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Ludo:

This game was played by the Mughal emperors. Earlier known as Pachisi, this game originated in India by the sixth century. A variant of this game, called Ludo, made its way to England during the British Raj.

Snakes and ladders:

Snakes and ladders originated in India as a game based on morality.

Chaturanga/ Chess:

The game of chess originated in India 1500 years ago , during the time of the Gupta dynasty, by an Indian Brahmin. The Indian king Balhait ordered a Brahmin to design a chess game called Chaturanga to help strengthen his people's intelligence. In Sanskrit, it means an army of four divisions.

Rulers:

Rulers were first made during the Indus valley civilization. They were made from ivory.

Ink:

Indians have been writing with ink since the fourth century BC. During that time in South India, a sharp needle was used to write with ink.

Shampoo:

Did you know that shampoo evolved from oil? It comes from the word champo. The Nawabs of Bengal used it for head massages at first. Over the years, it became shampoo.

Cotton gin :

A cotton gin is used to separate cotton fibres from their seeds. A painting of a cotton gin has been found in the Ajanta caves. The painting dates back to the fifth century AD. We were also the first to cultivate cotton. This began in the Indus Valley civilization.

Flush toilets:

The Indus Valley civilization was the first to use toilets with flushes. The city had an advanced sewage system too.

Dock:

One of the earliest docks of the world was the one in Lothal, Gujarat. Oceanographers think that the Harappans must have possessed knowledge relating to tides. So, they could build such a dock on the ever-shifting course of the River Sabarmati. The walls are of kiln- burnt bricks and so scientists hypothesise that Lothal engineers studied the effects of tidal movements on brick-built structures.
For more such interesting history articles and videos, visit History for Kids category.

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Ancient Indian Inventions and Discoveries - History | Mocomi Kids

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This game was played by the Mughal emperors. Earlier known as Pachisi, this game originated in India by the sixth century. A variant of this game, called Ludo, made its way to England during the British Raj. Snakes and ladders originated in India as a game based on morality.

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Early History
The art of weather forecasting began with early civilizations using reoccurring astronomical and meteorological events to help them monitor seasonal changes in the weather. Around 650 B.C., the Babylonians tried to predict short-term weather changes based on the appearance of clouds and optical phenomena such as haloes. By 300 B.C., Chinese astronomers had developed a calendar that divided the year into 24 festivals, each festival associated with a different type of weather.

Around 340 B.C., the Greek philosopher Aristotle wrote Meteorologica, a philosophical treatise that included theories about the formation of rain, clouds, hail, wind, thunder, lightning, and hurricanes. In addition, topics such as astronomy, geography, and chemistry were also addressed. Aristotle made some remarkably acute observations concerning the weather, along with some significant errors, and his four-volume text was considered by many to be the authority on weather theory for almost 2000 years. Although many of Aristotle's claims were erroneous, it was not until about the 17th century that many of his ideas were overthrown.

Throughout the centuries, attempts have been made to produce forecasts based on weather lore and personal observations. However, by the end of the Renaissance, it had become increasingly evident that the speculations of the natural philosophers were inadequate and that greater knowledge was necessary to further our understanding of the atmosphere. In order to do this, instruments were needed to measure the properties of the atmosphere, such as moisture, temperature, and pressure. The first known design in western civilization for a hygrometer, an instrument to measure the humidity of air, was described by Nicholas Cusa (c.1401-1464, German) in the mid-fifteenth century. Galileo Galilei (1564-1642, Italian) invented an early thermometer in 1592 or shortly thereafter; and Evangelista Torricelli (1608-1647, Italian) invented the barometer for measuring atmospheric pressure in 1643.

While these meteorological instruments were being refined during the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries, other related observational, theoretical, and technological developments also contributed to our knowledge of the atmosphere; and individuals at scattered locations began to make and record atmospheric measurements. The invention of the telegraph and the emergence of telegraph networks in the mid-nineteenth century allowed the routine transmission of weather observations to and from observers and compilers. Using these data, crude weather maps were drawn and surface wind patterns and storm systems could be identified and studied. Weather-observing stations began appearing all across the globe, eventually spawning the birth of synoptic weather forecasting, based on the compilation and analysis of many observations taken simultaneously over a wide area, in the 1860s.

With the formation of regional and global meteorological observation networks in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, more data were becoming available for observation-based weather forecasting. A great stride in monitoring weather at high altitudes was made in the 1920s with the invention of the radiosonde. Small lightweight boxes equipped with weather instruments and a radio transmitter, radiosondes are carried high into the atmosphere by a hydrogen or helium-filled balloon that ascends to an altitude of about 30 kilometers before bursting. During the ascent, these instruments transmit temperature, moisture, and pressure data (called soundings) back to a ground station. There, the data are processed and made available for constructing weather maps or insertion into computer models for weather prediction. Today, radiosondes are launched every 12 hours from hundreds of ground stations all over the world.

