Ancient Civilizations and Aesthetics Quiz

Aesthetics

• People started decorating themselves, in addition to their surroundings and infrastructure

Africa (1,000,000 BCE)

• Homo Erectus used tools made of stone and antlers

Europe (750,000 BCE)

• Homo Erectus used fire

Sumerians (5,000 - 1,750 BC)

• Sumerians were the world’s first civilization
• Sumerians made advancements in:
  • architecture
  • agriculture
  • engineering
  • mathematics
  • medicine
• Sumerians located in Mesopotamia, between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers

Cuneiform (5,000 - 1,750 BC)

• First writing system using word pictures and triangular symbols
• Symbols carved on clay using wedge instruments
• Allowed Sumerians to record their everyday lives

Uruk City (5,000 - 1,750 BC)

• The world’s first true city
• Built from mud, clay, and reeds that were baked in the sun
• Bricks used to make houses and walls for protection

The Great Ziggurat of Ur (5,000 - 1,750 BC)

• Also known as the mountain of god
• Built using sun-baked bricks

Irrigation & Dikes (5,000 - 1,750 BC)

• Brought water to farmland and controlled flooding from rivers
• Major engineering achievement

Sail Boats (5,000 - 1,750 BC)

• Main mode of transportation
• Sumerians used them to discover new lands
• Facilitated the exchange of culture, information, and technology

Wheels (5,000 - 1,750 BC)

• Used for farming and food processing
• Enabled farmers to mill grains more quickly and efficiently

Plow (5,000 - 1,750 BC)

• Used to cultivate the earth more efficiently
• Mass-produced food without excessive effort

Roads (5,000 - 1,750 BC)

• Made from sun-baked bricks
• Bitumen (similar to asphalt) was used to smooth roads
• Particularly useful during rainy seasons

Sexagesimal (5,000 - 1,750 BC)

• Also known as base 60 or sexagenary
• A numerical system with sixty as its base
• Passed down to ancient Babylonians

Babylonians (Circa 2,300 BC)

• Known for their skills in building, engineering, and architecture

The Babylonian Empire (Circa 2,300 BC)

• Rose to power under King Hammurabi (1792 -1750 BC)
• Lost power after his death
• Re-established by a new line of kings between 626 BC – 539 BC

Neo Babylonian Empire (Circa 2,300 BC)

• Most famous King was Nebuchadnezzar II
• He is seen as an 'enemy of God’ in scriptures

Tower of Babel (Circa 2,300 BC)

• The Bible states that Sumerians “understood one another’s speech”
• Believed by some scholars to have been inspired by a real ziggurat temple honoring Marduk

The Hanging Gardens (Circa 2,300 BC)

• A large system of terraced trees, shrubs, flowers, and waterfalls
• One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
• Location and existence debated – evidence suggests location in Nineveh, not Babylon

The Walls of Babylon (Circa 2,300 BC)

• First encircled by Hammurabi
• Nebuchadnezzar II added three rings of walls, 40 feet high
• Walls were so thick they could support chariot races

Maps (Circa 2,300 BC)

• First map created on a clay tablet
• Covered a region of Babylonia
• Used for trade routes, military campaigns, hunting, and exploration

Egyptians (Circa 5,000 – 330 BC)

• Constructed pyramids as tombs for Pharaohs
• Egyptian wisemen separated scientific ideas from superstition
• Developed logical explanations for natural phenomena

Alarm Clock (Circa 700 - 320 BC)

• Egyptians used water (or stones/sand) that fell into drums to create a sound

Water Mills (Circa 700 - 320 BC)

• Considered a major contribution to the world by the Greeks
• Used for milling grains, allowing mass production of rice, cereals, and flour

Parthenon (Circa 700 - 320 BC)

• Temple built by the Greeks to dedicate to Athena, the patroness of Athens

Romans (Circa 27 BC - 476 BC)

• Considered to be the strongest political and social entity in the West
• Limited contribution to theoretical science, but excelled in practical applications
• Imitative rather than original culture

Acta Diurna (Circa 27 BC - 476 BC)

• The first newspapers, engraved on metal or stone
• Publicly displayed
• With the invention of paper, became available to the Roman population

