ANCIENT CIVILIZATION (INVENTIONS AND DISCOVERIES)

THE ANCIENT SUMERIANS

1. Fabrication of Copper:
Copper was the earliest non-precious metal first used by the Sumerians, and somewhere around 5000
BC they developed the ability to fabricate it. The discovery of this process is one of the greatest
inventions in Mesopotamia which also helped with the growth of various cities like Uruk, Sumer,
al’Ubaid, and Ur. At first, copper was used to make arrowheads, razors, harpoons, and other small
objects, but as the years passed, the Sumerians also started making copper jugs, vessels, and chisels. The
objects which they made showcased the excellent craftsmanship of the Sumerians. The Imdugud Relief
of 3100 BC is a great example of copper craftsmanship. Discovered in al’Ubaid, it depicts an eagle with
a lion’s head with two stags either side which appear to be held up by the eagle. Copper was beaten to
form the images of these creatures and then framed in wood.
2. Board Games
The Royal Game of Ur was invented sometime between 2600 and 2400 BC. The remains of the game
were found by Sir Leonard Woolley in the Royal Tombs of Ur, Iraq, during the 1920s. It was also
known as the Game of 20 Squares or the Egyptian game Aseb. One of the two boards that were
excavated is kept in the British Museum in London. The game used four tetrahedral dice with seven
markers and comprised of two sets, one white and the other black. The original rules are not known, and
the game’s format has been reinvented over time, as seen in a cuneiform tablet dating back to
approximately 177 BC. Historians believe that, similar to the ancient Egyptian game Senet, the Royal
Game of Ur was a racing game, and possibly a precursor to backgammon.
3. The wheel
The oldest existing wheel in Mesopotamia can be dated back to 3500 BC. The Sumerians first used
circular sections of logs as wheels to carry heavy objects, joining them together and rolling them along.
Subsequently, they invented the sledge and then combined the two. Eventually, they decided to drill a
hole through the frame of the cart and make a place for the axle. Now both the wheels and axles could
be used separately. The Sumerians realized that logs which had worn-out centers were more manageable
and soon these became wheels which could be connected to a chariot.
4. The Number System
Invented by the Sumerians in the third millennium BC, this numbering system is known as the
sexagesimal system. It is named so because it has the number 60 as its base. Mathematics was developed
out of necessity. The Sumerians needed to trade and create taxation policies, so there was an urgent need
to keep records. Assigning symbols to large numbers was also necessary as they wanted to track the
course of the night sky in order to prepare the lunar calendar. They started using a small clay cone to
denote the number 1, a ball for 10, and a large clay cone for 60. An elementary abacus was invented by
the Sumerians between 2700 and 2300 BC.
5. The Sailboat
Sailboats were invented in order to expand Sumerian trade. Wood and papyrus were used to make
lightweight sailboats so that it was easy for them to move on water. The sails were given a square shape
and were made of linen. For battle, the platforms were raised so that the arrows could be aimed at the
enemy with more accuracy. This invention in 1300 BC changed the face of trading and war, and the
Sumerians were able to both advance their economy and provide protection for their people.

6. Cuneiform Script
Developed between 3500 and 3000 BC, cuneiform script was the first writing system to be developed by
the Sumerians. This style of writing was wedge-shaped. A stylus was used to produce different figures
and pictorials by making cuts into soft clay. Descendants of the Sumerians such as the Babylonians,
Assyrians, and Akkadians used the cuneiform style of writing in order to keep records. They started with
a pictorial cuneiform known as proto-cuneiform which later became much more complex. Symbols for
cities, gods, nature, etc. were known as determinatives, and by 3000 BC, their representations had

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become much simpler. The marks now conveyed the idea of words instead of signs. There was also a
reduction in the number of characters from 1,000 to 600. With this reduction came a more phonetic
style. In archaic cuneiform, the direction of writing was from left to right, and gradually a wedge-topped
stylus was introduced which gave clearer strokes. People used the script for more than three millennia
until an alphabetical form replaced it during the Roman era.
7. The Code of Ur- Nammu
The Sumerian Code of Ur-Nammu is the oldest surviving law in the world, and a copy of it was
discovered in Nippur. It is the earliest existing legal text and was created three centuries before the Code
of Hammurabi. The laws are listed so that crime is followed by punishment, a way of law-making that
became commonplace as time went on. Moreover, this code gives us a glimpse into the societal structure
of the Sumerian civilization. Here are some of the Code of Ur-Nammu’s laws:

If a man commits murder, that man must be killed.

