SCIENCE

TECHNOLOGY AND
SOCIETY
 Science
■ a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of
testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
■ the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the
structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation
and experiment.
■ a systematically organized body of knowledge on a particular subject.
 Technology
■ can be the knowledge of techniques, processes, and the like, or it can be
embedded in machines to allow for operation without detailed knowledge of
their workings.
■ the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in
industry.
■ machinery and equipment developed from the application of scientific
knowledge.
■ the branch of knowledge dealing with engineering or applied sciences.
 Society
■ the aggregate of people living together in a more or less ordered community.
■ a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social
group sharing the same geographical or social territory, typically subject to the
same political authority and dominant cultural expectations.
Interconnections of Science and Technology
■ Science explores for the purpose of knowing, while technology explores the
purpose of making something useful from that knowledge.

■ Science drives technology by making new technology possible through

science breakthroughs.

Technology

Science
Interconnections of Science and Technology
■ Without technology, some science experiments would not be possible.
■ Without science, technology could not proceed.

Science
is a way of
Knowing

Technology
is a way of
Doing
 Think about it:
❖ Describe some of the interconnections between science
and technology.
❖ What are the connections of technology to society and even the
Science to society?
 Historical antecedents in the course of Science
and Technology
Concerned of ancient civilization and even today
1. Transportation
2. Communication
3. Weapons and armor
4. Engineering
5. Architecture
LIST OF SOME ANCIENT CIVILIZATION
AND
THEIR CONTRIBUTION
SUMERIAN CIVILIZATION
BABYLONIAN CIVILIZATION
EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION
GREEK CIVILIZATION
ROMAN CIVILIZATION
CHINESE CIVILIZATION
Sumerian Civilization (5000 BC and 4000 BC)
(Southern Iraq)
■ The southernmost region of ancient Mesopotamia
(Cradle of Civilization).
■ The Sumerians called themselves ” The land of the
black headed people”.
■ Living along the valleys of Tigris and Euphrates.
■ Able to grow an abundance of grain and other crops.
■ They drained marshes for agriculture, developed trade,
and established industries including weaving,
leatherwork, metalwork, masonry, and pottery.
Women bring ashore reeds that they have gathered in the
Central Marsh. Photo by Emilienne
They learned the art of weaving the sumerian babylonian British Museum. One of a pair
wool of their animals. From a very mesopotamian gorgeous leather excavated from the Great Death
early date, they could weave into a work bag Pit, at Ur. A rare and exquisite
herringbone pattern on looms. example of Sumerian metalwork
of the
The ziggurat at Warka (reconstructed by
Sumerians did hold some responsibility in
Saddam Hussein): Sumerian
the development and growth of pottery.
architecture
Major contribution of Sumerian Civilization
1. Cuneiform
- A system of writing first developed by ancient Sumerian Civilization
around 3000 to 3500 BCE.
- The name comes from the Latin word cuneus for 'wedge' owing to the
wedge-shaped style of writing.
- In cuneiform, a carefully cut writing implement known as a stylus is
pressed into soft clay to produce wedge-like impressions that
represent word-signs (pictographs) and, later, phonograms or `word-
concepts' (closer to a modern-day understanding of a `word').
http://pandora.cii.wwu.edu/vajda/ling20
1/writingsystems/sumeriancuneiform.ht
m
■ The great literary works of Mesopotamia such as the Atrahasis, The Descent of
Inanna, The Myth of Etana, The Enuma Elish and the famous Epic of Gilgamesh
were all written in cuneiform and deciphered and translated into English by
George Smith and Henry Rawlinson (1810-1895 CE).
■ The Fall of Man and the Great Flood- Myth of Sumer “The Myth of Etana and the
Atrahasis” .
■ Garden of Eden - myth derived from The Enuma Elish and other Mesopotamian
works.
■ The Book of Job, all about individual suffering- Ludlul-Bel-Nimeqi text which relates
a similar story.
■ The concept of a dying and reviving god who goes down into the underworld and
then returns - expressed in Mesopotamian literature in the poem The Descent of
Inanna.
■ The oldest love poem in the world is now recognized as The Love Song of Shu-Sin
dated to 2000 BCE
Major contribution of Sumerian Civilization
2. The Great City of Uruk
- founded by King Enmerkar sometime around 4500 BCE.
■ Uruk was known in the Aramaic language as Erech which, it is believed, gave rise to the modern
name for the country of Iraq.
■ most famous for its great king Gilgamesh and the epic tale of his quest for immortality
■ considered the first true city in the world.

