and'Zor ad aptation without Jeo~ar­
dizing the prospects ,of job opportunities for,a larger population
of the citizenry affects choice and .t ransfer of technology.
The Transfer Process: '
The '\f~Wsi~ion of.a mach,ine ~Q.es not .onstitute it transfer of the.
technology Incorporated mtott. There IS need for a knowledge of
145

T HE Hi STOR Y OF SC IENCE AND TE CHN OLOGY IN P ERSPECTIVE
how to manufacture the necessary equipment, organize them for'
production, and for information giving instructions on how to
use the equipment. Again, the personnel, operators of the equip-
ment need re-training courses aspart of the transfer even though
the rest of the on-the-job training which they will acquire while
using the equipment in question also constitutes part ofthe
process of.technology transfer.
Arghiri, (1982), proffers two methods of transferring technol-
ogy. Firstly,it could be through the direct pathway which implies
that a country could go to th e source of the technique, buy the
goods and services that will make its application possible, and
even the patents which give private rights to it. By the indirect
pathway a foreign (multina tional) firm, already using the pro-
cess in question in its home country could be invited to the
country of need in order to establish the production unit for its
own account. Through the direct pathway, whether the buyer
(receiving country) acquires the technology by direct labour or
tur.n-key contract, th e project manager remains the local buyer.
This status does not change because he buys on a tum-key basis,
(bulk price basis) and so he directly oversees and verifies the
quality of each item at every stage on the basis of a d etailed
specification and d escription. If the local buyer does not resort to
a break- down of technology (that is dealing with several suppli-
ers and l or contractors, installers of the desired technology,) he /
she also takes part in the op eration of bringing togeth er all th e
necessary items needed for the whole, and verifies the adequacy
of each. The local buyer is responsible for the financial burden
and risks of th e deal. It is possible .for the buyers to visit th e
construction site of the un it to be acquired on turn-key basis, to
ascertain whether it is up to the standard fixed by the contracts,
test th.e ma~erials . before they are used and verify the quality of
maten~ used: It IS note worthy to indicate that id eally the idea
of braking down technology enables the buyer to unveil th e
secrets concealed in the technology desired so that he I she does
146
I',{.IN'" ~
" ,
TECHNOLOGi: ~N" usr
not buy junk goods. Thus it is possible to discover asp ects that
he / she is capable of manufactu ring and really be in a better
position to bargain for the actual needs. But through the indirect
pathway, it is the foreign investor who becomes th e m anager of
the project and bears the financial burden and risks of the deal
from the setting up of the production unit to its fun ctioning.
Although the above pathways to technology tr~sfer exist, .th,e
suppliers, protectionist tendencies, finance and mh~rent d iffi-
culties of technological transfer obstruct the adoption of the,
direct pathway. Consequently, it is often th e case th~t the ind~ect
pathway is adopted. Asid e form these factors, foreign (multina-
tional) firms seem to have more control and access to technology
and thi s m akes access through them a dependable alternative
and most times imperative. _
China and Japan are typical examples of countries that suc-
ceeded in improving their level ot technology. Through impo~..
tion of capital goods, machine tools and turn-key factones;
China developed advanced technology. Japan, on the other hand
encouraged influx of Western technology, imitated, copied . pla-
giarized and pirated it energetically (Arghiri, 1982)..I n the a~ve
examples,-both cou ntries did not engage in a mere g~ographi~a1
transfer of technology. They appropriated technolo.gy. By this,
Chinese and Japanese technicians, skilled workmen, etc., prac-
tised the technology they acquired . They were able to-absorb the
kn owledge and ' know-h ow' involved in the technology ac-
quired. -
The human resources-required for effective transfer of technol-
ogy is crucial bec ause the transfer of technology cannot take
place without the transferee being able to receive and use the '
technology. There is need to make available a su fficient number
of people to- master the skills required at all level s, from the
managerial, technical to the craft level. This also implies that any _
country desiring a particular type of technology must have
trained staff before importing the foreign technology: In .this
regard, the educational system is expected to reflect aoreference
·147
 T HE H ISTORY O F SCIENCE AND T r c HNo LOGt IN PrRSPf Cm'l:
for science and technical subjects to the arts, law and, social
science. Where th e contrary is the case, it does not prepare the
country for the challenges in technological transfer and develop-
ment. Good training in science and techn ology equips the citi-
zenry to adapt and innovate wh at becomes indigenous technol -
ogy rather than depending on foreign technology.Japan did not
~ansfer Western technology wh olesale, rather it adap ted for- "
el~n ~echnology to that which pr~viously existed in their country.
It IS Important to exp lain tha t "whoever tries to appropriate"
technology produced by others mus t appreciate the fact that its
creator has used directly or indirec tly a whole scientific and
technical infrastructu re such as laboratories, libraries, public
research organizations, etc. " as Arghiri, argues, it is not American techno logy that has been
As indicated earlier a mu:Itinational corporation (MNC) "o r
foreig~ firm c~ p articipate in the transfer of technology by
accepting payment for its technical assistance and its patents 'or
~hrough investing its capital by establishing its own subsidiary
111 th e country requesting for such technology (host country). "
Celso Furtado (1980), has argued that multinational corpora-
'tions (MNCs) certainly prefer, when they can, to invest din!ctly
rather than to sell technology. He addedthatthis-is-a-truism when "
~ey find sources of capital "in their host country. Political stabil- .
ity of the host country and ava ilability of ma rke t for finished
products are other factors"that make for or mar investment by
MNCs.
However, the claim that MNCs tran sfer technology has been
challenged particularly by several critical scholars interested in
the political economy of MNCs in Least Develop ed Countries
(LDCs). They argue that the MNCs transfer inappropriate, obso-
lete an d overpriced technologies.
Another argument by Akinsanya (1986) is that MNCs transfer
little techn ology because research and development (R and D)
efforts as regards the form of technology is concentrated in the
home - States of MN Cs and not available to the transferee. Again;
MNCs endeavour"to retain mo opoly over their own"technology
148
TrCI INOL OG) : T~t\N" "U .... N I ' I I '
and do not pass it on . MNCs are also seen to employ cap it. I
intensive technologies which do infact destroy job opportuniti "
for the receiving countries. This is because host countries, human
resources, a factor endowment for technology development do
not benefit to the maximum. These arguments arise w hen con-
"sider.able adap ation do es not take place. The success recorded
by Japan, china and Chile show that in adapting technology,
capable and qualified human resources who are committed to
the development of technology, are cru cial in the process of
technology transfer. For example, the Japanese are ahea d of he
Americans in automobile model production, (Not by perfecting
it bu t by applying it more extensively than the Americans so that
'Japanized', butJapanesethat has become ' Americanized'). Chile's
local technolog y could not cope with the demands of copper
mining, precisely that of prospecting for new seams: Conse-
quently, North American technology was introduced and it en
abled production to be considerably incre ased. Thi s foreign
technology wa s so well assimilated and mastered that mining
continued even after the departure of the Americans. There was
no technical problem at the level of production. This type of graft
is always a com plete success in technology transfer.
Appropriate Technology:
Appropriate technology is another philosophy through which tech-
nology can be. transferred to a country and even spread to th e
rural populace within the country. The term appropriate iechnol-
ogy refers to a form of technology tha t is relevant to a specific
ph ysical, social and cultural environment. What is considered
appropriate in one environment may be inappropriate to an-
other. It therefore mean s that there are technologies that are in-
appropriate for some situations, particularly when it is realized
that different cultural and geographical groups have different
needs and di fferent technologies appropriate to their own cir-
149
 { HE H ISTORY OF SCIENCE AN D T ECHNOLOGY IN PERSPECTIVE
~u~stances. The concep t of appropriate technology has often been
hmI.ted .to th e production of less complex forms of equip ment
(whIch Increase productivity of goods an d services and remove
drudgery) that wom en can use . Cons equently, intermediate
t~chnology ~as been conceived as appropriate technology. Thus we
find a~proprz~te technology being referred to as interm ediate tech-
nologIe~ which are small, sim pl e an d inexp ensive to produce
and.which c~n be made locally from available raw materials and
deslgn~d to meet local ne eds of rural women, Osuala, (1991).
l?oes this mean that a country which has steel and oth er accesso-
~Ies for produci~g a car or equipment for exploiting cru'de oil in
ItS own country IS not engaged in the production of approp riate
~echn?lo~y? D~es it mean s tha t because the production process
IS ,capItal IntenSIve then the technology, both hardware and soft-
war~ and soft ware becomes inapprop riate? If a form of technol-
?gy IS d eveloped a,n ? i.t does not serve the purpose for which it
IS developed then It ISmapp ropriate. Most arguments in favour
of appropriate tech~ologjl proffer high labour intensity, simplicity
an? ease of operation, low main tenance problems and low cost
as ItSstrong po ints. This form of technology often turns out to be
a red uced version, or inferior version of that available on the
world technology ma rket.
Appropria.te technology has often ad op ted a "top-d own" ap -
proach W~Ich d oes no t in volve the users in the production
~rocess. It IS.usually design ed for the rural pop ulation..We ~ow
find a situ ation where modern technolog y is de-modernized. It
must be, noted ~hat even in the de-modern ization pro cess, tech-
nolo?y IS conSId ered as hardware to be p us hed down to th e
p as si ve rura l popula ce recip ien ts. Technology includes skills
and k~owl edge about pro duction system, p rocessing steps, raw
mate~Ials and product quality. As such, the users should partici-
p ate m the yro?uction p:oce~s and / or ad ap t it. Appropriate
technology IS said to p rov.Ide SImple solutions to imp rovemen ts
?n work tasks perfor~ed m the traditional manner. But then this
IS the wh ole essence ot an improved technology, that is, increased
150
TECHNOLOGY; TRANsrfR .-IN" " \ 1
prod uctivity and in a better form . For exampl e, th~re is till'
problem of providing electricity in remote areas of Africa and. '
the national electricity grids are often not able to keep up WIth
demand, efforts towards rapid development of various alterna
tive and renewable energy technologies commenced during the
1980s for the generation of electricity from sunlight (technic~Il y
referred to as photovoltaics or solar energy). Now, solar vaccI~e
refrigerators have be en developed and have become useful l~l
the Expand ed Programme on Immunization (EPI) in most Afn
can countries to provide the vital cold-chain needed for preserv
ing vaccines in remote areas. Over 800 vaccine fridges have been
approved by the World Health Organization for use throughout
the continent. "Solar Power Pack", a pre-assembled an d pack-
aged solar power generator for the operation of radio equip~ent
r ave also bee n produced. This way, power f~r telecomm~mca
nons is available in areas considered inaccessible. In the field of
education, solar power kits -can-be used to operate both radio
cassette and 'IV / video players, enabling schools in remote areas
to receive programmes br oadcast by national educati~~ net-
works. Water p umping in remote villages can now be facilitated
by using solar pumping systems . Boreholes can use these solar
pumps whi ch require minimal and basic m aintenance (occa-
sional cleaning of the solar panels) and will operate for abou t ten
years without the need for overhaul. Lighting based on solar
power has become possible in very remote are as. Rural schools,
hospitals and health centres have benefited fr~m low cost.am or-
phous solar m odule for lighting an d TV/ VIdeo operation . In
Kenya, over 25,000 rural households receiv e power from the
solar panels..Thi s example meets the dire needfor energy te~h
nology but the consu mers were not involved in th e p roduction
process. NESTEAdvanced Power Systems (NA PS), a su~sidiary
of the large NESTE Corporation of Finl an d, recogmzed the
enormous potential for solar power in Africa an~ dev~loped
these solar systems. Its regional office is established m ~~robl. to
offer marketing arid technical support to customers. ThIS impli s
151
 J
T ECHNOLOGY: TRANSFER AN D U SE
THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE AN D T ECHNOLOGY IN P ERSPECTIVE

