HISTORICAL ANTECEDENTS

IN THE COURSE OF SCIENCE

AND TECHNOLOGY
ANCIENT TIMES

◦ people were concerned with:

◦ transportation and navigation,
◦ communication and recordkeeping,
◦ mass production, security and protection,
◦ as well as health, aesthetics, and
◦ architecture.
Transportation
◦was significant during that time because people
were trying to go places and discover new horizons.
◦ They travelled to search for food and find better
locations for their settlements.
◦They also travelled to trade their surplus goods
in exchange for things that they lacked
◦ Navigation assisted them in their journeys to
unfamiliar and strange areas in the world.

◦ It allowed them to return home after they

discovered new places or completed an
important trade with another group of people.
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.
◦Record-keeping was also important since they needed to remember the
places they had been to and document the trades they made with each other.
◦ It was also vital to keep records of their history and culture so they could
establish their identities as they tried to relate with other cultures and
civilizations.
◦ 
◦ The increase in size and number of nations connoted increased
demand for food and other basic necessities.
◦ This condition also implied that people must be able to produce
food at a given time and space since resources were getting scarcer
as more people struggled to share the basic necessities.
◦ The people thus needed a form of technology that would enable
them to increase food supplies and other survival needs without
them travelling more or working harder.
◦ 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.
◦ Conflicts were common especially if different groups struggled to control vital
resources. Stronger nations tended to invade weaker ones so they could take
much needed resources.
◦ As such, the development of weapons and armors for security and protection
was considered a major achievement.
◦ A primary challenge they faced was the 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 illnesses and diseases, both natural and man-made,
hampered the full potential of a human being.
◦ Given this predicament, science and technology played a major
role in the discovery of cures to, if not the prevention of, illnesses.
◦ Moreover, in order to integrate their needs—
◦ for better transportation,
◦ establishment of structures for protection from human attacks and natural
disasters, and
◦ construction of bigger and stronger infrastructures—people ventured into what is
now known as the field of engineering.
◦ The development in this field allowed humans to build structures that
would address their specific needs and wants. Some of the structures
built during the ancient times still exist today and continually awe people.
 ◦The development in 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.
◦ In the generations to come, architecture would be considered
a status symbol among nations of how advanced their technology
is. It may also establish the identity of a nation.
 ◦With all these in mind, one can conclude that the
developments in science and technology, aside from
affecting the lives of the people, were the results of many
prior antecedents. Out of necessity, people in ancient
times were able to discover and invent things that would
impact the lives of the modern people.
◦ The people were not contented on beautifying only their
infrastructure and surroundings.
◦ Being able to prolong life with the mass production of food and
advancement of medical technology, as well as raise the quality of
life by making complicated and difficult tasks easier, humans later
on developed the technology to improve how they look.
◦ They discovered that people looked more visually presentable and
appealing by adding some features and decorations in their body.
 ◦ With all these in mind, one can conclude that the
developments in science and technology, aside from affecting
the lives of the people, were the results of many prior
antecedents.

◦ Out of necessity, people in ancient times were able to

discover and invent things that would impact the lives of the
modern people.