Historical Antecedents

Of Science, Technology
And Society
WEEK 1
Lesson Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, students should be
able to:
1. Identify people who have greatly contributed
to the history of Science, Technology, and
Society;
2. Describe the contributions of different
civilizations; and
3. Analyze the use of these contributions in the
present time.
Think, Pair and Share
Instruction: Find a partner to work with
and list down at list 5 significant events
in Ancient Mesopotamia that led
contributions to the history of Science
Technology and Society.
 History of Science and Technology in
Ancient Cultures
❑Study of protoscience in ancient history refers to the
history of science in early cultures, which was before the
development of science in the Middle Ages.
❑In prehistoric times, advice and knowledge were
passed from generation to generation in an oral
tradition.
❑ The development of writing systems allowed various
societies to store and communicate knowledge.
MESOPOTAMIA
 Mesopotamia
❑Mesopotamian civilization developed around
3500 BC in Sumer, now known as the country Iraq.
❑Mesopotamian people recorded some
observations about the world using extremely
detailed numerical data.
❑Records of Pythagoras’ law on the Mesopotamian
cuneiform tablet, which dates back to as early as the 18th
century BC.
Cuneiform Tablet
Mesopotamia
❑Astronomy is a science that focuses on
recording and studying observations on the
heavenly bodies.
❑The Mesopotamian scribes left vigorous notes
on the motions of the stars, planets, and the
moon in thousands of clay tablets.
Ancient Egypt
 Ancient Egypt
❑Ancient Egypt developed their scientific
knowledge in astronomy, mathematics, and
medicine.
❑Geometry developed when there was a need to
lay out the beginning and end of certain privately
owned farmland. Marking the perimeter of
farmlands was also necessary to prepare these
lands for the Nile River’s annual flood.
 Ancient Egypt
❑Rules of geometry such as the 3-4-5
right triangle and other rules of thumb
were developed to represent rectangular
structures, including reinforcing
structural posts and openings.
❑Egypt also became a center of alchemical
research in the ancient Western world.
Ancient Egypt
❑Phonetic writing system known as the Egyptian
hieroglyphs served as the basis for the Egyptian
Phoenician alphabet. Later on, the Egyptian Phoenician
alphabet evolved into Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Arabic, and
Cyrillic alphabets.
❑The city of Alexandria retained superiority with its
library, which was entirely destroyed by fire when it fell
under Roman rule before 642. With it, a great amount of
antique literature and knowledge was lost.
Edwin Smith
Papyrus
Earliest record that
attempts to describe
and analyze the brain: it
might be seen as the
beginning of modern
neuroscience.
Persia
PERSIA
Sassanid period (226 to 652
AD), the Persians gave great
attention to mathematics and
astronomy. A prominent
example is the Academy of
Gundishapur.
Astronomical tables, such as
the Shahryar Tables, are still
used in this period.
PERSIA
Paulus Persa, head of the Iranian
Department of Logic and Philosophy of
Aristotle, also left a book written in Syriac
and dictated to Sassanid King Anushiravan.
Persia became a stronghold of Islamic
science in the Early Middle Ages.
Greco-Roman World
Greco-Roman World
❑ Scientific thought in Classical Antiquity became more
practical from the 6th century BC in pre-Socratic
philosophy, headlined by Thales and Pythagoras.
❑In 385 BC, Plato founded the Academy, where his
students participated in the “scientific revolution” of the
Hellenistic period using discourse. Scholars would discuss
some practical issues by using a conversational and
reasoning process. These scholars include Eratosthenes,
Euclid, Aristarchus of Samos, Hipparchus, and Archimedes.
(3rd to 2nd centuries)
Greco-Roman World
❑In Classical Antiquity, a reliable calendar, cures for
various illnesses, and abstract thought experiments
known as natural philosophy were developed.
❑These developments resulted from wondering how
the universe works while practicing a skilled profession
(for example, physicians), generating rational thinking
through discourse, or following religious traditions
(temple healers).
Greco-Roman World
Advances in factual knowledge, specifically in anatomy,
zoology, botany, mineralogy, geography, mathematics,
and astronomy.

Awareness of the importance of some scientific issues,

especially those related to the problem of change and
its causes.