that th e us ers will depend on the manufacturers for maint enance
service excep t they adapt this form of technology. What is being
argued is that tech nology sh ould be regarded as appropriate
whenit serves the purpose for which it was p ro d uced and that
the us ers can competently use, maintain and even produce it. If
not, one can refer to that form of technology as being partially
appropriate, to the degree of its partial acceptability, relevance
and usage.
Technology is involved in transplantations of hearts, kidneys;
livers and other organs and even the spectacular inventions of
artificial organs. Kidney transplant, for example, is ap propriate
technology as it m eets the need of the individ ual who requires it
for a h ealthy living . But th e person who prod uced this form o.
technology and services it is in total coritrol of th e technology.
Another person who benefits from it because it saves th e lives of
its citizenry but is not the producer finds this form of technology
appropnate to the degree that it saves th e lives of the citizenry
.but not that he/ she can produce, serv ice and use that technology.
If we now accept th at appropriate iechnolocu should be th e d e-
appropriate technology is that of developing .a si~pie hardware
using available raw materials, then an appropnate nomencla-
ture is yet to be found and used for such cOflcept. . .
Technology is the bottlomline and should meet the needs of the
people who desire it. Compl~te dependence on other~ ~or pro-
duction and management of any form of technology isnot ~e
ideal and this is true whether the acquisition of technology' IS /
from an industrialized country to another industrialized country
or from an industrialized country to a developing country or
vice-versa. What is evident is that there will be continuo~s
improvement upon any form of tech.no~ogy give~ the dynamic
nature of human living and change within the environment from
.age to age. Even what is regarded as high or complex ~echnologY'
is undergoing transformation through the mechan~sm of pa~­
ents licences and activities of multinational compames. What IS
needed for.a~y country is a critical mass' of qualified scientists,

~.
m odernized form of high or comp lex technology probably for
the rural populace, are we to produce an in ferior form of kidney
transp lant technology that will save the life of the rural man or
woman so that the advanced type would save the life of th e
urban man or woman? It therefore means that the tenn appropri-
ate technology should be used with caution. Again, given the
widely used definition of appropriate technology, it would be
I
'- llt!!
j""'1 ~
'. ' '\

necessary to ask what appropriate technology should be'used for __I[""~ }

L ..
managing coronary heart disease which inv olves the use of
specialized ambulances and hospital units, all kinds of electronic
gadgets and platoons of new professional personnel. What type
of appropriate technology sho uld De used for transplan ting ar tifi-
Sh La tin Mach ine - Jail 'M(/(zeliger built this lasting Muctnne w~lch II'~ a
cial hearts? The heart of the individual who benefits from the oe S I g
breakthrough . shoes
j or mass producing ' . Becaust. , "1'/
{I
' . 'a 'e it h 'i l .' called" .The (~2[
II.' Ie ,.
Nigger
technology for manag ing he ar t d iseases or hea rt transplant . Machine
Heat! . • (PatenteeISeptc'11/I)1"1 ..'2 , · 189/ . Courrrsv _ oj [mil Van Sc rttma p ..

definitely does not differ from th at of the individual who sh ould 1990)