Facade of Inanna's Temple at Uruk Pottery Dish from Uruk Period

Major contribution of Sumerian Civilization
3. The Great Ziggurot of Ur
- the most important Sumerian city states in ancient Mesopotamia
during the 3 rd millennium BC.

massive step pyramid

measuring 64 m in length, 46
m in width, and 30 m in height.
The Moon God Nanna visits his Ziggurat. Image source:
AncientWorlds
Major contribution of Sumerian Civilization
4. Irrigation and Dikes

Mesopotamia Irrigation System Model |

Ancient Mesopotamia Farming. This also
might be what a farming village in the
Akkadian Empire might look like.
■ By 5000 BC the Sumerians had developed core agricultural
techniques including large-scale intensive cultivation of land, mono-
cropping, organized irrigation, and the use of a specialized labor
force.
■ Emmer wheat, barley, sheep (starting as mouflon), and cattle
(starting as aurochs) were foremost among the species cultivated and
raised for the first time on a grand scale.

Cylinder Seal
Showing God of
Agriculture and
Two Others
Plowing
Major contribution of Sumerian Civilization
5. Sailboats

Sailboats of Mesopotamia
■ The sailboats of Mesopotamia were simple in design; the sails
were square in shape and made of cloth. The angle and
direction of the sails could not be changed.
■ The hull or the body of the boat was made of wood. Trees
were cut and made into planks, and the planks were roughly
shaped and joined together to make the body of the boat.
Major contribution of Sumerian Civilization
6. Wheel

By about 3000 BCE, Sumerians

in Mesopotamia (now Iraq) were
making use of the wheel, and it
was firmly established by the
time this Assyrian relief showing
...
■ Sumerians had invented shortly after 3500 B.C.—the potter’s wheel. No other civilization of their
time had one. This was a heavy flat disk made of hardened clay.
■ THE SUMERIANS’ FIRST WHEEL: “THE ROLLER”
■ THE SUMERIANS’ SECOND WHEEL: “THE SLEDGE”
■ THE SUMERIANS’ THIRD WHEEL: “A SLEDGE ON ROLLERS”
■ THE SUMERIANS’ FOURTH WHEEL: “A SLEDGE ON A GROOVED ROLLER”

■ THE SUMERIANS’ FIFTH WHEEL: “TWO WHEELS WITH A FIXED AXLE SPINNING BETWEEN PEGS”

■ THE SUMERIANS’ SIXTH WHEEL: “TWO WHEELS WITH AN AXLE, ATTACHED WITH BEARINGS”
Major contribution of Sumerian Civilization
7. The Plow

Ancient Sumerian
Bronze ceremonial
statue of a standing
male farmer behind a
single ox plowing a field
Major contribution of Sumerian Civilization
8. Road
QUIZ

■ How did the Sumerians get the connection between

the use of animals and the prosperity of crops?
■ How important are the inventions of Sumerian in
modern generation?
Babylonian Civilization (5000 BC and 4000 BC)
(Southern Iraq)
Major contribution of Babylonian Civilization
1. Code of Hammurabi
▪ The Code of Hammurabi was one of
the earliest and most complete written
legal codes, proclaimed by the
Babylonian king Hammurabi.
▪ The Code of Hammurabi includes
many harsh punishments, sometimes
demanding the removal of the guilty
party’s tongue, hands, breasts, eye or
ear. But the code is also one of the
earliest examples of an accused
person being considered innocent until
proven guilty.
Major contribution of Babylonian Civilization
2. Mathematics
- They also developed the sexagesimal, or base
60. The sexagesimal helped to develop
concepts like the 360-degree circle and the
12-month year.
- They used 12 knuckles to count on one hand,
and another five fingers on the other hand.
The Babylonians used base 6 (our modern
system uses base 10), where digits on the left
column represent large values.
- The concept of zero was developed by the
Babylonians. People understood the value of
having nothing, but the concept of numerical
zero wasn’t invented before then.
Major contribution of Babylonian Civilization
3. The inventions of Map
- The oldest map was discovered in
Babylonia around 2300 B.C.
- The Ancient Cartography that was used
in Babylonia was a simple sketch on
clay tablets.
Major contribution of Babylonian Civilization
4. Soap
- The first evidence of the use of soap can be
traced to around 2800 B.C. Soap was invented
by Babylonians and also used in Mesopotamia,
ancient Egypt, ancient Greece and by the
Romans.
- Ancient Babylonians discovered that by mixing
animal fats with wood ash and water they
could create a cleansing substance.

Aleppo soap. Image credit: Bernard Gagnon

Major contribution of Babylonian Civilization
5. Hanging Garden of Babylon
- The fabled gardens which adorned the capital
of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, built by its
greatest king Nebuchadnezzar II
- One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient
World, they are the only wonder whose
existence is disputed amongst historians.
Activity 2. Writing using cuneiform alphabet
EGYPTIAN Civilization (6th BCE and 4th BCE)
(EGYPT)
Major contribution of Egyptian
1. Paper or Papyrus
- a plant (cyperus papyrus) which once grew in
abundance, primarily in the wilds of the
Egyptian Delta but also elsewhere in the Nile
River Valley, but is now quite rare.