Recognition of the methodological significance of

applying mathematics to natural phenomena and of
undertaking empirical research.
INDIA
INDIA
❑Excavations at Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, and other sites in
the Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) have uncovered evidence of
the use of practical mathematics. To develop building blocks
that would make dwellings more durable, the people of the
IVC manufactured bricks whose dimensions were in
proportion 4:2:1.
❑They found a way to compute bricks' dimensions to support
a given weight by developing standard ratios. They mass-
produced weights in regular geometrical shapes, including
hexahedra, barrels, cones, and cylinders, thereby
demonstrating basic knowledge of geometry.
INDIA
The inhabitants of the Indus civilization also
tried to standardize the measurement of length to a
high degree of accuracy. They designed a ruler — the
Mohenjo-daro ruler — whose unit of length
(approximately 1.32 inches or 3.4 centimeters) was
divided into ten equal parts. Bricks manufactured in
ancient Mohenjo-daro often had dimensions that
were integral multiples of this unit of length.
MOHENJO DARO RULER
INDIA
Alchemy (Rasaśāstra in Sanskrit) was popular in
India. The Indian alchemist and philosopher
Kanada introduced the concept of ‘anu’, which
he defined as matter that cannot be subdivided.
This thinking is analogous to the concept of the
atom in modern science.
China
CHINA
❑The first recorded observations of solar eclipses
and supernovae were discovered in China. Chinese
astronomers observed a supernova guest star, the
remnant now known as the Crab Nebula on July 4,
1054.
❑Traditional Chinese Medicine, acupuncture, and
herbal medicine were also practiced, with similar
medicine practiced in Korea.
ABACUS
The abacus,
the public
toilet, and the
“shadow
clock” were a
few of the
earliest
inventions.
SHADOW CLOCK
The abacus, the public toilet,
and the “shadow clock” were
a few of the earliest
inventions. However, Joseph
Needham noted the “Four
Great Inventions” of China —
the compass, gunpowder,
papermaking, and printing —
as among the most critical
technological advances.
Joseph Needham
noted the “Four
Great Inventions” of
China — the
compass,
gunpowder,
papermaking, and
printing — as
among the most
critical
technological
advances.
MEDIEVAL
AGES
 MEDIEVAL AGES
❑Early Medieval period (about AD 500 to 1000) in Europe is regarded as
the real Dark Ages. In this period, medieval society fell into barbarism and
ignorance.
❑Norse sailors use the stars and a few instruments to navigate to Iceland,
Greenland, and Vinland.
❑To cure the sick, the monks of Western Europe studied medicine.
❑To set dates for church holidays such as Easter, the monks observed the
stars and developed the discipline of astronomy.
❑ Monks and scribes preserved the rules of mathematics and geometry
when analyzing the movements of the heavenly bodies.
CHARLES THE GREAT
❑Western Europeans tried to systemize
education, rulers and church leaders realized
that education was the key to maintaining
unity and peace. This period, known as the
Carolingian Renaissance, was when Charles the
Great (Golden Hero of the Church), often
known as Charlemagne, tried to reestablish
knowledge as a cornerstone of medieval
society.
❑He was a great believer in the power of
learning. While using the Catholic Church to
transmit knowledge and education, he
instigated a revival in art, culture, and learning.
CHARLES THE GREAT
❑He ordered the translation of
many Latin texts to Middle English.
Charlemagne also promoted
astronomy, a field that he loved to
study, despite his inability to read.
❑As medieval society transitioned
into the High Middle Ages, the
teaching of logic, philosophy, and
theology enhanced the thinking
process of some Christian thinkers
in Western Europe.
High Middle Ages - The
Rebirth of Science and
Scholasticism
 Centers of learning,
known as the Studium
Studium Generale Generale, sprang up across
Western Europe by the
12th Century. This drew
scholars away from the
Ancient Greeks' knowledge
and combined Classical
Antiquity’s discoveries
with the great Muslim
philosophers' and
scientists' findings.
 Aquinas and Grosseteste are considered to
be the Fathers of Scholasticism and the
Scientific Method. While they were more
interested in using philosophy to prove the
existence of God, Thomas Aquinas overQsaw
a shift from Platonic reasoning towards
Aristotelian empiricism.
Aquinas became an expert in reasoning by
citing evidence using the senses.
significant contributors to the scientific
method, Robert Grosseteste, founded the
Oxford Franciscan School. He also began to
promote the dualistic scientific method,
which was first proposed by Aristotle.
Roger Bacon, also known as
the Shining Light of Science in
Medieval Society, is one of the
great minds behind the
development of the scientific
method. The scientific method
was also improved through the
learnings of Aristotle,
Avicenna, Galileo, and Newton.
.Bacon took the work of
Grosseteste, Aristotle, and the
Islamic alchemists to propose
the idea of induction as the
cornerstone of empiricism.
Empiricism is the philosophy
that conclusions should be
made with evidence.
Described the method of
observation, prediction
(hypothesis), and
experimentation. He also
explained that the results
should be independently
verified, documenting his
results in sufficient detail so
that others might repeat the
experiment.
Late Middle Ages -
Scholasticism and the
Scientific Method
❑As thinkers continued the work of scholasticism, adding to
the philosophy underpinning science, the Late Middle Ages
(from 1300 until 1500) saw progress speed up. This period
made sophisticated observations and theories that were
sadly superseded by the works of later scientists.
❑Removal of divine intervention from the process of
explaining natural phenomena was sought out by many of
the scholastic philosophers. They believed that scholars
should look for a more direct and natural cause rather than
stating that it must be the work of divine providence.
The Black Death - The
Destroyer of Medieval
Society and Scholasticism
❑In favor of the later thinkers that drove the Renaissance
and the Age of Enlightenment, the advances of many of
these philosophers and scholars were forgotten and
underplayed. The first Renaissance of the Middle Ages
was halted by a natural phenomenon, the Black Death.
This phenomenon killed over a third of Europeans,
especially in the growing urban areas.
❑ It is the mass disruption to medieval society, which
was caused by the plague, that set the progress of science
and discovery back. This knowledge would not reemerge
until the Renaissance
Think & Reflect
How did society shape science
and how did science shape
society?
ASSESSMENT