use w hat is consid ered appropriate technology, If th e issue in

153
152

CHAPrER 7 movement, environmen talism, which began in the nineteenth
;d".K.:"~. ""~"'. " ' Environmentalism has broadened its scope to include concerns
ENVIRONMENtAL ISSUES
he environment and its develo:rment is a gl~l and ~
T -issu e that has generated the mterest of national g(W~
ments, intergovernmental agencies, non-governmental org~l~
zation etc. \Vider environmental issues such as global warming,
deforestation, pollution etc. have prof'!W'd. impli~tions for
human existence. It is not surprising that the mcreasmg aware-
._--' ness of environmental problems led to the United NatiollsCon-
ference on the Human Environment in Stockholm (1972) where
the Action Plan for the Human Environment was adopted. The
1972 Stockh olm conference was mainly to alert peoples o.f the
world, create awareness about the deterioration of the enViron- .
ment and enunciate principles that will ameliorate and reduce
furth~r degradation of the environment, It is no wonde,rthat the
concept of sustainable development was founded. In this regard,
human activities must be directed in such a way that the n~e.d s
of the present wo uld be satisfied with~ut ertdangerin? the ability
of futu re generations in meeting their future needs In .the envi-
ronment they find themselves. Thus as the present envIro~men­
tal resource base is exploited, there is a dire need t~ sustam and
even expand such environmental resourc~ ~ase. Thisconference
also initiated the United Nations Environment Programm.e
01:
(UNEP). In 1992, the United Nations (UN) Conf~rence Env.I ~
ron rnent and Development held in Rio de JenaIro: B~azii. Th,IS
time it was not to create awareness and set out principles ~s III
1972, it was to set the agenda for sus tainable development mto
ENVIRONMENTAL Issues
. .
the twenty-first century. The serious nature of issues relating to
th,e-environmen t can even be substantiated by the existence of a
century, mainly in response to the effects of industrialization.
on all aspects of the natural environment: such as land, water,
minerals; aJl living organisms and life processes, the atmo~llere
and elimate, the polar icecaps, remote ocean depths and outer
space. Itmust be stated that the broadened scopeofenvironmen-
taIism does Bo t delimit discussion of environmental issues,
however; the scope is sufficiently broad to serve as a guide.
Rodda Annabel's study (1991) in this respect typically presents
such useful guide for the discussion that foUows. ;
' M ' NATURAL ENVIRONMENT \. .
'The natural environmen here, refers to ~ the ','fe'uious facets that
comprise the plan~t earth and its st!lror, 1~d~'i!gs. These can be
examined frOrit various angles: .
1. The Atmosphere
Tile atmosphere consists of the layer of gases that sur-
. roUfid the earth. ~ ("8%)" Oxygen·(21.%}., Argon
( ·9%)6Carbondioxide, Hydrogen, helJutn and Ozoneare
present in pure, dry air. There is a lower part of the
atmosphere which has contact with the earth's surface. It is
the 'troposphere whw-e most phenomena take place. The
stmt08-ph~, a higher layer, contains a layer of ozone
which absorbs harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun.
The atelO:Jpbere and the upper atmosphere are found
above the Sbatosphere.
2. The Hydrospher~
The oceans, lakes, rivers and other bodies of water on earth
(water coversnearly 70 percent of the earth's surface) make
155
T HE HISTORY OF SCIENCE AND TE CHNOLOGY IN P ERSPEC TIVE
up the hydrosphere.
3. The Geosphere
There is a central core in the earth wruch is surr ounded by
a mantle"and the outer layer of the earth's crust. The earth's
crust and the mantle consist of rigid plates which float over
denser material. Internal heat which provides energy for
the movement of the plates also cause earth mo veme n ts
such as folds, faults, earthquakes and volcanic activity. It is
from these processes that a variety of physical landscapes
develop . This is the geosp here.
4. The Biosphere
The variou s types of organisms on earth whether foun d a
little above or below the land and/ or in water and air
occupy the area (a narrow zone) called the biosphere.
Human beings are no excep tions.
Activities within the natural env ironment have great implica-
tions for human welfare all over the world. Subsequent discus-
sion will border on key environmental issu es th at pose signifi-
can t challenge to human existence.
Global Warming
There is high probability that global w arming will occur given
th at 1°C of global mean temperature above th e present value by
the year 2025 will develop. By the end of the twenty-first century
an in crease of about 3°C is estimated. Globa l w arm ing it is
explained, is caused by an accumulation of g.reenhou se gases
such as carbondioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, chlorofluorocar-
bons and ozone when greenhouse gases allow inco ming solar
radiation (which heats the earth) to pass through easily, but trap
some of the heat which is being radiated back from earth into
space th ere is a greenho use effect. It is the refore necessar y tc
156
E NV IRO NM ENTAL rssuss
check the accu mulation of greenhouse gases so th at th e occur-
reneeof global w arming will be reduced and cons equentlyits
effects. Human activities tend to increase the presence of green-
house gases which can lead to accumulation. For example
carbondioxide which plants use to manufacture carbohydrates
is also produced during the process of decay and burning of coal,
oil and gas. Large scale industrial activities involving burning of
coal and oil add to the levels of carbondioxide in the atm osp here.
Again the destruction of tropical forests - burning of wood and
fewness of growing trees (which would have ab sorbed the
carbondioxide for food) in~rease the level of carbo ndioxide.
Methane, a product of biological decay is produced in w ater-
logged areas such as rice fields; it is also a product of the digestive
processes of cattle. But from industrial wa ste and burning of coal, .
oil and gas (fossil fuels), and the extraction of coal and natural gas
the concentration of methane in th e atmosphere increases. Ni-
trous oxide also produced through biological activity is further
contributed to the atmosphere through activities involving the
use of fertilizers, the burning of biomass material (plant and
animal matter) and fossil fuels. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
which do not occur naturally like the gases earlier mentioned is
a by-product of the chemical industry. CFCs are used in aerosols,
refrigeration systems, air conditioning, solvents and foam insu-
lation. CFCs also deplete the ozone layer. Ozone occurs naturally
but has been found to have increased in the troposp here d ue
mainly to the burning of fossil fuels. Ozone acts as a protective
screen, keeping away the harmful ultraviolet radiation from th e
sun.If this depletion is not controlled ultraviolet radiation would"
lead to an increase in the incidence of skin cancers an d cataracts.
Crops, such as peas and beans which are very sensitive to
ultraviolet radiation will be adversely affected. Photosy nthesis
would be inhibited and this would affect agricultural grow th
and yield. Fish supplies would be adversely affected as deep
penetration of ultraviolet radiation (it is possible) into water
157
 THE HJ~1"t )R Y Of' SCIENCE AN n T EO/NOLOGr IN / 'I OKSPI:CT/V E .
<,
. . de str9Ys living organisms fishes depend on (aquatic food chain).
_ 'Gldbal warming will lead to rise in sea level as ice caps (areas
·covered by ice) melt. Oceans will expand, coastal lands would be
thr eatened. Some areas would experience d esertification as a
· result of changes in the present world pattern of winds and
rainfaUwhil e some other areas may experience productive farm-
land . Storms, floods, droughts are other environmental prob-
lems that would be experienced .
A changing climate would definitely alter the ecosystem of the
agents which carry or cause many di seases such as viruses,
bacteria, parasites, plants, insects or other animals-It is plausible
that the boundaries of the tropics may extend into the subtropics
and the temperate becom e su btropical as th e clim at e warms
(global w arming). Diseases caused by bacteria, viruses and
parasit es which hitherto flourished in tropical areas - (tetanus
bact erium) will spread. Hepatiti s B, cerebral meningitis, polio-
· myelitis, cholera, bacillary dysentery - all of which flourish in hot
humid weather will spread.
D ef orestation
The destruction of forests without reafforestation is of env iron-
·mental concern because of the implications for human existence.
Deforestation d epletes required forest cover that makes arable
land fertile. Soil erosion, landslides, flooding, and accumulation
of carbon dio xide in the atmosphere are some other effects of
deforestation . The rate of destruction can be reduced and tree
planting encouraged.
Desertification
The reduction to desert-like conditions of thos e lands bord ering
true deserts is the process of desertification. Deforestation, over
grazing and poor irrigation can lead to desertification. Desertifi-
cation lead to decline in crop yields, famine, migration; deprecia-
158
E NVIRONM ENTAL Issues
tion of fuel woo d and water shortages..
.' .
Water
Water is found in the hydrosphere and is central to environmen-
tal issues. For example, its quantity, quality and distribution
influences the biodiversity of fauna and flora and largely, human
activities. Water in form of ice, riversand sea erode rocks whose
fragm ents or fine particles can form fertile land - in the deltas and
low-land plains (recall Egypt in ancie . times). Intense rainfall on
the other hand can cause erosion, landslides and loss of life.
Waterfalls, rivers and lakes have aesthetic value and commercial
value for tourism. It is no won der ornamental water - pools
and fountains feature at homes an . commercial places.
Other environmental issues involving water re1a!-~ to disposal
of wastes. Water is a major receiving agent for domestic and
industrial waste as well 'as for the transportation of harm ful
pollutarits. Environmental issues also arise from .man -m~de
schemes intended for managing water for human consumption.
For example irrigation schemes make land pro ductive but the ,'_ ,
high evaporation rates in hot dry regions contribute to saliniza-
tion (Salinization arises when land is too salty to support plant
life. This occurs when the delicatebalance of salt in the soil is"
upset thereby allowing salts to build up in the root zone of crops
or to form a saline crust on the surface) and ultimately, soil
infertility. Dams often cause flooding and submerging of large
acreages of farmland, villages etc. Sometimes, water table is
lowered and wells dry up. This situation exacerbates existing
difficulty of collecting water for those dependent on this type of
source. Human needs with regard'to the supply of safe drinking
water and efficient sanitation can not be under-estimated for its
implication in health issues etc.'
159

Tnt: I I:sfOR Y OF SCIENCE AN D TECHNOLOGY IN P ERSPECTIVE
Environmental Disaster
An environmental hazard is accounted a-disaster when it causes
'm ass destruction and loss of life. Natural occurrences, phenom-
ena and human activities can cause such disasters. Sudden
changes occurring in the systems and processes within the
physicalenvironrnent can be categorized as natural disasters.
The disaster may originate in the geosphere, atmosphere, hydro-
sphere, or biosphere.
Earthquakes and volcanoes are forms of natural disasters that
originatein the geosphere (earth's crust). They occur when there
are disturbances at unstable regions of the plate boundaries.
Regions bordering the pacific Ocean, Southern Europe, a line
.across the southern USSR(United Soviet Socialist Republics) and
northern Iran often have this experience. Volcanic erruptions is
violent but short lived while earthquakes occur without warning
and-they can cause further damage such as tidal waves, mud-
flows, and landslides. ..'
Disasters originating in the atmosphere occur anywhere and
they varyfr om tropical cyclones/hurricanes, extratropicalstorms,
tornadoes to thunderstorms. There are also spells of extreme heat
or cold that lead to many deaths. But with development in space
science and technology
I
these climatic occurrences can be fore-
cast and 'their progress tracked.
Flooding or 'd rough t originate in the hydrosphere and have
con siderable impact. They .may result from freak storms, high
tides, prolonged rain and storm surges as with floods or drought
caused by low rainfall over a long period.
Disasters of the biosphere are bush and forest fires and plagues
of pest. Famine leading to Joss of life can result from theses types
of natural disasters.
Aside from armed conflict, man-made disasters usually arise
from harmful substances that are accidentally released. These
include chemicals, oil and radioactivity. The nuclear accident at
Chernoby l and the escape of poisonous gasses at Bh opal are
160
[ N VIRO N M f NT AI" lssuts
typical exam ples of man-mad e di sasters. Cracks in dams an d
unstable w ast > tip s cau sed by human beings can cause disasters.
Disasters discus sed above can lead to land degradation result-
ing from land slides or flood waters. When productive land is
buried under volcanic lava or ash, or contaminated by radiation
or chemical pollu tion, the land becomes unproductive. Destruc-
tion of buildings, p ipe lines etc. are even more wide spread.
Energy
Energy sources vary from non-renewable to renewable. Energy
generated from coal, oil and natural gas pipelines and (fossil
fuels) is non-renew able and the world depends largely on this
form of energy. Nuclear energy is also a non-renewable source.
The critical issue in this regard is th at the use of these fuels have
great harmful effects on the environment. Again, the rate.of
consumpti on is rap idly diminishing them.
Biomass (fuel w ood, agricultur al and ani mal w aste) isamajor
source of renewable energy. With deforestation and other human
activities w ood is being depleted and this spells crisis in energy
production. water, wind, tidal energy, solar power and geother-
mal energy are other forms of renewable energy. Water energy is
wi d ely used It was used to drive mill wheels, but now used for' ,
generating electricity (hydropower). '
The process involved in the extraction and tr ansportation of
these forms of energy sources have en vironmental consequences.
For example, mining activities destroy large acreages of land
while dust from coal cause bronchial problems, Environment is
affected during the construction of oil drilling installations and
pipelines and even during oil drilling and transportation . Deser-
tification can be caused bv extensive an d unlimited collectiori of
fuel wood. Burning of a~imal and plant waste can adversely
affect fer tility of the soil when used as fuel. This is because it is
prevented from decay and acting as fertiliz er. Geothermal plants
emit sulphur dioxide w hich has unpleasant smell. Disposal of
161

