History of science in early cultures
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In prehistoric times, advice and knowledge was passed from generation to generation in an oral tradition. The development of writing enabled knowledge to be stored and communicated across generations with much greater fidelity. Combined with the development of agriculture, which allowed for a surplus of food, it became possible for early civilizations to develop and more time to be devoted to tasks other than survival, such as the search for knowledge for knowledge's sake.
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[edit] Ancient Near East
[edit] Mesopotamia
- Further information: Baghdad Battery and Science and the Bible
From their beginnings in Sumer (now Iraq) around 3500 BC, the Mesopotamian peoples began to attempt to record some observations of the world with extremely thorough quantitative and numerical data. But their observations and measurements were seemingly taken for purposes other than for scientific laws. A concrete instance of Pythagoras' law was recorded, as early as the 18th century BC: the Mesopotamian cuneiform tablet Plimpton 322 records a number of Pythagorean triplets (3,4,5) (5,12,13). ..., dated 1900 BC, possibly millennia before Pythagoras, [2] but an abstract formulation of the Pythagorean theorem was not.[1]
Astronomy is a science which lends itself to the recording and study of observations: the vigorous noting of the motions of the stars, planets, and the moon are left on thousands of clay tablets created by scribes. Even today, astronomical periods identified by Mesopotamian scientists are still widely used in Western calendars: the solar year, the lunar month, the seven-day week. Using these data they developed arithmetical methods to compute the changing length of daylight in the course of the year and to predict the appearances and disappearances of the Moon and planets and eclipses of the Sun and Moon. Only a few astronomer's names are known: Kidinnu was a Chaldean astronomer and mathematician who was contemporary with the Greek astronomers. Kiddinu's value for the solar year is in use for today's calendars. Astronomy and Astrology were considered to be the same thing, a fact proven by the practice of this science in Babylonia by priests. Indeed, rather than following the modern trend towards rational science, moving away from superstition and belief; the Mesopotamian astronomy conversely became more astrology-based later in the civilisation - studying the stars in terms of horoscopes and omens, which might explain the popularity of the clay tablets. Hipparchus was to use this data to calculate the precession of the Earth's axis. Fifteen hundred years after Kiddinu, Al-Batani, born in what is now Turkey, would use the collected data and improve Hipparchus' value for the precession of the Earth's axis. Al-Batani's value, 54.5 arc-seconds per year, compares well to the current value of 49.8 arc-seconds per year (26,000 years for Earth's axis to round the circle of nutation).
[edit] Egypt
Significant advances in ancient Egypt include astronomy, mathematics and medicine.[2] Their geometry was a necessary outgrowth of surveying to preserve the layout and ownership of farmland, which was flooded annually by the Nile river. The 3,4,5 right triangle and other rules of thumb served to represent rectilinear structures, and the post and lintel architecture of Egypt. Egypt was also a center of alchemy research for much of the western world.
Egyptian hieroglyphs, a phonetic writing system, has served as the basis for the Phoenician alphabet from which the later Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Arabic, and Cyrillic alphabets were derived. The city of Alexandria retained preeminence with its library, which was damaged by fire when it fell under Roman rule,[3] being completely destroyed by 642.[4][5] With it a huge amount of antique literature and knowledge was lost.
