MODULE 2

INTELLECTUAL REVOLUTIONS THAT DEFINE SOCIETY

Suggested Time Allotment: 3 hours

OVERVIEW
This module will give light to the development of science and scientific ideas in the heart
of the society. It is the goal of this module to articulate ways by which society is transformed by
science and technology.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
1. Discuss how the ideas postulated by Copernicus, Darwin, and Freud contributed to the spark
of scientific revolution
2. Analyze how scientific revolution is done in various parts of the world like in Latin America,
East Asia, Middle East, China and Africa.

VOCABULARY LIST
Scientific Revolution- the period of enlightenment when the developments of the fields of
Mathematics, Physics, Astronomy, Biology and Chemistry transformed the views of society
about nature.

SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION
Science is as old as the world itself. There is no individual that can exactly identify when
and where science began. From the genesis of time, science has existed. It is always
interwoven with the society. So, how can science be defined?
1. SCIENCE AS AN IDEA
It includes ideas, theories, and all available systematic explanations and observations about the
natural and physical world.
2. SCIENCE AS AN INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITY
It encompasses a systematic and practical study of the natural and physical world. This process
of study involves systematic observation and experimentation
3. SCIENCE AS A BODY OF KNOWLEDGE
It is a subject or a discipline, a field of study, or a body of knowledge that deals with the process
of learning about the natural and physical world. This is what we refer to as school science.
4. SCIENCE AS A PERSONAL AND SOCIAL ACTIVITY
This explains that science is both knowledge and activities done by human beings to develop
better understanding of the world around them. It is means to improve life and to survive in life.
It is interwoven with people’s lives.

Human beings have embarked in scientific activities in order to know and understand
everything around them. They have persistently observed and studied the natural and physical
world in order to find meanings and seek answers to many questions. They have developed
noble ideas, later known as philosophy, to provide alternative and possible explanations to
certain phenomena. Humans also used religion to rationalize the origins of life.
The idea of scientific revolution is claimed to have started in the early 16 th century up to the
th
18 century in Europe. Why in Europe? The probable answer is the invention of the printing
machine and the blooming intellectual activities done in various places of learning, and the
growing number of scholars in various fields of human interests. This does not mean, however
that science is a foreign idea transported from other areas of the globe. Anyone who can
examine the history of science, technology, medicine, and mathematics is aware that all great
civilizations of the ancient world had their own sophisticated traditions and activities related to
these disciplines.
Scientific revolution was the period of enlightenment when the developments in the fields of
mathematics, physics, astronomy, biology, and chemistry transformed the views of society
about nature. It explained the emergence or birth of modern science as a result of these
developments from the disciplines mentioned. The ideas generated during this period enabled
the people to reflect, rethink, and reexamine their beliefs and their way of life. There is no doubt
that it ignited vast human interests to rethink how they do science and view scientific processes.

SCIENCE
IDEAS

SCIENTIFIC
REVOLUTIO
N

HUMAN SOCIETY

Figure 1. Influences on
Scientific Revolution

Scientific revolution is very significant in the development of human beings, transformation

of society, and the formulation of scientific ideas. It significantly improved the conduct of
scientific investigations, experiments, and observations. The scientific revolution also led to the
creation of the new research fields in science and prompted the establishments of a strong
foundation for modern science. In many ways, scientific revolution transformed the natural world
and the world of ideas.
Some Intellectuals and their Revolutionary Ideas
To further understand what exactly happened during the scientific revolution, it is important
to examine the different individuals whose ideas have shaken and contested the dominant
theories and ideas during this period- the truths of their time. Scientists in all periods of time are
driven by their curiosity, critical thinking, and creativity to explore, the physical and natural world.
Their love for science is driven by their deep passion to know and to discover.

Creativity
SCIENTIST
Passion to SCIENCE IDEAS
know
Passion to SCIENCE
Curiosity discover DISCOVERIES

TECHNOLOGY

Critical
Thinking
Figure 2. Variables that influence the development of science, ideas, science discoveries, and
technology
Scientists are not driven by clamor for honor and publicity. They are ordinary people doing
extraordinary things. Some scientists were never appreciated during their times some were
sentenced to death, while others were condemned by the church during their time. In spite of all
the predicaments, and challenges they experienced, they never stopped experimenting,
theorizing, and discovering new knowledge and ideas.
In this part of the lesson, three notable scientists are discussed. For sure, there were many
scientists who worked before and after these individuals. However, it is important to note that
these men, particularly through their ideas, had shaken the world.

NICOLAUS COPERNICUS

A Sun-Centered View of the Universe

 Born: February 19, 1473; Torun, Poland. Died: May 24, 1543; Frombork, Poland.
An engraving of Copernicus © Copernicus/PoodlesRock/CORBIS

In the middle of the 16th century a Catholic, Polish astronomer, Nicolaus Copernicus,
synthesized observational data to formulate a comprehensive, Sun-centered cosmology,
launching modern astronomy and setting off a scientific revolution.
Renaissance Man
Have you ever heard the expression “Renaissance man”? First coined in the early 20th
century, the phrase describes a well-educated person who excels in a wide variety of subjects
or fields. The Renaissance is the name for a period in European history, the 14th through the
17th centuries, when the continent emerged from the “Dark Ages” with a renewed interest in the
arts and sciences. European scholars were rediscovering Greek and Roman knowledge, and
educated Europeans felt that humans were limitless in their thinking capacities and should
embrace all types of knowledge.
Copernican Revolution, shift in the field of astronomy from a geocentric understanding of
the universe, centered around Earth, to a heliocentric understanding, centered around the Sun,
as articulated by the Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus in the 16th century. This shift
marked the start of a broader Scientific Revolution that set the foundations of modern science
and allowed science to flourish as an autonomous discipline within its own right.