TH E H ISTO RY O F SClLNC E AN D Tr<,/ INowC Y 1~: I'J:I<,' l'rl " I'II '1
nuclear waste is also a major environmental problem.
Military Activity
The use of conventional, chemical, biological and nuclear weap-
onry and other activities by thee military during war and peace
have environmental consequences. For example, radioactive
materials which release energy or atomic particles (radiation)
into the environment may result accidentally from human error
or technological failure. Radiation can contaminate air, soil,
ground water, vegetation and wildlife. It can cause cancers,
genital defects, immune deficiencies making it difficult for white
blood cells to fight diseases.Testing of nuclear weapons contrib-
u te to the release of radioactive gases into the atmosphere which
d oud s, winds and waterways tr ansport well beyond the initial
area of contamination. Related to this is the generation of lethal
wastes that remain radioactive for th ousand s of years through
mining of uran ium and the use o-f reactors for producing weap-
ons - grad e uranium or plutonium. Lethal waste is subject to
em issions, leakages and accidents. Lethal waste (highly toxic
radio active waste) when dumped .into rivers and seas contami-
n a te soils and ground water. .
The budget for military activities and production of weapons
th ro ugh manufacturing, testing and deployment of weaponry,
to peace-time military exercises could be used for the betterment
of the environment than for developing global weapons arsenal,
capable of destroying the earth. Widespread temporary and
-permanent destruction of human and physical environment
through the use of conventional weaponry during wars has been
a major environmental issue.
Issues concerning the environment are many, general and
specific when considered from different angles. An ov.ervie:v of
some 3f:~e issues ha s been considered to shed the deSIred.hght.
Environrrlental issues will continue to challenge human kind as
long as hum an being interact with the environment.
16 L
'.
E N\ "RON,\lENT,~L lssuts
through the use of high altitude aircraft, balloons, specialized
sensors to man ned an d unmanned space platforms such as
Sputnik, VostokVoshod; Apollo, Mercury, Gemni, Tiros and
Echo series. The concept of space science and technology some-
times evokes an abstract, unattainable, unbeneficial package to
generality of the citizenry who are barely knowledgeable in this
field. Yet the technology and equipment, :,esulting from space
exploration can be applied to the dail y activities of humans. For
example, it is possible to communicate with persons in almost
any part of the world l'hrough satellite communication networks
such as INTELSAT and INTERSPUTNIK. As at 1977, 107 coun-
tries were utilizing satellite communication services on a full-
time basis to witness an event as it happens (Abiodun, A.A ,
lecture series No . 30). It is evident that most long-distance
international communications now use satellite. 'The impact 0~1
mass media through television and radio broadcasting.benefit
many. It is also possible to provide for space transmission of
printed matter as the United States is working on. More ~pe~ifi­
cally in 1960 when ECHOr, the first balloon communication
station was launched, 3.5 million international telephone calls '
were recorded as against 32,000 calls in 193(LAgain, in 1%9 when
Apollo 12 landed on the moon , the voice and video comrnunica-
tion between the earth and the moon was possible. (Abiodun,'
NIIA ,lecture series No.3). COMSAT-DOMESTIC (USA), CTS
(Canada)"SYMPHONIE (France and W. Germany) MOLNIYA ,
(USSR), PALAPA (Indonesia) and INSAT (India) are some equip-
merit that have facilitated domestic communication within indi-
vidual-countries / regions.
Navigational communication which ,hitherto "vas ~hrough
submarine cables, has been replaced by the use of satellites. The
United States'in 1976 launched two satellites (Marisat) for navi-
g~tional co~munication. Consequently, the United SUlt~S can
telephone and have data link 'with ships' (specially equ~pped
with relevant facilities and equipment) at sea anvwhere 111 the
"",
 THE HiSTORY OF SCJENC£ AND T ECH NOLOGY IN P ERSPECTJVE
Pacifi~ and Atlantic Ocean s as w ell as the Pe rsian Gulf. Japan
established'the first satellite receiving station for Maritime Com-
~., munication ou tside the United States which communicates with
the Ind ian O cean MARIS AT. Satellite an d provided maritime
tele p hone an d telex services th ro u ghou t the Indian Ocean. Ger-
. many has b~nefite d from this facili~. Merchant ships that belong
to the Dormer System of the Federal Rep ublic of Germany are
equipped with terminals facilitating instant and permanent
liaisons between th e vessels an d lan d .
The lau nchi ng of GEOSAT, METEOSAT and COSMOS series
of m eteorological satellites has im mense benefits for th e aviation
industry. It is no w possible to receive advance w eather inform a-
tion which guide routing and sch eduling of air tr affic. Inform a-
tion conc ern ing the occu rrence of typhoons and hurricanes
similar to those exp erienced around the Mississipi Coast in 1967
and 1969, the Bay of Bengal in 1970, the eastern shores ofInd ia in
1977 ~nd the Texas coastline in 1978, can be detected by met eo-
rological satellites. Such prior information can help save human
liv es if people are evacuated from ,that vicini ty. How ever, satel-
lite w eather forecasting is beneficial to the World Weather Watch
Program m e w hich m onitors an d tra cks typhoons an d hurri-
canes in the seas and oceans as well as deser tification effects of
droughts. '
Video.weather info rm ation of a country 's land can be received
,throu gh local Au tom atic Picture Transm ission (APT) stations
from satellites . WELFAX receiving stations receive both analog
signals and digital data from geostationary and polar orbiting
satellites. Th e Un ited States ~ GOES (3), Jap an-GMS (I), the
European-Space Age ncy - METEOSAT (1) an d a system of polar-
orbiting m eteoro logy satellite operated by the U.s.s.R.- the
METEOR satellite series and the U.s .A. - th e NIMBUS an d the
TIROS series are five geostationary meteorological satellites in
the Global Observance System (GOS), (Abiodun, A.A.). These
polar orb iting sa tellites Abiodu n, wrote operat e in sun -sy nchro-
Gas flarin g prod u ces harmful environm~II/'" ~II NI , I II I
scorch es surrounding soil, and makes vegetatiental Ill', I w h u It
~ook p arched. Chemicals such as carbondioxi2on an d f fin l.uul .
Ide, mtrogen oxides, water vapour and soot olie, carbon mono
~ntrappedsand (silica), heavy metals and incor carbon par ticles,
m the gas, become, ioruzed.at the high combus~bustiblespres nt
al~d became chemIcally-reactive tree radicals. tion temperatures
ram ",,-,ater and air, such chemicals form acids a1 1n the presence of
chem~cal compound that build up in the attld other corrosive
chemIcal~ can trap heat.radiated from the ,earthmosphere. These
escaped mto space), and with a combination c (that would have
flora are damaged, lung illnesses occur, roofil f soot, fauna and
etc., For example Gas flaring retards flo~erinlg sheets corrode
maize ando~o plants and palm trees. Cass g and fruitirig in '
length and weight, ava decreases in ,
Liquid wastE!~, oi,ly waters (water vapours c "
-oond e-n.s a-tes ( lIquHi hy-d-rocarbons) are also m d droplets and .
natural gas operations. Oily waters are dispos pr.oduced from '
streams after samplmg while condensates are ed mto drains or
pollu te the enviro~ment. Accidental gas fires, I flared. All these " ~,'
~ resu lt of mechamcal failures, pollute the air Jeakage of gas as '. .
Illness fro~ asphyxia, deaths or suffocation. md contribute to
~rude. OIl and re~ined Petroleum products .
sJ:>I11 ~u?ng production, processing, storage, tra which l~ak and ,
dISt."nbution f contaminate ground-water wh IC o h 1.
i Insp ortation and
majority 0 the citizenry in both urban and rul used by a large
bec~use the hydrocarbon content or crude or re jal areas. This is
easily se~ps i~to the groul1Q. to pollute water. Th?n.ed petroleum
true of Nigerian crude oils which are light and hl s IS particularly
soluble components than the Venezuelan crude (we more water- '
groundwater pollution by hydrocarbons have o?ils. Incidents of
at the S~~rada Industrial Area of Kano city; at C~rred in Kal1?
ld~rr KaJ~rum, Sarkin Pawa and Sabon Tasha in Jhldunu village,
Ishiwo, Ijebu-Ode in Ogun State; at Fish -Town (aduna State; at
Funiwa 5 Blow
IllS
~
"

'1'111' J lisr, '1\) (" SI 11 Nt ' I ANP 1'1t °IlN ( '1.o 0 )
out) ill Rivers 'late; at Oguta an d Asaga Ohafia in lm o State; at
Malo luku and Shogunle in Lagos State (Ifeadi an d Awa 1987).
TIll' m .uo r sources of groundwater pollution during the e~plo­
rut io n and the exploitation of crude oils are fro,m un~I~ed
I'V ipora tio n w aste pits for disposal of effluent:, insufficient
::lI r f.l l ' , casing, sub-surface injection for effluent disposal, ~ba~­
dun .c\ well s, rig-blowouts, unplugged and unca~e d seI:ffiIc
: hotholes, oil spills from storage facilities and delivery lines.
Again, during refining and marketing. operations ~rou ndwater
can be contaminated through under-sized and unlined effl~en t
disposal sys tems and storage facilities that ruptu re and leak mt~
the ground : Liver damage and skin prob~ems. ha~e been aSSOCI-
ated with petroleum products pollution in .Nigeria. . .
Apart from cru de oil an d petroleum pro ducts, refinmg efflu-
ents, (aqueous and gaseous) cause a lot of d~age to humankind
due to th eir hy drocarbon com ponent. Refinery process wat~r,
(water that has had direct contact with oil in the p rocess umts
such as desalter water and the cond ensate from steam injection
into fractionating colu mns); surface wa ter, and washi~g fr0n: the
storage tanks. (Obuasi, P.A. 1987) where di~charg e~ into a r~ver,
pollu te the river and adversely af~ect aquatic o~g amsms. A river,
unlik e the sea has limited capacity for handling hydrocarbon
imp urities and so is affected adversely. Hydrocarbon vapours
and oxides of sulphur are gaseous effluents that pollute th~
atmosphere. Sulphur dioxide and sulp hur trioxide form fuel 0,11
combine with water vapour to form sulphurous and sulphunc
acid vapours an d condense and fall down as "acid rain" to
pollu te the environment.
Space Science and Technology
The breakthrough in space exploration since the twentieth cen-
tury has \ncreased the sophistication iI~ scienc~ and technology
, s well as aided human manipulation ot the en vironment.Effor ts
in sp ace exploration ha s undergone remarkable improvement
\
.:»
IN P r RSPEl T / Vf
I .,
Chemical and Enuiromnen],
The-chemical, lead affects human beings in many ways. '11 ' I I
evidence of-adverse effects of on human reproductive 1'1( 1\ I'
such as high rates of infertility, spontaneous abortion, st iII III IIII
neonatal de ath an d convulsions in children. Cancer and :-;( 11111'
other birth.defects may result from exposure to toxic substaur .- .
A chemical pollutant, methyl mercury caused epidem ics III
Minimata and Niigata, Japan, in 1956 and 1964 respectively it S ,I
result of seafood peisening. In-Iraq, 1953-a1ld 196B it was through
dressed seeds. In Japan many children developed cerebral palsy
(Minimata di sease r.asa result of that epidemic, In this case,
pregnant women who ate the poisoned sea food contaminated
by methyl mercury (chemical waste probably dumped in the sea)
had their unborn -children affected, leaving them unaffected.
Pesticides such.as Dichloro-dip henyl -trichloro ethane (D.D.T.),
Dichlor 0 dipheny l ethylen e ,.(D .D .Et Dichloro-diphenyl
dichloroethane (V .D.D.), Dieldrin, Aldrin, Lind ane etc , have.
adverse effects on the environment. Pests, hum ans, wildlife, soil
and water are affected. Inhalation or contact with lethal doses of
pesticides have resulted in human death. D.D.T. is also a: biocide
(Biocides are chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides), a vicious
destroyer of an im al an d human life. This is largely because it
retains its activity over a long period after initial application. In
fact its environmen tal half life is between ten and twenty years.
Being extremely mobile. jnuch of it evaporates before reaching
the gro und particuhlrly during aerial spraying, and then gets
transported to distant places where the molecules are further
spread-faftersetfling do wn) through rain, dust etc. It is a environ-
mental poison as it attacks an d destroys many more than the
targetorganism. D.D.T. is imported from the United States,
where Governmen t does not favour its use, having identified it
is "a chemical of extinction" and had announced plans for a total
phasing out. It has been banned in Canad a, Japan, Nor w ay,
166
163