Bound Books (Codex) (Circa 27 BC - 476 BC)

• Julius Caesar started the tradition of stacking papyrus to form pages
• Covered to protect the contents
• Animal skin was often used

Roman Numerals (Circa 27 BC - 476 BC)

• Developed by the Romans to manage high calculation requirements
• Due to increasing communication and trade

Roman Architecture (Circa 27 BC - 476 BC)

• Continuation of Greek architecture, with adaptations
• Roman architects innovatively redesigned old patterns
• Examples: cathedrals, basilicas, aqueducts, coliseums, amphitheaters

Chinese (Circa 2000 BC – 220 AD)

• Considered the oldest civilization in Asia
• Ancient Chinese scientists and engineers made advancements in various disciplines

Magnetic Compass (Circa 2000 BC – 220 AD)

• Developed by the Chinese, but not for navigation
• Used for Feng Shui

Acupuncture (Circa 2000 BC – 220 AD)

• Part of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)
• Used to prevent, diagnose, and treat disease

Seismograph (Circa 2000 BC – 220 AD)

• Developed by the Chinese to detect earthquakes

Silk (Circa 2000 BC – 220 AD)

• Chinese invented harvesting silk from silkworms to create paper and clothing
• Opened China to the outside world and facilitated cultural, economic, and scientific exchange

Tea Production (Circa 2000 BC – 220 AD)

• An unknown inventor created a machine to shred tea leaves
• China became known for tea exports alongside silk

Great Wall of China (Circa 2000 BC – 220 AD)

• Constructed to keep out foreign invaders and control borders
• Divided China from the rest of the world

Gun Powder (Circa 2000 BC – 220 AD)

• Developed by alchemists to achieve immortality
• Created by mixing charcoal, sulfur, and potassium nitrate
• Instead of creating an elixir, a black powder that generated heat and gas

The Medieval Period (Circa 470 AD -1450 AD)

• Also known as the “Dark ages” due to limited written records
• Period of war requiring advancements in weaponry, navigation, food production, and health

Charlemagne (Circa 470 AD -1450 AD)

• Emperor of Western Europe
• Established a scholastic tradition
• Inventions:
  • Vertical windmills
  • Spectacles
  • Mechanical clocks
  • Improved water mills
  • Gothic style architecture
  • Three-field crop rotation

Printing Press (Circa 470 AD -1450 AD)

• Johannes Gutenberg invented the first printing press using movable type
• Produced the Gutenberg Bible
• Used wooden machines to extract juices and metal impressions of letters

19th Century

• John Dalton:
  • Atomic theory (1803)
  • Studied colorblindness
• Dmitri Mendeleev:
  • Formulated the Periodic Table of Elements
• Hermann von Helmholtz:
  • Law of the conservation of Energy (1847)
  • Invented the Ophthalmoscope (1851)
• James Clerk Maxwell:
  • Showed light is an electromagnetic wave (1873)
• Henri Becquerel:
  • Discovered radioactivity (1896)
• Marie Curie and Pierre Curie:
  • Discovered Radium (1898)
• Joseph Thomson:
  • Discovered Electron (1897)

19th Century

• Hans Christian Oersted:
  • Showed an electric current in a wire caused a compass needle to move (1819)
• Michael Faraday:
  • Showed a magnet could produce electricity
  • Invented the Dynamo (1831)
• Samuel F.B. Morse:
  • Invented the electric telegraph
• Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler
  • Made the first cars (1885 and 1886)

The 20th Century

• Personal computer created
• Intel developed the Microprocessor
• Apple was introduced by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak
• Internet was created (ARPANET, Advanced Research Projects Agency Network)

The 20th Century

• Henry Ford mass-produced cars
• Model T introduced in 1908
• Designed to be affordable, simple, and durable

The 21st Century

• Blockchain:
  • Chronological database of information stored in chained blocks
  • Prevents forgery and theft

The 21st Century

• Bitcoin’s blockchain is used in a decentralized manner

Test your knowledge on the beginnings of aesthetics and the rise of ancient civilizations, including the Sumerians and their innovations in architecture and writing systems. Explore significant developments from early human history and the importance of their environmental adaptations.