Weather Forecasting Through the Ages
Introduction
Early History
Towards Numerical Prediction
Modern Tools of the Trade
The Aqua Spacecraft
Benefits to Society
References

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Only fifty years ago, weather forecasting was an art, derived from the inspired interpretation of data from a loose array of land-based observing stations, balloons, and aircraft. Since then it has evolved substantially, based on an array of satellite and other observations and sophisticated computer models simulating the atmosphere and sometimes additional elements of the Earth's climate system.

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The methods of embalming, or treating the dead body, that the ancient Egyptians used is called mummification. Using special processes, the Egyptians removed all moisture from the body, leaving only a dried form that would not easily decay. It was important in their religion to preserve the dead body in as life-like a manner as possible. So successful were they that today we can view the mummified body of an Egyptian and have a good idea of what he or she looked like in life, 3,000 years ago.

Mummification was practiced throughout most of early Egyptian history. The earliest mummies from prehistoric times probably were accidental. By chance, dry sand and air (since Egypt has almost no measurable rainfall) preserved some bodies buried in shallow pits dug into the sand. About 2600 BCE, during the Fourth and Fifth Dynasties, Egyptians probably began to mummify the dead intentionally. The practice continued and developed for well over 2,000 years, into the Roman Period (ca. 30 BCE-CE 364). Within any one period the quality of the mummification varied, depending on the price paid for it. The best prepared and preserved mummies are from the Eighteenth through the Twentieth Dynasties of the New Kingdom (ca. 1570-1075 BCE) and include those of Tutankhamen and other well-known pharaohs. It is the general process of this period that shall be described here.

Mummification Process

The mummification process took seventy days. Special priests worked as embalmers, treating and wrapping the body. Beyond knowing the correct rituals and prayers to be performed at various stages, the priests also needed a detailed knowledge of human anatomy. The first step in the process was the removal of all internal parts that might decay rapidly. The brain was removed by carefully inserting special hooked instruments up through the nostrils in order to pull out bits of brain tissue. It was a delicate operation, one which could easily disfigure the face. The embalmers then removed the organs of the abdomen and chest through a cut usually made on the left side of the abdomen. They left only the heart in place, believing it to be the center of a person's being and intelligence. The other organs were preserved separately, with the stomach, liver, lungs, and intestines placed in special boxes or jars today called canopic jars. These were buried with the mummy. In later mummies, the organs were treated, wrapped, and replaced within the body. Even so, unused canopic jars continued to be part of the burial ritual.

The embalmers next removed all moisture from the body. This they did by covering the body with natron, a type of salt which has great drying properties, and by placing additional natron packets inside the body. When the body had dried out completely, embalmers removed the internal packets and lightly washed the natron off the body. The result was a very dried-out but recognizable human form. To make the mummy seem even more life-like, sunken areas of the body were filled out with linen and other materials and false eyes were added.

Next the wrapping began. Each mummy needed hundreds of yards of linen. The priests carefully wound the long strips of linen around the body, sometimes even wrapping each finger and toe separately before wrapping the entire hand or foot. In order to protect the dead from mishap, amulets were placed among the wrappings and prayers and magical words written on some of the linen strips. Often the priests placed a mask of the person's face between the layers of head bandages. At several stages the form was coated with warm resin and the wrapping resumed once again. At last, the priests wrapped the final cloth or shroud in place and secured it with linen strips. The mummy was complete. The priests preparing the mummy were not the only ones busy during this time. Although the tomb preparation usually had begun long before the person's actual death, now there was a deadline, and craftsmen, workers, and artists worked quickly. There was much to be placed in the tomb that a person would need in the Afterlife. Furniture and statuettes were readied; wall paintings of religious or daily scenes were prepared; and lists of food or prayers finished. Through a magical process, these models, pictures, and lists would become the real thing when needed in the Afterlife. Everything was now ready for the funeral.

As part of the funeral, priests performed special religious rites at the tomb's entrance. The most important part of the ceremony was called the "Opening of the Mouth." A priest touched various parts of the mummy with a special instrument to "open" those parts of the body to the senses enjoyed in life and needed in the Afterlife. By touching the instrument to the mouth, the dead person could now speak and eat. He was now ready for his journey to the Afterlife. The mummy was placed in his coffin, or coffins, in the burial chamber and the entrance sealed up.

Such elaborate burial practices might suggest that the Egyptians were preoccupied with thoughts of death. On the contrary, they began early to make plans for their death because of their great love of life. They could think of no life better than the present, and they wanted to be sure it would continue after death.

But why preserve the body? The Egyptians believed that the mummified body was the home for this soul or spirit. If the body was destroyed, the spirit might be lost. The idea of "spirit" was complex involving really three spirits: the ka, ba, and akh. The ka, a "double" of the person, would remain in the tomb and needed the offerings and objects there. The ba, or "soul", was free to fly out of the tomb and return to it. And it was the akh, perhaps translated as "spirit", which had to travel through the Underworld to the Final Judgment and entrance to the Afterlife. To the Egyptian, all three were essential.

Who Was Mummified

After death, the pharaohs of Egypt usually were mummified and buried in elaborate tombs. Members of the nobility and officials also often received the same treatment, and occasionally, common people. However, the process was an expensive one, beyond the means of many.

