Historical Antecedents in the course of

science and technology

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:

1. Discuss the interactions between S&T and society throughout history;
2. Discuss how scientific and technological developments affect society and
the environment; and
3. Identify the paradigm shifts in history
 STS
Science and technology indeed play major
roles in the everyday life
they make difficult and complicated tasks
easier
t development in this field are not just
produts of people’s imagination or one
time thought process; they are also
brought about by gradual improvements to
earlier works from different time periods.
ancient times
In the ancient times , people
were concerned with
transportation and
navigation, communication
and record-keeping, mass
production, security and
protection, as well as health,
aesthetics and architecture
transportation
was significant during that
time because people were
trying to go to places and
discover new horizons
they also travelled to trade
their surplus goods in
exchange for things that
they lacked
communication
was also essential in their endeavors to discover and occupy
new places.
they needed a way to communicate with the natives of the
areas they visited so as to facilitate trade and prevent possible
conflicts.
the increase in size and number of nations connoted increased
demand for food and other basic necessities.
weapons and armors
were important as well in the
discovery of new places or the
establishment of new alliances with
other tribes.
at that time, there was always a risk
of conflict when people met others
with different culture and
orientations.
conservation of Life
the early people might have been
successful in harnessing the rich
resources that the world could
provide, but their survival posed a
great problem
different illness and diseases, both
antural and man-made, hampered
the full potential of the human
being.
engineering
in order to integrate their
needs-for better transportation,
establishment of structures for
protection from human attacks
and natural disaters,and
construction of bigger and
stronger infrastructures- people
ventured into what is now
known as the field of
engineering
architecture
the develoopment of
engineering also ushered in the
introduction of architecture.
others might see architecture
as a mere style, but during the
ancient times, elaborate
architectural designs were signs
of technological advancement
of a particular civilization.
sumerian civilization
Sumeria is located on the
southermost tip of ancient
Mesopotamia.
Summerian are known for their
high degree of cooperation with
one another and their desire for
great things.
they are not contented wit the
basic things that life can offer
cuneiform
one of the major contributions of
the Sumerians is the development of
the first writing syatem known as
cuneiform.
it is a system that utilizes word
pictures word pictures and triangular
symbols which are carved on clay
using wedge instruments and then
left to dry.
uruk city
another important contribution of the
Sumerians is the City of Uruk.
it is great wonder not only because it
is considered to be the first true city in
the world but also for the way it was
erected.
there were no building stones in the
location of this city and lumber was
limited, making the construcrtion a big
challenge
 the great ziggurat
also called as the mountain of god,
was built in the same manner that
they constructed the city of Uruk.
without much building materials,
the structure was constructed using
sun-baked bricks.
the Ziggurat served as the sacred
place of their chief god, where only
their priests were allowed to enter.
irrigation and dikes
as population increased, so did
the demend for food.
the Sumerians were challenged
to mass produce food items but
the elements in the environment
seemed uncooperative.
it was difficult to get water from
rivers, thus they could not
maintain farmlands.
 sailboats
another challenge to the
Sumerians was transportation.
at that time, the wheel was not
yet invented; the main mode of
transportation was through
waterways such as rivers and
seas.
wheel
in the later part of the history ,
the Sumerians were able to
invent the wheel since the
specialized tools needed to
create it were already
available.
thye first wheel were not made
for transportation but for farm
work and food processes.
 the plow
another farm technology
invented by the Mesopotamians.
humans evelved from being food
gatherers to farm cultivators.
however, farmers needed a
technology which would enable
them to dig the ground where
seeds would be planted.
 road
iorder to facilitate faster
and easier travel, the
Sumerians developed the
first roads.
with this work, the flow
of traffic become faster
and more organized.
babylonian civilization
it emerges near the Tigris and
Euphrates rivers.
the Babylonians were great
builders, engineers and
architects.
one of their major
contributions is the ahnging
garden of Babylon, one of the
seven wonders of the world.
hanging garden of babylon
today people can only mvel at the
beauty of the famous hanging gardens
of Babylon from stories of historians
