Historical Antecedents in which

Social Considerations Changed

the Course of Science and
Technology
(Science, Technology and Society)

Prepared by: SARAH JEAN C. BULANON, LPT

COS Instructor
Define
 SCIENCE
➢ In Latin, “Scientia” which means
having knowledge
o Human beings have persistently observed and studied the
natural and physical world in order to find meanings and
seeks answers to many questions.
ANTECEDENT
TECHNOLOGY ➢ Defined as a
➢ Practical Application precursor to the
unfolding or
of knowledge existence of
something
 What is the relationship of Science and
Technology?
TECHNOLOGY is the child (product) of Science
and SCIENCE is the parent (cause) of
technology

Technology uses scientific principles and scientific

findings in achieving technological advancements
and improvement. Without science, technological
improvement is left to chance.
 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AFFECTS TO
THE SOCIETY:

o Improved S&T result to industrialization and thus

converting a simple society to a complex one.
o People’s life and lifestyle change as a result of improved
S&T
o Urbanization results when S&T improve because people
usually migrate to a place where their basic needs are
met.
o People have stronger desire for material goods when
S&T improve in the place.
o More discoveries and inventions that benefit the people
due to improved S&T
Antecedents in the
ANCIENT PERIOD
 Antecedents in the
ANCIENT PERIOD

▪ ANCIENT civilization paved way for

advances in Science and Technology

▪ These advances during the ancient

period allowed civilization to flourish by
finding better ways of communication,
transportation, self-organization and
ways of living.
 Antecedents in the ANCIENT PERIOD
Ancient Wheel

▪ People from ancient civilization used animals as

means of transportation, that is, wheels could
attached to a cart and the cart attached to
animals.

▪ The invention of Ancient wheel is credited to

Sumerians. The oldest known wheel found in an
archaeological excavation is from Mesopotamia,
and dates to around 3500 BC.
The Sumerian-
Photo: https://ebofi.blogspot.com/2012/02/wheel-of-Mesopotamia-and-2000-bc.html invented hero,
Source: https://www.ancient-origin.net/ancient-technology/revolutionary-invention-wheel-0012 Gilgamesh.
 Antecedents in the ANCIENT PERIOD
Ancient Wheel
❑ It has been claimed that wheels were first used by potters. See this 5,500 – year-
old wheel from Mesopotamia?

❑ It seems that it was a potters’ wheel (the use of wheels for pottery making may
date even further back into the Neolithic). It seems that the use of wheels for
transportation only happened 300 years later.

❑ Today the wheel is a very important legacy that the Mesopotamians have left
us. They are almost everywhere. Without wheels, we would not have the rubber
tires, and cars won't have even been thought of. Everyone would still be
walking around, living in huts because lots of construction machines would not
be able to work because there would be no way of moving around the
machines.
 Antecedents in the ANCIENT PERIOD
PAPER
❑In as early as 300 B.C., the EGYPTIAN had developed
a techniques for making paper from the pith of
papyrus plant. This particular plant flourished along
the bank of the Nile.. By weaving together long strips
and placing a weight on top to bind them together, they
were able to create these long and durable, thin sheets of
paper.

❑The English word “paper” actually comes from the word

“papyrus”
 Antecedents in the ANCIENT PERIOD
PAPER

Papyrus Plant

Scroll Piece

Source: https://storymaps.aregis.com/stories/1695109lab5840eeb9cFFD448975BL4
 Antecedents in the ANCIENT PERIOD
PAPER
❑The Egyptians found the need to create paper due to the fact that
writing on stones, Ancient Temples, and caves was not fairly easy.
❑By creating paper, they were able to transcribe message and
publish important documents that could be carried and
transported.

❑This was better than learning how to write on potsherds, chunks of

stone, and pieces of woods, which would have took years to learn.

❑Papers first being used as a wrap for precious items in Ancient

Chine, religious texts in Ancient Egypt, and government texts in
Ancient Greece.
Hieroglyphics “Alphabet”
24 “letters” + 700 phonetic symbols
 Antecedents in the ANCIENT PERIOD
SHADOOF