For religious reasons, some animals were also mummified. The sacred bulls from the early dynasties had their own cemetery at Sakkara. Baboons, cats, birds, and crocodiles, which also had great religious significance, were sometimes mummified, especially in the later dynasties.

The Study of Mummies Today

Ancient writers, modern scientists, and the mummies themselves all help us better understand the Egyptian mummification process and the culture in which it existed. Much of what we know about the actual process is based on the writings of early historians such as Herodotus who carefully recorded the process during his travels to Egypt around 450 BCE. Present-day archaeologists and other specialists are adding to this knowledge. The development of x-rays now makes it possible to x-ray mummies without destroying the elaborate outer wrappings. By studying the x-rays or performing autopsies on unwrapped bodies, experts are learning more about diseases suffered by the Egyptians and their medical treatment. A better idea of average height and life span comes from studying the bones. By learning their age at death, the order and dates of the Egyptian kings becomes a little clearer. Even ties of kinship in the royal line can be suggested by the striking similarities or dissimilarities in the skulls of pharaohs that followed one another. Dead now for thousands of years, the mummy continues to speak to us.
Websites and Books on Ancient Egypt, 2012 (PDF)
Anthropology Outreach Office, Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History

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Egyptian Mummies | Smithsonian Institution

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The methods of embalming, or treating the dead body, that the ancient Egyptians used is called mummification.... Learn more

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The Egyptian Pyramid | Smithsonian Institution

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The pyramids of Egypt fascinated travellers and conquerors in ancient times and continue to inspire wonder in the tourists, mathematicians, and archeologists who visit, explore, measure, and describe ... Learn more

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Sumer

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What The Ancients Did For Us - The Mesopotamians  Part 6/6

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Dating back thousands of years are numerous examples of ancient technology that leave us awe-struck at the knowledge and wisdom held by people of our past. They were the result of incredible advances in engineering and innovation as new, powerful civilizations emerged and came to dominate the ancient world. These advances stimulated societies to adopt new ways of living and governance, as well as new ways of understanding their world. However, many ancient inventions were forgotten, lost to the pages of history, only to be re-invented millennia later. Here we feature ten of the best examples of ancient technology and inventions that demonstrate the ingenuity of our ancient ancestors.

Heron Alexandrinus, otherwise known as the Hero of Alexandria, was a 1 st century Greek mathematician and engineer who is known as the first inventor of the steam engine. His steam powered device was called the aeolipile, named after Aiolos, God of the winds. The aeolipile consisted of a sphere positioned in such a way that it could rotate around its axis. Nozzles opposite each other would expel steam and both of the nozzles would generate a combined thrust resulting in torque, causing the sphere to spin around its axis. The rotation force sped up the sphere up to the point where the resistance from traction and air brought it to a stable rotation speed. The steam was created by boiling water under the sphere - the boiler was connected to the rotating sphere through a pair of pipes that at the same time served as pivots for the sphere. The replica of Heron's machine could rotate at 1,500 rounds per minute with a very low pressure of 1.8 pounds per square inch. The remarkable device was forgotten and never used properly until 1577, when the steam engine was 're-invented' by the philosopher, astronomer and engineer, Taqu al-Din.

The Nimrud lens is a 3,000-year-old piece of rock crystal, which was unearthed by Sir John Layard in 1850 at the Assyrian palace of Nimrud, in modern-day Iraq. The Nimrud lens (also called the Layard lens) is made from natural rock crystal and is a slightly oval in shape. It was roughly ground, perhaps on a lapidary wheel. It has a focal point about 11 centimetres from the flat side, and a focal length of about 12 cm. This would make it equivalent to a 3× magnifying glass (combined with another lens, it could achieve much greater magnification). The surface of the lens has twelve cavities that were opened during grinding, which would have contained naptha or some other fluid trapped in the raw crystal. Since its discovery over a century ago, scientists and historians have debated its use, with some suggesting it was used as a magnifying glass, and others maintaining it was a burning-glass used to start fires by concentrating sunlight. However, prominent Italian professor Giovanni Pettinato proposed the lens was used by the ancient Assyrians as part of a telescope, which would explain how the Assyrians knew so much about astronomy. According to conventional perspectives, the telescope was invented by Dutch spectacle maker, Hans Lippershey in 1608 AD, and Galileo was the first to point it to the sky and use it to study the cosmos. But even Galileo himself noted that the 'ancients' were aware of telescopes long before him. While lenses were around before the Nimrud lens, Pettinato believes this was one of the first to be used in a telescope.

Research carried out last year on an ancient site excavated by the National Trust for Scotland in 2004 revealed that it contained a sophisticated calendar system that is approximately 10,000 years old, making it the oldest calendar ever discovered in the world. The site - at Warren Field, Crathes, Aberdeenshire - contains a 50 metre long row of twelve pits which were created by Stone Age Britons and which were in use from around 8000 BC (the early Mesolithic period) to around 4,000 BC (the early Neolithic). The pits represent the months of the year as well as the lunar phases of the moon. They were formed in a complex arc design in which each lunar month was divided into three roughly ten day weeks - representing the waxing moon, the full moon and the waning moon. It also allowed the observation of the mid-winter sunrise so that the lunar calendar could be recalibrated each year to bring it back in line with the solar year. The entire arc represents a whole year and may also reflect the movements of the moon across the sky.

