SOUTHERN BAPTIST COLLEGE

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY

REVIEW SHEETS
PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION
NOTE: STRICTLY FOR YOUR OWN CONSUMPTION ONLY!!

INTRODUCTION TO STS (DEFINITIONS AND CONCEPTS)

Science- from Latin word “Scientia” meaning knowledge.

SCIENCE:
 Refers to a systematic and methodical activity of building and organizing knowledge.
 A system of acquiring knowledge based on scientific method.
 About how the universe behaves through observation, experimentation or both.
 It is also the human attempt to understand the natural world, with or without concern for practical uses of that
knowledge.
 Science tries to discover facts and relationships and then tries to create theories that makes sense of these facts
and relationships.
Belief - is an opinion or something that a person holds to be true, without concrete basis or evidence
Scientific Principles or Scientific Law - are ideas based on scientific rules and laws that are generally accepted by
scientists. They are fundamental truths that are the foundation for other studies.

TECHNOLOGY - Came from 2 Greek Words: “techne” (skill, craftmanship, art) “Logos” (discourse, reason, study)
TECHNOLOGY:
 A human activity involved with the making and using of material artifacts.
 Human attempt to change the world.
 As a human activity, technology is on the same level as art, politics, economics and the like.
 Technology involves:
o Tools
o Techniques
o Procedures for putting the findings of science to practical use.

Science- explores for the purpose of knowing.

Technology- explores for the purpose of making something useful from that knowledge.
Science drives technology by making new technology possible through scientific breakthroughs.

Society is derived from the French société, which had its origin in the Latin societas, a "friendly association with others,"
SOCIETY:
 its members may share some mutual concern or interest, a common objective or common characteristics.
 doesn’t live on technology but embrace it to facilitate it.

HISTORICAL, PHILOSOPHICAL AND SOCIAL ASPECTS OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Science, Technology and Society

Abastillas
 (2006) defined science as the cumulative inquiry into nature using the scientific method or system of verifiable
concepts, methods, principles, theories and laws which seek to understand, describe and explain, and predict
nature and its phenomena.
 Technology is simply the application of science. It is described as the application of knowledge and skills to
address problems regarding nature to improve and ease the everyday way of living.
Oxford Reference (2019)
 Science can also pertain to the organized investigation of the structure and properties of the physical and natural
world by thorough observation and experiment.
 Technology is the practical application of scientific knowledge for intended use.
Ramey (2012),
 Society has cyclical co-independence on science and technology since these cannot exists without man. Pursuing
continuous advancement in science and technology has been giving man the opportunity to make life easier.
 It improves human conditions in terms of: food, Shelter, Clothing, health, wellness, education, transportation,
trading, agriculture, and infrastructures, etc.

1. EARLY CIVILIZATION
 The stone age which transpired about 2.5 million years ago, when early humans learned to use stone tools for
their survival, such as in hunting fish and wild animals, preparing food and making shelter.
 They learned to control fire that allowed people to cook food, and provided heat and light, and protection at
night.
 Early humans were considered nomads, they are people who stay on the move looking food w/o permanent
home

2. SUMERIAN CIVILIZATION
 The foundation of human civilization began in Mesopotamia.
 The word Mesopotamia, meaning “land between the rivers”, was derived from Greek words meso (middle) and
potam (river) since it was located between the rivers of Tigris and Euphrates.
 Today, Mesopotamia corresponds to modern-day Iraq, Kuwait, the northeastern section of Syria and portion of
southeastern Turkey and smaller parts of southwestern Iran.
 The Sumerians were the first people to settle in Mesopotamia and were able to create a civilization by the
development of methods and technologies in agriculture, language, governance, architectures and other
aspects. There were several City-states made by Sumerains and among pertinent ones were Eridu, Uruk, Ur,
Larsa, Isin, Adab, Kullah, Lagash, Nippur, and Kish (Mark 2011). The ones that considered to be the first true city
in the world is the City of Uruk.
 Each of these cities had corresponding king living in ziggurat with temple at the top reserved for their high
priests to serve their partron gods and goddesses. Ziggurats appear around 2200 B.C.
 The farmers had the irrigation system called levees used to hold back the floods from their fields and made
artificial walls and canals to channel water from Tigris and Euphrates rivers into the fields.
 Sumerian levees were earth walls built along the riverbank to control the water supply and prevent flooding.
They were made of reeds, mud, clay bricks, and bitumen.
 The LEVEES were pierced with holes to allow water to flow out and irrigate the crops when needed. The levees
also protected the riverbank from erosion by water currents.
 PLOW- Another invention made by the Sumerians was the plow that increased the quality of crops. Plow is a
tool or device that is used in farming for initial cultivation of soil in preparation for sowing seed or planting.
 CUNEIFORM WRITING - The development in cuneiform writing is claimed to be the greatest contribution of the
Sumerian civilization. (mark, 2018).
 It is a system of writing derived from pictographs and symbol of items engraved on soft clay tablets with the
used of reed stylus. Most of the clay tablets were sunbaked, making tablets very fragile and difficult to store and
most especially to transport.
 NUMBER SYSTEM- Sumerians came up with the development of arithmetic pertaining to number system. The
Sumerian writing system. The Sumerian writing system was a combination of different radix system such as base
1, base 10 and base 60. The base 60 which is known as the sexagesimal, became the standard number system of
Sumerians and passed down to the ancient Babylonian.
 The SEXAGESIMAL system of numbers, the base-60, led to the conversion of time period such as having 24 hours
in a day, 60 minutes in an hour, and 60 seconds in a minute.
 SAILBOAT- The discovery of sailboat made it easier for the people of Mesopotamia to acquire foods that they
could cultivate and produce in their own farms and as well as trading of goods in faraway areas. The invention of
sailboat made way in the innovation in the aspects of doing travel, trading and battleship.
 WHEEL- The wheel initially took form of the potter’s wheel. (Antiquity now, 2013). Then this concept led to
wheeled vehicles to easily transport agricultural products and transfer people from one place to another.
 Typically, early wheel was made out of solid disk of wood from the tree trunk.
 MEDICINE- Superstitions, mysticism, astrology and magic played pertinent aspects in the lives of the people of
Mesopotamia.
 Sumerians believed that diseases were punishment from god due to certain committed sins or wrong doing or
due to action of demons or bad spirits.
 They believed that priest had sufficient magic power to fight the mystic force of disease and illness. In cases
where the disease or disorder was believed to originate from supernatural causes, exorcists were consulted to
drive away the spirits by charms and spells.