Copernican system
Copernican system, 18th-century French engraving.
Photos.com/Thinkstock

Although heliocentric theories had been considered by philosophers as early

as Philolaus in the 5th century BCE, and while there had been earlier discussions of the
possibility of Earth’s motion, Copernicus was the first to propound a comprehensive heliocentric
theory equal in scope and predictive capability to Ptolemy’s geocentric system. Motivated by the
desire to satisfy Plato’s principle of uniform circular motion, Copernicus was led to overthrow
traditional astronomy because of its inability to be reconciled with the Platonic dictum as well as
its lack of unity and harmony as a system of the world. Relying on virtually the same data
as Ptolemy had possessed, Copernicus turned the world inside out, putting the Sun at the
center and setting Earth into motion around it. 
The reception of Copernican astronomy amounted to victory by infiltration. By the time
large-scale opposition to the theory had developed in the church and elsewhere, most of the
best professional astronomers had found some aspect or other of the new system
indispensable. Copernicus’s book De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri VI (“Six Books
Concerning the Revolutions of the Heavenly Orbs”), published in 1543,
became a standard reference for advanced problems in astronomical
research, particularly for its mathematical techniques. Thus, it was
widely read by mathematical astronomers, in spite of its central
cosmological hypothesis, which was widely ignored.

Copernicus’s Theory Can Be Summarized Like This:

01 - The center of the Earth is not the center of the Universe, only of
Earth’s gravity and of the lunar sphere.
02 - The Sun is fixed and all other spheres revolve around the Sun.
(Copernicus retained the idea of spheres and of perfectly circular
orbits. In fact, the orbits are elliptical, which the German astronomer
Johannes Kepler demonstrated in 1609.) The heliocentric model of Copernicus.

03 - Earth has more than one motion, turning on its axis and moving in a spherical orbit around
the sun.
04 - The stars are fixed but appear to move because of the Earth’s motion.
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) built on the foundations of Copernicus’s work. Also, a firm
believer in the heliocentric model, Galileo was placed under house arrest for much of his life for
his beliefs after standing trial in Rome. He was called a heretic for believing that the Sun, not the
Earth, was the motionless center of the universe. In recent years, the Church has acknowledged
that its handling of the Galileo affair was regrettable. In 1610, Galileo published The Starry
Messenger, which reported his discoveries of four of Jupiter’s moons, the roughness of the
Moon’s surface, stars invisible to the naked eye, and differences between the appearances of
planets and fixed stars. He also published observations on the full set of phases of Venus and
wrote regarding the tides. Galileo’s theory was that tides were caused by the sloshing back and
forth of water in the seas at a point on Earth’s surface which speeded up at certain times of day
due to the Earth’s rotation. However, this is incorrect (as the tides are caused by the moon).
Galileo also importantly put forth the basic principle of relativity (the laws of physics are the
same in any system that is moving at a constant speed in a straight line). Galileo was one of the
first to observe a sunspot and not mistakenly attribute it to a transit of Mercury. Galileo also
demonstrated that falling bodies of similar material, but different masses have similar times of
descent. In essence, descent time is independent of mass. Galileo also showed that there are
as many perfect squares as whole numbers, even though most numbers are not perfect
squares; since there are squares and non-squares, and not all numbers are squares, there must
be fewer squares than non-square numbers. However, for every number there is a square.
Therefore, there is actually a 1:1 ratio of non-squares to squares.
Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) is responsible for creating Kepler’s laws of planetary
motion. These laws include that the orbit of every planet is an ellipse with the Sun at one of the
two foci, that a line joining a planet and the Sun sweeps out equal areas during equal intervals
of time, and that the square of the orbital period of a planet is directly proportional to the cube of
a semi-major axis of its orbit. Kepler was one of the first to incorporate the field of physics and
the field of astronomy. This caused some controversy; however his ideas became more widely
read and accepted after his death. Once Newton derived Kepler’s laws from a theory of
universal gravitation, they became part of the theoretical canon of the Scientific Revolution.

In the next and final post, the contributions of Isaac Newton will be considered. Newton,
arguably one of the greatest physicists of all time, lived during the late Renaissance and
Scientific Revolution. Newton was one of the precursors to the Enlightenment who sparked the
ensuing period of incredible intellectual growth.

CHARLES DARWIN

Charles Darwin
British naturalist Charles Darwin is credited for the
theory of natural selection. While he is indeed most
famous, Alfred Wallace, simultaneously came to a
similar conclusion and the two corresponded on the
topic.

