Austria, Ahriz Ace P.

Dentistry – D11F

Some of the Great Scientific & Technological Inventions/Contributions of the Babylonian, Greek,
& Chinese Civilizations

Babylonian Civilization Inventions

Babylonia provided the world with several unusual and groundbreaking innovations. The introduction of
the wheel resulted in the development of chariots, which were critical during times of conflict.
 
The Babylonians invented the most important agricultural implement, the plow, which led to significant
breakthroughs in agriculture and, eventually, urbanization.
 
The cuneiform clay tablet, which began in Babylon, was the earliest known form of written
communication, and together with the creation of the map and the sailboat, it is easy to understand
why this ancient civilisation is still so important today.
 
 
Cuneiform

Cuneiform is the oldest known form of written communication, dating back to 3400 BC. it was not
considered a language since it had fewer than 1,000 characters and was used for accounting,
administrative, and business purposes. It could be used by persons with diverse degrees of education
and expertise, and ordinary people used it to compose letters, arrange their commercial activities, and
chronicle common happenings such as astrological phenomena. People with a higher level of education
utilized it for technical reasons such as producing medical catalogs and mathematical derivations. To
keep and manage records, a pointed stylus was used to carve letters on a clay slab. The first cuneiform
slabs were illustrated and employed visual symbols to communicate, with the cuneiform alphabet
emerging much later. Sumerian and Akkadian, two ancient Iraqi languages, were found etched on the
clay tablets.
Astrology and Horoscopy

Astrology is the discipline of observing the positions of celestial bodies and interpreting how their
motions affect our lives, and it is still widely practiced in the modern world. The heavenly bodies were
supposed to have divine powers that governed people's lives in ancient Babylon. Constellations were
used to predict the weather, climate, and seasons, as well as to assist people pick which crops to plant
when. The moon, stars, and sun were investigated to forecast future phenomena like as thunder or
eclipses. In order to forecast this, ancient Babylonian astronomers extensively examined the sun and
moon cycles. The Babylonians invented the horoscope because they believed in the divinity of the
heavenly bodies. They charted the positions of celestial bodies in order to predict their own and their
rulers' daily lives.
The Concept of Time

We've all heard the sayings "Time waits for no man" and "A stitch in time saves nine," but have you ever
considered who invented the idea of time? Of course, it was the Babylonians who created a mechanism
for dividing time into 60 segments. The present time system has been in operation for four millennia.
Because 60 is divisible by 6, it was chosen as the dividing factor. The Babylonians calculated that the
earth rotated around the sun one degree each day for 360 days. This figure was also divisible by 6.
Astrologers utilized the sexagesimal numbering system, which had 60 as its foundation. They calculated
the frequency and length of the full moon and discovered that both were divisible by 6.
The Chariot

Carts were originally used for both commodities transportation and travel. They were soon being drawn
by domestic animals, and this newly created cart was dubbed a chariot. The first chariots were made of
wood with a rim, and two-wheeled chariots were employed in warfare and to transport weapons and
other war supplies. Chariots soon became a mode of transportation for royalty and the aristocracy.
Art and Architecture

The Babylonians constructed massive stone constructions known as ziggurats, which resembled massive
towers. Etemenanki was a renowned Babylonian ziggurat that stood around 299 feet (91 meters) tall
and may have inspired the myth of the Tower of Babel. It is presently in shambles. Even the most
commonplace domestic things were elegantly painted with representations of human or animal shapes
by the Babylonians, who were great painters. Many museums now have Babylonian antiquities, many of
which portray scenes from normal Babylonian life.
Greek Civilization Inventions

Many notable inventions have come from the Greeks. Some accounts attribute the invention of the
alarm clock, computer, shower, automated doors, cartography, the odometer, the stadium, and the arch
bridge to the Greeks.
 
Without a doubt, ancient Greek civilisation as a whole inspired achievements that created ancient
Western civilization. They excelled in a variety of fields, including arts, science, philosophy, architecture,
and many others, and left the world with remarkable innovations that are now utilized by people all
over the world.