Scientists studying the composition of Roman concrete, which has been submerged under the Mediterranean Sea for the last 2,000 years, discovered that it was superior to modern-day concrete in terms of durability and being less environmentally damaging. The Romans made concrete by mixing lime and volcanic rock. For underwater structures, the combination of lime and volcanic ash with seawater instantly triggered a chemical reaction in which the lime incorporated molecules into its structure and reacted with the ash to cement the whole mixture together. Analysis of the concrete found that it produces a significantly different compound to modern day cement, which is an incredibly stable binder. In addition, the ancient concrete contains the ideal crystalline structure of Tobermorite, which has a greater strength and durability than the modern equivalent. Finally, microscopic studies identified other minerals in the ancient concrete which show potential application for high-performance concretes, including the encapsulation of hazardous wastes. "In the middle 20th century, concrete structures were designed to last 50 years," said scientist Paulo Monteiro said. "Yet Roman harbour installations have survived 2,000 years of chemical attack and wave action underwater."

Research has shown that artisans and craftsmen 2,000 years ago used a form of ancient technology for applying thin films of metal to statues and other items, which was superior to today's standards for producing DVDs, solar cells, electronic devices and other products. Fire gilding and silvering are age-old mercury-based processes used to coat the surface items such as jewels, statues and amulets with thin layers of gold or silver. From a technological point of view, what the ancient gilders achieved 2000 years ago, was to make the metal coatings incredibly thin, adherent and uniform, which saved expensive metals and improved its durability, something which has never been achieved to the same standard today. Apparently without any knowledge about the chemical-physical processes, ancient craftsmen systematically manipulated metals to create spectacular results. They developed a variety of techniques, including using mercury like a glue to apply thin films of metals to objects. The findings demonstrate that there was a far higher level of understanding and knowledge of advanced concepts and techniques in our ancient past than what they are given credit for.

Although we still cannot accurately predict earthquakes, we have come a long way in detecting, recording, and measuring seismic shocks. Many don't realise that this process began nearly 2000 years ago, with the invention of the first seismoscope in 132 AD by a Chinese astronomer, mathematician, engineer, and inventor called Zhang ('Chang') Heng. The device was remarkably accurate in detecting earthquakes from afar, and did not rely on shaking or movement in the location where the device was situated. Zhang's seismoscope was a giant bronze vessel, resembling a samovar almost 6 feet in diameter. Eight dragons snaked face-down along the outside of the barrel, marking the primary compass directions. In each dragon's mouth was a small bronze ball. Beneath the dragons sat eight bronze toads, with their broad mouths gaping to receive the balls. The sound of the ball striking one of the eight toads would alert observers to the earthquake and would give a rough indication of the earthquake's direction of origin. In 2005, scientists in Zengzhou, China (which was also Zhang's hometown) managed to replicate Zhang's seismoscope and used it to detect simulated earthquakes based on waves from four different real-life earthquakes in China and Vietnam. The seismoscope detected all of them. As a matter of fact, the data gathered from the tests corresponded accurately with that gathered by modern-day seismometers!

An ancient Norse myth described a magical gem used to navigate the seas, which could reveal the position of the sun when hidden behind clouds or even before dawn or after sunset. Now it appears the myth is in fact true. In March 2013, a team of scientists announced that a unique calcite crystal, which was found in the wreck of an Elizabethan ship sunk off the Channel Islands, contains properties consistent with the legendary Viking sunstone and that shards of the crystal can indeed act as a remarkably precise navigational aid. According to the researchers, the principle behind the sunstone relies on its unusual property of creating a double refraction of sunlight, even when it is obscured by cloud or fog. By turning the crystal in front of the human eye until the darkness of the two shadows are equal, the sun's position can be pinpointed with remarkable accuracy.

The Baghdad Battery, sometimes referred to as the Parthian Battery, is a clay pot which encapsulates a copper cylinder. Suspended in the centre of this cylinder-but not touching it-is an iron rod. Both the copper cylinder and the iron rod are held in place with an asphalt plug. These artifacts (more than one was found) were discovered during the 1936 excavations of the old village Khujut Rabu, near Baghdad. The village is considered to be about 2000 years old, and was built during the Parthian period (250BC to 224 AD). Although it is not known exactly what the use of such a device would have been, the name 'Baghdad Battery', comes from one of the prevailing theories established in 1938 when Wilhelm Konig, the German archaeologist who performed the excavations, examined the battery and concluded that this device was an ancient electric battery. After the Second World War, Willard Gray, an American working at the General Electric High Voltage Laboratory in Pittsfield, built replicas and, filling them with an electrolyte, found that the devices could produce 2 volts of electricity. The question remains, if it really was a battery, what was it used to power?

