ANCIENT TIMES

In the ancient times, people were concerned with:

• Transportation – was significant during that time because people were
trying to go places and discover new horizons.
• Navigation – assisted them in their journeys to unfamiliar and strange
areas in the world.
• Communication – was also essential in their endeavors to discover and
occupy new places.
• 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.
• Mass production – the increase in size and number of nations connoted
increased demand for food and other basic necessities.
• Security and protection – weapons and armors were important as well
in the discovery of new places or the establishment of new alliances
with other tribes.
• Health – a primary challenge they faced was the conservation of life.
• Aesthetics – 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. Also, humans later on developed the technology to
improve how they look.
• Architecture – others might see this 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 southernmost tip of ancient Mesopotamia.
Sumerians are known for their high degree of cooperation with one
another and their desire for great things. They are not contented with the
basic things that life can offer. This desire pushed them to develop many
things connected with science and technology.
• Cuneiform – it is a system that utilizes word picture and triangular
symbols which are carved on clay using wedge instruments and
then left to dry.
• Uruk City – it is a 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.
• The Great Ziggurat of Ur – also called the mountain of god, served
as the sacred place of their chief god, where only their priests were
allowed to enter.
 • Irrigation and Dikes – the Sumerians created these canals to bring
water to farmlands and at the same time to control the flooding of
the rivers.
• Sailboats – were essential in transportation and tradings as well as
in fostering culture, information, and technology.
• Wheel –the first wheels were not made for transportation but for
farm work and food processes that made mass production easier.
• The Plow – was invented to dig the earth in a faster pace.
• Roads – in order to facilitate faster and easier travel.

BABYLONIAN CIVILIZATION
Babylonian civilization emerged near the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The
Babylonians were great builders, engineers, and architects.
• Hanging Gardens of Babylon – it was said to be a structure made up
of layers upon layers of gardens that contained several species of
plants, trees, and vines. According to legends, the great Babylonian
King Nebuchadnezzar II built the gardens for his wife, Queen
Amytis. However, no physical evidence has been found to prove the
existence of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Its exact location is
also unknown. Since time immemorial, people have been debating
about the existence of the said mythical place. Many said it was just
a product of the creative imagination of the great King because it
lacked documentation or archaeological evidence. On the other
hand, if it really existed, it must have been destroyed by war,
erosion, or an earthquake.

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 pharaohs. Aside from engineering technology, the Egyptians have
contributed other practical things that the world now considers as
essential.
• Paper or Papyrus – was a plant that grew abundantly along the Nile
River in Egypt. They were able to process the plant in order to
produce thin sheets on which one could write down things.
• Ink – the Egyptians invented ink by combining soot with different
chemicals to produce inks of different colors.
 • Hieroglyphics – the Egyptians also developed a system of writing
using symbols.
• Cosmetics –Egyptians wore Kohl around the eyes to prevent and
even cure eye diseases. Kohl was created by mixing soot or
malachite with mineral galena. Egyptians also believed that a person
wearing make-up was protected from evil and that beauty was a sign
of holiness.
• Wig – during the ancient Egyptian times, wigs were worn for health
and wellness rather than for aesthetic purposes. The wigs were
used to protect the shaved heads of the wealthy Egyptians from the
harmful rays of the sun. Wearing a wig was better than putting on a
scarf or any other head cover since a wig allowed heat to escape.
Moreover, it was considered cleaner than natural hair because it
prevented the accumulation of head lice.
• Water Clock/Clepsydra – this device utilizes gravity that affects the
flow of water from one vessel to the other. The amount of water (or
its height, depending on the method used) remaining in the device
determines how much time has elapsed since it is full. In the
process, time is measured.

GREEK CIVILIZATION
Greece is an archipelago in the southeastern 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. More
than coliseums and the Olympics, the Greek civilization has contributed
much to the world especially in the fields of science and technology.
• Alarm Clock –the purpose was to tell an individual when to stop or
when to start. They made use of water (or sometimes small stones
or sand) that dropped into drums which sounded the alarm.
• Water Mill – they were commonly used in agricultural processes like
milling of grains which was a necessary form of food processing
during that time. Watermills were considered better than mills
powered by farm animals because they required less effort and time
to operate since the farmer did not have to raise animals.

ROMAN CIVILIZATION
The Roman Empire was perceived to be the strongest political and
social entity in the west. It was considered to be the cradle of politics and
governance during that period. Because the Roman Empire was so large,
other civilizations looked up to it as their model in terms of legislation and
codified laws. Aside from their contributions in politics, a lot of discoveries
and inventions still relevant today can be attributed to the Roman Empire.
• Newspaper – known as gazettes, contained announcements of the
Roman Empire to the people. Made before the invention of paper,
these gazettes were engraved in metal or stone tablets and then
publicly displayed.
• Bound Books or Codex – with the invention of paper, it became
easier for civilizations to write down everything that happened in
their time. 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.
• Roman Architecture – the development in the field of engineering
and architecture was fully supported and funded by the Roman
government so they were able to implement major projects such as
large churches (cathedrals and basilicas), aqueducts, coliseums,
amphitheaters, and even residential houses.
• Roman Numerals – since the Roman Empire was expanding, it had
to deal with many nations to maintain its power. For this reason, the
Romans devised their own number system specifically to address
the need for a standard counting method that would meet their
increasing communication and trade concerns.