and paintings that portray the place.
it was said to be a structure made up
of layers upo layers of gardens that
contained several species of plants,
trees, and vines.
according to the legends, the great
Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II
built the gardens for his wife, Queen
Amytis.
 egyptian civilization
another early civilization
famous for its legacy is the
Egyptian civilization located in
North Africa.
many stories tell about the
engineering feats of the
Egyptians especially regarding
the infrastructures established
by the pharoahs.
 paper or papyrus
one of the earlier contributions of Egyptian civilization.
although egypt was not the first to devvelop a ssystem of writing,
they were able to make writing easier for the world.
 ink
when the Egyptians invented the
papyrus or the paper, engraving
ceased to be used in writing.
as a result, the Egyptians invented ink
by combining soot with different
chemicals to produce inks of different
colors
hieroglyphics
when the Egyptians invented the
papyrus or the paper, engraving
ceased to be used in writing.
as a result, the Egyptians
invented ink by combining soot
with different chemicals to
produce inks of different colors
cosmetics
the Egyptians also ninvented the
use of cosmetics.
although cosmetics in the modern
times are used to imprrove and
highlight the facial features of a
person, their function in ancient
Egypt was for both health and
aesthetic reasons.
wig
another cosmetic invention of
the Egyptians is the wig.
wigs are use to nhance the
appearence of people who are
balding or those who wants to
try new hair trends.
 water clock/clepsydra
another inportant ancient
Egyptian contribution.
the device utilizes gravity that
affects the flow of water from
one vessel to the other.
the bwater clock was widely
used as a timekeeping device
during the ancient times.
greek civilization
Greece is an archipelago in
the southeasthern part of
Europe.
known as the birthplace of
western philosophy, some of
the major achievements of the
Greeks include in-depth works
on philosophy and
mathematics.
 alarm clock
one of the most utilized gadgets today
that was invented by the ancient Greeks is
the alarm clock.
although the alarm clock during that time
did not resenble the present-day alarm
clock, the purpose was same-to tell an
individual when to start and stop.
 water mill
were also considered as one of
most important contributions of
the Greek civilization to the
world.
conly used in agricultural
processes like milling of grains
which was necessary form of
food processing during that
time.
 Roman civilization
Roman Empire was percieved to be the strongest political and
social entity in the west.
it was considered be the craddle of politics and governance during
that period because the Roman Empire was so larg, other
civilizations looked up to it as their model in terms of legislation
and codified laws.
 newspaper
one of the major contribution of
Roman empire.
the first newspaper known as the
gazettes, contained
announcements of the Roman
Empire to the people.
these gazettes wee engraved in
metal or stone tablets and then
publicly displayed.
bound books or codex
with the invention of newspaper,
it became easier for civilizations
to write down everything that
happened in their time.
record-keeping was much easier
since pape did not easily break,
was lightweight and did not
occupy much space.
 roman architecture
is one of the most visual
contributions of the ancient Roman
Empire to the world.
was considered a continuation of
Greek architecture, hence, the
resemblance.
they were able to preserve great
and elaborate architectural designs
because tehy could produce sturdier
and stronger infrustructures.
 roman numerals
although other number systems had
already been established before teh
Ronman numeral, these old systems could
not keep up with high calculation
requirements due to the increasing rate of
communication and trade among nations.
since the Roman Empire was expending,
it had to deal with many nations to
maintain its power.
 chinese civilization
is considered to be the oldest
civilizatio in Asia, if not the
world.
also known as the middle
kingdom, China is located on the
far east of Asia.
it was famous among other
ancient civilizations because of
its silk traits.
 silk
one of the things that connected
Far East China to the world is silk.
although it is produced by silk
worms, the Chinese were the
ones who developed the
technology to harvest the silk and
process it to produce paper and
clothing.
 tea production
tea is a beverage produced by pouring
hot or boiling water over crushed or
shredded dried tea leaves.
it was believed that the first tea was
drunk by a Chinese emperor.
tea production was developed when
an unknown Chinese inventor created
a machine that was able to shred tea
leaves into strips.
 great wall of china
once considered the only man-
madde structured that could be
seen from outer space, the Great
Wa of China is said to be the
largest and most extensive
infrastrusture that the nation
built.
it was constructed to keep out
foreign invaders and control the
borders of China.
 Gun powder
the gunpowder is one of the most