The Lycurgus Cup, as it is known due to its depiction of a scene involving King Lycurgus of Thrace, is a 1,600-year-old jade green Roman chalice that changes colour depending on the direction of the light upon it. It baffled scientists ever since the glass chalice was acquired by the British Museum in the 1950s. They could not work out why the cup appeared jade green when lit from the front but blood red when lit from behind. The mystery was solved in 1990, when researchers in England scrutinized broken fragments under a microscope and discovered that the Roman artisans were nanotechnology pioneers: they had impregnated the glass with particles of silver and gold, ground down until they were as small as 50 nanometres in diameter, less than one-thousandth the size of a grain of table salt. The work was so precise that there is no way that the resulting effect was an accident. In fact, the exact mixture of the metals suggests that the Romans had perfected the use of nanoparticles. When hit with light, electrons belonging to the metal flecks vibrate in ways that alter the colour depending on the observer's position.

The Antikythera mechanism was discovered in 1900 during the recovery of a shipwreck off of the Greek island, Antikythera, in waters 60 meters deep. It is a metallic device which consists of a complex combination of gears, and dates back to the 2nd century BCE. The Antikythera mechanism is one of the most amazing mechanical devices discovered from the ancient world. For decades, scientists have utilized the latest technology in attempts to decipher its functionality; however, due to its complexity, its true purpose and function remained elusive. But in the last few years, a number of scientists appear to have solved the mystery as to precisely how this incredible piece of technology once worked. Peter Lynch, professor of meteorology at University College Dublin, explains: "The mechanism was driven by a handle that turned a linked system of more than 30 gear wheels...The gears were coupled to pointers on the front and back of the mechanism, showing the positions of the sun, moon and planets as they moved through the zodiac. An extendable arm with a pin followed a spiral groove, like a record player stylus. A small sphere, half white and half black, indicated the phase of the moon. Even more impressive was the prediction of solar and lunar eclipses." Amazingly, the device even included a dial to indicate which of the pan-Hellenic games would take place each year, with the Olympics occurring every fourth year. Just one small cog out of 30 remains a mystery and it is hoped that further research can place this last piece in the puzzle.

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Ten amazing inventions from ancient times

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Dating back thousands of years are numerous examples of ancient technology that leave us awe-struck at the knowledge and wisdom held by people of our past. They were the result of incredible advances in engineering and innovation as new, powerful civilizations emerged and came to dominate the ancient world.

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In around 450 B.C., the Athenian general Pericles tried to consolidate his power by using public money, the dues paid to Athens by its allies in the Delian League coalition, to support the city-state's artists and thinkers. Most of all, Pericles paid artisans to build temples and other public buildings in the city of Athens. He reasoned that this way he could win the support of the Athenian people by doling out plenty of construction jobs while building public monuments so grand that people would come from far and wide to see them, increasing Athens' prestige as well as his own.

The Architecture of Classical Greece

The most noteworthy result of Pericles' public-works campaign was the magnificent Parthenon, a temple in honor of the city's patron goddess Athena. The architects Iktinos and Kallikrates and the sculptor Phidias began work on the temple in the middle of the 5th century B.C. The Parthenon was built atop the Acropolis, a natural pedestal made of rock that was the site of the earliest settlements in Athens, and Pericles invited other people to build there as well: In 437 B.C., for example, the architect Mnesikles started to build a grand gateway known as the Propylaia at its western end, and at the end of the century, artisans added a smaller temple for the Greek goddess Athena-this one in honor of her role as the goddess of victory, Athena Nike-along with one for Athena and Erechtheus, an Athenian king. Still, the Parthenon remained the site's main attraction.

Did you know? Many of the sculptures from the Parthenon are on display at the British Museum in London. They are known as the Elgin Marbles.

Greek Temple Architecture

With its rectangular stone platform, front and back porches (the pronaos and the opisthodomos) and rows of columns, the Parthenon was a commanding example of Greek temple architecture. Typically, the people of ancient Greece did not worship inside their temples as we do today. Instead, the interior room (the naos or the cella) was relatively small, housing just a statue of the deity the temple was built to honor. Worshippers gathered outside, entering only to bring offerings to the statue.

The temples of classical Greece all shared the same general form: Rows of columns supporting a horizontal entablature (a kind of decorative molding) and a triangular roof. At each end of the roof, above the entablature, was a triangular space known as the pediment, into which sculptors squeezed elaborate scenes. On the Parthenon, for example, the pediment sculptures show the birth of Athena on one end and a battle between Athena and Poseidon on the other.

So that people standing on the ground could see them, these pediment sculptures were usually painted bright colors and were arrayed on a solid blue or red background. This paint has faded with age; as a result, the pieces of classical temples that survive today appear to be made of white marble alone.

Proportion and Perspective

The architects of classical Greece came up with many sophisticated techniques to make their buildings look perfectly even. They crafted horizontal planes with a very slight upward U-shape and columns that were fatter in the middle than at the ends. Without these innovations, the buildings would appear to sag; with them, they looked flawless and majestic.

Ancient Greek Sculpture

Not many classical statues or sculptures survive today. Stone statues broke easily, and metal ones were often melted for re-use. However, we know that Greek sculptors such as Phidias and Polykleitos in the 5th century and Praxiteles, Skopas and Lysippos in the 4th century had figured out how to apply the rules of anatomy and perspective to the human form just as their counterparts applied them to buildings. Earlier statues of people had looked awkward and fake, but by the classical period they looked natural, almost at ease. They even had realistic-looking facial expressions.

