ANCIENT

CIVILIZATION
SUMERIAN CIVILIZATION
Sumeria is located on the southernmost tip of
ancient Mesopotamia. Sumerians are known for their
high degree of cooperation with one another and
their desire for great things. This desire pushed
them to develop many things connected with science
and technology.
• Cuneiform - The first writing system developed by the Sumerian. It is a
system that utilizes word pictures & triangular symbols which are
carved on clay using wedge instruments & then left to dry. These are
made to keep records of things with great historical value or their
everyday life.
• Uruk City - Considered as a great wonder not only because it is
considered to be the first city in the world but also for the way it
was erected. Sumerians able to build this city with a big challenge
because of using only mud or clay from the river, which they mixed
with reeds, producing sun-baked bricks.
• Great Ziggurat Of Ur - Ziggurat is called mountain of god, was built as the
same manner that they constructed the City of Uruk. Ziggurat served
as the sacred place of their chief god.
 • Irrigation & Dikes
Main problem:
- As population increased, so did the demand for food.
- The Sumerians were challenged to mass production of food but the elements in
the environment seemed uncooperative.
- Difficult to get water from the rivers, thus they could not maintain
farmlands
- Scarcity of water supply while others had problems with flooding caused by
the river
Solutions:
- Sumerians created dikes & irrigation canal to bring water to farmlands and at
the same time control the flooding of the rivers.
Results:
- This method was considered as one of the world’s most beneficial engineering
works
- Through dikes and canals, the Sumerians were able to enjoy year-long farming
and harvesting, which increased their food production.
 • Sailboats
- Another challenge for Sumerians was mode for transportation. Why?
- (wheel was not yet invented; the main mode of transportation was through waterways
such as rivers and seas.)
- Essentials: transportation and trading as well in fostering their culture,
information and technology.
• Wheel
- Sumerians were able to invent the wheel.
- The first wheel is not intended for transportation but for farm and food process.
- With the use of the wheel and axle, mass production was made easier.
- Farmers were be able mill grains with less effort in less time.
• Plow
⁻ another technology invention by the Mesopotamians.
⁻ This technology which would enable them to dig the ground where seeds would be
planted.
 • Roads
- Sumerian developed the first road to facilitate faster and easier travel.

- They made the roads with the same technology they used in making the sun-
baked bricks that they laid down on the ground. They latter poured bitumen,
a black sticky substance similar to asphalt, to smoothens the roads.
 BABYLONIAN CIVILIZATION
➢ Babylonian civilization emerged near the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.
➢ They were great builders, engineers and architects.
➢ Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the seven wonders of the ancient
world. - King Nebuchadnezzar II built for his wife Queen Amytis
➢ No evidence has been found to prove the existence and even the exact
location is unknown.
➢ Lacked of documentation or archaeological evidence.
➢ If it is true, this may be considered as one of the greatest
engineering and architectural achievements of the world that can’t be
replicated.
➢ Contributions to the society: the use of unit of length, weight and
capacity, multiplication tables, geometry and land surveying,
systematic measurement of time, astronomical observations, astrology
EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION
➢ Another civilization famous for its legacy and located in North Africa.
➢ Engineering feats regarding the infrastructures established by the pharaohs.
Other technologies include:
• Water Clock/Clepsydra - Developed from the reign of King Amenhotep III
(1390-1352 BC)
- It is made of alabaster and was probably used for indicating the passage of
hours of the night.
- In use, the vessel was filled with water, which leaked out slowly from a
small hole near the bottom. The time is indicated by the level of the water
in the vessel, which is shaped so that it falls at a uniform rate. At this
time it was customary to divide the period of daylight and darkness into
twelve `hours` which thus varied with the seasons. The inside of the vessel
has twelve scales each marked with the name of the month.
 • Papyrus
- One of the contributions of Egyptian by developing a system of writing.
- Before, clay tablets were used, however, safe-keeping and transporting them
were a major problems.
- Reasons: Clay tablets were very fragile, heavy and delicate to handle (major
challenge to bring one place to another)
- The invention of papyrus or paper was a welcome development.
- Advantages:
a. Easy to carry and to store.
b. Less breakable
c. For record-keeping and communication.
• Hieroglyphics – is system of writing using symbols by the Egyptian
Civilization
 • Cosmetics -
This was for both HEALTH & AESTHETICS REASONS
KOHL –wore around the eyes to prevent and even cure eye diseases.
- It is made of mixing soot with mineral galena
- Wearing up was protection from evil and that beauty was a sign of holiness
WIGS - Wigs were worn for health and wellness rather than aesthetic
purposes.
- protect the shaved of the wealthy Egyptian from the harmful rays of the sun
- Better than putting on a scarf since a wig allowed heat to escape.
 GREEK CIVILIZATION
➢ In-depth works of the Greek Civilization: philosophy and mathematics, coliseums and
the Olympics
Inventions:
• ALARM CLOCK
➢ This was invented to tell an individual when to stop or when to start
➢ They made use of water (small stones or sand) that dropped into drums which sounded
as alarm.
➢ Plato used this alarm clock to signal the start of his lesson. He used 4 water
vessels line up vertically. The upper vessel supplied the water which dropped to the
vessel below it, which was set to be filled in a given time. After it was full, water
was siphoned off at a faster rate into the third vessel which would cause the
expulsion of contained air, creating a whistling noise.
• Water Mill is commonly used in agricultural processes like milling of grains which was
necessary form of food processing.
 ROMAN CIVILIZATION
• Romans perceived to be the strongest political and social entity in the west.
➢ Discoveries and inventions still relevant today.
• Newspapers the
first newspapers known as GAZETTES
➢ It contains announcements of the Roman empire.
• Bound Books Or Codex
➢ With the invention of papers, it became easier for civilizations to write down
everything.
➢ Record-keeping was much easier
➢ Aside from Romans writing down information about history and politics, literature
also changed form from clay tablets to parchments papers
➢ According to sources, Julius Caesar started the tradition of stacking up papyrus to
form pages of a book. Later on, they were able to provide covers to protect the
papyrus.
➢ This cover was made up of wax, until later on replaced by animal skin.
➢ The ancient Roman empire was able to produce the first books or CODEX.
• Roman Architecture - One of the most visual contributions of the ancient
Roman Empire to the world.

• Roman Numerals - Number systems had already been established before

the Roman Numeral; these old systems could not keep up with the
high calculation requirements.

➢ Devised their number system specifically to address the need for

a standard counting method.
CHINESE CIVILIZATION
Inventions:

• Silk- They developed the technology to harvest the silk and process it to
produced paper and clothing.

• Silk production resulted in the creation of a product for trade.

• Tea Production
• This is a beverage produced by pouring hot or boiling water over crushed
or shredded dried tea leaves.

• The first tea was drunk by the Chinese Emperor.

• Great Wall of China
• This was a man-made structure

• The largest and most extensive infrastructure that the nation built.

• It is made of stone, brick, wood, earth and other materials.

• Gunpowder
• One of the most interesting inventions in China

• It was developed by Chinese alchemists who aimed to achieve immortality

• It is mixed with charcoal, sulfur and potassium nitrate, but instead of

creating elixir of life, they accidentally invented a black powder that
could actually generate large amounts of heat and gas.

• Instead of prolonging life, gunpowder is widely used to propel bullets

from guns and cannons which cause countless death.