If a man commits robbery, he will be killed.
If a man commits a kidnapping, he is to be imprisoned and pay 15 shekels of silver.
If a slave marries a slave, and that slave is set free, he does not leave the household.
If a slave marries a native (free) person, he/she is to hand the firstborn son over to his/her owner.
If a man violates the right of another and deflowers the virgin wife of a young man, they shall kill that
male.
If the wife of a man follows after another man and he sleeps with her, they shall slay that woman, but
the male shall be set free.
If a man proceeds by force and deflowers a virgin slave woman of another man, that man must pay five
shekels of silver.
If a man divorces his first-time wife, he shall pay her one mina of silver.
If it is a (former) widow whom he divorces, he shall pay her half a mina of silver.
8. Monarchy
Sumerians called their land the “land of black-headed people.” These people with black heads were
responsible for developing the first ruling system of monarchy. The earliest of their states needed a ruler
to govern many people living in a wide area. Before the monarchy came into existence, Sumerian states
were ruled by priests. The priest-kings had bureaucrats who were also priests. They assigned fields to
people after surveying the land and also distributed the harvest among them. They also judged disputes,
organized important religious rituals, administrated trade, and led the military.

However, there was the need for a legitimate authority which was beyond the tribal concepts of
chieftainship. Therefore, the Sumerians judged that the authority of monarchs should be based on divine
selection. Later they started believing that the monarch himself was a divine power who must be
worshiped. In this way they legitimized the authority of the ruler who was in a dominant position, both
ruling the current population and serving later generations which settled in the Sumerian states. The first
confirmed monarch was Etana of Kish who ruled around 2600 BC. He was described as the man who
stabilized the land.
9. Astrology and Lunar Calendar
The Sumerians were the first astronomers to map the stars into different constellations (these were later
observed by the ancient Greeks). They also identified five planets that were visible to the naked eye.
They documented a rudimentary cluster of constellations and noted the movements of Saturn, Jupiter,
Mars, Venus, and Mercury. Furthermore, they used astrological symbols to predict future battles and the
fortunes of city-states. Their month began with the sunset and the first crescent of the new moon. This
was seen for 18 hours after the 36 hours when the old crescent disappeared. The crescent was the
thinnest of all its forms. The day consisted of 12 hours and it started and ended with sunset.

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They were also the first to create a lunar calendar. Phases of the moon were used to count the 12 months
of the year. The Sumerians had two seasons in their year. The first was the summer which started with
the vernal equinox and the other was winter which began with the autumn equinox. Sacred marriage
rites were performed on the first day of the new year. By adding an extra month every four years, they
were able to define a ‘year of seasons’ which was different to the other three years.