PHOTOGRAPH BY CHRONICAL/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

Charles Darwin was born in 1809 in Shrewsbury, England. His father, a doctor, had high hopes
that his son would earn a medical degree at Edinburgh University in Scotland, where he
enrolled at the age of sixteen. It turned out that Darwin was more interested in natural history
than medicine—it was said that the sight of blood made him sick to his stomach. While he
continued his studies in theology at Cambridge, it was his focus on natural history that became
his passion.

In 1831, Darwin embarked on a voyage aboard a ship of the British Royal Navy, the HMS
Beagle, employed as a naturalist. The main purpose of the trip was to survey the coastline of
South America and chart its harbors to make better maps of the region. The work that Darwin
did was just an added bonus.
Darwin spent much of the trip on land collecting samples of plants, animals, rocks, and fossils.
He explored regions in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and remote islands such as the Galápagos. He
packed all of his specimens into crates and sent them back to England aboard other vessels.

Upon his return to England in 1836, Darwin’s work continued. Studies of his samples and notes
from the trip led to groundbreaking scientific discoveries. Fossils he collected were shared with
paleontologists and geologists, leading to advances in the understanding of the processes that
shape the Earth’s surface. Darwin’s analysis of the plants and animals he gathered led him to
question how species form and change over time. This work convinced him of the insight that he
is most famous for—natural selection. The theory of natural selection says that individuals of a
species are more likely to survive in their environment and pass on their genes to the next
generation when they inherit traits from their parents that are best suited for that specific
environment. In this way, such traits become more widespread in the species and can lead
eventually to the development of a new species.

In 1859, Darwin published his thoughts about evolution and natural selection in On the Origin of
Species. It was as popular as it was controversial. The book convinced many people that
species change over time—a lot of time—suggesting that the planet was much older than what
was commonly believed at the time: six thousand years.

Charles Darwin died in 1882 at the age of seventy-three. He is buried in Westminster Abbey in
London, England.

Darwin’s accomplishments were so diverse that it is useful to distinguish two fields to which he
made major contributions: evolutionary biology and philosophy of science. More than these
works, what made Darwin truly remarkable was his courage to challenge religious and
unscientific ideas that are deemed to be prominent during those days. His unorthodox way of
pursuing science gave more value to evidence-based science. Darwin provided a different
framework for doing scientific activities. It is a science marked by observation and experiment.

SIGMUND FREUD

Born:
Sigismund Schlomo Freud
6 May 1856
Freiberg in Mähren, Moravia, Austrian Empire

Photo reference:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund_Freud
Sigmund Freud (6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939), physiologist, medical doctor, psychologist,
was an influential thinker of the twentieth century.

He was the founding father of psychoanalysis, a method for treating mental illness and also a
theory which explains human behavior.

Freud believed that events in our childhood have a great influence on our adult lives, shaping
our personality. For example, anxiety originating from traumatic experiences in a person's past
is hidden from consciousness, and may cause problems during adulthood (in the form of
neuroses).

Thus, when we explain our behavior to ourselves or others (conscious mental activity), we rarely
give a true account of our motivation. This is not because we are deliberately lying. While
human beings are great deceivers of others; they are even more adept at self-deception.

Freud's life work was dominated by his attempts to find ways of penetrating this often subtle and
elaborate camouflage that obscures the hidden structure and processes of personality.

His lexicon has become embedded within the vocabulary of Western society. Words he
introduced through his theories are now used by everyday people, such as anal (personality),
libido, denial, repression, cathartic, Freudian slip, and neurotic.

The Unconscious Mind

Freud (1900, 1905) developed a topographical model of the mind, whereby he described the
features of the mind’s structure and function. Freud used the analogy of an iceberg to describe
the three levels of the mind.
On the surface is consciousness, which consists of those thoughts that are the focus of our
attention now, and this is seen as the tip of the iceberg. The preconscious consists of all which
can be retrieved from memory.

The third and most significant region is the unconscious. Here lie the processes that are the real
cause of most behavior. Like an iceberg, the most important part of the mind is the part you
cannot see.

The unconscious mind acts as a repository, a ‘cauldron’ of primitive wishes and impulse kept at
bay and mediated by the preconscious area.

For example, Freud (1915) found that some events and desires were often too frightening or
painful for his patients to acknowledge, and believed such information was locked away in the
unconscious mind. This can happen through the process of repression.

Sigmund Freud emphasized the importance of the unconscious mind, and a primary assumption
of Freudian theory is that the unconscious mind governs behavior to a greater degree than
people suspect. Indeed, the goal of psychoanalysis is to make the unconscious conscious.

However, Freud’s most important and frequently reiterated claim, that with psychoanalysis he
had invented a new science of the mind, remains the subject of much disapproval and
controversy. He and psychoanalysis have been criticized in very extreme terms. For an often-
quoted example, Peter Medawar, a Nobel Prize winning immunologist, said in 1975 that
psychoanalysis is the “most stupendous intellectual confidence trick of the twentieth century”.
However, Freud has had a tremendous impact on psychotherapy. Many psychotherapists follow
Freud’s approach to an extent, even if they reject his theories.

