LECTURE 2:
HISTORICAL ANTECEDENT
Science and technology make completion tasks easier and more
efficient.
Ex: equipment and advancement of technology such as automatic
washing machine, aircon, tv and etc. that makes our life more
convenient.
Science and technology developments are brought about by
gradual development from one era to another to raise the quality
of life of people.
DRIVING CONCERNS FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
DEVELOPMENT
1. TRANSPORTATION
Our means of moving ourselves and our goods from place to
place have grown faster and more comprehensive with every
passing generation of technology. Initially travelling to:
Try new places
Discover new horizons
Search for food
Find better locations for settlement
And trade surplus goods for what is needed.
We progressed from human and animal muscle to harnessing of
combustion to power such us:
Wheel, automobiles, aircraft, airplane, rockets steamboat,
GPS etc.
2. COMMUNICATION
is the transmission of information for the purpose of creating
understanding, especially to facilitate trade and prevent conflicts.
Our communication today have so extended our reach, broadened
our vision and expanded our knowledge that we are often said to
live in the age of Information.
Examples from the basic to advance technology:
Cuneiform, ink, papyrus, paper, hieroglyphics, newspaper,
bound book, numbers, Greek and Latin alphabet, parchment
and vellum
Printing press, photography, motion picture, radio, television,
transistor, communication satellites, personal computer,
cellphone, laptops, etc.
3. FOOD PRODUCTION, AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRY
The growing of living things and fabricating of new materials &
objects are fundamental to the maintenance of life.
Also fundamental to defining human beings as separate from all
other living creatures.
Innovations in food production, agriculture & industry demonstrate
the resolve of human beings to make their material lives safe,
comfortable & prosperous.
Examples: silk, tea, refrigeration, iron, petroleum, industrial robots,
etc.
4. MILITARY
For the discovery of new places, establishment of alliances, taking
of need resources, conflicts, security and protection. (“the more
people that you have, the more powerful you are”)
Inventions have also contributed the deliberate & organized
application of deadly force against other people.
Examples of military devices: spear, gunpowder, riffled muzzle-
loaders, submarine, machine gun, ballistic missiles, nuclear
weapons, etc.
5. CONSERVATION OF LIFE, MEDICINE AND HEALTH
Nothing testifies more convincingly to human genius than the
ability to understand the processes of the human body and to
influence those processes in such a manner as to save lives,
maintain good health, and prevent and fight off illness.
Very often, milestones in our growing understanding of health and
disease are reached by the efforts of specific individuals.
Examples: smallpox vaccine, general anesthesia, pasteurization, X-
ray imaging, insulin, antibiotics, blood transfusion, polio vaccine,
birth control pill, heart transplantation, genetic engineering,
cloning.
6. Engineering and architecture.
The building of great structures is a sign not only of human
inventiveness but of organization.
Over time we have gathered the intelligence, materials, and
collective will to bridge chasms, erect soaring towers, domes, and
vaults, and even create artificial controlled environments inside our
own homes.
Architectural designs, though seen by some as a mere style, are
actually signs of technological advancement.
It is a status symbol of how advanced a nation's technology is and
it establishes the identity of a nation.
Examples: city, ziggurat, irrigation, dike, Wonders of the World,
aqueduct, arch, brick, dam, Roman dome, plumbing, paved road,
reinforced concrete, suspension bridge, dynamite, skyscraper,
elevator, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning.
7. Aesthetics.
Humans also developed technology to improve how they look.
This is to make them visually appealing and presentable through
addition of features and decorations.
Examples: wig, cosmetics
8. Power and energy.
Fundamental to all inventions are power and energy, the
harnessing of the capacity of the physical world to do work.
The human race has applied its genius to using all sources of
energy for a multitude of ends.
Example: waterwheel, controlled fire, windmill, steam engine,
electric battery, electric generator and motor, incandescent
lightbulb, steam turbine, gasoline engine, jet engine, nuclear
reactor laser, wind turbine, solar cell, fuel cell.
[Link] and measurement.
Magnitude-especially the magnitude of time and distance is a
property that has always defied human beings but that people in
turn have always tried to master.
And so we have the invention of clocks and calendars for dividing
time into discrete units, or of telescopes and microscopes for viewing
objects too small or too far away for the eye to see.
The inventions profiled here, unlike those profiled elsewhere in this
book, do not attempt to move, manipulate, or change our
surrounding world; rather, they attempt to help us quantify and
comprehend it.
Examples: water clock or clepsydra, alarm clock, Gregorian calendar,
clock, watch, telescope, microscope, radar, atomic clock, calculator
ANCIENT TIMES
SUMERIAN CIVILIZATION
Sumeria is located on the southernmost tip of ancient
MESOPTAMIA.
Sumerians are known for their high degree of cooperation with
one another and their desire for great things.
They are not contented with basic things (this desire pushed them
to develop many things connected with science and technology).