THE ANCIENT BABYLON

1. THEIR CAPITAL CITY WAS THE LARGEST CITY IN THE WORLD AT THE TIME:
Mesopotamia had a long history prior to the emergence of Babylonian civilization. Between 2900 BC and
2000 BC, two civilizations flourished in the region that would later be known as Babylonia: Sumer in the
south and Akkad in the north. Around 2000 BC, nomadic people known as the Amorites began to migrate
into southern Mesopotamia. The Amorites began expanding their influence taking over many city-states
and established what is known as the Old Babylonian Empire. The sixth Amorite ruler, Hammurabi, took
the Old Babylonian Empire to its greatest heights. It was during his reign that southern Mesopotamia
became known as Babylonia and Babylon eclipsed Nippur as its holy city. In 539 BC, Cyrus the Great of
Persia conquered the Neo-Babylonian Empire bringing an end to the last independent state of the ancient
Mesopotamian civilization. It has been estimated that Babylon was the largest city in the world from
around 1770 BC to 1670 BC; and then again between 612 BC and 320 BC. It was perhaps the first city to
reach a population above 200,000.
2. THEY DEVELOPED THE FIRST EVER POSITIONAL NUMBER SYSTEM: The Babylonians
inherited their numeral system from either the Sumerian or the Eblaite civilizations. They used a base 60
or sexagesimal number system. From this we derive the modern day measurements of both the hour and
the minute. As the number 60 has many divisors (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20 and 30), a sexagesimal
system makes calculations easier than the decimal, or base 10, system we use today. Unlike their
predecessors, Babylonians used a positional numeral system, in which the value of a digit depends on
both the digit and its position. Positional system greatly simplifies arithmetic. In fact it is nearly
impossible to do advanced mathematics with a non-positional system like the Roman Numerals. The
Babylonian numeral system is the first known positional numeral system and it is considered by some as
their greatest achievement in mathematics. However, the Babylonians did not have a concept of zero or a
digit for it. They instead used a space. Due to their advanced number system, the Babylonians made great
advances in mathematics. It has now been established that Greek and Hellenistic mathematicians
borrowed heavily from the Babylonians
3. THEY COULD PERFORM ADVANCED ARITHMETIC CALCULATIONS AND SOLVE
QUADRATIC EQUATIONS: Among the most spectacular aspects of the mathematical skills of the
Babylonians was their construction of tables to aid calculation. Unearthed Babylonian tablets give
squares of the numbers up to 59 and cubes of the numbers up to 32. If one uses formulas, a table of
squares is all that is necessary to multiply numbers. As the Babylonians did not have an algorithm for
long division, they instead used a table of reciprocals. We still have their reciprocal tables going up to the
reciprocals of numbers up to several billion. Apart from arithmetical calculations, Babylonian
mathematicians also developed algebraic methods of solving equations. These were also based on pre-
calculated tables. The first ever evidence of the solution of quadratic equations is from Babylonia. Also,
Babylonian tablets have been found which could have been used for calculating cubes and cube roots.
4. THEY WERE THE FIRST TO USE SOPHISTICATED GEOMETRY TO TRACK MOVING
OBJECTS: The Babylonians used geometry for the calculation of the areas of rectangles, triangles and
trapezoids as well as the volumes of simple shapes such as bricks and cylinders. There is also evidence to
suggest that the Pythagorean theorem may have been known to Babylonian mathematicians as early as
1900 BC, over a thousand years before Pythagoras was born. Five Babylonian tablets also provide
evidence that they were using sophisticated geometrical calculations to track Jupiter across the night sky.
They did this through a method for estimating the area under a curve by drawing a trapezoid, or four