The contemporary scientific climate in which Freud lived and worked should be taken into
consideration. When the towering scientific figure of nineteenth century science, Charles
Darwin, published his revolutionary Origin of Species, Freud was four years old. The
evolutionary principle completely altered the existing conception of man, whereas before man
had been seen as a being different in nature to the members of the animal kingdom by virtue of
his possession of an immortal soul, he was now seen as being part of the natural order, different
from non-human animals only in degree of structural difficulty.

This made it possible and reasonable for the first time to treat man as an object of scientific
investigation, and to imagine of the vast and varied range of human behavior, and the
motivational causes from which it springs, as being amenable in principle to scientific
explanation. Much of the creative work done in a whole variety of diverse scientific fields over
the next century was to be inspired by and derive nourishment from this new worldview which
Freud, with his enormous esteem for science, accepted implicitly.

Freud also followed Plato in his account of the nature of mental health or psychological well-
being, which he saw as the establishment of a melodic relationship between the three elements
which constitute the mind. A key concept introduced by Freud was that the mind possesses a
number of ‘defense mechanisms’ to attempt to prevent conflicts from becoming too acute, such
as repression (pushing conflicts back into the unconscious), sublimation (channeling the sexual
drives into the achievement socially acceptable goals, in art, science, poetry, etc.), fixation (the
failure to progress beyond one of the developmental stages), and regression (a return to the
behavior characteristic of one of the stages).
DEVELOPMENTS OF SCIENCE IN MESOAMERICA

Mesoamerica includes the entire area of Central America from Southern Mexico up to the
border of South America. There is no doubt that the Mesoamerican region is rich in culture and
knowledge prior to the arrival of its European colonizers.

The Ancient Maya

Mayan civilization lasted for more than 2,000 years, but the period from about 300 A.D.
to 900 A.D., known as the Classic Period, was its heyday. During that time, the Maya developed
a complex understanding of astronomy. They also figured out how to grow corn, beans, squash
and cassava in sometimes-inhospitable places; how to build elaborate cities without modern
machinery; how to communicate with one another using one of the world’s first written
languages; and how to measure time using not one but two complicated calendar systems.
The Maya strongly believed in the influence of the cosmos on daily life. Consequently,
Mayan knowledge and understanding of celestial bodies was advanced for their time: For
example, they knew how to predict solar eclipses. They also used astrological cycles to aid in
planting and harvesting and developed two calendars that are as precise as those we use
today.

The Maya incorporated their advanced

understanding of astronomy into their temples
and other religious structures. The pyramid at
Chichén Itzá in Mexico, for example, is situated
according to the sun’s location during the
spring and fall equinoxes. At sunset on these
two days, the pyramid casts a shadow on itself
that aligns with a carving of the head of the
Mayan serpent god. The shadow forms the
serpent’s body; as the sun sets, the serpent
appears to slither down into the Earth.
Chichen Itza was a large pre-Columbian city built by the Maya people
Remarkably, the ancient Maya managed to of the Terminal Classic period. The archaeological site is located in
build elaborate temples and great cities Tinúm Municipality, Yucatán State, Mexico.
without what we would consider to be
Photo Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chichen_Itza
essential tools: metal and the wheel.
However, they did use a number of other
“modern” innovations and tools, especially in the decorative arts. For example, they built
complicated looms for weaving cloth and devised a rainbow of glittery paints made from mica, a
mineral that still has technological uses today.

Until recently, people believed that vulcanization–combining rubber with other materials to make
it more durable–was discovered by the American (from Connecticut) Charles Goodyear in the
19th century. However, historians now think that the Maya were producing rubber products
about 3,000 years before Goodyear received his patent in 1843. How did they do it?
Researchers believe that the Maya discovered this process accidentally, during a religious ritual
in which they combined the rubber tree and the morning-glory plant. Once they realized how
strong and versatile this new material was, the Maya began to use it in a variety of ways: to
make water-resistant cloth, glue, bindings for books, figurines and the large rubber balls used in
the ritual game known as pokatok.

A picture of the ball game Pok A Tok

Photo Source:
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/4d/10/e7/4d10e7303
2d240cc7d756c66bfa3a789.jpg

The Decline of the Maya

Despite the Maya’s remarkable scientific achievements, their culture began to decline toward
the beginning of the 11th century. The cause and scope of the decline is a matter of some
debate today. Some believe that the Maya were wiped out by war, while others attribute their
demise to the disruption of their trade routes. Still others believe that the Maya’s agricultural
practices and dynamic growth resulted in climate change and deforestation. While much of what
was left of the ancient Maya culture was subsumed by the Spanish conquistadors in the 16th
century, the legacy of Mayan scientific achievement lives on in the discoveries that
archeologists continue to make about this amazing ancient culture.

The Inca Empire

Inca Technology

The Inca had many technologies, including Stone Cutting (which they were very good
at), Agriculture, Astronomy, Mathematics, Medicine, Hydraulics, Architecture, Record-keeping
and Military Tactics . They recorded their special events on Quipus. They had a major road
system of over 16,000 miles. They also had bridges to cross over rivers, and Aqueducts to bring
fresh water to them.

