|
|
Sold Out
Book Categories |
| Illustrations | xi | |
| Series Foreword | xiii | |
| Introduction | xvii | |
| 1. | Agriculture and Animal Domestication | 1 |
| Background and History (Agriculture) | 1 | |
| Background and Breeding (Animal Domestication) | 12 | |
| Principal Domesticated Species and Why They Were Chosen | 16 | |
| Development of Animal Equipment | 24 | |
| Summary | 30 | |
| 2. | Astronomy | 33 |
| Background and History | 33 | |
| Astrology | 39 | |
| The Geocentric View of the Universe | 41 | |
| The Heliocentric View of the Universe | 45 | |
| Compilation of Astronomical Maps and Star Catalogs | 47 | |
| Discovery of Eclipses, Comets, Novas, and Sunspots | 49 | |
| Calculating the Earth's Circumference | 52 | |
| Calculating the Length of the Solar Year | 53 | |
| Calculating the Earth's Ecliptic | 53 | |
| Tides | 54 | |
| Instrumentation | 55 | |
| Summary | 59 | |
| 3. | Biology, Botany, and Zoology | 61 |
| Background and History | 61 | |
| The Greeks of Ionia | 62 | |
| Athens--the Center of Ancient Learning | 64 | |
| Taxonomy | 66 | |
| Zoology and the Classification of Animals | 70 | |
| Botany and the Classification of Plants | 74 | |
| Reproduction | 76 | |
| Summary | 79 | |
| 4. | Communication | 81 |
| Background and History | 81 | |
| Language | 83 | |
| Writing and the Alphabet | 87 | |
| Paper | 96 | |
| Printing | 100 | |
| Postal Systems | 101 | |
| Summary | 103 | |
| 5. | Engineering and Machinery | 105 |
| Background and History | 105 | |
| Simple Machines | 106 | |
| Building Materials and Construction | 115 | |
| Water Systems | 132 | |
| Summary | 146 | |
| 6. | Mathematics | 149 |
| Background and History | 149 | |
| The Mathematics of Mesopotamia (Sumerian, Akkadian, and Babylonian) | 152 | |
| The Mathematics of Egypt | 155 | |
| The Mathematics of China | 159 | |
| The Mathematics of Ancient Greece | 162 | |
| The Mathematics of the Indus Civilizations | 169 | |
| Roman Numerals | 171 | |
| Abacus | 173 | |
| Pi ([pi]) or Squaring the Circle or "Perfect Exhaustion" | 174 | |
| Zero | 176 | |
| Summary | 178 | |
| 7. | Medicine and Health | 179 |
| Background and History | 179 | |
| Primitive Medicine | 180 | |
| History of Disease | 182 | |
| Medicine in Mesopotamia | 183 | |
| Medicine in Palestine (Israel) | 185 | |
| Medicine in Egypt | 186 | |
| Medicine of the Indus Civilizations | 190 | |
| Medicine in China | 192 | |
| Medicine in Ancient Greece | 197 | |
| Medicine in Alexandria (Egypt) | 202 | |
| Medicine in the Roman Empire | 203 | |
| Summary | 209 | |
| 8. | Personal and Household | 211 |
| Background and History | 211 | |
| Body Ornamentation | 212 | |
| Contraception | 217 | |
| Glass | 219 | |
| Heating, Cooling, and Refrigeration | 220 | |
| Ink | 222 | |
| Lighting | 223 | |
| Locks | 225 | |
| Mirrors | 227 | |
| Pottery | 228 | |
| Sanitation | 234 | |
| Weaving | 237 | |
| 9. | The Physical Sciences | 243 |
| Background and History | 243 | |
| Fire and Its "Discovery" as a Tool | 245 | |
| The Three-Age System | 246 | |
| Metallurgy | 248 | |
| Alchemy and Chemistry | 253 | |
| Philosophy of the Physical Sciences | 258 | |
| Summary | 264 | |
| 10. | Timekeeping | 267 |
| Background and History | 267 | |
| Absolute Time | 268 | |
| Relative Time | 270 | |
| Calendars | 271 | |
| Timekeeping Devices | 287 | |
| Summary | 292 | |
| 11. | Tools and Weaponry | 295 |
| Background and History | 295 | |
| Dating the Origin of Tools and Weapons | 296 | |
| Survival Tools | 298 | |
| Colonizing (Working) Tools | 302 | |
| Weaponry | 306 | |
| Summary | 318 | |
| 12. | Transportation, Trade, and Navigation | 321 |
| Background and History | 321 | |
| Transportation | 322 | |
| Trade | 325 | |
| Navigation and Exploration | 330 | |
| History of Shipbuilding | 335 | |
| Summary | 347 | |
| Glossary | 349 | |
| Selected Bibliography | 357 | |