One of the most celebrated Greek sculptures is the Venus de Milo, carved in 100 B.C. during the Hellenistic Age by the little-known Alexandros of Antioch. She was discovered in 1820 on the island of Melos.

Ancient Greek Pottery

Classical Greek pottery was perhaps the most utilitarian of the era's art forms. People offered small terra cotta figurines as gifts to gods and goddesses, buried them with the dead and gave them to their children as toys. They also used clay pots, jars and vases for almost everything. These were painted with religious or mythological scenes that, like the era's statues, grew more sophisticated and realistic over time.

Much of our knowledge of classical Greek art comes from objects made of stone and clay that have survived for thousands of years. However, we can infer that the themes we see in these works-an emphasis on pattern and order, perspective and proportion and man himself-appeared as well in less-durable creations such as ancient Greek paintings and drawings.

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In around 450 B.C., the Athenian general Pericles tried to consolidate his power by using public money, the dues paid to Athens by its allies in the Delian League coalition, to support the city-state's artists and thinkers. Most of all, Pericles paid artisans to build temples and other public buildings in the city of Athens.

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How the Ancient Greeks Changed the World, Ancient Greek Inventions and Achievements for Kids and Teachers - Ancient Greece for Kids

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The people of ancient Greece lived nearly 4,000 years ago. Yet even today, their culture impacts our lives! Here are just a few of the gifts we received from the ancient Greeks.

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Ancient Mesopotamia Inventions - Mesopotamia for Kids

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The Sumerians were very inventive people. It is believed that they invented the sailboat, the chariot, the wheel, the plow, and metalurgy. They developed cuneiform, the first written language. They invented games like checkers. They made cylinder seals that acted as a form of identification (used to sign legal documents like contracts.)

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earliest known precise celestial calculations

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Indian Achievements, Ancient Indian Inventions, Ancient India Achievements, Ancient India Inventions

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Indians acievements have been lauded all over the world. Lited here are Achievements of Ancient India, Inventions in Ancient India or Ancient Indian Inventions. Inventions Of Ancient India like Earliest known precise celestial calculations, Binary System of number representation, Invention of Zero.

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There may be no greater tribute to a society's ingenuity and vision than Egypt's Great Pyramid of Giza. Originally standing 481 feet (147 meters) tall, the Great Pyramid towers over monuments like the Statue of Liberty and Big Ben [source: PBS]. Of course, the pyramids are only part of ancient Egypt's legacy.

Over the thousands of years ancient Egyptians thrived, they ushered in perhaps the most advanced civilization the world had ever known, and many of the fixtures of their society are still commonplace. For instance, Egyptian women donned ornate jewelry and wigs, the men boxed, fenced and wrestled for sport and the children played with board games, dolls and other toys. They also thrived as inventors, and, as you'll see in this list of 10 amazing Egyptian inventions, their creations changed everything from fashion to agriculture so drastically that we still see their influence today.

Sure, eye makeup might not rank alongside fire or the wheel as one of the most important discoveries in human history, but it gives the Egyptians a run for longevity. Since they first invented eye makeup as far back as 4000 B.C.E., it's never gone out of style. Even more impressive, some cosmetically minded cultures still create makeup using the same techniques pioneered by the Egyptians thousands of years ago. They combined soot with a mineral called galena to create a black ointment known as kohl, which is still popular today. They could also create green eye makeup by combining a mineral called malachite with galena to tint the ointment.

For the Egyptians, makeup was not limited to women. Status and appearance went hand in hand, and as far as the upper class was concerned, the more makeup the better. Fashion was only part of the reason for the Egyptians' notoriously heavy hand when applying eyeliner. They also believed that applying a thick coating of the stuff could cure various eye diseases and even keep them from falling victim to the evil eye.

The use of drawings to tell stories is certainly nothing new; cave paintings found in France and Spain date all the way back to 30000 B.C.E [source: Wherely]. But drawings and paintings wouldn't evolve into the first written language for thousands of years, when the first writing systems arose out of Egypt and Mesopotamia.

The Egyptian writing system began with pictograms, the first of which date back to 6000 B.C.E. [source: Harrow]. Pictograms were simple depictions of the words they represented, but they had limitations. Over time, Egyptians added other elements to their writing system, including alphabetlike characters that stood for certain sounds and other characters, allowing them to write out names and abstract ideas.

Today, everyone knows the Egyptians for the creation of hieroglyphics, which contained a mixture of alphabetic, syllabic symbols, and ideograms - pictures that stood for whole words - found extensively within Egyptian tombs and other places. The writing tells tales of war, politics and culture that give us a great understanding of ancient Egyptian society. Of course, we have the Rosetta stone to thank for our ability to interpret the writing. Its discovery, along with the work of French scholar Jean-Francois Champollion to decode the stone, marked the end of a 1,500-year-period during which Egyptian writing was shrouded in mystery [source: Discovering Egypt].

