STS: Historical Antecedents

Historical Antecedents of STS

• The course material covers the historical backgrounds of Science, Technology and Society from ancient civilizations to modern times.
• The civilizations covered include:
  • Sumerian
  • Babylonian
  • Egyptian
  • Greek
  • Roman
  • Chinese
  • Medieval/Middle Ages
  • Modern Times

Sumerian Civilization

• Sumer, located in modern Iraq and Kuwait, was the southernmost region of ancient Mesopotamia and once the most populated on earth.
• The Ubaid people were the first inhabitants of Sumer, between 6500 BC and 3800 BC.
• The Ubaid people were farmers and had stable, prosperous settlements.

Cuneiform

• The Sumerians developed a writing system to keep records of historically valuable things.
• This system used word pictures and triangular symbols carved in clay.

Uruk City

• Uruk City was constructed using mud or clay from the river, combined with reeds to produce sun-baked bricks.

The Great Ziggurat of Ur

• The Great Ziggurat of Ur, also known as the mountain of god, built with sun-baked bricks due to limited building materials.

Other Sumerian Contributions

• Irrigation and dikes were an important contribution.
• Sailboats were invented in this time.
• The wheel was created.
• The plow was created.
• Roads were established.

Babylonian Civilization

• Babylonians were known as great builders, engineers, and architects.
• The Hanging Gardens of Babylon are their major contribution.
• Legend claims King Nebuchadnezzar II built the gardens for his wife, Queen Amytis, but there is no physical evidence.

Egyptian Civilization

• Egyptian civilization was located in North Africa.
• The pharaohs built infrastructures.

Paper or Papyrus

• The creation of thinner, lighter sheets made writing simpler for the world.

Hieroglyphics

• Hieroglyphics became the language that tells the modern world of their history and culture.

Ink

• Egyptians combined soots with different chemicals to produce inks with different colors.

Cosmetics

• Egyptians used cosmetics for health and aesthetic reasons and believed makeup protected from evil and was a sign of holiness.

Wig

• Egyptians enhanced appearances with wigs.
• Wigs protected the shaved heads of the wealthy from harmful sun rays.

Water Clock

• The water clock was an important device for keeping time.
• The amount of water in the device showed how much time had passed.

Greek Civilization

• Greece is an archipelago in southeastern Europe.
• Greece is known as the birthplace of western philosophy, mathematics.

Alarm Clock

• Ancient Greeks used complex mechanisms to time alarms, using water, small stones or sand dropped into drums to sound the alarm.
• Plato used an alarm clock to signal the start of his lectures.
• Plato's clock used four vertically aligned water vessels.
• The rate of water siphoning from the upper to third vessel created contained air expulsion, causing a whistling alarm.
• The bottom vessel was used for storage and reuse.

Water Mill

• Commonly used in agricultural processes for milling grains.
• Milling made mass production of rice, cereals, and flours common.

Roman Civilization

• The Roman Empire was the strongest political and social entity in the west.
• It was considered the cradle of politics and governance.
• Other civilizations looked up to the Roman Empire as their model in the terms of legislation and codified laws.

Newspaper

• The first newspapers, known as gazettes, contained announcements of the Roman Empire to the people.
• These were engraved on metal or stone tablets before paper was invented.
• Publishing matters that needed attention became easier once paper was invented.

Codex

• Julius Caesar started the tradition of stacking papyrus to form book pages.
• They provided wax covers to protect the papyrus.
• Wax covers were then replaced with animal skin which proved to be stronger, longer-bound, and covered by animal skin thus creating the first books.

Roman Architecture

• Roman architecture adapted new building and engineering technology on architectural designs established earlier.
• They preserved great architectural designs and produced sturdier and stronger infrastructures.

Roman Numerals

• Devised their own number system specifically to address the need for a standard counting method to meet increased communication and trade concerns.

Chinese Civilization

• The Chinese civilization is the oldest in Asia.
• China is also known as the middle kingdom, located on the far east of Asia.
• It was famous among other ancient civilizations because of its silk trade.