THE HJ STORY OF SCIENCE AN D TECHNOLOGY IN P ERSPECTI VE
Sweden, and Hungary. In Turkey for example 330 persons died
.from eating seed grain treated with hexachloro ben zene, 80 in
Columbia from eating flour contaminated with parathion and 17
in Mexico from sugar containing parathion (Gabriel, S. W. 1994).
In fact the organ ophosphate, Parathion, is 300 times more toxic
than D.D.T. so that using it as a pesticide can cause mysterious
d eath after merely walking through fields sprayed with Par-
athion. Birth defects, cancers, impotence can also be caused by
exposure to pesticid es, (.'
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are harmful to humans. In
1968, PCBs leaked from a heat exchanger and contaminated rice
. '. " oil. Pregnant Japanese women who ate this rice oil had babi es
who suffered retarded growth, nerve and developmental im -
. :. pairment. Taiw an experienced mass poisoning in 1979 from
-: cooking oil contaminated with :r.C.Bs.
. lite, powered by a nuclear reactor with 45 kg.of enri ch~d Ura-
. , Th e haemoglobin in human blood which transports oxygen t
easily absorbs carbo n monoxide (co) and this adversely affects
distribution of oxygenated blood to the brain, heart and adrenals.
Consequently, br ain damage, weight reduction and perinatal
mortality often occur. Methaemo globinaemia (a reduction in the
oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood) can also be caused by
nitrite. Bacteria in the mouth and elsewhere can convert nitrate
into nitrite. Nitrate is found in ground water which is used for
domestic activi ties and the presence can be increased by the use
of nitrate fertilizers.
Natural Gas
Natural gas consists of hydrocarbons (methane, ethane, propane
and butane as well as additives like ethylene, butylene etc.) and
impurities such as sand, debris, carbondioxide and mercury. Its
extraction has contributed to the pollution of the environment
through activities such as gas flaring / disposal of liquid wastes
(gas con densates), accidental gas fires from system leakages
an d / or explosions.
l Q4
'" r
ENV IRC WMIN I , II / ' III
!
no us orbit at an altitude lower than the geostationary brbit and
provide data on atmospheric temperatures and moisture (H1
tent, sea-surface temperature.measurement, clou d cover a nd
height. snow-melt forecasting and calcUiation of surfa~e water
boundariesw ater vapoursensing with greater atmosphenc depth,
and atmospheric.ozone data. Meteorological and hydrologic al
observations from -balloons, ocean bouys, and fixed gr01!nd-
based sensor platforms are possiblethrough geostationary satel-
lites such as the American GOESand the European SpaceAgency' s
METEOSAT. \. ,,,-,
'S pace exploration has both beneficial and unbeneficial aspects
on humans and liis / her activities. Accidents have occurred
during which space objects. parts of space crafts or parts of
rockets used in launching space crafts have re-entered the earth's
atmosphere. For exam ple, COSMOS 954/ a USSR research satel-
nium 235, in January 1979, disintegrated 'while re-entering the
dense layers or the earth's atmosphere.
Marine Science and Technology
The ocean s, seas, rivers/ lakes, ponds and all forms of water are
important to the existence of humankin d, They have served as
bridges for communication and intergroup relations, sou~~s of
food, and centres for tourism and aesthetics, among others.
Developments over time in the use of modern / sophisticated
vessels on the oceans etc. as well as various human activities not
only reflect advan cement in marine spence and technology but
also form a threat to marine life, and marine environment in its
entirety.
From dug-out canoes, timber rafts, calabash vessels, p~pyrus
boats, the' know ledge of marine science and technology h~s
improved and a variety of sophisticated vessels are now aval~­
able. cargo ships, passenger ferries and ships, fishi ng vessels, oil
tankers, tug boats, brages, etc., now ply the rivers, seas and
169

