ANCIENT INVENTIONS

A. Europe
 Concrete- the recipe for Roman concrete was described around 30 B.C. by
Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, an engineer for Octavian, who became Emperor
Augustus. The not-so-secret ingredient is volcanic ash, which Romans combined
with lime to form mortar. They packed these mortar and rock chunks into wooden
molds immersed in seawater.
 Odometer - this omnipresent instrument also originated in the time of ancient
Greece. It was first described by Vitruvius around 27 BCE, and evidence points to
Archimedes of Syracuse as its inventor sometime around the first Punic war.
 Alarm Clock- the first alarm clock was created in Ancient Greece by Ctesibus, a
Hellenistic engineer and inventor. Much to the dismay of all those who love to
sleep in, Ctesibus cleverly developed an elaborate system of dropping pebbles
onto a gong in order to make a sound.
 Water Mill - the Roman engineer Vitruvius has the first technical description of a
watermill, dated to 40/10 BC; the device is fitted with an undershot wheel, and
power is transmitted via a gearing mechanism. He also seems to indicate the
existence of water-powered kneading machines.
 Julian Calendar- the Julian calendar, proposed by Julius Caesar in AUC 708 (46
BC), was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on 1 January AUC 709
(45 BC), by edict. It was designed with the aid of Greek mathematicians and
astronomers such as Sosigenes of Alexandria.
B. The Americas
 Terraces- terrace farming is believed to have been started by the Inca people in
the region of South America between 1400-1500 CE. However, there is evidence
that the Wari culture of Andes first cultivated crops on terraced farms before
1000AD, and these farms were known as andénes.
 Chocolate - the history of chocolate, and its creation from the cacao tree beans,
can be traced to the ancient Maya and even earlier to the ancient Olmecs of
southern Mexico.
 Rubber- the Olmecs, Aztecs and Mayans were known to use the sap from these
trees to create a natural rubber. They made rubber balls and boots around 1600
BC
 Gum- In the Americas, the ancient Mayan people chewed a substance called
chicle, derived from the sapodilla tree, to quench thirst or fight hunger, according
to anthropologist Jennifer P. Mathews, author of Chicle: The Chewing Gum of the
Americas.
 Rope Bridge- the ancient practice of making hanging bridges has existed for a
long time in Peru—perhaps going back as far as the Wari culture, which thrived
from 600–1000.
C. Asia and Oceania
  Compass- the magnetic compass was first invented as a device for divination as
early as the Chinese Han Dynasty and Tang Dynasty (since about 206 BC). The
compass was used in Song Dynasty China by the military for navigational
orienteering by 1040–44 and was used for maritime navigation from 1111 to
1117.
 Gunpowder- was invented in China sometime during the first millennium AD.
The earliest possible reference to gunpowder appeared in 142 AD during the
Eastern Han dynasty when the alchemist Wei Boyang, also known as the "father
of alchemy", wrote about a substance with gunpowder-like properties.
 Map- Chinese cartography began in the 5th century BC during the Warring States
period when cartographers started to make maps of the Earth's surface.
 Silk- the production of silk originates in China in the Neolithic (Yangshao
culture, 4th millennium BC). Silk remained confined to China until the Silk Road
opened at some point during the latter half of the first millennium BC. China
maintained its virtual monopoly over silk production for another thousand years.
 Chess - was born out of the Indian game chaturanga before the 600s AD. The
game spread throughout Asia and Europe over the coming centuries and
eventually evolved into what we know as chess around the 16th century.
D. Africa and The Middle East
 Paper - excavators of a tomb at Saqqara discovered the earliest known roll of
papyrus, dated to around 2900 B.C., and papyrus continued to be used until the
eleventh century A.D. even as paper, invented in China, became the most popular
writing material for the Arab world around the eighth century A.D.
 Makeup- the first use of prototype cosmetics is usually traced back to the ancient
Egyptians; many Egyptian tombs contained makeup canisters and kits. Cleopatra
used lipstick that got its hue from ground carmine beetles, while other women
used clay mixed with water to color their lips.
 Battery- the Baghdad Battery is believed to be about 2000 years old (from the
Parthian period, roughly 250 BCE to CE 250). The jar was found in Khujut Rabu
just outside Baghdad and is composed of a clay jar with a stopper made of
asphalt.
 Glass- glass as an independent object (mostly as beads) dates back to about 2500
bc. It originated perhaps in Mesopotamia and was brought later to Egypt. Vessels
of glass appeared about 1450 BC, during the reign of Thutmose III, a pharaoh of
the 18th dynasty of Egypt.
 Glue- the oldest known compound glue was made from plant gum and red ochre
approximately 70,000 years BC, and was found in South Africa.
 MEDIEVAL INVENTIONS
A. Europe
 Eyeglasses- eyeglasses were said to have been created by Salvino D'Armati in
Italy during the 13th century. It all started with the invention of two convex lenses
placed in a wooden setting, with a shaft held together with a rivet. The wearer
held it to his face to improve his vision.
 Printing Press- printing first became mechanized in Europe during the 15th
century. The earliest mention of a mechanized printing press in Europe appears in
a lawsuit in Strasbourg in 1439; it reveals the construction of a press for Johannes
Gutenberg and his associates.
B. The Americas
 Tidal Mills- Tidal mills were an important medieval invention dating back to the
8th century. They were usually employed near natural water bodies such as rivers
and were driven by the high tides of the water body. In the countryside, such mills
were frequently used to accomplish different mechanical tasks, the force of the
water itself was used to drive the water wheel on its own.
C. Asia and Oceania
 Game Cards- was invented in China in about the 9th century. Printers used
woodblock printing to make the cards from thick paper. Famous artists drew the
designs that appeared on the backs of the cards. Europeans were introduced to
card games by the late 1300s. Today, card games are played throughout the world.
D. Africa and Middle East
 Coffee- The earliest credible evidence of coffee drinking or knowledge of the
coffee tree appears in the middle of the 15th century in the accounts of Ahmed al-
Ghaffar in Yemen. It was here in Arabia that coffee seeds were first roasted and
brewed in a similar way to how it is prepared now
 RENAISSANCE PERIOD
A. Asia and Oceania
 Wheelbarrow- Zhuge Liang of Shu Han in China created a single-wheel cart as
an efficient way of transporting food and supplies to the front lines of battle.
B. The Americas
 Military Technology- the Renaissance era began to make use of primitive
handheld firearms called arquebuses, the bulky precursors of the musket.