The Edwin Smith papyrus is one of the first medical documents still extant, and perhaps the earliest document which attempts to describe and analyse the brain: it might be seen as the very beginnings of modern neuroscience. However, while Egyptian medicine had some effective practices, it was not without its ineffective and sometimes harmful practices. Medical historians believe that ancient Egyptian pharmacology was largely ineffective. [6] According to a paper published by Michael D. Parkins, 72% of 260 medical prescriptions in the Hearst Papyrus had no curative elements.[7] According to Michael D. Parkins, sewage pharmacology first began in ancient Egypt and was continued through the Middle Ages,[8] and while the use of animal dung can have curative properties,[9] it is not without its risk. Practices such as applying cow dung to wounds, ear piercing and tattooing, and chronic ear infections were important factors in developing tetanus.[10] Frank J. Snoek wrote that Egyptian medicine used fly specks, lizard blood, swine teeth, and other such remedies which he believes could have been harmful.[11]
[edit] Persia
See main article: History of Persian science
In the Sassanid period (226 to 652 AD), great attention was given to mathematics and astronomy. The Academy of Gondeshapur is a prominent example in this regard. Astronomical tables—such as the Shahryar Tables—date to this period, and Sassanid observatories were later imitated by the astrologers and astronomers of the Islamic period. In the mid-Sassanid era, an influx of knowledge came to Persia from the West in the form of views and traditions of Greece which, following the spread of Christianity, accompanied Syriac (the official language of Christians as well as the Iranian Nestorians). The Christian schools in Iran have produced great scientists such as Nersi, Farhad, and Marabai. Also, a book was left by Paulus Persa, head of the Iranian Department of Logic and Philosophy of Aristotle, written in Syriac and dictated to Sassanid King Anushiravan.
A fortunate incident for pre-Islamic Iranian science during the Sassanid period was the arrival of eight great scholars from Greece, who sought refuge in Persia from persecution by the Roman Emperor Justinian. These men were the followers of neoplatonic school. King Anushiravan had many discussions with these men and especially with the man named Priscianus. A summary of these discussions was compiled in a book entitled "Solution to the Problems of Khosrow, the King of Persia," which is now in the Saint Germain Library in Paris. These discussions touched on several subjects, such as philosophy, physiology, metabolisms, and natural science as astronomy. After the establishment of Omayyad and Abbasid states, many Iranian scholars were sent to the capitals of these Islamic dynasties.
In the Early Middle Ages, Persia becomes a stronghold of Islamic science.
[edit] Greece and Rome
Scientific thought in Classical Antiquity becomes tangible from the 6th century BC in pre-Socratic philosophy (Thales, Pythagoras). In ca. 385 BC, Plato founded the Academy. With Plato's student Aristotle begins the "scientific revolution" of the Hellenistic period culminating in the 3rd to 2nd centuries with scholars such as Eratosthenes, Euclid, Aristarchus of Samos, Hipparchus and Archimedes.
[edit] India
Classical Indian astronomy documented in literature spanning the Maurya (Vedanga Jyotisha, ca. 5th century BCE) to the Mughal (such as the 16th century Kerala school) periods.
The first named authors writing treatises on astronomy emerge from the 5th century CE, the date when the classical period of Indian astronomy can be said to begin. Besides the theories of Aryabhata in the Aryabhatiya and the lost Arya-siddhānta, we find the Pancha-Siddhāntika of Varahamihira. The astronomy and the astrology of ancient India (Jyotisha) is based upon sidereal calculations, although a tropical system was also used in a few cases.
Linguistics (along with phonology, morphology, etc.) first arose among Indian grammarians studying the Sanskrit language. The Sanskrit grammar of Pāṇini (c. 520 – 460 BCE) contains a particularly detailed description of Sanskrit morphology, phonology and roots, evincing a high level of linguistic insight and analysis.
Main authors of classical Indian mathematics (400 CE to 1200 CE) are scholars like Aryabhata, Brahmagupta, and Bhaskara II. Indian mathematicians made early contributions to the study of the decimal number system, zero, negative numbers, arithmetic, and algebra. In addition, trigonometry, having evolved in the Hellenistic world and having been introduced into ancient India through the translation of Greek works, was further advanced in India, and, in particular, the modern definitions of sine and cosine were developed there. These mathematical concepts were transmitted to the Middle East, China, and Europe and led to further developments that now form the foundations of many areas of mathematics.
Ayurvedic practice was flourishing during the time of Buddha (around 520 BC) , and in this period the Ayurvedic practitioners were commonly using Mercuric-sulphur combination based medicines. An important Ayurvedic practitioner of this period was Nagarjuna, accompanied by Surananda, Nagbodhi, Yashodhana, Nityanatha, Govinda, Anantdev, Vagbhatta etc. During the regime of Chandragupta Maurya (375-415 AD), Ayurveda was part of mainstream Indian medical techniques, and continued to be so until the Colonial period.