THE HIsroRT OF S~cr AND T ECRN DW GY IN P ERSPECTIVE
oceans of the w orld. Their activities often cause environmental
degrad ation and thi s calls for much concern beca~se .about 1 .1
percent of the earth's surface is covered by water which ISa major
natural resou rce and is essential for life. It is also-note worthy th at
in some parts of the w orld water covers depths that exc~ed the
height of Mount Everest by several kilometres. Thus t.l'elffipact .,_
of human actions on the seas, oceans, rivers etc. are-unporta:rtr .'
, and must be considered just as the impact of these forms of water
on human beings are consid ered . ) ' . ,
Towards the end of th e 19th century, in 1885 precisely, th e
Gluckauf, recognized as the first modern tanker (she carried oil
in her tanks rather th an in barrels) w as launched at Newcastle
upon Tyne in north-east England. Thi~ was.a rem.ar~~ble'dep.ar- "
ture from the use of barrels in exporting 011 (majority of which
came fro~ the United States, then the world's leading oil pro-
ducer) and an improvemen t in ship building technology. Thi.s
advan cem ent is noteworthy because about 99 p ercent of, 011'
exported from the United States in 1885 wasby 1906 carrie? in
bulk by oil tankers. It become s more relev~t no~ that A~can
countries and those of the Arab world dominate oil export in the
world . The inconvenience and hazards that would have chal-
lenged oil exportation withou t the us~ of oil t~ers w~uld have
been more th an what has been expenenced since the introduc-
tion of oil tankers. By 1897 Dr. Rudolf Diesel p roduced a new
engine in Germany that used oil as a fuel. ~s ~creased ~e spate '
(within 'a few years) of production of marme diesel en~mes and
in 1911 th e first diesel-powered ship crossed th~ Atlantic Ocea~.
By 1927 it is recorded that 28 percent of th e world fleet used oil
for power, even though coal w as still used many years l.ater (I~O
News, No. 3J 1990). This significan t break through m manne
science and technology had its attend ant pollu~onconsequ~nces.
Unti11967, pollution ofthe seas was not amaJ~r concern, It~as
believed that the seas were big enough to cope With any pollution
caused by human activity. When coal served as fuel for shops, th e e-
dusty, smoky, dirty air produced was not regarded as a threat to
170
J I
\
E N VIRONM ElVf AI. lssurs
, the seas, not its w astes dumped int o the sea after cleaning. In
1915 during the First Wort'd War a Dutchm an remark ed how on
the,beach 18 guillemots, he saw ,s ix gannets, two crows, one
cutlew and one driver, all bu t five covered with tar (IMO News,
N~. 3, 1990) which he guessed was accidentally discharged bya
torpedoed ship carry ing tar. However, w hat was_thought of as
tar w as oil pollu tion. During this period, oil pollution was not
caused only by war then ragging in Europe; ships that used oil as
fuel prod uced engine room waste oils which were deposited into
, th e seas . Oil tankers also producedwastes from cargo . For
. ' _ I ~.... . I J •
example, after unloading cargo, sediments left on th e tank walls
were d ean edoffresulting in an oil/ water mixture which had to
be disposed of before a new cargo could be loaded .Again, the use
of sea w ater as ballast, a universal shipping practice, naturally
, pollute the seas, having been contaminated by the oil remaining
in th e tank. It is usual that when a ship tanker is returning for
, loading, ,cargo tanks are filled with water to act as ballast. Ballast
ensures that the propeller and rudder of the shiH (acting as
weights) are fullyimmersed in water and that the ship has the
\ correct stability, dn reaching the load}ng port th e'. oil contami-
" ' nat~d ballas t water is discharged into t he sea and often times
, along with any bacteria and other organisms which happen to be
. in it. Inthis waythe m arin e environment is degraded and
sometime-s unwanted Aquatic,Organisms and Pathogens that
are harm ful to local m arine life are introduced . For example,
about 35 different species of animal have 'been found,in Ger-
many, most of them are shellfish such as barnacles and mussels.
The diatom Biddulphia sinensis and the mitten crab Eriochoir
sin ensis found on .the German coast were both imported from
China. By 1918oil pollution of the seas caused greatconcern and
became an international problem. Ftom then till now, itis still a
" ' global issue for w hich many agencies at various levels have
, ' .worked out strategies to combat. There are many other causes of
marine pollution. The United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP) list ,
the following:
. run-off and land-based discharges,
,
171
 i(
Ii , '
, : THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE AND TE CHNOI.OGY IN PFRSPt',TIVF
I: n~t~f~)ources, offshore production, dumping, marine trans~
,.i
"
I portatflm and atm osphere. Sew age slud ge, p esticides, w astes
from land based activities, marine incineration, dumping of low -
level and'high-Iev~! ra1io-active wastes am ong others degrad e
i" · .;
.' the marine environmen t. ' ", ' sea from the ships exhaust. Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), chlorinated
, Acci? ents involving oil tankers, vesselscarrying toxic wastes ,
., :
and ShIpS carrying garbage contribute to the pollution of marine ,
".
, ~ I
e~vironment. In 1967 for example" an oil tanker,Torrye Canyon
~
.. : i
,hit a reef and ran agro und of the coast of England. It was the first
>~~ajor oilpolhltion <;iisastf r.il~ ~~icl) rp~r~,than 14Q,P,DQ tons of
oil was lost. As a result of th is incident DIaC'k waves of oil.crashed
onto holiday beaches, de vastating tourism, sea birds died slowly
, and fishermen's liv elihood ' threatened . In 1993 six m ajor oil
pollution inciden ts involved accidents to th e tankers Braer.Taiko
',:Maru, Keumdong No. 5 (barge), Sambo No. 11 (Republic of
, Korea), Ryoyo Maru' (Jap an) and the lliad (Greece). The tanker
Braer r~ aground off the Shetland Island 0t:t 5 January, br~ke up
and spilled 84,000 tonnes of crude oil into the sea. Salmon fish
,' 1.
, ,
farmers and 'shell fishermen ha d to d estroy their e~rliei fish
;1 intake due to con tamination by oil. On 31 May Taiko' Maru, a
.r!
-;I!
coastal tanker collided with an other ship and 520 tonn es of
r.
d" l
heavy fue l oil escaped. About 70 kil om etres of coast, including'
tourist beaches andlocal fish~l1g were adversely affected. When
the barge keu mdongNo. .5 collid ed w ith a freighter off .the
southern coast of the Republic of Korea on 27 September, abou t
1,280 tonnes of h eavy fuel oil was spilt. Again, fishing and aqua
culture in the areawere ad versely affected .
,I Wastes derived from .land-based activities are often d eliber-
I ately dumped into the s~a. Dredged materials, industrial w astes, .
sewage sludge, garbage etc. make up land-based waste. Path o-
gens, increased eutrophication from nutrients contained in wastes
are hazardous to human health. Some of these substances have '
toxic effects on marine life' whil~ recreation and other activities
Buffer.
172
E N VIRONME NTAL I SSUES
Chemicals constitu te major pollutants of th e marine environ-
ment and they are di scharged into rivers, seas, inland w ater
w ays through various means. For example, fuel oil contains
sulphur whose oxides (sulphur oxides SOx) are omitted into the
fluorocarb on s (CFCs) and ha lons (halogenated hydrocarbons)
are chemical pollu tan ts from the ships exhaust an d fire extin-
guishing systems used in shi ps respectively that pollute the air.
Halons help put out fires and are less dangerous to human health
, because of th eir low toxicity. But they deplete the earth's Ozone
layer and consequently affect human health. Thesame story is
true for nitrogen oxides . Carbon dioxide (CO) is toxic and can
cause d eath yet it could be used as an alternative to halons. These
pollutants po se significant environmental hazards to the marine
and coas tal environm ent and to the health and safety ·of the
pop ulation .
Tributyltin (TBT)~ a component 'of anti-fouling paints for paint-
ing the hulls of ships and other sea crafts operating in coastal
waters has been found hazardous to marine org anisms. Paints
containing TBT were used to preven t the growth of marine life on
ships hulls, w hich if not prevented or treated have a serious
impact u pon the ship's speed and its fuel consumption; Al-
though TBT has been found ve.ry effective as an anti-fouling
agent, scientificstudies show its presence in oysters, fish etc.
This situation makes fish and sea foods from such p olluted areas'
harmful to humankind teo. Organohalogen compounds; mer-
cury; cadmium; high-level and low-level radioactive wastes;
and materials produced for biological or chemical warfare are
chemical pollu tants.Low-levelradio active wastes include wastes
from nuclear power production and from the industrial, m edical
and research uses of radioisotopes. Broken machinery and
equipm ent as well as old clothing can be included , Often; the
waste are normally p ut into concrete-filled drums ,t o ensure that
they reach the -sea-bed intact at the time .of disposal. Control
me'l-sures .for reducing the pollution of marine environment
( ,' . ,
173' ,

THE HI STORY Of ScIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN P ERS PECTIVE
I ,
reflect significan t breakthrough in the development of marin e
science and technology, These achievement s are largely through
the efforts of the I nternational Maritime Organization in moni-
t?ring m~iti~e activities. This body makes r les and regula-
bans that InSpIre and challenge marine scientists and technolo-
gists to meet the needs of mo d ern times. For example, the
development of Load on top (LOT) system, developed in the
ear ly 1960s represented a major breakthrough in reducing th e'
amount of oil discharged into ,the seas as a result of routirie
opera~ons s~ch as ballasting and tank cleaning. Th~ LOT system
ma~e It po ssible for a tanker going back to the loading terminal
to fill some qugo tanks with balla st water w hile other s were
cleaned .,The mixt1.l~e of oil and water resulting from th e cleaning
process ISpumped into a special slop tank (instead of into the sea)
and the clean tanks ballasted. In the other tanks, meanwhil e, the
oil residues left in the tank float to the surface of the ballast water
and separate. The ballast water is pumped into the sea and the oil ,
into the slop tank. Further sep aration takes place here and the
remaining ballast water is pumped into the sea. Fresh oil is
loaded on top of the oil remaining in the slop tank. The- dil left in
the ta~k is not as "pure" as fresh-crude oil but improved refinin g'
techmques made. the oil industry accept it. This way" $0 mu ch oil
that ~o~ld have been wasted -is saved.Using LOT system saved
~ 6 mill ion tons of waste oil tha t wo uld have been discharged
into the sea by the end of-the 1960s. Apart from this sys tem the
marine 'environment was saved from mu ch damage. Another " \
inno~ation,.an improved system for cleaning cargo tanks known
'as crude oil w ashing (which uses oil rather than w ater for
removing sediments, thereby vi rtually eliminating the-mixture
l. at oil and water that had previously been such a problem) and the
! ,.. 'p:~ visj on of segregated ballast tanks, these have to be kept
-empty when the cargo tanks are filled with oil and are filled with
ballas~ water when the ship returns to the loading ports. also
came mto use for reducing marine pollution in the 19705.
174
"
REFERENCES
1. Abiodun, A.A. Space Science and Technology: Impact and
Implications Lecture Series No. 30, The Nigerian Institute of
International Affairs '
2. Anya, A. a. (1977) "Science Policy and 'the Developmenf of
Nigeria's Geopolitical Potential", Lecture Series No. 17. The
Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Victoria Island,
.. ;
Lagos.
Anya, A.a. ' (1982) Science Development and the Future: the Nige-
rian Case. University of Nigeria Press.
3 Akinpelu, J.A. (1981) An Introduction to Philosophy oj Education.
II
The Macmillan Press Ltd, London.
4. Abubakar, Iya (1969) "The Role of Science & Technology in
National Developmentf', in Adaralegbe, A. (00) A Philoso-
phy for Nigerian Education. Ibadan: Heinemann Educational
Books (Nigj Ltd.
5. American Peoples EncyclopaedUl, Vol. 6.
6. American Peoples Encyclopaedia Vol. 9, pg. 9-191.
7. American Peoples Encyclopaedia Vol. 11, pg. 11-038
-:
8. American Peoples Encyclopaedia, Vol. 16 - (Ptolemy) pg. 16-012-
16-013
9. American Peoples Encyclopaedia, Vol. 17, pp. 17-068, 17-076.
' (
10. Anozie, F. N;.(1979) Early Iron Technology in Igboland: Uejja and
Unundu in Andah, B.W. (ed)West African Journal of Archaeology
Vol. 9, 1979 op cit.
11. Arghiri, E (1982) Approp riate or U nderdeveloped T echnology? John
Wlley & Sons New York.
175
 ,, I"
!'
THE HiSTORY Of S O ENCE AND T ECHNOLOGY IN P ERSPECn VE :i US/ECT IN DlX