❑The Shadoof is a tool used and invented by

Ancient Egyptians to irrigate land. It is a hand-
operated device used for lifting water.
❑It is 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.
❑Its invention introduced the idea of lifting things
using counterweights.
Source: https://discoveringegypt.com//ancient-Egyptian-inventions/
 Antecedents in the ANCIENT PERIOD
ANTIKYTHERA MECHANISM
❑It is the oldest known Mechanical calculator.
❑It was constructed around second century BCE and lost
in shipwreck very close to the small Greek Island of
Antikythera Mechanism.\
❑The shipwreck was discover 2,00 years later, in 1900.
The Mechanism was recognized in the spring of 1902 as
a geared mechanical device displaying calendars and
astronomical information.
❑Application of modern imaging methods to the surviving
fragments had led to general agreement on the basic
structure of the device and its solar and lunar
astronomical functions has shown that it was also
intended to display the shifting position of the planets in
the zodiac.
Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-017-0347-2
Photo: https://www.smithsoniansmag.com/history/decodingantikythera-mechanism-first-computer-180953979/
 Antecedents in the ANCIENT PERIOD
AEOLIPILE
❑Heron Alexandrinus, or Hero of Alexandria as he was
often known, was the first inventor of the steam engine,
a steam powered device that was called Aeolipile or the
“Heron Engine”.
❑The name comes from the Greek word ‘Aiolos’ who was
the Greek God of the wind.
❑An Aeolipile is a sphere that is positioned in such way
that it can rotate around its axis. Nozzles that are
opposite to each other would expel steam and both of
the nozzles would generate a combined thrust resulting
in torque, causing the sphere to spin around its axis. The
rotation force speeds up the sphere up to the point
where the resistance from traction and air brings it to a
stable rotation speed.
Source: https://www.ancient-origins-net./ancient-technology/ancient-invention-steam-engine-hero-Alexandria-001467
Antecedents in the
MIDDLE AGES
 Antecedents in the MIDDLE AGES
HEAVY PLOUGH
❑It turned European agriculture and economy on
its head. “Suddenly the fields with the heavy, fatty
and moist clay soils became those that gave the
greatest yields”, explains Professor Thomas
Barnebeck Anderson of the University of
Southern Denmark.
❑The invention of the heavy plough made it
possible to harness areas with clay soil, and clay
soil was more fertile than lighter soil types. This
led to prosperity and literally created a breeding
ground for economic growth and cities –
especially in Northern Europe.
Source: https://sciencenordic.com/agriculture--fisheries-anthropology/how-theheavy-plough-changed-the-world/1381548#:”:text=The%29invention%20of%20the%20heavy.cities%
 Antecedents in the MIDDLE AGES
GUNPOWDER
• In Chinese, gunpowder is called Huo Yao,
meaning flaming medicine.
• The birth of gunpowder was quite accidental. It
was first invented inadvertently by alchemist
while attempting to make an elixir of
immortality.
• It was a mixture of Sulphur, saltpeter, and
charcoal.
• At the end of Tang Dynasty, gunpowder was
being used in military affairs.
• During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, frequent
wars spurred the development to cannons, and
fire-arrows shot from bamboo tubes.
Source: https://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/focus/invention.htm
 Antecedents in the MIDDLE AGES
PAPER MONEY
▪ Paper Money is an invention of Song Dynasty in
China in 11th century CE, nearly 20 century after
the earliest known use of metal coins. Paper
money was certainly easier to carry large
amounts.

▪ During Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE), merchants

began to leave those heavy coins with a
trustworthy agent, who would record how much
money the merchant had deposit on a piece of
paper.

Source: https://www.thoughtco.com/the -invention-of-paper-money-195167

 Antecedents in the MIDDLE AGES
PAPER MONEY
▪ The paper, a sort of promissory note,
could be traded for goods, and the seller
could go to the agent and redeem the
note for the coins.

▪ With trade renewed along the Silk Road,

this simplified cartage considerably.
These privately-produced promissory
notes were still not true paper currency.

Source: https://www.thoughtco.com/the -invention-of-paper-money-195167

 Antecedents in the MIDDLE AGES
PAPER MONEY
▪ However, at the beginning of Song Dynasty (960-
1279 CE), the government licensed specific deposit
shops where people could leave their coins and
receive notes.
▪ In 1100s, Song Authorities decided to take direct
control of this system, issuing the world’s first
proper, government-produced paper money. This
money was called jiaozi
▪ This invention is one of the wonders that Marco
Polo brought back to Europe in his travel journal in
the late 13th century
Source: https://www.thoughtco.com/the -invention-of-paper-money-195167
 Antecedents in the MIDDLE AGES
MECHANICAL CLOCK

Source: https://www.thoughtco.com/the -invention-of-paper-money-195167

 Antecedents in the MIDDLE AGES
MECHANICAL CLOCK

Source: https://www.thoughtco.com/the -invention-of-paper-money-195167

 Antecedents in the MIDDLE AGES
MECHANICAL CLOCK

Source: https://www.thoughtco.com/the -invention-of-paper-money-195167

 Antecedents in the MIDDLE AGES
MECHANICAL CLOCK

Source: https://www.thoughtco.com/the -invention-of-paper-money-195167

Antecedents in the MIDDLE AGES
SPINNING WHEEL
Antecedents in the MIDDLE AGES
SPINNING WHEEL
Antecedents in the MIDDLE AGES
SPINNING WHEEL
Antecedents in the
MODERN AGES
 Antecedents in the
MODERN AGES
• Historical period when people realized the
importance of the efficiency of
transportation, communication and
production.
• Industrialization took place but with greater
risk on human health food safety, and
environment.
 COMPOUND MICROSCOPE
▪ A light microscope: an instrument that enables the
human eye, by means of a lens or combination of
lenses, to observe enlarged images of tiny objects. It
made visible the fascinating details of worlds within
worlds.
▪ About 1590, two Dutch spectacles makers, Zaccharias
Janssen and his son Hans, while experimenting with
several lenses in a tube, discovered that nearby objects
appeared greatly enlarged. That was the forerunner of
the compound microscope and of the telescope.
▪ In 1609, Galileo, father of modern physics and
astronomy, heard of these early experiments, worked
out the with a focusing device, that is, the telescope.

Source: https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-telescope-4076588
TELESCOPE
TELESCOPE
 JACQUARD LOOM
❑Most people probably don’t think of weaving looms as a forerunner of
computers. But thanks to French silk weaver Joseph Marie Jacquard,
enhancements automated weaving helped lead to the invention of
computer punch cards and the advent of data processing.

❑In Layon, France, Jacquard was employed in a factory and used his spare
time in constructing his improved loom. In 1801, he exhibited his
invention at the industrial exhibition at Paris.

❑In 1803, he was summoned to Paris to work for the conservatoire des Arts
et Metlers. A loom by Jacques de Vaucanson (1709=1782), deposited
there, suggested various improvements in his own, which he gradually
perfected to its final state
Source: https://www.thoughtco.com/joseph-marie-jacquard-1991642
 JACQUARD LOOM

Source: https://www.thoughtco.com/joseph-marie-jacquard-1991642
 JACQUARD LOOM

Source: https://www.thoughtco.com/joseph-marie-jacquard-1991642
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To be continued . . . . .