Roman and Egyptian Technological Invention - Research Paper Example

Roman and Egyptian Technology Technological invention and improvement s back to the early days, probably withthe tools used to dig the ground for planting. According to archeological research, there were different technologies before the 20th century, with extreme and radical improvement on the same shortly after the beginning of the twentieth century. The outstanding technological innovations were those of the Romans and the Egyptians, with emphasis on their architectural and construction methods (Stocks 36). In the transport sector, the most ancient form of transportation was the human foot, or the shanks pony as scholars refer to them. Horses and donkeys were domesticated roughly between 3000 BC and 4000 BC, while camels were domesticated between 2000 BC and 3000 BC, with the exact dates unavailable. By 3100 BC, Egyptians had invented sailing boats made of papyrus reeds tied together. However, the sails were weak and only useful when sailing unidirectional. Around 2700 BC, Egyptians made wooden ships for trade in the sea. They were steered using a long oar. On the other hand, the Romans built networks of roads in the empire for easy movement of the Roman army from one part of the empire to the other. The wealthy members of the empire used covered wagons on long journeys or horses (Olson 13). The Romans also had merchant ships famously called cortia, which had the ability to over 1000 tons of cargo. They had a single mast that carried the rectangular sail, though some others had small sails at the stern and bow. Similar to the Egyptians, the ships used oars for steering, though they had lighthouses for guidance. The fall of the Roman Empire was a blow to the transport system. Major roads in Europe became dirt tracks and mud in winter. The rudder was a European (earlier, the Roman Empire) invention that went a long way in the steering of ships. In addition, ships became advanced with the rudder and compasses, with three masts in addition by the 15th century. Turnpike roads opened in 1663, with the Bridgewater canal completion at the end of the 18th century. The nineteenth century saw the invention of the railways and steam locomotives, followed by horse drawn omnibuses in 1829 and the first car in 1886 by Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler (Danver 265). At the same time, steam turbines by Charles Parsons improved sea transport. Another interesting ancient technology is that of braces. According to archeologists and the American Association Orthodontists, there have been several discoveries of mummified ancients bearing metal bands around individual teeth. The Etruscans (Roman precursors) buried their dead dental appliances used to maintain dentition and space. In addition, a Roman tomb discovered in Egypt had a mummy whose teeth were bound by gold wire (Archwired). Additionally to note is the recordings of finger pressure treatment of teeth by Aurelius Cornelius Celsus during the time of Christ. Nonetheless, there were no significant orthodontic events occurring before the 17th century. The first publications on teeth straitening were in 1792. Astronomy, the natural science dealing with celestial objects, also dates back thousands of years ago. In ancient Egypt, people believed that the universe was an enormous rectangular box with Egypt at the center and huge lamps hanging down as the stars (Nicholson and Shaw 321). Similarly, most other cultures held the same concept with their cultures at the center of the world. Nonetheless, the ancient cultures, especially in Egyptian and Roman, were held back from technological development for investigating the cosmos by their beliefs in their many unpredictable gods. The Jews, which was the only culture that worshipped God, had a positive influence on the science through the bible. The Greeks were the first ancient culture to become aware of their surroundings. In fact, the word astronomy is a derivative from the Greek words “law and order”. However, the Greeks were not the only culture to try their hands on astronomy, but the Romans distributed widely the works of their philosophers. The philosopher Eratosthenes argued that the earth was spherical, and actually measured the circumference of the earth with an error of about 300 kilometers from the generally accepted value today (Lavan, Zanini and Sarantis 164). Around 200 BC, Aristarchus presented the argument that the earth revolves around the sun, a statement that most philosophers at the time were in disagreement with. Astronomy modern history begins in 1300 AD Europe. Prior to that timeline, the dominant religion was the Roman Catholic Church, which had more power than the kings did at that time. The church began in 300 AD under Constantine, a Roman emperor. Because of heading the religion with the most followers in Europe, the Roman Catholic Church leaders, the popes, became more powerful than the kings did (Grafton, Most and Settis 269). Unfortunately, most popes and clergy became corrupt with main interests of gaining political power. This led to the relocation of the Roman Empire from Rome to Byzantium (currently Istanbul), renaming it Constantinople. Eventually, there was a split resulting to the western half in Rome and the eastern half in Byzantine. Germanic tribes demolished the western half while the eastern side fled the city with