Olympics

The earliest recorded Olympic Games were held in 776 B.C. when a chef named Coroebus won the sole
event - a 630-foot (192-meter) footrace known as the "stade" - to become Olympic champion.
 
However, the games had most certainly been going on for many years by that point. Every four years,
they were held in Olympia, on the western Peloponnese peninsula. These ancient games were held as
part of a religious event in honor of Zeus.
 
The modern Olympics were founded in 1896, partly due to the efforts of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who
was inspired after visiting the old Olympic site. Athens, Greece, hosted the first modern Olympics. Track
and field, gymnastics, swimming, wrestling, cycling, tennis, weightlifting, shooting, and fencing were
among the 43 events in which 280 men from 13 countries competed.
 
The modern Olympics truly took off following the VIII Games in Paris in 1924. A total of 3,000 athletes
(including over 100 women) from 44 countries competed. The Winter Olympics, which included
disciplines like as figure skating, ice hockey, bobsledding, and the biathlon, also debuted that year.
Astrolabe

The astrolabe is one of the most important innovations of ancient Greece. It is an instrument used to
perform astronomical observations, such as celestial body elevations.
 
It was invented by Claudius Ptolemy, a prominent Greek astronomer who flourished in the Roman
Empire during the 2nd century AD, or even earlier, by Apollonius of Perga between 220 and 150 B.C., or
by Hipparchus. It was simply an analog calculator capable of solving a variety of astronomical issues.
 
Muslim astronomers added angular scales to the design in the ninth century and began utilizing the
astrolabe for navigation as well as determining the direction of Mecca for daily prayers.
 
It was used by seamen until the 17th and 18th centuries, when dependable mechanical clocks were
developed.
 
Theatre

Watching a play, movie, or musical is becoming a popular form of entertainment for people all over the
world. However, did you know that the ancient Greeks invented the theatre as we know it today?
 
Around the sixth century B.C., an early form of play arose in Greece. Although theater in India before
this, the Greek version affected the subsequent development of theater in the West.
 
Greek dramatists also authored plays in a variety of genres, including tragedy, comedy, and satire, and
many of their works are still relevant today, helping to influence modern Western society.
 
The ancient Greeks also built theaters that could seat hundreds or thousands of people.
Water Clock

Clepsydra, the water clock, was brought into ancient Greece approximately 325 BC. It is a clock that
calculates the passage of time by regulating the flow of liquid into or out of a vessel. The liquid is
measured, and the time is displayed.
 
Water clocks date back to the 16th century B.C. and are known to have existed in Babylon, Egypt, and
Persia. The Greeks, on the other hand, improved this technique and utilized it to measure a broad
variety of discrete occurrences.
 
It was used in trials to ensure that everyone talked for the same length of time by timing the lawyers'
and witnesses' remarks.
Greek Fire

Byzantium developed Greek fire in the seventh century. It was a petroleum-based incendiary weapon,
however other incendiary ingredients, such as pitch, naphtha, sulfur, and charcoal, had been employed
since ancient times to manufacture flamming arrows, firepots, and other weapons. Later, saltpeter and
turpentine were employed, and the Crusaders referred to these mixes as Greek fire or wildfire.True
Greek fire was most likely a petroleum-based combination produced during the reign of Constantine IV
Pogonatus (668-685) by Callinicus of Heliopolis, a Greek-speaking Jewish exile fleeing the Arab invasion
of Syria. The material could be poured into pots or ejected from tubes; it appeared to catch fire
spontaneously and could not be doused with water.
The lever

The first evidence of a lever goes back to the ancient Near East approximately 5000 B.C., and they were
used to raise water and move heavy things in ancient India and Egypt.
 
However, some of the earliest lever-related literature come from the third century B.C. Archimedes, a
Greek polymath, wrote these. Archimedes was the first to describe the fundamental ratios of force,
load, and distance from the fulcrum point, as well as the mathematical concepts and rules that govern
the usage of levers.
The Crane

Cranes can in handy when you need to move huge things when building a structure or transporting
goods from one location to another. Today, we cannot picture the construction industry without cranes.
 