Stonewalls
Dry stone is a building method by which structures
are constructed from stones without any mortar to bind
them together. Dry stone structures are stable because of
their unique construction method, which is characterized by
the presence of a load-bearing façade of carefully selected
interlocking stones.
Quipus Machu Picchu

Photo Reference:
Most information recorded on the quipus consists of https://ancientincanempire.weebly.com/technology.html
numbers in a decimal system. The Quipucamayocs were
trained to read and make quipus. Quipus helped them keep
track of populations, troops, and tribute.

Quipu
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https://ancientincanempire.weebly.com/technology.html

Agriculture

The Incan civilization was predominantly an

agricultural society. The Incas took advantage of the soil,
overcoming the adversities of the Andean terrain and
weather. The adaptation of agricultural technologies that
had been used previously allowed the Incas to organize
production of a diverse range of crops from the coast,
mountains, and jungle regions, which they were then able
to redistribute to villages that did not have access to the
other regions. These technological achievements in
agriculture would not have been possible without the
workforce that was at the disposal of the Sapa Inca, as
well as the road system that allowed them to harvested
crops and to distribute them throughout their territory.
These practices were so effective that many experts Agriculture on Highlands
believe that if they were readopted today, they would Photo Reference:
solve the nutritional problems of Andean people for many https://ancientincanempire.weebly.com/technology.html
decades.

Calendar

Inca calendrics were strongly tied to astronomy. Inca

astronomers understood equinoxes, solstices. They could not,
however, predict eclipses. The Inca calendar was essentially
lunisolar, as two calendars were maintained in parallel, one solar and
one lunar. Time during a given day was not reckoned in hours or
minutes, but rather in terms of how far the sun had traveled or in how
long it takes to perform a task.

Incan Calendar
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 Inca Weapons

The Inca had different groups of weapons for the different war groups. They split the
armies into groups, because before the warriors just had random weapons they didn't know how
to use, so they made groups to train each warrior to handle a specific weapon. The Inca
slingshot warriors didn't just use slingshots, they also used weapons called Boleadoras.

Slingshot or Boleadoras
Relay Runners
Photo Reference:
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Aztec Civilization

Aztec
Tools
Civilization -
The Aztecs and
Their Region

Most believe the Aztec civilization originated in the area of present day Arizona, New
Mexico, Nevada, and Colorado. Historic accounts commonly begin in the late 12th century as
they migrated to what is now central Mexico. Modern day Mexicans are of mixed Spanish and
indigenous ancestry, descendants of the Mexicas (Aztecs) or of other indigenous peoples of the
Aztec Empire and Mesoamerica. Mexico City now stands on the site of the Aztec’s most
elaborate and capitol city.

The Aztecs were an advanced and prosperous civilization who built beautiful and
sophisticated cities. At their peak, the Aztec civilization had about 15 million people who lived in
nearly 500 communities. The Aztecs were culturally developed in music, arts, crafts, and the
sciences. Music played an important role in Aztec religious rituals for worshiping their many
gods. About 300,000 people lived in Tenochtitlan, their capitol. In this famous city, the
government controlled and was responsible for punishment, agriculture, and all aspects of the
civilization’s economy.

Aztec Civilization - The Aztec Economy

The early Aztec economy consisted of a type of barter system as this was a pre-
capitalist society. Minor purchases were made with cacao beans imported from lowlands. In the
marketplaces, a small rabbit might have been worth 30 beans, an egg cost 3 beans while larger
purchases of cloth could range from 65 to 300 cacao beans.

The highly developed empire had an elaborate leadership and society that consisted of
four classes.

 Nobles (highest in power)

 Commoners (the majority of population, were mostly farmers)
 Serfs (worked land for the nobles)
 Slaves (consisted of those captured and indebted who couldn’t pay)
 Governmental office positions were usually inherited, but one could be awarded an office
through exemplary service to the emperor. Slavery was quite common.

Aztec communities were heavily dependent upon agriculture with corn being the central
crop; though they also relied somewhat on hunting and gathering. Crop surpluses were stored
and used during hard times. The Aztec also had sophisticated irrigation systems, allowing them
to farm otherwise dry lands. They farmed shallow lakes by scooping up mud and forming
islands called chinampas. These islands provided very fertile land that was profitable for
growing crops.

Aztec Civilization - The Aztec Life and Religion

The Aztec religion included human sacrifices in rich ceremonies to the gods. Dress was
also important in all parts of Aztec life. The Aztecs worshiped hundreds of gods and goddesses;
each represented a different aspect of life. Designing clothes, mainly in the upper class, was
one form of art in the Aztec culture. Women usually made the clothing, and they richly
decorated them with beads, flowers, and precious metals. Gold was often used and was
abundant in the Aztec empire. In fact, the pursuit of gold was the main reason Cortez traveled to
Mexico in 1519 (eventually leading to the Aztec demise).