Nebamun Hunting in the Marshes

Major contribution of Egyptian
2. Ink

Horus was an Egyptian soldier stationed in the

military camp of Pathyris, around 30 km south
of Luxor, during the 1st century BC. During a
civil war in 88 BC Pathyris was destroyed, but
Horus’ private correspondence was preserved
in a jar, albeit in pieces.
Major contribution of Egyptian
3. Hieroglyphics
- Although hieroglyphics are Egyptian, the word
hieroglyphics is Greek. “Hiero” means “holy” and
“glyphics” means “marks” or “writings” – so the
word means “holy writings“.
Major contribution of Egyptian
4. Cosmetics
- For the ancient Egyptians life was a
celebration, and so, just as one would want to
look one's best at any party, personal hygiene
was an important cultural value.
- The ingredients used in these ointments, oils,
and creams helped to soften one's skin,
protect from sunburn, protect the eyes, and
improve one's self-esteem.
- The most popular and best-known perfume
was kyphi. It was made of frankincense, myrrh,
mastic, pine resin, cinnamon, cardamom, Cosmetic Box of Kemeni
saffron, juniper, mint, and other herbs and
spices.
Cosmetic Spoon Egyptian Perfume Bottle
Major contribution of Egyptian
5. Wig
- Wigs were worn in place of headdresses or, for
special occasions, with elaborate
headdresses. Egyptian law prohibited slaves
and servants from shaving their heads or
wearing wigs.
- The base of an Egyptian wig was a fiber-netting
skullcap, with strands of human hair, wool,
flax, palm fibers, felt, or other materials
attached.

Egyptian couple wearing formal wigs of the 4th of 5th

dynasties.
Greek Civilization (6th BCE and 4th BCE)
(Greece)
 Major contribution of Greek
1. Water clock/ clepsydra
- an ancient time-measuring device
worked by a flow of water.

A display of two outflow water clocks from the Ancient Agora

Museum in Athens. The top is an original from the late 5th
century BC. The bottom is a reconstruction of a clay original.
The passage of time is registered by the flow of water
Major contribution of Greek
2. Water Mill
- It was a water-powered mill for
grinding grain which continues
identically in use until today. It was
particularly suitable for the hilly and
mountainous regions of Greece and
Asia Minor since it was capable of
functioning with small quantities of
water that were moved, however, at
great speed. It constitutes the
predecessor of the water turbine.
Major contribution of Greek
3. Odometer
- One of the most widely used
instruments in present day,
odometers measures the distance
travelled by a vehicle such as
bicycle or any other automobile.
Even though, the modern
odometers are digital, not so long
ago they were more mechanical,
slowly evolving into electro-
mechanical with the rise of
technology.
Major contribution of Greek
4. Cartography
- The study and practice of making
maps. It has played an important
role in travel and navigation since
ancient times.
Roman Civilization
(Italy)
Major contribution of Roman
1. Newspaper
- A daily papyrus newspaper, the
Acta Diurna (Daily Events), was
distributed in locations in Rome
and around the Baths. Its motto
was “Publicize And Propagate.”
Probably the low-grade saitic or
taenotic papyrus was used for daily
publishing, no doubt one of the
reasons that no scraps of the Acta
Diurna have ever been found.
Major contribution of Roman
2. Codex
- is a book in the format used for
modern books, with separate pages
normally bound together and given
a cover. Although the modern book
is technically a codex, the term is
used only for manuscripts. The
codex was a Roman invention that
replaced the scroll, which was the
first book form in all Eurasian
cultures.
First page of the Codex Argenteus
Major contribution of Roman
3. Roman Numerals
- There are seven basic symbols: I,
V, X, L, C, D and M. The first usage
of the symbols began showing up
between 900 and 800 B.C.
Chinese Civilization
(China)
Major contribution of Roman
1. Silk
- The oldest silk found in China
has been dated to about 3630
BC.
- Several kinds of wild silk, which
are produced by caterpillars
other than the mulberry
silkworm, have been known and
used in China, South Asia, and
Europe since ancient times. Women Checking Silk, Song China.
Major contribution of Roman
2. Tea Prodcution
- The practice of drinking tea has a
long history in China.
- tea was used in ritual offerings.
Then, tea leaves were eaten as a
vegetable, or used in medicine.
Until the Han Dynasty more than
2,000 years ago, tea was a new
drink.

The popular legend says tea was discovered by Emperor

Shennong in ancient China.
Major contribution of Roman
2. Gunpowder
- also known as black powder to
distinguish it from modern
smokeless powder, is the earliest
known chemical explosive. It
consists of a mixture of sulfur (S),
charcoal (C), and potassium
nitrate (saltpeter, KNO3). The
sulfur and charcoal act as fuels
while the saltpeter is an oxidizer.