61. African Review, O ct. 1997, NAPS provides solar solutio ns. SUBJECf IN D EX

59. Akinsanya, A.A. Nigeri a and the M ultinationals in O lusanya, G,O. and 'PAGES
Akindele, R.A. (ed) (19'86) Nigeria's External Relat ion s: T he First BIOTECHNOLOGY 129
t Twenty-Five Years U niversity Press Ltd. , Ibadan .
i
-.' \ Agricultural, Biotechnalogy 139';'140
I'
!
11. Bert Visser (1993): New Roads to Vaccines in Monitor; Journal of Biofertilizers 134-139
,
,, Biotechnology and D evelopment No. 1?, Decem ber 1993. Biogas 135-136
Fermentation and food processing 129-132
12. Barkr, Abu A. Phargonic Egy p t in Mokhtar G. (ed) op cit (.
, ,
Implications of food processing 141-142
12. Crowder, M et al (1970) Ancient Times: A [un ior History for Africa, Medical 132-135
Longman, London.
CIVILIZAnON 23
Agricultural 23
13. Cotterell, A (ed) (1980): The Encyclopaedia of Ancient Civilizations.'T he Architecture 27-29
Rainbird Publishing Group Ltd, London.
Astronomy 36-38,68
14. Clem ents Robert J.-Renaissance in American Peoples Encyclo.pacdiaY ol. CHINA 64
16 p g. 16 -,397. ~"
-Ancient 6t-66
15. Diop; Ch eikh Anta - Origin of the A n cient; Egyptians in Mokhtar G (ed). - Medicine 70
opdt. . r -Philosophy 68-69
16. Evans, H . G. J. (1976): Cu lt ure and Civiliza tion; Inaugural Lecture, EGYPT 23-25
University of Ibad an, IbadanUniversity Pres s, Ibadan Nig eria " -Bureaucrucst 2S
-Crafts 29-35
17. EL-N adoury R. The Legacy of Pharaonic Egypt in Mokhtar G. t ed) op
cit. ,: -Writing 26-'l!J
OTHER AFRICANSTATES 36-4S
18. Enahororj-l, Technology in Ud o-Ak a, U. (ed) (1980) Managemfnt for a
. D~namic ,Econonty; Centrefor Management Development -Medicine 38-40
19.Enah~>ro, H. (1980) Techn ology - Problems ofchoice, Transfer and Use - M ETALLURCY 41-45
in Udo , Udo-Aka (ed) 1980, Man agement for a Dynami c Econom y. Pome Furnace 43
:I I:
i Centre for Management Development. Iron Smelling ~

20. Egbun a, D.O..(1987) The Environmental Hazards of the Nigerian Natural Shaft Fumace 43
Gas Industry in Seminar Proceedings (1987). -Writing System 40-41

176
 RfFER t::NCc.~'
THE HISTORY OF Soma AND TECHNOW GY IN PERS PEC!1VE'
43. Sharman, M. (1971) Man, Civilization and Conquest: From Prehistory to
EUROPE 50-57 World Exploration, Evans and Brothers Ltd, Ibadan, Nigeria.
-Greek 53-55
44. Sertima, I. V. (ed) (1990): " Blacks in Science": Ancient andModern, New
Philosophy 56-59 Brunswick (USA) and London, Transaction Books.
Political Development 55-56
45. "Sw eet Success with Sweet Potato in SPORE" - No. 46, August, 1993 .
Writing 59-61 A Bi-monthly bulletin ofthe TechnicalCentrefor Agricultural andRural
-Mycenaean 52-53 Co-operation.
- Rome 61-63
46. Sandars, W.K. The Sea Peoples in Mokhtar G. (ed) op cit.
Republican 63-64
MIDDLE AGES OR MEDlEYAL PERIOD 47. Shore Debra (1990) Steel-Making in Ancient Africa in Sertima, I. V. (00)
71
1990, op cit. 49. Andah, B.W. (1979) Iron Age Beginnings in West
- A rabs 80-83 Africa:Rejlections and Suggesl;:ilJl1s in Andah B. W. (ed) Perspectives on
- Decline 74-76 West A/rica's Past, Special BO<Dk Issue of West African Journal of
- History of Archaeo logy, vol. 9, 1979.
I' 71-74
- M edieval Science 83 48. Th e Sta te of the Environment 1~90 : Children and the Environment, A
- Renaissance United Nations Environment Programme and UNICEF publica-
76-80
tion.
WEST ASIA 45
I,
- A ssyria 49-50 49. Ukoli, F.M .A . (1985) Can Science and Technology be the Key to
Na tiona l Development. An Unpublished University lecture delivered
- Babylonia 45-50 tile occasion of the 4th Convocation Ceremony of the Rivers State
0 11
EMPIRICAL, SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE 7 University of Scienceand Technology, Port Harcourt.
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES 154 50. Udoidern, S.1. (1992) Understanding Philosophy. African Heritage
-Chemical and environmen t 163-164 Resear ch and Publications Lagos, Nigeria.
- Deforestation 158
51 . The Magazine of the International Maritime Organization No.
- Desertification 158-159
3, 1990 ..
,. - Energy 161-162
-Emnronmental disaster 160-161 52. The Magazine of the International Maritime Organization No.
- Global warming 4, 1993.
156-158
1
I
- Marine science and tecJlllOiogy 169-170 53. The Magazine of the International Maritime Organization No ,
- M ilitary activity 162 2, 1994 .
-Naiural environment 155-156
54. The.Magazine of the International Maritime Organization No ,
-Natural gas 164-166 '3, 1994.
- Space science and ttdlllologil 166-169
182
179
\
.\
 THE l1JSTOIlY Of ScJENCE AND TECHNOlOGY IN PERSPUnVE
55. The 'M a gazine of the International Maritime Organization No.
3, 1995.
56. The M agazin e of the Intemational M a ri ti m e Organization
Verschuur Gerwin (1993) Industrial Use of Solid Substrate Fermentation
in Monitor op cit.
57.Walter Jaffe / Miguel Rojas (1993) Developm en t of Fermenta tion Pro-
cess in Cen tr al Am erica: The example of IGUTI in monitorop cit.
58 Walters Colin - Ancient Egypt in Mokhtar G. (ed) op cit.
......
59 Whittaker Warne - Invention in theAmerican Peoples EnCYl..10paedia Vol.
11, pg. 11 - 197.
60 Yoyotte. J. Pharaoqi c Egypt Society, Economy and Culture, In Mokhtar,
G. (ed) op cit.
61Youdeo wei, A. (1985) The con tribution of basic sciences to tea ching
and research in agriculture in Ukoli, F.M. A. (ed) op cit.
62 Zayed Hamid A. Egypt r.ations with the rest of Africa in ,Mokhtar, G.
(ed) ap cit.
' .. .
I. 180
REfERENCES
21. Fash ola, F. B. The Role of Science and Technology In National
Development in Adaralegbe, A (ed) (1969). A Philosophy for
Nigerian Education, Ibadan, Heine m ann Educational Books (Nig)
Ltd.
22. Furtado, C. (1980) Comments on Appropriate or Underdeveloped Tech-
nology? Ibid
23 . Finch, C. S. (1990) The African Background Sertima, L V. (ed) 1990, op
cit.
24. Guest, G. (1972) : The March of Civilization, G. Bell and Sons Ltd .
London
25. Goldstein, Moo (1963) Technology in The American Peoples Encyclopaedia,
Grolier Incorporated New York, Vol. [8.
26 . Grayson, AK. Babylonia in Mokhtar G. ted) n981), General History of
Africa II, Ancient Civilizations of Africa, UNESCO and
Heinemann, California, University of California Press.
27 . Gabriel, S. W. (1994) Pesticides and their Effects on the Environment in
Nigerian Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, Vol. 4.
28. Haverkort Bertus/Hiemstra Wim (1993): Differentiating the Role of
Biotechnology in Monitor Journal of 8iotechnology and Develop-
ment No . 16, September 1993. ·
.'
29 . Ifeadi, CN . and Awa, AK. (1987) Groundwater Contamination by
hydrocarbons in the Nigerian Petroleum Industry in Seminar Proceed
ing Ibid.
-Diop, CA. (1985) Africa 's Contribution to World Civili zation'
The Exact Sciences in Seriima, I. V. (ed) Nile Valley iviliz
tions, Journal of African Civilizations Vol.e, No 2, Novt III
ber 1984
-Lumpkin, Beatrice (1985) - Mathematics and Engi1le(:r;".~ in tI,
Nile Valley in Sertima, LV. (ed) Nile Valley Civiliznhon III
cit.
30. Jacobsen Thorkild - Sumerin Mokhtar G (ed) op. cit.
177
 .j

A UTIlOR INvn
THE HISTORY O F S CiENCE AND T ECHNOLOGY IN PER SPECTIVE

31. Jaffe, W. and Rojas, M. (1993) Agricultural Shock in Cuba: Unprecendented EPISTEMOW GY 5
Opportunityfor Biopesticidesin Biotechnology midDevelopment Moni- FAITI-I 4
tor No. 17, December 1993. 174
INTERNATIONAL MARmME ORGANIZATION
32. Kepter Johann in The American Peoples Encyclopaedia, Vol. II, pg. 11- NATIONAL AERONAl¥.nCS AND SPACE
838 ADMINISTRATION
33. Mugabe J. (19940) Research on Biofertilizers: Kenya, Zimbabwe and PRACfICALITY·
Tanzania in .Biotechnology and Development, Monitor No. 18, March, PREDICIlON
1927 .
SCIENCE
,'
I. 34. Ogilvie, R. M. Rome before the Republic. -Definition of
- Fiction
.l5. Ogilvie, KM. Republican Rome.
- Knowledge
36. Obuasi, P.A. Environmental Impact ofPetroleum Refining in the Petroleum SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
1 Industry and the Nigerian Environment, Proceedings 1987 Interna-
!" tional Seminal organized by the Nigerian National Petroleum -Abuse of
1 Corporation and the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, - Appropriate technology
,.
;1'·.] November 9-12, -Bronze age
I:
37. O suala, ].D.C. Enhancing Women's Economic Potentials through Ap- - Early
propriate Technology in Ijere, M.a. (ed) (1991) . Women in Nigerian - Eighteenth eentury
Economy, Acena Publishers, Enugu .
- 15th century
'. 38. Prakash, C.S. "Sweet Potato Biotechnology": Progress and Potential in -Iron age
'. Biotechnology and Development Monitor, No. 18, March, 1994.
-Oracle bones
39. Pinder, M. and Roelants, G.E. (1993) "Malaria" : Biotechnology No. 17,
December.
- Seventeenth century
- TWEN TIETH CENTURY
40. Pandey, Beena and Chaturvedi Sachin (1993) Energy from Biogas in India
in Monitor, Journal of Biotechnology andDevelopment No. 16, Septem- Computers and information technolpgy
ber 1993. Cyberspace
. 41. Rodda, A (1991) Women and the Environment London & New Jersey, Electrical and electronics technology
Zed Books Ltd. E-mail addresses
42. Sogolo, G. S. Evaluation University Teaching and Learning: A Philo- Energy, ecology and environment
sophical Perspective in Ukoli, F.M.A. (ed) 19~, What is Science? : The
Engine technology
Problemsof Teaching andResearch in Science in Nigerian Universities,
Ibadan, Heinemann Educational Book s (Nig) Ltd . and Ibadan Genetics and genetic engineering
University Press . Genetics and race
178 183
 J