Ceremonies were very important during the agricultural

seasons to ensure good crops as well as for Coronations.
During these ceremonies human sacrifices were given to the
gods. Many of the sacrifices were war prisoners or children.
They felt that human hearts and blood gave the gods strength
and appeased them when they were angry. Large temples were
built to celebrate the offering of sacrifices. The famous
Sunstone Calendar, which was twelve feet in diameter,
represented the Aztec universe. It is thought that the hearts of
human sacrifices were placed on this stone and presented to
the gods. The Aztecs believed in many gods, to whom they
paid tribute daily. It is estimated that over a quarter of a million
Aztec Sun Stone
people were sacrificed each year by the Aztecs.
Photo Reference:
Development of Science in Asia https://news.utexas.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/azt
ec_sun_stone-1200x800-c-default.jpg

One of the oldest civilizations in the world, the Indian civilization has a strong tradition of
science and technology. Ancient India was a land of sages and seers as well as a land of
scholars and scientists. Research has shown that from making the best steel in the world to
teaching the world to count, India was actively contributing to the field of science and technology
centuries long before modern laboratories were set up. Many theories and techniques
discovered by the ancient Indians have created and strengthened the fundamentals of modern
science and technology. While some of these groundbreaking contributions have been
acknowledged, some are still unknown to most.

India
One of the oldest civilizations in the world, the Indian civilization has a strong tradition of
science and technology. Ancient India was a land of sages and seers as well as a land of
scholars and scientists. Research has shown that from making the best steel in the world to
teaching the world to count, India was actively contributing to the field of science and technology
centuries long before modern laboratories were set up. Many theories and techniques
discovered by the ancient Indians have created and strengthened the fundamentals of modern
science and technology. While some of these groundbreaking contributions have been
acknowledged, some are still unknown to most.
1. The Idea of Zero
Little needs to be written about the mathematical digit ‘zero’, one of the most important
inventions of all time. Mathematician Aryabhata was the first person to create a symbol for zero
and it was through his efforts that mathematical operations like addition and subtraction started
using the digit, zero. The concept of zero and its integration into the place-value system also
enabled one to write numbers, no matter how large, by using only ten symbols.
2. The Decimal System
India gave the ingenious method of expressing all numbers by means of ten symbols –
the decimal system. In this system, each symbol received a value of position as well as an
absolute value. Due to the simplicity of the decimal notation, which facilitated calculation, this
system made the uses of arithmetic in practical inventions much faster and easier.
3. Numeral Notations
Indians, as early as 500 BCE, had devised a system of different symbols for every
number from one to nine. This notation system was adopted by the Arabs who called it the hind
numerals. Centuries later, this notation system was adopted by the western world who called
them the Arabic numerals as it reached them through the Arab traders.
4. Fibbonacci Numbers
The Fibonacci numbers and their sequence first appear in Indian mathematics as
mātrāmeru, mentioned by Pingala in connection with the Sanskrit tradition of prosody. Later on,
the methods for the formation of these numbers were given by mathematicians Virahanka,
Gopala and Hemacandra, much before the Italian mathematician Fibonacci introduced the
fascinating sequence to Western European mathematics.
5. Binary Numbers
Binary numbers is the basic language in which computer programs are written. Binary basically
refers to a set of two numbers, 1 and 0, the combinations of which are called bits and bytes. The
binary number system was first described by the Vedic scholar Pingala, in his book
Chandahśāstra, which is the earliest known Sanskrit treatise on prosody ( the study of poetic
metres and verse).
6. Chakravala method of Algorithms
The chakravala method is a cyclic algorithm to solve indeterminate quadratic equations,
including the Pell’s equation. This method for obtaining integer solutions was developed by
Brahmagupta, one of the well known mathematicians of the 7th century CE. Another
mathematician, Jayadeva later generalized this method for a wider range of equations, which
was further refined by Bhāskara II in his Bijaganita treatise.

7. Ruler Measurements
Excavations at Harappans sites have yielded rulers or linear measures made from ivory and
shell. Marked out in minute subdivisions with amazing accuracy, the calibrations correspond
closely with the hasta increments of 1 3/8 inches, traditionally used in the ancient architecture of
South India. Ancient bricks found at the excavation sites have dimensions that correspond to
the units on these rulers.

8. A Theory of Atom
One of the notable scientists of the ancient India was Kanad who is said to have devised the
atomic theory centuries before John Dalton was born. He speculated the existence of anu or a
small indestructible particles, much like an atom. He also stated that anu can have two states —
absolute rest and a state of motion. He further held that atoms of same substance combined
with each other in a specific and synchronized manner to produce dvyanuka (diatomic
molecules) and tryanuka (triatomic molecules).

9. The Heliocentric Theory

Mathematicians of ancient India often applied their mathematical knowledge to make accurate
astronomical predictions. The most significant among them was Aryabhatta whose book,
Aryabhatiya, represented the pinnacle of astronomical knowledge at the time. He correctly
propounded that the Earth is round, rotates on its own axis and revolves around the Sun i.e the
heliocentric theory. He also made predictions about the solar and lunar eclipses, duration of the
day as well as the distance between the Earth and the Moon.

10. Wootz Steel

A pioneering steel alloy matrix developed in India, Wootz steel is a crucible steel
characterized by a pattern of bands that was known in the ancient world by many different
names such as Ukku, Hindwani and Seric Iron. This steel was used to make the famed
Damascus swords of yore that could cleave a free-falling silk scarf or a block of wood with the
same ease. Produced by the Tamils of the Chera Dynasty, the finest steel of the ancient world
was made by heating black magnetite ore in the presence of carbon in a sealed clay crucible
kept inside a charcoal furnace.