No one will deny that the Chinese changed the world forever with the invention of paper around 140 B.C.E., but what many people don't know is that the Egyptians had developed an admirable substitute thousands of years earlier from the papyrus plant. This stiff, reedlike plant grew (and continues to grow) in the marshy areas lining the Nile, among other places. Its tough, fibrous interior proved ideal for making durable sheets of writing material, along with sails, sandals, mats and other necessities of ancient Egyptian life. After the sheets were made, they were often combined into scrolls, which were then filled with everything from religious texts to literature and even music.

Ancient Egyptians kept the time-consuming process of manufacturing papyrus a closely guarded secret, allowing them to trade papyrus sheets throughout the region. Because the process was never documented, it was ultimately lost until Dr. Hassan Ragab found a way to make papyrus sheets in 1965 [source: Egyptian Papyrus].

Many of us would be lost without a calendar to help us remember dental appointments and important meetings, but in ancient Egypt, a calendar could mean the difference between feast and famine. Without a calendar, ancient Egyptians had no way of knowing when the annual flooding of the Nile would begin. Without that knowledge, their entire agricultural system would be put at risk, so a few thousand years before the common era, they started using one.

Their civil calendar was so closely tied into farming that the Egyptians divided it up into three main seasons: inundation, growing and harvest. Each season had four months, with each month divided into 30 days. Adding it all up, you get 360 days a year - a bit short of an actual year. To make up the difference, the Egyptians added five days between the harvest and inundation seasons. These five epagomenal days, were designated as religious holidays set aside to honor the children of the gods [source: Weininger].

While historians aren't entirely certain of where the plow originated, evidence suggests that the Egyptians and Sumerians were among the first societies to employ its use around 4000 B.C.E [source: Mowers Direct]. Those plows certainly had room for improvement. Likely built from modified hand tools, the plows were so light and ineffective that they are now referred to as "scratch plows" for their inability to dig deep into the ground. What's more, the plows ran on nothing more than elbow grease. For instance, wall paintings illustrate four men pulling a plow through a field together - not a great way to spend a day in the scorching Egyptian sun.

That all changed in 2000 B.C.E., when the Egyptians first hooked their plows to oxen [source: Facts and Details]. Early designs were connected to the horns of cattle but proved to interfere with the animal's ability to breathe. Later versions incorporated a system of straps and were much more effective. The plow revolutionized farming in ancient Egypt and, combined with the steady rhythm of the Nile River, made farming easier for the Egyptians than perhaps any other society of the time.

The next time you peruse the counter at the 7-Eleven for Mentos or Breath Savers, you should thank the ancient Egyptians for devising a way to conceal the unpleasant aromas our mouths sometimes exude. Just as in modern times, bad breath in ancient Egypt often was a symptom of poor dental health. Unlike us, the Egyptians didn't gorge on sugary soft drinks and foods that contribute to tooth decay, but the stones they used to grind flour for bread contributed a lot of sand and grit to their diet, which wore down tooth enamel to expose the pulp of the tooth, making it vulnerable to infection.

The Egyptians had specialists for many medical problems, but unfortunately, they didn't have dentists or oral surgeons to fix their deteriorating teeth and gums. Instead, they simply suffered, and scientists who've examined mummies have found severely worn teeth and evidence of abscesses, even in youthful Egyptians. To cope with the unpleasant odors from their rotting mouths, Egyptians invented the first mints, which were a combination of frankincense, myrrh and cinnamon boiled with honey and shaped into pellets [source: World Atlas].

Writers of the 1998 comedy film "The Big Lebowski," in which pivotal scenes take place in a bowling alley, might have had to find a different motif if it hadn't been for the ancient Egyptians. In Narmoutheos, a settlement 56 miles (90 kilometers) south of Cairo that dates back to the Roman occupation period in the second and third centuries C.E., archaeologists have discovered a room containing a set of lanes and a collection of balls of various sizes. Measuring about 13 feet (3.9 meters) long, the 7.9-inch-wide (20-centimeter), 3.8-inch-deep (9.6-centimeter) lane featured a 4.7-inch (11.9-centimeter) square opening at its center.

Unlike modern bowling, in which bowlers strive to knock down pins at the end of the alley, Egyptian bowlers aimed for the hole in the middle. Competitors stood at opposite ends of the lane and attempted to roll balls of different sizes into the center hole and in the process also knock their opponent's ball off course [source: Ancient Pages].

Perhaps the Egyptians were the first ancient people to fuss over their hair, or perhaps not. But either way, they considered hair unhygienic, and the sweltering heat of their homeland made long tresses and beards uncomfortable. Thus, they cut their hair short or shaved their heads and faces regularly. Priests, who apparently were especially averse to hirsuteness, shaved their entire bodies every three days [source: Knight]. For much of their history, being clean-shaven was considered fashionable, and being stubbly came to be considered a mark of poor social status.

To that end, the Egyptians invented what may have been the first shaving implements, a set of sharp stone blades set in wooden handles, and later replaced those with copper-bladed razors. They also invented the barbering profession. The first barbers made house calls to wealthy aristocrats' houses but tended to ordinary customers outdoors, seating them on benches underneath shady sycamore trees.