the works of Greek philosophers. These works of the Greeks were very useful in the Renaissance period. However, the Roman Catholic belief on the universe was that the earth was at the center, with all the other planets including the sun revolving around it. Individuals who believed otherwise, or who were enthusiastic about Copernicus theory, were persecuted by the church. Nonetheless, the belief that the earth and the other planets revolve around the sun was established much later through the help of Tyco Brahe and Johannes Kepler. More advancement to the universe theory was by Galileo Galilei, Sir Isaac Newton, and Albert Einstein. Another field that has undergone technological revolution is that of laundry. According to historians, the prehistoric man did not use soap for cleaning, just water. The Romans were people with a conscious fashion pattern, with due attention to their clothing. The first soap was from ashes, wood, and other materials. Soap, according to legend, is a word derivative from Sapo hill in Rome, a cremation and sacrificial site (Olson 132). The animal fat, washed by the clay soil, made it easier for the women to wash. Purposeful soap making dates back to 2800 BC. Around 312 BC, Romans had the first baths built. The Egyptians used soap for bathing as early as 1500 BC. The battery is among the most vital invention by humankind; regardless of the present thought that, it is a mere source of power. The computers, electronics, communication, chemical, and power engineering industries base their foundation on the concept of the battery. The fact that electrical experimenters, engineers, and inventors had to make their own batteries first before embarking on their investigations is a fact often overlooked (Lavan, Zanini and Sarantis 197). In the early times, the option of cheap, over-the-counter, mass produced batteries was not available. The history of batteries and energy technology traces back to Egypt about 2500 BC. The Chaldeans in Mesopotamia and Ur used a form of soldering to join sheets of gold, while the fine metalwork techniques are evident in Egypt, as well as the cloisonne work and filigree jewelry in Tutankhamun’s tomb dating 1327 BC. Stenciling is also evident to have originated from Egypt from around 2300 BC. Around 1936, archeologists’ unearthed rare earthenware jars in Khujut Rabu, close to Baghdad. According to them, the jars contained copper cylinders with a bottom capped by copper disk and bitumen or asphalt sealing. Wilhelm Konig, a German archeologist, argued that the jars were galvanic batteries or cells used for electroplating (Lavan, Zanini and Sarantis 218). Wilhelm further provided evidence of copper vases with silver plating dating to around the same time and several other articles with evidence of electroplating from Egypt. The years between 700 AD and 1100 AD are famous as Islamic science period. This is because of the fact that most of the Europe (after the fall of the Roman Empire) was in the Dark Ages, and most of the Greek scientific works translated into Arabic (Grafton, Most and Settis 218). In this regard, most of the scientific works was done by the Muslim world, with emphasis on astronomy, physics, medicine, mathematics, and chemistry. The first notable works on chemistry were those of Geber (Jabir Ibn Haiyan), which placed an emphasis on the importance of experimentation. Subsequently, he improved on the techniques of distillation, crystallization, evaporation, and sublimation. He also prepared some of the fundamental chemicals in chemistry, including nitric, tartaric, citric, and hydrochloric acids. Another chemist, Mohammed Ibn Zakariya (Rhazes) advanced the work of Geber and prepared sulphuric acid, the common component of batteries today. Further inventions on electric energy were by Otto Van Guericke, who made the first electric generator in 1663. The generator produced static power through the friction created by rubbing a pad against a rotating sulphur ball. Ten years later, Robert Boyle provides argumentative evidence that electric force could pass through the vacuum space. Further development on the electric generator was by Francis Hauksbee through the demonstration of electroluminescent glow discharge lamp. The generator incorporated a mercury-containing glass globe in place of the sulphur ball. In 1729, the concept of electric conduction becomes a reality by Stephen Gray. Another important innovation was that of electric charges, negative and positive, by Charles-Francois de Cisternay du Fay. Egyptians and Romans were among the first people to embrace architecture and construction methods, a fact evident from the pyramids, roads, bridges, and buildings. Construction and architecture began soon after 1000 BC. The period in architecture, Neolithic architecture period, had the characteristic long houses built by daub and wattle, as well as complex tombs for the dead in Europe (McClure and Bartuska 235). In Britain, there were chamber tombs and long burrows, with cursus monuments, henges flint mines, and causedwayed camps. As was common with other ancient cultures, the ancient Egypt had a strong belief in the omnipresence of gods, and thus most aspects of their life reflected their beliefs in the supernatural and divine, and its manifestation on the mortal generation cycles, seasons, days, nights and years. In this regard therefore, the foundation and the order