Silk

• Silk connected Far East China to the world.
• The Chinese developed the technology to harvest and process silk.
• Silk production includes paper and clothing.
• Silk trade opened China to the outside, making way for cultural, economic, and scientific exchanges, bridging the gap between the western world and the middle kingdom.

Tea Production

• The first tea was believed to have been drunk by a Chinese emperor.
• An unknown Chinese inventor created a machine to shred tea leaves into strips using a wheel-based mechanism with sharp edges attached to a wooden or ceramic pot.

Great Wall of China

• It is the largest and most extensive infrastructure China built to keep out foreign invaders and control borders.
• The walls were constructed of stone, brick, wood, earth, and other materials, showcasing Chinese engineering technology.

Gunpowder

• Chinese alchemists originally developed gunpowder.
• They mixed charcoal, sulfur, and potassium nitrate, accidentally creating a black powder that generated large amounts of heat and gas.

Medieval/Middle Ages

• The start of the middle ages was marred by massive invasions and migrations, with wars being prevalent.
• Great technology was needed in the fields of weaponry, navigation, mass food and farm production, and health.

Printing Press

• After the Chinese developed woodblock printing, Johann Gutenberg invented the printing press.
• The printing press used a more reliable method of printing using a cast type.
• He utilized wooden machines that extracted juices from fruits.
• He attached a metal impression of letters.
• He pressed the cast metal into a sheet of paper, which made an exact impression on the paper.

Microscope

• Guided by the principles used for eyeglasses invention, Zacharias Janssen developed the first compound microscope.
• People were able to use the device to observe unseen organisms.
• The microscope was key in discovering new means in preventing and curing various illnesses.

Telescope

• Ship captains needed to see far and wide for them to navigate and to avoid dangers at sea.
• The invention of the telescope was a great help for navigators, together with the invention of compass, oars, and rudders.

War Weapons

• During the Middle Ages with war widespread, also came more development in weaponry technology.
• Weaponry developed for both offensive and defensive instruments, cross bows and long bows that could attack enemies at long ranges, soldiers wore iron body armors for close combats.

Modern Times

• The population boom of the 19th century increased demand for goods, thus people needed efficient ways to trade goods over greater distances.
• Machines required upgrading, and faster communication methods and computation to connect nations, resulting in industrial development.

Pasteurization

• Louis Pasteur invented pasteurization, which heats dairy products to kill harmful bacteria that allow spoilage.
• This was used to keep manufactured food, particularly milk and other dairy products from deteriorating immediately.

Petroleum Refinery

• Samuel M. Kier invented kerosene, the illuminating oil.
• Its development established the petroleum refinery industry.
• At present, petroleum is widely used in powering automobiles, factories and power plants, among others.

Telephone

• Alexander Graham Bell developed the telephone.
• The telephone a communication system which allows people to connect and communicate with each other in real time.

Calculator

• The calculator paved the way for easier arithmetic calculations.
• It resulted in the development of computers.

Philippine Inventions

• Despite being a developing country, the Philippines has contributed to science and technology.

Salamander Amphibious Tricycle

• Victor Llave and his team at H2O Technologies invented the Salamander.
• The Salamander is an amphibious tricycle that can cross not only flooded streets but also rivers and lakes.

Intellectual Revolution

• The intellectual revolution describes a period of changing people's beliefs and understanding of the world.

Ptolemy’s Model

• Claudius Ptolemy thought that all celestial objects including the planets, Sun, Moon, and stars orbited Earth.
• Earth was in the center of the universe, and did not move.

Copernicus’ Model

• In the 16th century, Nicolaus Copernicus thought that The planets orbited the Sun, and that the Moon orbited Earth.
• The Sun, in the center of the universe, did not move, nor did the stars

Theory of Evolution (Charles Darwin)

• Charles Darwin published the origin of Species in 1589.
• This publication is one of the most important works in scientific literature.
• Darwin presented evidence on how species evolved over time and presented traits and adaptation that differentiate species.
• He held the notion that all life is related and has descended from a common ancestor.