But do you know when it was invented and who invented it? Cranes have been discovered in ancient
Greece going back to the late 6th century BC, making it another another significant ancient Greek
innovation.
Chinese Civilization Inventions

Ancient China possessed world-leading positions in several sectors of natural science research. Besides
Ancient China's four significant innovations were papermaking, printing, gunpowder, and the compass.

Paper Making 105 A.C

The development of paper has had a significant impact on human history. There was already paper.
However, beginning 105 A.D., a eunuch named Cai Lun (about 50 AD -
121) made major contributions to its broad acceptance.
His sophisticated paper-making technique expanded throughout Central Asia and the Middle East.
The Silk Road connected the world.

Movable Type Printing 960-1279 AD

Woodblock printing was already a popular printing method in the the Tang Dynasty. However, this
printing technology was costly as well as time-consuming A male could not marry until the Song Dynasty
(960-1279). Bi Sheng (990-1051) was the inventor of moveable type printing. making things faster and
easier He began by carving individual characters. On clay pieces and then solidify them with fire These
mobile
Later, type fragments were attached to an iron plate to print a page. Then disassembled and
redistributed onto another page This kind of Printing technology quickly expanded throughout Europe,
leading up to the Renaissance, and later, around the world.

Gunpowder 1000 A.D

Chinese Taoist alchemists developed gunpowder about the year 1000 A.D. when they attempted to
locate a potion to obtain by combining elemental sulfur, charcoal, and other substances, it is possible to
achieve human immortality as well as saltpeter It is widely assumed that gunpowder spread. During the
Mongol invasion of Europe between 1200 and 1300 A.D., The intriguing truth is that the Chinese made
use of this discovery mostly for firecrackers, but Europeans invented cannons in the mid-1800s, and
weapons controlled China.

Compass 1100 A.D.

A compass is a piece of navigational equipment a device that displays directions The compass was
designed by Chinese in the second century BC and the first century AD It was the first The arrangement
of a house is employed in Feng Shui. buildings. By the year 1000 AD, nautical Compasses were
frequently utilized on Chinese vessels, allowing them to navigate. Arab merchants travelling to China
may have discovered the technology and introduced it to the West

Alcohol 2000 BC－1600 BC

The Arabian Peninsula's population were they are often regarded as the earliest brewers. However,
A 9000-year-old pottery was discovered in Henan in 2013. The presence of alcohol was discovered in
1000 provinces. Several years before Arabian Jiu is the Chinese word for alcohol. It is commonly used as
a spiritual offering in Chinese culture to Heaven and Earth, or ancestors in ancient times China.
According to research, beer with an alcoholic A 4% to 5% content was commonly eaten in it was
referenced in oracles in ancient China Shang Dynasty (1600) bone inscriptions BC-1046 BC).

Mechanical Clock 725 A.D.

Water-driven Spherical Birds, the world's first mechanical clock Yi Xing, a Buddhist monk, devised it
around 725 A.D. It was Dripping water turned a wheel, which produced one 24 hours of revolution Su,
the inventor, hundreds of years later Song created the Cosmic Clock, a more advanced timepiece.
Empire in 1092, 200 years before the invention of the mechanical clock developed in Europe.

References
Adhikari, S. (2022, September 2). Top 12 Inventions and Discoveries of Ancient Babylonia. Ancient
History Lists. Retrieved September 9, 2022, from https://www.ancienthistorylists.com/mesopotamia-
history/inventions-ancient-babylonia/#:%7E:text=We%20can%20thank%20the%20Babylonians,was
%20engraved%20on%20clay%20tablets.

Vyas, K. (2020, November 29). 11 Greek Inventions That Changed the World for Good. Retrieved
September 9, 2022, from https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/11-greek-inventions-that-
changed-the-world-for-good

https://china.usc.edu/sites/default/files/forums/Chinese%20Inventions.pdf