of the cities, with emphasis on the most important buildings, were a consideration, often done by the ruler himself or the high priests. Consequently, rituals followed the architecture and construction, which bore characters of a certain degree of tension between the mortal world and the divine. Most cities had the mark of a sacred space surrounded by the wild nature outside, with a palace or a temple as the holy house of gods. It is also important to note that Egypt was the home of Imhotep, the first scientist to be recorded in history. According to archeological records, he was the first administrator and architect, with credits for constructing the first pyramid ever, the Stepped Pyramid of Saqqara, in 2725 BC (McClure and Bartuska 283). The archeological evidence of Imhotep attribution to the architecture includes papyri dating back to between 1534 BC and 1600 BC, unearthed in the 19th century. On the other hand, the urbanism and architecture of the Romans and the Greeks was completely different from that of the Persians and Egyptians. The Romans and the Greeks valued civil life, so much exaggeration that rulings on ancient religious matter were left to the ruling class (Nicholson and Shaw 303). In the Greek society, agora, open spaces, was the place of sustenance for the civic life. Temples, public buildings, and stores surrounded these open spaces. Around 100 BCE, Romans conquered the Greeks, with the rest of the western world shortly later. The myriad of different cultures presented a problem to the Romans, who eventually adopted the unity of disparity concept. The evidence of Roman architecture unity is through the theories derived from their practice. The Roman forum, from the Greek agora, exhibits the civic change by minimal participation of the public from rituals and replaced by architectural decor. Indeed, these contemporary public square gatherings in the Forum lilium began with Julius Caesar. The buildings presented themselves as representation through space through their architectural facades. With time, the Romans seem to prefer representation of sacred environment to the real sacred spaces. These representations were further propelled by the advancement of Roman construction and engineering prowess, and the marble quarries. The new building materials, like concrete and arch, formed the basis of new architectural and construction methods (Woods 31). Enclosure of spaces in colonnades and domes, and clothing grounds for civic order and imperial leadership became the new architectural fads. The changes were in line with the changes in social climate, which demanded the construction of new buildings of a more complex architectural nature. The Romans used vault, arch, and dome extensively. In addition, they invented the Roman concrete, which became the backbone of many enormous public buildings in the empire, including temples, bridges, aqueducts, baths, amphitheatres, triumphal arches, circuses palaces, churches, and mausolea (Woods 69). After the division and the change of capital of the Roman Empire to Byzantium from Rome around 330 AD, there was an instant influence on the Renaissance and Medieval architecture in Europe (Warr and Elliott 72). After the Ottoman’s capture of the Constantinople, the architecture of the Ottoman Empire was a duplicate of the Roman architecture. There were further advancements on the complexity of architecture and construction, including plaster and brick, and geometric complexity for decoration of public buildings. Carved decorations replaced mosaics; huge piers were the foundation of complex domes, and use of thin sheets of alabaster for windows. From the above discussion on technology, it may be right to conclude that Egyptians and Romans were the bases of technological innovation and advancement, with a few exceptions of timelines like the Dark Ages (Stocks 213). Concerning architectural and construction methods, Egyptians were the earliest developers of what may be called formal architectural design of the pyramids. Works cited Archwired. A Brief History of Braces. Web, 29 January 2012. (http://www.archwired.com/HistoryofOrtho.htm ) Danver, Steven. Popular Controversies in world History. California: ABC-CLIO, 2010. Print. Grafton, Anthony, Most, Glenn and Settis, Salvatore. The Classical Tradition. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2010. Press. Lavan, Luke, Zanini, Enrico and Sarantis, Alexander. Technology in Transition: AD 300 – 650. Leiden, The Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill NV, 2007. Print. McClure, Wendy and Bartuska, Tom. The Built Environment: A Collaborative Inquiry into Design and Planning. New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons Inc, 2007. Print. Nicholson, Paul and Shaw, Ian. Ancient Egyptian Materials and Technology. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2000. Print. Olson, Richard. Technology and Science in Ancient Civilizations. California: ABC-CLIO, 2010. Print. Stocks, Denys. Experiments in Egyptian Archaeology: Stoneworking Technology in Ancient Egypt. New York: Routledge, 2003. Print. Warr, Cordelia and Elliott Janis. Art and Architecture in Naples, 1266 – 1713. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2010. Print. Woods, Michael and Woods, Mary. Ancient Construction Technology: From Pyramids to Fortresses. Minneapolis, MN: Twenty-First century Books, 2011. Print. Read More