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sided figure, underneath. Using this method they tracked the position of Jupiter as well as its speed and
the distance that it traveled. This technique is fundamental to physics and was previously believed to
have originated in 14th century Europe.
5. BABYLONIAN ASTRONOMY LAID THE BASIS FOR ALL WESTERN ASTRONOMY:
Ancient Babylonia occupies a pivotal place in the history of modern scientific astronomy. The
Babylonians recorded astronomical observations in a meticulous way generation after generation. In time,
their huge cumulative database of past observations allowed them to apply mathematically based rules for
predicting future events. The Babylonians were the first to recognize that astronomical phenomena are
periodic and apply mathematics to their predictions. Apart from numerous accurate astronomical
observations, other contributions of Babylonian astronomers include the discovery of eclipse cycles and
Saros cycles. The periodicity and recurrence of eclipses is governed by the Saros cycle, a period of
approximately 6,585.3 days (18 years 11 days 8 hours). The Saros can thus be used to predict eclipses of
the Sun and Moon. The earliest historical record of the Saros is by Neo-Babylonian astronomers.
Babylonian astronomy was the basis for much of ancient Greek mathematics and astronomy, which in
turn was the historical predecessor of the scientific revolution in the west.
6. THEY ALSO LAID THE FOUNDATION FOR WESTERN ASTROLOGY: Babylonia is the first
known civilization to possess a functional theory of the planets. The idea of geocentrism, where the
center of the Earth is the exact center of the universe, did not exist in Babylonian cosmology. Instead they
believed that the cosmos revolved around circularly with the heavens and the earth being equal and
joined as a whole. Astrology is the study of the movements and relative positions of celestial objects as a
means for divining information about human affairs and terrestrial events. Astrology was one of the
primary means of Babylonian priests to ascertain the will of the Gods. Babylonia thus laid the
foundations of what would eventually become Western astrology. The Zodiac and its twelve signs can
also be traced to Babylonian astrology.
7. THEY BUILT MASSIVE AND MARVELOUS STRUCTURES LIKE ETEMENANKI AND THE
ISHTAR GATE: A ziggurat is a massive stone structure with successively receding stories or levels.
The Mesopotamian civilization built a number of ziggurats. The most famous of these is Etemenanki,
which had a height of 91 meters but is now in ruins. It was constructed around 610 BC by the Babylonian
king Nabopolassar and was dedicated to the patron deity of Babylon, Marduk. Etemenanki is most
probably the inspiration for the biblical story of the Tower of Babel, a tower tall enough to reach heaven.
The Babylonians were well known for their large scale buildings. Apart from Etemenanki, they are said
to have constructed The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
The Hanging Gardens were an ascending series of tiered gardens containing a wide variety of trees
shrubs, and vines. They are described as a marvelous feat of engineering and are said to have been
constructed during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II (605 – 562 BC). However, some doubt the existence
of such a structure as there is no physical evidence for it. Other awe-inspiring structures constructed by
the Babylonians include the Ishtar Gate, which was the main entrance to the ancient city of Babylon.
8. THEY ENACTED ONE OF THE EARLIEST AND MOST COMPLETE LEGAL CODES:
Hammurabi (r. 1792 BC to 1750 BC) was the sixth king of the First Babylonian Dynasty. He brought
almost all of Mesopotamia under Babylonian rule. Hammurabi enacted a set of laws to govern his empire
now renowned as the Code of Hammurabi. It was one of the earliest and most complete written legal
codes. Also, unlike earlier Mesopotamian law code, it was one of the first law codes to place greater
emphasis on the physical punishment of the perpetrator. The Code of Hammurabi contains as many as
300 laws that discuss a wide range of subjects, including homicide, assault, divorce, debt, adoption,
tradesman’s fees, agricultural practices and even disputes regarding the brewing of beer. It was among
the first codes to establish the presumption of innocence, the principle that one is considered innocent
unless proven guilty. However, it was an extremely harsh code by today’s standards with the death
penalty being listed as punishment for no fewer than 30 crimes.