11. Smelting of Zinc

India was the first to smelt zinc by the distillation process, an advanced technique
derived from a long experience of ancient alchemy. The ancient Persians had also attempted to
reduce zinc oxide in an open furnace but had failed. Zawar in the Tiri valley of Rajasthan is the
world’s first known ancient zinc smelting site. The distillation technique of zinc production goes
back to the 12th Century AD and is an important contribution of India to the world of science.

12. Seamless Metal Globe

Considered one of the most remarkable feats in metallurgy, the first seamless celestial
globe was made in Kashmir by Ali Kashmiri ibn Luqman in the reign of the Emperor Akbar. In a
major feat in metallurgy, Mughal metallurgists pioneered the method of lost-wax casting to make
twenty other globe masterpieces in the reign of the Mughal Empire. Before these globes were
rediscovered in the 1980s, modern metallurgists believed that it was technically impossible to
produce metal globes without any seams, even with modern technology.

13. Ayurveda
Long before the birth of Hippocrates, Charaka authored a foundational text,
Charakasamhita, on the ancient science of Ayurveda. Referred to as the Father of Indian
Medicine, Charaka was was the first physician to present the concept of digestion, metabolism
and immunity in his book. Charaka’s ancient manual on preventive medicine remained a
standard work on the subject for two millennia and was translated into many foreign languages,
including Arabic and Latin.

CHINA
The Ancient Chinese were famous for their inventions and technology. Many of their
inventions had lasting impact on the entire world. Other inventions led to great feats of
engineering like the Grand Canal and the Great Wall of China.
Here are some of the notable inventions and discoveries made by the engineers and
scientists of Ancient China:

1. Silk - Silk was a soft and light material much desired

by the wealthy throughout the world. It became such a
valuable export that the trade route running from
Europe to China became known as the Silk Road.
The Chinese learned how to make silk from the
 cocoons of silkworms. They managed to keep the process for making silk a secret for
hundreds of years.
2. Paper - Paper was invented by the Chinese as well as many interesting uses for paper
like paper money and playing cards. The first paper was invented in the 2nd century BC
and the manufacture later perfected around 105 AD.
3. Printing - Wood block printing was invented in AD
868 and then moveable type around 200 years
later. This was actually hundreds of years before
the invention of the printing press by Gutenberg in
Europe.
4. The Compass - The Chinese invented the
magnetic compass to help determine the correct
direction. They used this in city planning at first,
but it became very important to map makers and
for the navigation of ships.
5. Gunpowder - Gunpowder was invented in the 9th
century by chemists trying to find the Elixir of Immortality. Not long after, engineers
figured out how to use gunpowder for military uses such as bombs, guns, mines, and
even rockets. They also invented fireworks and made great beautiful displays of
fireworks for celebrations.
6. Boat Rudder - The rudder was invented as a way to steer large ships. This enabled the
Chinese to build huge ships as early as 200 AD, well before they were ever built in
Europe.

Other - Other inventions include the umbrella, porcelain, the wheelbarrow, iron casting, hot
air balloons, seismographs to measure earthquakes, kites, matches, stirrups for riding horses,
and acupuncture.

MIDDLE EAST COUNTRIES

Think of the origins of that staple of modern life, the cup of coffee, and Italy often springs to
mind. But in fact, Yemen is where the ubiquitous brew has its true origins. Along with the first
university, and even the toothbrush, it is among surprising Muslim inventions that have shaped the
world we live in today. The origins of these fundamental ideas and objects -- the basis of everything
from the bicycle to musical scales -- are the focus of "1001 Inventions," a book celebrating "the
forgotten" history of 1,000 years of Muslim heritage. "1001 Inventions" is now an exhibition at
London's Science Museum. Hassani hopes the exhibition will highlight the contributions of non-
Western cultures -- like the Muslim empire that once covered Spain and Portugal, Southern Italy and
stretched as far as parts of China -- to present day civilization.
Here Hassani shares his top 10 outstanding Muslim inventions:

1. Surgery

Around the year 1,000, the celebrated doctor Al Zahrawi published a 1,500 page
illustrated encyclopedia of surgery that was used in Europe as a medical reference for the next
500 years. Among his many inventions, Zahrawi discovered the use of dissolving cat gut to
stitch wounds -- beforehand a second surgery had to be performed to remove sutures. He also
reportedly performed the first caesarean operation and created the first pair of forceps.

2. Coffee

Now the Western world's drink du jour, coffee was first brewed in Yemen around the 9th
century. In its earliest days, coffee helped Sufis stay up during late nights of devotion. Later
brought to Cairo by a group of students, the coffee buzz soon caught on around the empire. By
the 13th century it reached Turkey, but not until the 16th century did the beans start boiling in
Europe, brought to Italy by a Venetian trader.

3. Flying machine

"Abbas ibn Firnas was the first person to

make a real attempt to construct a flying machine and
fly," said Hassani. In the 9th century he designed a
winged apparatus, roughly resembling a bird
costume. In his most famous trial near Cordoba in
Spain, Firnas flew upward for a few moments, before
falling to the ground and partially breaking his back.
His designs would undoubtedly have been an
inspiration for famed Italian artist and inventor
Leonardo da Vinci's hundreds of years later, said
Hassani.