| Name Index | 363 | |
| Subject Index | 367 |
| Price | Condition | Delivery | Seller | Action |
| $99.99 | Digital |
| WonderClub |
Jaehoon Cho
reviewed Groundbreaking Scientific Experiments, Inventions, and Discoveries of the Ancient World on March 18, 2015
Groundbreaking Scientific Experiments, Inventions, and Discoveries of the Ancient World
"To read the signs, our age also displays these symptoms. Partly because of the nuclear threat, partly because of the modern fascination with advanced technology per se, and partly for deeply rooted socio-ideological reasons, weapons are being turned into toys and convention war into an elaborate, but fundamentally pointless, game. While games can be nice while they last, in our age too there is a real danger that they will be upset by barbarians who, refusing to abide by the rules, pick up the playing-board and use it to smash the opponent's head. Let him who has ears to listen, listen: The call Lucifer ante portas already reverberates, and new forms of warfare are threatening to put an end to our delicate civilization"
In this seminal work, Creveld examines the role of technology in the conduct of warfare, from ancient times to the post-WWII, post-nuclear era. He emphasizes that while military technology itself has certainly played a major role, civilian technology or quasi-military technology (better roads, sanitation, etc.) has likely played a larger role in the conduct of warfare. The book is an excellent read for both students of history and people concerned with the balance of geopolitical power in the post-nuclear, but especially post-9/11, world. As Creveld says..."Even more than the guerilla, the terrorist is limisted to weapons which are small, light, and easily hidden from the authorities' eye. During the millenia before 1600 the dagger was by far the most popular of these weapons, as in the case of the Sicarii who are mentioned by Josephus and who were named after it. During the 17th century, the pistol and the bomb, the former easily acquired and the latter easily manufactured, joined the list of terrorist weapons. Even so, for another 300 years that list remained comparatively small. It was only during the 20th century that technological advances made available a whole series of small, but extremely powerful, devices"
He continues, when speaking about how to counter terrorism: "...several conditions, however, must be met for this [effective anti-terrorist operations] to be possible There must be no reluctance to employ the normal surveillance apparatus of the modern state [emphasis mine]." This itself raises a whole can of issues relating to state surveillance and liberty, which we as a society are still grappling with to this day, and which has no clear-cut answer.
An excellent, exciting, fun, read. His bibliography is well-annotated as well, and I want to dig more in depth into some of his sources.
Login|Complaints|Blog|Games|Digital Media|Souls|Obituary|Contact Us|FAQ
CAN'T FIND WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR? CLICK HERE!!! X
You must be logged in to add to WishlistX
This item is in your Wish List
X
This item is in your Collection
Groundbreaking Scientific Experiments, Inventions, and Discoveries of the Ancient World
X
This Item is in Your Inventory
Groundbreaking Scientific Experiments, Inventions, and Discoveries of the Ancient World
X
You must be logged in to review the productsX
X
X
Add Groundbreaking Scientific Experiments, Inventions, and Discoveries of the Ancient World, , Groundbreaking Scientific Experiments, Inventions, and Discoveries of the Ancient World to the inventory that you are selling on WonderClubX
X
Add Groundbreaking Scientific Experiments, Inventions, and Discoveries of the Ancient World, , Groundbreaking Scientific Experiments, Inventions, and Discoveries of the Ancient World to your collection on WonderClub |