C. Europe
 Telescope- the invention of the telescope played an important role in advancing
our understanding of Earth's place in the cosmos. While there is evidence that the
principals of telescopes were known in the late 16th century, the first telescopes
were created in the Netherlands in 1608.
D. Africa
 Clothes Dryer- was first developed by George T. Sampson. His mother was a
slave, washing clothes for her mistress. When she suddenly died, George T
Sampson had to help his father do the job of hanging out the clothes to dry.

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
A. Asia and Oceania
 Typewriter- was invented by Kyota Sugimoto in 1915. Out of the thousands of
kanji characters, Kyota's original typewriter used 2,400 of them. He obtained the
patent rights to the typewriter that he invented in 1929.
B. The Americas
 Telephone- Antonio Meucci, 1854, constructed telephone-like devices.
Alexander Graham Bell was awarded the first U.S. patent for the invention of the
telephone in 1876. Elisha Gray, 1876, designed a telephone using a water
microphone in Highland Park, Illinois. Tivadar Puskás proposed the telephone
switchboard exchange in 1876.
C. Europe
 Steam Engine- The invention of the steam engine by Richard Arkwright in 1786
was instrumental in the development of the English textile industries. The steam
engine driven machines helped the English weave faster than ever before. Soon
the markets were full of English cloth.
D. Africa
 Wooden Clock- In 1753, Banneker created his most famous invention - a
wooden clock made entirely of indigenous American parts. One day a wealthy
neighbor loaned him a pocket watch for the night. Banneker disassembled it,
studied the parts closely, and then put them back together.