CHINESE CIVILIZATION
The Chinese civilization is considered to be the oldest civilization 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 trade. Not a great amount was written about ancient
China partly due to its distance from the other civilizations. Despite its less
popular status among the early civilizations, one cannot discredit the
significant contributions of Chinese civilization to the world.
• Silk – although silk is naturally 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. Silk production resulted in
the creation of a product for trade.
• Tea Production – 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. This machine was done using a wheel-based
mechanism with sharp edges attached to a wooden or ceramic pot.
• Great Wall of China – once considered the only man-made structure
that could be seen from outer space, the Great Wall of China is said
 to be the largest and most extensive infrastructure that the nation
built. It was constructed to keep out foreign invaders and control the
borders of China.
• Gunpowder – originally, it was developed by Chinese alchemists
who aimed to achieve immortality. They mixed charcoal, sulphur,
and potassium nitrate, but instead of creating an elixir of life, they
accidentally invented a black powder that could actually generate
large amounts of heat and gas in an instant. Ironically, instead of
prolonging life, gunpowder is widely used to propel bullets from guns
and cannons which cause countless deaths.

MEDIEVAL/MIDDLE AGES
The start of the 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, navigations, mass food
and farm production, and health. The wars have resulted in population
decline, but during the latter part of the period, there was a significant rise
in population. Trade and commerce among nations increased, which
resulted in greater demands for transportation technology. Some of the
most innovative minds came from this period.
• Printing Press – after the Chinese developed woodblock printing,
Johann Gutenberg was able to invent the printing press, a more
reliable way of printing using a cast type. He utilized wooden
machines that 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 – to develop the proper medicines for illnesses, experts
must understand the sickness through an investigation. Thus, they
needed a device that could magnify things invisible to the eye.
Guided by the principles used for the invention of eyeglasses in
earlier years, Zacharias Janssen was able to develop the first
compound microscope. With this device, people were able to
observe organisms that were normally unseen by the naked eye.
The microscope was key in discovering new means in preventing
and curing various illnesses (Davidson, 2015).
• Telescope – considering the vast and empty oceans that separated
lands, ship captains needed to see far and wide for them to navigate
or to avoid dangers at sea. The invention of telescope, an optical
instrument that helps in the observation of remote objects, was a
great help for navigators during this time (Helden, 1989).
 • War Weapons –for open-area battles, people developed cross bows
and long bows so that they could attack the enemies at long ranges,
keeping themselves safe with the protection of walls and fortresses.
Additionally, in close-range hand-to-hand combat, soldiers should
wear something to protect themselves, a need addressed by the
creation of iron body armors. However, body armors were heavy and
limited their movements. The problem was eventually solved by the
invention of the chainmail.

MODERN TIMES
The booming world population during the nineteenth century onwards
demanded that more goods be produced at a faster rate. People needed
efficient means of transportation to trade more goods and cover a larger
distance. Machines that required animals to operate must thus be
upgraded. Faster and easier means to communicate and compute should
be developed to establish connections between and among nations. All
these needs resulted in the development of industries. However, due to
massive industrialization, the modern times again faced more complicated
problems. Food processing and medicine posed some of the bigger
challenges since health was of great concern.
• Pasteurization – Louis Pasteur, a French biologist, microbiologist,
and chemist, invented pasteurization, the process of heating dairy
products to kill the harmful bacteria that allow them to spoil faster.
Other contributions of Pasteur to science, technology, and medicine
included his works on molecular asymmetry, fermentation, and
vaccination.
• Petroleum Refinery – Samuel M. Kier was able to invent kerosene
by refining petroleum. Kerosene was later on referred to as the
“illuminating oil” because it was used at first to provide lighting to
homes. After some time, it was applied for heating purposes.
• Telephone – important day-to-day decisions must be discussed and
addressed at the fastest time possible. Thus, the development of the
telephone by Alexander Graham Bell was one of the most important
inventions at that time.
• Calculator – the creation of modern calculators did not only pave the
way for easier arithmetic calculations, but also resulted in the
development of more complex processing machines like the
computer.
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 in terms of natural disasters. Many of the discoveries and
inventions made by the Filipinos were therefore built from indigenous
materials or created to adapt to the harsh tropical environment.
• Salamander Amphibious Tricycle – during the rainy season, flooding
is a common occurrence in many areas in the country. Tricycles find
it very difficult to traverse the streets. To remedy the issue, H2O
Technologies headed by Dominic N. Chung and Lamberto Armada,
together with Chief Designer Victor “Atoy” Llave, was able to invent
the Salamander, an amphibious tricycle that can cross not only
flooded streets but also rivers and lakes. It may also be utilized to
travel from island to island.
• Salt Lamp – a young Filipina inventor named Aisa Mijeno was able
to invent a lighting system that utilizes a material abundant in the
Philippines, saltwater. She invented the Sustainable Alternative
Lighting (SALt). The SALt lamp is safer as it poses no risk of fire and
emits no toxic gases.
• Medical Incubator – Dr. Fe del Mundo, a Filipino paediatrician and
the first Asian woman admitted into Harvard Medical School, devised
a medical incubator made from indigenous and cheap materials
which did not run on electricity. Dr. del Mundo’s incubator was made
by placing a native laundry basket inside a bigger one. Hot water
bottles were inserted between the baskets to provide warmth and a
makeshift hood to allow oxygen circulation. Its main purpose was to
maintain conditions suitable for a newborn, usually a pre-term baby.
Other breakthroughs in Philippine medicine attributed to Dr. del
Mundo include her works on the immunization and treatment of
jaundice and the BRAT diet for curing diarrhea.
• Mosquito Ovicidal/Larvicidal Trap System – in 2010, the Department
of Science and Technology-Industrial Technology Development
Institute (DOST-ITDI) was able to introduce the Mosquito
Ovicidal/Larvicidal Trap System, also known as OL Trap. This trap
system is made of natural ingredients that are lethal to mosquitoes
but safe for humans and the environment.
• eJeepney – this modern type of transportation utilizes electricity
instead of the more expensive diesel. It is environment-friendly since
it does not emit any smoke and noise.