[edit] China and the Far East
China's history is both long and rich with technological contribution. Ancient Chinese philosophers made significant advances in technology, mathematics, and astronomy. The first recorded observations of comets, solar eclipses and supernovae were made in China.[12] On July 4, 1054, Chinese astronomers observed a guest star, the supernova now called the Crab Nebula.[12] Korean contributions include similar records of meteor showers and eclipses, particularly from 1500-1750 in the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty. Traditional Chinese Medicine, acupuncture and herbal medicine were also practised, with similar medicine practised in Korea.
Among the earliest inventions were the abacus and the "shadow clock".[13] Joseph Needham noted the "Four Great Inventions of ancient China" as among the most important technological advances; these were the compass, gunpowder, papermaking, and printing, which were later known in Europe by the end of the Middle Ages. The Tang dynasty (AD 618 - 906) in particular was a time of great innovation.[13] A good deal of exchange occurred between Western and Chinese discoveries up to the Qing dynasty.
However, Needham and most scholars recognised that cultural factors prevented these Chinese achievements from developing into what could be called "science".[14] It was the religious and philosophical framework of the Chinese intellectuals which made them unable to believe in the ideas of laws of nature:
It was not that there was no order in nature for the Chinese, but rather that it was not an order ordained by a rational personal being, and hence there was no conviction that rational personal beings would be able to spell out in their lesser earthly languages the divine code of laws which he had decreed aforetime. The Taoists, indeed, would have scorned such an idea as being too naïve for the subtlety and complexity of the universe as they intuited it.[15]
Similar grounds have been found for questioning much of the philosophy behind Traditional Chinese and Korean Medicine, which, derived mainly from Taoist philosophy, has received various criticisms based on scientific thinking. Philosopher Robert Todd Carroll deemed acupuncture a pseudoscience because it "confuse[s] metaphysical claims with empirical claims".[3]
[edit] See also
[edit] Sources
[edit] Notes
- ^ Paul Hoffman, The man who loved only numbers: the story of Paul Erdös and the search for mathematical truth, (New York: Hyperion), 1998, p.187. ISBN 0-7868-6362-5
- ^ Homer's Odyssey stated that "the Egyptians were skilled in medicine more than any other art".
- ^ Plutarch, Life of Caesar 49.3.
- ^ Abd-el-latif (1203): "the library which 'Amr ibn al-'As burnt with the permission of 'Umar."
- ^ Europe: A History, p 139. Oxford: Oxford University Press 1996. ISBN 0-19-820171-0
- ^ Microsoft Word - Proceedings-2001.doc
- ^ 10th Annual Proceedings of the History of Medicine Days [1]
- ^ Microsoft Word - Proceedings-2001.doc
- ^ http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0838/is_n65/ai_12694466
- ^ A comparative study of urban and rural tetanus in ...[Int J Epidemiol. 1978] - PubMed Result
- ^ The Mind Matters - Snoek 14 (3): 116 - Diabetes Spectrum
- ^ a b Ancient Chinese Astronomy
- ^ a b Inventions (Pocket Guides).
- ^ Woods
- ^ Joseph Needham, p. 581.
[edit] References
- Inventions (Pocket Guides). Publisher: DK CHILDREN; Pocket edition (March 15, 1995). ISBN 1564588890. ISBN 978-1564588890
- Aaboe, Asger. Episodes from the Early History of Astronomy. Springer, 2001.
- Evans, James. The History and Practice of Ancient Astronomy. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
- Lindberg, David C. The Beginnings of Western Science: The European Scientific Tradition in Philosophical, Religious, and Institutional Context, 600 B.C. to A.D. 1450. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992.
- Needham, Joseph, Science and Civilization in China, volume 1. (Cambridge University Press, 1954)
- Pedersen, Olaf. Early Physics and Astronomy: A Historical Introduction. 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993.
- Woods, Thomas, How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization, (Washington, DC: Regenery, 2005), ISBN 0-89526-038-7