interesting inventions in China.
originally, it was developed by Chinese
alchemists who aimed to achieved
immortality.
they mixed charcoal, sulfur and potassium
nitrate, but instead of creating an elixir of
life, they accidentally invented a balck
powdre that could actually generate large
amounts of heat and gas in an instant.
 medieval/middle ages
the start of middle ages was
marred by massive invasions and
migrations.
wars were prevalent during this
time.
as such, great technology was
needed in the fields of weaponry,
navigation, mass food and farm
production and health.
 printing press
after the Chinese developed woodblock,
Johann Gutenberg was able to invent
the printing press, a more reliable way
of printing using a casst type.
he utilized woodedn machines taht
extracted juices from fruits, attached to
them a metal impression of the letters,
and pressed firmly the cast metal into a
piece of paper, which then made an
exact impression on paper.
 microscope
another invention in the Middle Ages.
more and more people transfered to
polluted and populated urban areas
which resulted in more people getting
sick and needing medical attention.
guided by the principles usedfor the
invention of eyeglasses in eraly years,
Zacharias Janssen was able to develop
the first compound microscope.
 Telescope
sinec the Middle Agea was also
known as the Age f Exploration, the
ned for nautical inventions was high.
considering the vast empty oceans
that separated lands, ship captains
needed to see far and wide for them
to navigate or to avoid dangers at
sea.
 war weapons
since wars were widespread
during the Middle Ages, great
weaponry technology also
occured.
all sides must develop
weaponries not only as
offensive tools but also as
defensive instruments.
 modern times
the booming world population
during the nineteenth century
onwards demanded that more
goods be produced at a faster
rate.
people neeeded efficient means
of transportation to trade more
goods and cover a larger
distance
 pasteurization
as people were able to developed
better means of production to meet
the needs of the population, food
preservation and food safety became
an issue.
the challenge to keep manufactured
food from deteriorationg was greater
for dairy products, especially milk,
since they usually spoiled faster.
Louis Pasteur
 petrolium refinery
the modern times demanded better
means of powering homes and
transportation.
at first, people used animal oils for
generating light to illuminate their
homes.
however, the production of animal oils
could not keep up with the demand.
Samuel M. Kier was able to invent
kerosene by refining petroleum.
Kerosene was later referred to as the
“illuminating oil”
 telephone
the more people got connected
by trade and exploration, the
more they needed a way to easily
maintain these connection and
communicate with each other in
real time.
the development of the
telephone by Alexander Graham
Bell was one of the most
important inventions at that time.
 calculator
although an earlier version
of the calculator had
alrfeady been developed,
circumstances in the
moderm times required a
faster way to compute
more complicated
equations.
 philippine inventions
despite being considered a
developing country, the Philippines
also contributes to the global
advancement of science and
technology.
it is quite remarkable to note the
ingenuity of the Filipinos despite
the lack in resources.
the Philippines is known to be one
of the most vulnerable countries
iterms of natural disasters.
 salamander amphibious tricycle
it has become ordinary for
Filipinos to convert
transport vehicles into
something more useful.
an example is the
conversion of American
military jeeps used in the
World War II into jeepneys.
 salt lamp
one othe major needs in the
Philippines, as a developing
nation, is electrification.
electricity powers various types
of machines, including light
sources.
in many rural areas in the
country, activities would cease
when it gets dark.
 medical incubator
a common problem in the Philippines is the
high mortality rate of newborn babies.
one reason for this problem in the 20th
century was the lack of available incubators
pecially in far-flung rural areas due to lack of
available resources and electricity.
Dr. Fe de Mundo, a Filipino pediatrician and
the first Asian woman, admitted into
Harvard Medical School, devised a medical
incubator made from indigenous and cheap
materials which do not run on electricity.
 mosquito ovicidal/larvicidal trap system

dengue, a mosquito-borne viral illness,

is endemic in tropical and subtropicaln
areas, including the Phillippines.
this virus is usually transmitted by
Aedes aegypti mosquito, rampant
during the rainy season.
in 2010, the DOST-ITDI was able to
introduce the Mosquito
Ovicidal/Larvicidal Trap System, also
known as OL Trap.
 ejeepney
a major innovation that changed the transportation industry in the
Philippines was the development of the jeepney.
This iconic public utility vehicle was built using thye military jeeps
left by the Americans after World War II.
 references

Science Technology and Society book.(Danil Joseph

McNamara, SJ, Vida Mia Valverde & Ramon Beleno III)