Freudian Revolution

• Sigmund Freud changed people’s view of psychology with his theory of psychoanalysis in the late 19th century.
• Psychoanalysis explains human behavior.
• Freud used and developed an observational method gathering reliable data to study human’s inner life.

Scientific Revolution

• A golden age in the history of science, giving birth to the development of scientific method, science as a discipline and a field of inquiry.

Science, Technology and Nation Building

• Science and Technology were important aspects in the building of a nation.

Pre-Colonial Period

• Filipinos used plants and herbs as medicines.
• They implemented farming and animal-raising systems.
• They developed different modes of transportation.
• Cordillera natives built rice terraces incorporating complicated irrigation system.
• They developed tools for planting, hunting, cooking and fishing.
• They developed technologies in creating musical instruments.

Pre-Colonial Period

• Archaeological artifacts discovered show a metal age influence on the lives of early Filipinos through jewelry, ceramics, and tools.
• These ancient practices in science and technology are known as indigenous science or folk science.

Colonial Period

• Spaniards built roads, bridges, and other infrastructures.
• The Spanish opened galleon trade. _ This trade brought additional technology and development.
• Some Filipino students were able to study in Europe.
• Advancement in medicine, engineering, arts, music and literature were made.
• Medicine and advanced science were introduced in formal colleges and universities established by the catholic orders.
• Health and education systems were developed for the upper class.

Colonial Period

• Americans established the Bureau of Science to nurture development.
• They established the public education system.
• They introduced "science" as a subject in the basic education curriculum which focused on nature studies and science and sanitation.
• They improved engineering works and health conditions.
• The Americans established (UP) the premier research university.
• More public hospitals were created.
• Mineral resources were explored and exploited.

Post-Colonial Period

• Leaders continued to pursue programs in Science and Technology after gaining independence from the colonizers.
• President Ferdinand Marcos led the advancement of science and technology.
• He established PAGASA, the Philippine Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.
• He established NAST – National Academy of Science and Technology.
• He established NSTA – National Science and Technology Authority, now the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

Philippine Government and Science and Technology

• The DOST has programs to improve science and technology.
• These programs fund research projects, supported by local funds or Overseas Development Aid (ODA).
• The DOST provides Scholarships for science and Technology undergrad/grad students.
• Establish more branches of the Philippine Science High School System for training Filipinos in Science and Technology.
• They can create science and technology parks to encourage cooperation between researchers.
• The DOST has a Balik Scientist Program to allow Filipino scientists abroad to engage in local projects. The National Science Complex and National Engineering Complex within the UP in Diliman was built to develop more science and technology and engineering manpower resources

Philippine Government in Science and Technology

• Identified areas for research and projects for the country: -Alternative and safe energy sources usage -Harnessing mineral resources -Discovering cures to diseases -Addressing climate change and global warming -Increasing food production -Preserving natural resources -Dealing with natural disasters -Infrastructure improvement

Famous Filipino in the Field of Science

• Ramon Cabanos Barba did outstanding research on tissue culture in Philippine mangoes.
• Josefino Cacas Comiso studies the traits of Antarctica using satellite images.
• Jose Bejar Jr. is known for electrical engineer who was elected officer of Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
• Lourdes Jansuy Cruz is notable for research on sea snail venom.
• Fabian Millar Dayrit researches on herbal medicine.
• Rafael Dineros Guerrero III researches on tilapia culture.
• Enrique Mapua Ostrea Jr. invented the meconium drug testing.

Introduction to Human Flourishing in Science and Technology

• Progress and development of human civilization mirrors the development of Science and Technology.
• The human person is both the bearer and beneficiary of S&T.
• S&T gives meaning to someone who traverses the world and its struggles.
• Scientific and technological advancements give greater impact to humanity as a whole.