CUNEIFORM one of the major contributions of Sumerians is the
development of the first writing system.
A system that utilizes word pictures and triangular symbols which
are carved on clay using wedge instruments and then left to dry.
Cuneiform allowed the Sumerians to keep records of things with
great historical value or their everyday life.
URUK CITY
Another contribution of the Sumerians.
It is a great wonder. It is first true city on the world and for the
way it was erected.
There were no building stones in the location of the city and the
lumber was limited - making the construction a big challenge.
The Sumerians were able to build the city using only mud or clay
from the river which they mixed with reeds, producing sun baked
bricks - a true engineering feat.
they used bricks to make houses that protected them from the
harsh weather and to build a wall around the city that prevented
wild animals and neighboring raiders from entering.
THE GREAT ZIGGURAT OF UR
Another engineering and architectural feat of the Sumerians is the
GREAT ZIGGURAT of Ur.
It is also called the mountain of God built in the same manner that
as city of URUK.
It served as the scared place of their chief god where only their
priest were allowed to enter.
IRRIGATION and DIKES
Sumerians created dikes and irrigation canals to bring water to
farmlands and at the same time control of flooding of the rivers.
It is considered as one of the world's most beneficial engineering
works.
Through the dikes and canals, the Sumerians were able to enjoy
year-long farming and harvesting, which increased their food
production.
SAILBOATS
Was also invented by Sumerians. Boats were used to carry large
quantities of products and were able to cover large distances.
Sumerians wanted to discover faraway lands and they needed a
mode of transportation that did not require much human resource.
Sailboats were essential in transportation and trading as well as
fostering culture, information and technology.
WHEEL
latter part of history - wheel was invented.
the first wheels were not made for transportation but farm work
and food processes.
with the use of wheel and axle mass production was made easier.
farmers were able to mill grains with less effort in less time.
THE PLOW
Another farm technology invented by the MESOPOTAMIANS.
It is used to dig the ground where seeds would be planted.
It is used to dig the earth in a faster pace.
Farmers could cultivate larger parcels of land faster, enabling them
to mass produce food without taking so much effort and time.
SUMERIAN TECHNOLOGY
The Sumerians created irrigation systems to control flooding and
maximize crop production.
They built large structures from sun-dried bricks made of clay.
They invented the wheel, the sail, and the plow, which improved
trade and farming.
They were the first people to forge bronze from copper and tin by
around 3000 B.C.; this innovation allowed for stronger tools and
weapons.
ROADS
Sumerians developed the first road.
it made the flow of traffic become faster and more organized.
they made the roads with the same technology they used in
making the sun-baked bricks that they laid down on the ground.
BABYLONIAN CIVILIZATION
emerged near the TIGRIS and EUPHRATES RIVERS.
the Babylonians were great builders, engineers and architectures.
one of the major contributions is the hanging gardens of Babylon,
one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION
located in NORTH AFRICA
Paper or Papyrus
one of the earlier contribution.
papyrus is a plant that grew abundantly along NILE RIVER in Egypt.
they were able to process the plants in order to produce thin
sheets on which one could write down things.
thinner and lighter and less breakable than clay tablets
the major accomplishment in Egyptian record-keeping and
communications advantages.
send letters or correspondences anywhere in the world.
easier to keep from raiders who often destroyed records of the
nations they invaded.
INK
They invented ink by combining soot with different chemicals to
produce inks of different colors.
It was used to record history, culture, and codified laws.
HIEROGLYPHICS
system of writing using symbols.
Egyptians believed that this writing system was provided to them
by gods.
It was the language that tells the modern world of the history and
culture of the ancient EGYPTIANS.
COSMETICS
Were used for both health and aesthetic reasons.
Egyptians wore KOHL eye cosmetic(created by mixing soot or
malachite with mineral galena) to cure diseases.
Soot (black powder that is formed when something is burned).
Egyptians believed that a person wearing make-up was protected
from evil and that beauty was a sign of holiness.
At present cosmetics are used to improve and highlight the facial
features of a person.
Unlike today, men and women both wore makeup. They had green
and blue eye shadow and for special occasions. The lined their
eyes in black kohl to help protect their eyes from the bright
sunlight. The dark liner would reflect the sun away from their eyes.
WIG
worn for health and wellness rather than for aesthetic purposes.
used to protect the shaved heads of the wealthy Egyptians from
the harmful rays from the sun.
considered as a cleaner than natural hair because it prevented the
accumulation of head lice.
At present - wigs are used to enhance the appearance of people
who are balding and to those who want to try new ones.
WATER CLOCK/CLEPSYDRA
Another important ancient Egyptian contribution is the water clock.
utilizes gravity that affects the flow of water from one vessel to the
other.
the amount of water remaining in the device determines how
much time has elapsed since it is full (time is measured).
used as time keeping device.