Pre-Columbian Science and Technology

Evidences of Science and Technology During Pre-Columbian Times (1500 BC - 1500 AD in the New World)

Olmec Civilization

The Olmec civilization was the first great Mesoamerican civilization.
The Olmecs thrived along the southern Gulf Coast of Mexico, mainly in present-day Veracruz and Tabasco, from approximately 1200 to 400 BC.
The name "Olmec" translates to "rubber people" in Nahuatl, the Aztec language.
The Olmec constructed permanent city-temple complexes in San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan, La Venta, Tres Zapotes, and Laguna de los Cerros.
Evidence suggests the Olmec practiced human sacrifice and cannibalism.
The Olmec traded goods like obsidian, ceramics, jade, serpentine, mica, rubber, pottery, feathers, as well as polished mirrors made of limenite and magnetite.
Monuments and art pieces such as masks and figurines are testaments to the Olmec civilization's advancements
Olmecs had a cultivation system of cacao, rubber, and salt.

Maya Civilization

The ancient Mayans comprised a diverse group of indigenous people residing in areas of modern-day Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.
The Mayans are recognized for their extraordinary achievements in diverse scientific disciplines, including astronomy, engineering, medicine, and mathematics.
Agriculture and technology were integral to the Mayan civilization's progress and innovation
The Mayans tracked the movement of stars and planets and accurately predicted celestial events like eclipses.
Venus held particular astronomical importance for the Mayans.
The Mayans also discovered a precise calendar referred to as the ritual calendar used in Mesoamerica, consisting of a 260-day count.
Each day was assigned a unique name, akin to modern days of the week and consisted of 20 day names with respective symbols.
The Mayan written language consisted of approximately 800 glyphs/symbols, each symbolizing a word or syllable, combinable in numerous ways for advanced communication.
The Mayan talent was evident in the construction of elaborate temples and vast cities without metal tools and Mayans produced rubber products.

Aztec Civilization

The Aztecs established their city of Tenochtitlan, present-day Mexico City, in 1325 AD.
Tenochtitlan served as the capital and center of the Aztec Empire.
It was the capital until the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés conquered the Aztecs in 1520.
The Aztecs considered the sight of an eagle perched on a cactus on the marshland near Lake Texcoco's southwest border as the sign to build their settlement.
The Aztecs had causeways and canals for transportation early in the history of Tenochtitlan.
The Aztecs were known as a violent people who expanded their empire through warfare.
They had a reputation for making human sacrifices in elaborate rituals requiring extraction of the victim's beating heart, to appease their gods.
Aztec canoes were developed as dugouts to transport themselves/goods throughout canals, lakes, and waterways in the valley of Mexico.
Aztec astronomy was an important part of the calendar that reflected their Gods.
The ritual cycle in the Aztec calendar consisted of 260 days.

Ritual Cycle - Tonalpohualli

The Tonalpohualli is a 'Counting of the Days' cycle of 260 days.
It was originally based on astronomical observations.
A calendar consists of units (referred to as trecenas) of 20 days, each with its name, symbol, patron deity, and augury.
The 20-day group runs simultaneously with 13 numbered days
The civil cycle, Xiuhpohualli, or 'Counting of the Years', signified when religious ceremonies/festivals were to be held.
This calendar was divided into 18 groups of 20 days, each with its own festival with their own months.
The Aztec ritual/civil cycles returned to the same positions every 52 years, a celebration event known as the Binding Up of the Years or the New Fire.
Aztec medicine was advanced with many forms of medicine like ointments and drinks.
Aztec technology was recorded in the Badianus Manuscript, created in 1552 by Aztec artists.

Inca Civilization

The Inca civilization flourished in the Andean region of South America from the early 15th century AD. until its conquest by the Spaniards in the 1530s.
Machu Picchu is the most famous remaining archeological site, serving as a retreat for an Incan emperor.
"Machu Picchu" means "Old Peak" or "Old Mountain" in the Quechua Indian language.
Its compound has more than 100 distinct flights of stairs.
The "Land of the Four Corners" refers to Tawantinsuyu, the Inca's largest empire.
The Inca empire originated in the city of Cuzco, modern-day Peru.
The region covered a significant portion of modern-day Peru, Ecuador, and part of Colombia.

4 Regions of the Inca Empire

Chinchaysuyu contained the empire's agricultural region.
Antisuyu which had marked heavy rainfall, high humidity and lush vegetation, in the Upper Amazon.
Contisuyu has vertical slopes up to 19,000 feet in altitude in the western region.
Collasuyu, was referred to as "high plain and had grasslands for llama and aplaca herding and mined, salt, potatoes, gold, silver and copper.
Rich foods consisted of maize(corn), dried llama meat, coca leaves and alcohol; while some other foods like potatoes, quinoa, beans and chili peppers.
Mummification was an integral aspect of Inca funerary rituals November was known as the "month of carrying the dead," when people tried to feed their ancestors' mummies.
Cumpi textiles were reserved for Inca nobility and the emperor himself while clothing was made with wool, llama or alpaca fibers and cotton.
The Incas used gold and silver to make trinkets/ritual objects for jewelry (called tumbaga).
The Inca fitted building stones without using any mortar.
Their calendars were lunisolar (two calendars were maintained in parallel, one lunar and one solar)
Twelve lunar months comprised an 11-day shortage of the 365-day solar year.
Equinoxes, solstices, and Venus cycles were observed.
Quipu was used to record mnemonic and numerical data which also was used to tell literature/history
Inca performed successful skull surgeries to alleviate fluid and inflammation caused by head wounds Physical measurement was based upon human body parts
Thatkiy or thatki/one pace. used for measurement
The Bronze/bone-tipped spears, Two-handed wooden swords with serrated edges, Clubs with stone and spiked metal heads, Woolen slings/stones, stone or copper-headed battle-axes were the weaponry of the Inca.

The State of Science and Technology During the Middle Ages (500 to 1500 A.D.)

Medieval times, Middle Ages, and Dark Ages generally refer to the period from 500 to 1500 AD.
The timeframe covered ranges from the Roman Empire's fall to the Ottoman Empire's rise

Military Technologies of the Middle Ages

Counterweight Trebuchet: Weapon using counterweights to hurl huge stones over a distance.
Longbow: English massed, disciplinary archery used against the French in the Hundred Years' War (1337–1453), considered a powerful contribution to demise of the medieval knight class.
Steel Cross Bow: The first handheld mechanical crossbow.
Complete Plate Armor: It appeared by the end of the 14th century and was known armor.
Blast Furnace: Appeared in middle Europe around 1150 to create cast iron