THE ANCIENT EGYPT

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1. The Pyramids: The oldest pyramid was erected for King Zoser between 2667-2648 BC.The oldest
pyramid was erected for King Zoser between 2667-2648 BC. In fact it is the first monumental stone
building designed and constructed that we know of.
2. Writing: Along with the Mesopotamians, the Egyptians were the first people to develop their language
into a codified form of writing. All early forms of writing were pictograms – pictures. All writing
systems developed in this way but their original forms become lost as the pictures are refined into
abstract forms. What is interesting about the Egyptians is that although their writing changed to the
abstract form of Hieratic they deliberately preserved the hieroglyphic pictures in their original forms.
3. Papyrus Sheets: Papyrus sheets are the earliest paper-like material – all other civilisations used stone,
clay tablets, animal hide, wood materials or wax as a writing surface. Papyrus was, for over 3000 years,
the most important writing material in the ancient world. It was exported all around the Mediterranean
and was widely used in the Roman Empire as well as the Byzantine Empire. Its use continued in Europe
until the seventh century AD, when an embargo on exporting it forced the Europeans to use parchment.
4. Black Ink: The Egyptians mixed vegetable gum, soot and bee wax to make black ink. They replaced
soot with other materials such as ochre to make various colours.
5. The Ox-drawn Plough: The Ox-drawn PloughUsing the power of oxen to pull the plough
revolutionised agriculture and modified versions of this Egyptian invention are still used by farmers in
developing countries around the world.
6. The Sickle: The sickle is a curved blade used for cutting and harvesting grain, such as wheat and barley.
7. Irrigation: The Egyptians constructed canals and irrigation ditches to harness Nile river’s yearly flood
and bring water to distant fields.
8. Shadoof: Shado of The Shadoof is a long balancing pole with a weight on one end and a bucket on the
other. The bucket is filled with water and easily raised then emptied onto higher ground.
9. The Calendar: The Egyptians devised the solar calendar by recording the yearly reappearance of Sirius
(the Dog Star) in the eastern sky. It was a fixed point which coincided with the yearly flooding of the
Nile. Their calendar had 365 days and 12 months with 30 days in each month and an additional five
festival days at the end of the year. However, they did not account for the additional fraction of a day
and their calendar gradually became incorrect. Eventually Ptolemy III added one day to the 365 days
every four years.
10. Clocks: In order to tell the time Egyptians invented two types of clock. Obelisks were used as sun
clocks by noting how its shadow moved around its surface throughout the day. From the use of obelisks
they identified the longest and shortest days of the year. An inscription in the tomb of the court official
Amenemhet dating to the16th century BC shows a water clock made from a stone vessel with a tiny hole
at the bottom which allowed water to dripped at a constant rate. The passage of hours could be measured
from marks spaced at different levels. The priest at Karnak temple used a similar instrument at night to
determine the correct hour to perform religious rites.
11. The Police: During the Old and Middle Kingdoms order was kept by local officials with their own
private police forces. During the New Kingdom a more centralized police force developed, made up
primarily of Egypt’s Nubian allies, the Medjay. They were armed with staffs and used dogs. Neither rich
nor poor citizens were above the law and punishments ranged from confiscation of property, beating and
mutilation (including the cutting off of ears and noses) to death without a proper burial. The Egyptians
believed that a proper burial was essential for entering the afterlife, so the threat of this last punishment
was a real deterrent, and most crime was of a petty nature.“They went to the granary, stole three great
loaves and eight sabu-cakes of Rohusu berries. They drew a bottle of beer which was cooling in water,
while I was staying in my father’s room. My Lord, let whatsoever has been stolen be given back to me.”
(Eighteenth Dynasty)
12. Surgical Instruments: The Edwin Smith Papyrus shows the Egyptians invented medical surgery. It
describes 48 surgical cases of injures of the head, neck, shoulders, breast and chest. It includes a list of
instruments used during surgeries with instructions for the suturing of wounds using a needle and thread.
This list includes lint, swabs, bandage, adhesive plaster, surgical stitches and cauterization. It is also the
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earliest document to make a study of the brain. The Cairo Museum has a collection of surgical
instruments which include scalpels, scissors, copper needles, forceps, spoons, lancets, hooks, probes and
pincers.
13. Wigs: Ancient Egyptian WigDuring the hot summers many Egyptians shaved their heads to keep them
clean and prevent pests such as lice. Although priests remained bald as part of their purification rituals,
those that could afford it had wigs made in various styles and set with perfumed beeswax.
14. Cosmetic Makeup: The Egyptian invented eye makeup as far back as 4000 B.C. They combined soot
with a lead mineral called galena to create a black ointment known as kohl. They also made green eye
makeup by combining malachite with galena to tint the ointment. Both men and women wore eye
makup; believing it could cure eye diseases and keep them from falling victim to the evil eye.
15. Toothpaste: At the 2003 dental conference in Vienna, dentists sampled a replication of ancient Egyptian
toothpaste. Its ingredients included powdered of ox hooves, ashes, burnt eggshells and pumice. Another
toothpaste recipe and a how-to-brush guide was written on a papyrus from the fourth century AD
describes how to mix precise amounts of rock salt, mint, dried iris flower and grains of pepper, to form a
“powder for white and perfect teeth.”
16. Mummification: The Egyptians were so expert at preserving the bodies of the dead that after thousands
of years we know of the diseases they suffered such as arthritis, tuberculosis of the bone, gout, tooth
decay, bladder stones, and gallstones; there is evidence, too, of the disease bilharziasis (schistosomiasis),
caused by small, parasitic flatworms, which still exists in Egypt today. There seems to have been no
syphilis or rickets.

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