THE I-lISTOn OF SCIENCE AND.TECHNOLOGY IN P ERSPECTIVf S UBJECT INlJl: X

Genotyping and DNA fingerprints 127 TE HN O LO GY VERSUS SCIENCE 15-18

Hobble space telescope 118 U NIT ED NATIONS GOVERNMENT PRQGRAME 1:71
Humancloning 125 UNITED NATIONS FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL
Internet 120 138
ORGANIZATION
" Pathfinder (spacecraft) 166
t:" Personal computers 121
I Robotics 118
I
Space satellites 118
I
,
~. The sputnik 117
I' SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION 5.,7
l
-Causal arguments 6
"
-Generalizations 5·6
-Induction and deduction 6
SCIENTIFIC METHOD ' 2-3
-Characteristics 10
- Instrumentatum 11-12
"
-Logical reference 12
-Practice 13
- Proof 10-11
- Variations in sequence 12-13
SC IENTIFIC REVO LUTION 90
-Coal mining and iron industries 94
-Factory system 94-96
- HistOry of 90-92
:ji
-Industrialrevolution 92-93, 108
- Steam engine 93
SCIEN11ST, ATfRlBUTE,OF 7
SlMPUClI'Y 9
TECHNOLOGY 14-15

184 185'
 , '

T HE; H ISTORy ; r S CIENCE AN D T Er HNOLOGY IN P ER:;PLrn vE A UTHOR INDEX

AUTH OR INDEX 25. Cavendish, Henry 105

A 26. Clinton, Presid nt Bill 125
1. Abubakar, Iya 18 27. Cook, Captian James 1/M
2. Ab iodun, A.A. 68 28. Copernicus, Nicolaus 97,98
I.
3. Akinpelu, J.A. 3 29. ~otterell, Art wr 65
4. Akinsanya, A.A. 148 30. CIompton, Sftmuel 95
5. Aldrin. Cd 117
6. Andah, B.W. . 41,44 D
7. Anya~ AO. 1,37,90 31. Daimler, Goltlieb 119
8. AJ'glUri1 E. 14, 146-147 32. Dalton, John 107
9. A1'kwrignt, Sir Richard 95 33. Davenport, Th.omas 110
10. Armstrong, Codwin Howard 119 34. De Broghe, Louis 119
Ii!
11. Armstrong, N eil 117 35. Diesel, Rudolf 10
tI
'I: 12. Avogadro, Arnedeo 36. De Forest, Lee 119
107
37. Diesel, Rudolf 10
~!
I
B 38. Dirac, P.A .M . 113
~i
.~l: 13. Bacon, Roger 86 39. Diop, Ch ei kh Anta 32,34
14. Bacon, Sir Francis 6
"
it',

15. Bell, Alexander Graham E

111
16. Ben a rd Clande 112 40. Ed ison, Thomas 109
i: 17. Black Joseph 105 41. Edi son, Thomas A lv a 111
..
k 18. Bohr, Neils 113 42. Einsten , A lbert 10, 113
:1
19. Boyle, Robert 103 43. Enahoro, H . 144
, 44. Evans, H.G.J.
20. Brahe, Tycho 91, 101 2~\
~ 45. Evans, Oliver 107
~
"
21. Brun o, Giord an 100
v

C F
•" 22. Canyon, Torrye 172 46. .Fahrenheit, Gabriel 10'1
j:

, 23. Cartwright, Ed m u n d 95 47. Fashola, F.B.

.' 24. Cawlay, Jon 106 48. Finch e.s. '~H

186 187
 \' "111
1
" I",.,
fH H i STO RY O f S CIENCE AND TECHN OLOGY iN PER SPEC TJVE
73. Herus tein, Rischard . J. I'
49. Fleming, J.0.;.... Am brose 111
74. H ooker, J.T. ) \ 1'1.
5 0. Florey, H oward 126
75. H uygens, Chr istian II ).'
51. Franscis, James B. 110
52. Furtad o, Celso 148
J
76. Jaffe, Walter II I
G 77. Jenny, H arigreaves 'I I ,

53. Galilei, Galileo 98, 100

54. C alton, Fr ancis- 123
K
55. Galvani, Luigi 105
78. Kay )o hn tj l,

56. Geoger, H . 114

79. Kennedy John F. 11 7
57. Gramme, Zenobe Theophile 110
80. Kepler, John <) 1
58. Grissom, Virgil 118
59. God d ard, Robert H . 117
L
60. Gould, Jo hn 59 I
81. Lavo isier, Antoine 1( 1)
6l. Grayson A.K. 47 j
82. Leno ir, J.J.E. 1m
62. Green, V.H .H . 74
83. Lilienthai, O tto 111
63. Grew, Ne hemiah 103 I
1" 84. Lum pkin, B. 3 1, HI)
64. Guest, G. 79
85. Lyell, Ch arlse Ilh

H
M
65. Halley, Ed um ud 104
86 . Ma rconi, Marc hese Gu ghlielmo III
66. H argreaves, James 95 '
87. Marsden, II I
67. H arison, John 104
88. Maxwell, James Clark II I
68. H arv ey, William 91, 103
89. Mende llef, dmitr i Ivanovitch l il t
69. Hawkin, Stephen 115
90. Meneleev, Dm itri
70. He isenberg, Werner 113
9l. Meyer, Ju lius III
71. H erschel, William 104
92. Mill.Johnm Stuart
'72. E '__ tz, He inrich 111
93. Mo rse, Sam uel F,B. III
94. Moseley, H .G.Y. II I

' 188 189

 V

T HE: filsr~ y Of SCIENCE: AND TECHNO/ OG l IN Pr~SPECnVE

AUTHOR INLJI:.'

95, .Muller,
' .
Herman 124 115. Smeaton, [ohn 106
96. Murray, Charles
128 116. Snell, Willf broard 102
I 117. Stephenson Brothers (Cearge and Robert) J09
N
'I 97. Newcoznen, Thomas
106 T
:~ I 98. Newton, Isaac
101, 107 118. 1'eata, Nilwla . 110
i:l 119. Ihompson,I.J. 114
0 00, 'Trew"ddJI·Bldtard 107
99. Okigbo, Pius
141 Ul. · T~kosky, K.E- 117
100. Osuala, 1.D.C.
'II 150
101. Otto, Nikolaus A.
109 U

III' p
., !22. Ud oid em .
U1di, ·FM~· .
4
2,5,7,17
. > ~~ ~/
;11
102. Pappademos J. 33 ~

~jl
'I
103. Pinder, Margaret 132 V
j 104. Planck/ Max 113 124. Van Leeuwenhoek, Anton 103
1. 105. Priestley, Joseph
10'- 125. Verne, Jules 116
106. Ptolemy l.atIft Clawti'lS Ptohimaew.
I
~,Vf 126. Viser, Bert 132

R
W
107. Roelants, Georges E.
II 13.2 127. WheweL William 6
108. Rojas, Mi.gtlel
132 128. White, Edward 118
109. RtttlteIiunt Hmest
114 i29. Whilmot, Dr. Lan 126

S .~
y
-c , 110. Savery [ames
I 106
I 130. Youdeowei, A. 17
I 111. Schrodinger, Godwin
:\ lH
I 11;l. S~ J. V.
I
36 Z
·1
113. ~ Debra 41 131. Zeppelin, Count Von 112
114. Simpson, P;J.
:1 121
'I
190
191.
 (
I ABOUT THE AUTHORS
I Dr. Amakievi Okien Ijeoma Gabriel is a senior lecturer and th e Actin g
i'.j!, .
Director of the Institute of Foundation Studies, Rivers State University of
Science and Technology, Port-Harcourt. She studied for the Bachelors,
Masters and Doctorate d egrees in the University of Ibadan Ibadan, Oyo
State, between 1980 and 1987.
Her major areas of academi c interest are Educational History, Women
Studies and Historical Development of Nigerian Communities, areas which
are also reflected in her articles published in reputable journals.

R~ 'Layi Fagbenle undertook his university educationat the University of

Illinois, Urbana - Champaign, USA (BSME, Ph.D) and Iowa. He worked at
the State University, Ames, Iowa, USA Atomic Ene rgy Commission as a
Postdoctoral Appointee at the Argoure National Laboratory, Argoure,
Illinois. Prof. Fagbenle has taught in several universities in Africa as well as
in the United Kingdom. He has contributedto technical education in Nigeria
through headship of the Mechanical Engineering Department of The Poly-
technic, Ibadan in the seven ties and currently the headship of the Mechanical
Engineering Department at the Uni versity of Ibadan. ,
Prof. Fagbenle has been a consultant to the Uni ted Nations Econoinic
. Commission for Africa on p rogramme development for the professional
engineer".

Dr . [cnes M. [aja studied History at the University of Lagos, obtained a

Maste~ degree at the University of Benin and a Ph. D in Cultural History at
the University of Port Harcourt.
He has taught West African History at the University of Port Harcourt an d
is currently teaching at the Rivers State University of Science and Technol-
ogy, Port-Harcourt.
He has carried out researches principally in culture history, women
studies, political economy and government in post-independent Nige ria.