4. University

In 859 a young princess named Fatima al-Firhi founded the first degree-granting
university in Fez, Morocco. Her sister Miriam founded an adjacent mosque and together the
complex became the al-Qarawiyyin Mosque and University. Still operating almost 1,200 years
later, Hassani says he hopes the center will remind people that learning is at the core of the
Islamic tradition and that the story of the al-Firhi sisters will inspire young Muslim women around
the world today.

5. Algebra

The word algebra comes from the title of a Persian mathematician's famous 9th century
treatise "Kitab al-Jabr Wa l-Mugabala" which translates roughly as "The Book of Reasoning and
Balancing." Built on the roots of Greek and Hindu systems, the new algebraic order was a
unifying system for rational numbers, irrational numbers and geometrical magnitudes. The same
mathematician, Al-Khwarizmi, was also the first to introduce the concept of raising a number to
a power.

6. Optics

"Many of the most important advances in the study of optics come from the Muslim
world," says Hassani. Around the year 1000 Ibn al-Haitham proved that humans see objects by
light reflecting off of them and entering the eye, dismissing Euclid and Ptolemy's theories that
light was emitted from the eye itself. This great Muslim physicist also discovered the camera
obscura phenomenon, which explains how the eye sees images upright due to the connection
between the optic nerve and the brain.
7. Music

Muslim musicians have had a profound impact on Europe, dating back to Charlemagne
tried to compete with the music of Baghdad and Cordoba, according to Hassani. Among many
instruments that arrived in Europe through the Middle East are the lute and the rahab, an
ancestor of the violin. Modern musical scales are also said to derive from the Arabic alphabet.

8. Toothbrush

According to Hassani, the Prophet Mohammed popularized the use of the first
toothbrush in around 600. Using a twig from the Meswak tree, he cleaned his teeth and
freshened his breath. Substances similar to Meswak are used in modern toothpaste.

9. The crank

Many of the basics of modern automatics were first put to use in the Muslim world,
including the revolutionary crank-connecting rod system. By converting rotary motion to linear
motion, the crank enables the lifting of heavy objects with relative ease. This technology,
discovered by Al-Jazari in the 12th century, exploded across the globe, leading to everything
from the bicycle to the internal combustion engine.

10. Hospitals

"Hospitals as we know them today, with wards and teaching centers, come from 9th
century Egypt," explained Hassani. The first such medical center was the Ahmad ibn Tulun
Hospital, founded in 872 in Cairo. Tulun hospital provided free care for anyone who needed it --
a policy based on the Muslim tradition of caring for all who are sick. From Cairo, such hospitals
spread around the Muslim world.

DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENCE IN AFRICA

The history of the sciences in Africa is rich and diverse. In ancient northeast Africa,
those regions such as Egypt, Nubia and Aksum that had evolved large, complex state systems,
also supported a division of labor which allowed for the growth of science and the more practical
technologies involved with the engineering of public works. The applied sciences of agronomy,
metallurgy, engineering, mathematics, and textile production, as well as medicine, dominated
the field of activity across Africa. So advanced was the culture of farming within West Africa,
that ‘New World‘ agricultural growth was spawned by the use of captives from these African
societies that had already made enormous strides in the field of agronomy.

Metallurgy was known in the African regions during the ancient times North Africa and
the Nile Valley imported iron technology from the Near East region that enabled them to benefit
from the developments during the Bronze Age, until the Iron Age. They invented metal tools
used in their homes, in agriculture, and in building their magnificent architectures.

The African landscape is dotted with the remnants of walled enclosures of various
dimensions in Southern Africa and West Africa. The irrigation terraces of Gwoza and Yil Ngas,
Nigeria, and the earthworks of Benin are major testimonies to the engineering activities of
ancient West Africans. The Benin earthworks have been estimated about 10,000 miles long by
the archeologist Patrick Darling. The totality of all the irrigation terrace lines or contours in
Gwoza, northeast Nigeria, may be on the order of 20,000 miles, according to researchers such
as White and Gwimbe, who have done extensive work on this subject. Various architectural
styles emerged in the region with a propensity for sun dried clay in the West African Sahelian
region and East Africa. Obelisks, stelae, sphinxes, flat topped and peaked pyramids, walled
enclosures called zimbabwes, sculptured temples, terraces and beehive, circular and
rectangular dwellings, are among the wide variety of engineered structures of Africa.

Our word “chemistry” derives from “al-kemi.” The ancient Egyptians had applied this
term meaning “the black land” to themselves. We should note, however, that some
contemporary scholars interpret “kemit” to refer to the dark richness of the Egyptian soil, while
others suggest that the term “black” refers in this instance to the skin pigmentation of these
ancient peoples. In various parts of Africa, chemical principles were applied— especially in the
leather tanning and cloth dyeing sectors. Indigenous distillation systems emerged in the process
of the brewing of beer and other fermented beverages in various regions of Africa.

Astronomy was also famous in the African region. For example, documents show that
Africans used three types of calendars: lunar, solar, and stellar, or a combination of the three.
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