3. BABYLONIAN CIVILIZATION
Ruled over by King Hammurabi.
Babylon is the most popular in ancient Mesopotamia.
Transpired during bronze age.
HANGING GARDEN’S OF BABYLON
Built by King Nebuchadnezzar as a gift for his wife Amyitis who became depressed and homesick.
WEAPONS
Ancient Babylonians used sharpened weapons such as sickle, swords, axes, spears, war slings.
BABYLONIAN NUMBER SYSTEM
Combination of Number system and cuneiform digits.

4. EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION
 Ancient Egypt -- a land of mysteries.
 The civilization of Ancient Egypt is known for its stupendous achievements in a whole range of fields,
including art and architecture, engineering, medicine and statecraft.
 The civilization of Ancient Egypt was one of the earliest in world history.
 It is usually held to have begun around 3000 BC.
 The 'black land' LOWER EGYPT was the fertile land on the banks of the Nile. The ancient Egyptians used this
land for growing their crops. This was the only land in ancient Egypt that could be farmed because a layer of
rich, black silt was deposited there every year after the Nile flooded.
 The 'red land' UPPER EGYPT was the barren desert that protected Egypt on two sides. These deserts
separated ancient Egypt from neighboring countries and invading armies. They also provided the ancient
Egyptians with a source for precious metals and semi-precious stones.
 Egyptian men and women wore makeup. It was thought to have healing powers, plus it helped protect their
skin from the sun.
 They used moldy bread to help with infections.
 They were one of the first civilizations to invent writing. They also used ink to write and paper called
papyrus.
 The archaeologists have realized that the ancient Egyptian history could be divided into three separate
periods,
o The Old Kingdom
o The Middle Kingdom
o The new Kingdom
 The Great Sphinx at Giza, near Cairo, is probably the most famous sculpture in the world.
 With a lion's body and a human head, it represents Ra-Horakhty, a form of the powerful sun god, and is the
incarnation of royal power.
 PYRAMIDS- One of the world's greatest architectural wonders.
 A pyramid is a tomb, a four-sided stone structure that symbolizes the sacred mountain, humanity's universal
striving to reach the heavens
 The ancient belief in raising the human spirit towards the gods is the quintessential purpose behind the
construction of pyramids.
 ▪ The Valley of the Kings is famous for its royal tombs.
 The Valley of the Kings was located in the ancient necropolis of Thebes, the capital of Egypt during the New
Kingdom.
 These beautifully painted tombs have been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
 Government and religion were inseparable in ancient Egypt.
 The pharaoh was the head of state and the divine representative of the gods on earth.
 Religion and government brought order to society through the construction of temples, the creation of laws,
taxation, the organization of labour, trade with neighbours and the defence of the country's interests
 ROLES OF PHARHAOAH
o Old kingdom - considered themselves to be living gods who ruled with absolute power. They built
pyramids as testimony of their greatness but left no official records of their achievements.
o Middle kingdom - the pharaohs no longer considered themselves to be living gods, but rather the
representatives of the gods on earth. They left records of their deeds, but these were no more than
a string of titles and laudatory epithets.
 MUMMIFICATION
o The earliest ancient Egyptians buried their dead in small pits in the desert. ▪ Sand dehydrated the bodies
quickly, creating natural 'mummies'.
o Later, the ancient Egyptians began burying their dead in coffins to protect them from wild animals in the
desert.
o For example, the body had to be preserved through mummification and given a properly furnished tomb
with everything needed for life in the afterworld.
o The purpose of mummification was to keep the body intact so it could be transported to a spiritual
afterlife.
o This practice reached its height during the eleventh and twelfth centuries