Oddly, though, they also retained a fascination for facial hair, or at least the appearance of having some. The Egyptians took shorn hair and sheep's wool and fashioned them into wigs and fake beards - which, even more oddly, were sometimes worn by Egyptian queens as well as kings [source: Dunn]. The fake beards had various shapes, to indicate the dignity and social position of their wearer. Ordinary citizens wore small fake beards about 2 inches (5 centimeters) long, while kings wore their phony whiskers to extravagant lengths and had them trimmed to be square at the end. Egyptian gods had even more luxurious long beards, which were turned up at the tip [source: King].

Whenever you lock your door at night and slide the deadbolt into place, say a prayer of thanks for the ancient Egyptian invention of door locks. The earliest such device, created around 4000 B.C.E., basically was a pin-tumbler lock, in which a hollowed-out bolt in the door was connected to pins that could be manipulated by insertion of a key. When the key pushed upward on the pins, they slipped away from the bolt shaft, allowing it to be withdrawn.

One drawback of these ancient locks was their size. The biggest ones were up to 2 feet (0.6 meters) in length. Egyptian locks actually were more secure than the technology later developed by the Romans, who used a simpler design with a spring rather than a bolt to hold the door in place. The Roman locks were hidden inside the door, but compared to the Egyptian locks, they were relatively easy to pick [source: de Vries].

As we mentioned previously, the Egyptians had a lot of trouble with their teeth, in large part because their bread had grit and sand in it, which wore out their enamel. While they didn't have dentistry, they did make some effort to keep their teeth clean. Archaeologists have found toothpicks buried alongside mummies, apparently placed there so that they could clean food debris from between their teeth in the afterlife. Along with the Babylonians, they're also credited with inventing the first toothbrushes, which were frayed ends of wooden twigs.

But the Egyptians also contributed an innovation to dental hygiene, in the form of toothpaste. Early ingredients included the powder of ox hooves, ashes, burnt eggshells and pumice, which probably made for a less-than-refreshing morning tooth-care ritual [source: Global Firsts and Facts]. Archaeologists recently found what appears to be a more advanced toothpaste recipe and how-to-brush guide written on papyrus that dates back to the Roman occupation in the fourth century C.E. The unknown author explains how to mix precise amounts of rock salt, mint, dried iris flower and grains of pepper, to form a "powder for white and perfect teeth" [source: Zoech].

Originally Published: Jan 12, 2011

Egyptian Inventions FAQs

What did Egypt invent that we use today?

The ancient Egyptians invented toothbrushes, toothpaste, ink, cosmetics, paper and even the very first form of a breath mint.

What did ancient Egypt use for medicine?

Ancient Egyptians believe sickness was because the gods or evil spirits were angry, so they often resorted first to offering prayer for healing. Though the Egyptians' Ebers Papyrus, the most ancient text concerning medical practice, includes more than 700 remedies, charms and incantations that date back to 3400 B.C.E. Among them: dog, gazelle and fly dung; aloe, acacia seeds and leaves; cannabis; castor and cedar oils; frankincense; honey; juniper; pomegranate juice and root; and thyme and willow leaves.

What contributions did ancient Egypt make to science?

The ancient Egyptians were pioneers in architecture, medicine and mathematics. They invented the calendar, ways to measure distances, improvements in irrigation, medical surgery and also applied their knowledge to architecture. They were experts in preserving the dead and mummification.

What made ancient Egypt successful?

The Ancient Egyptians were so successful because they were able to adapt to the River Nile. The river's flooding was quite predictable and the Egyptians learned how to control it for irrigation purposes, creating a vast, fertile valley of crops. With these crops they were able to sustain a large culture of people.

What did ancient Egyptian jewelry symbolize?

Ancient Egyptian jewelry had both religious and symbolic meaning. Egyptians wore jewelry to please the gods. They believed the more jewelry they wore, the more the gods would bless them. But the jewelry also symbolized wealth and power. When powerful Egyptians died, they were buried in elaborate jewels that they would carry with them in the afterlife.

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There may be no greater tribute to a society's ingenuity and vision than Egypt's Great Pyramid of Giza. Originally standing 481 feet (147 meters) tall, the Great Pyramid towers over monuments like the Statue of Liberty and Big Ben [source: PBS]. Of course, the pyramids are only part of ancient Egypt's legacy.

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8 Inventions We Owe to the Ancients

If you take a good look, it may surprise you to learn how many of the objects that surround you every day were originally invented thousands of years ago by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Romans or other societies. These advanced civilizations came up with ideas that would revolutionize their existence-and ours. Here are eight of the most useful objects, ideas and institutions that we owe to the ancients.

Paper

As early as 3000 B.C., Egyptians had developed a technique for making paper from the pith of the papyrus plant, a common sight along the bank of the Nile. Long strips were woven together and weighted down to bind them into a strong, thin sheet. The Egyptians also invented pens made of cut reeds, which were strong enough to write on the papyrus, and mixed soot or other organic material with beeswax and vegetable gum to make ink. These ancient papermakers knew what they were doing: Many of these papyrus sheets inscribed with Egyptian hieroglyphics remain intact and readable, even after more than 5,000 years.

Eye makeup

Ancient Egyptians knew all about the power of a smoky eye. Way back in 4000 B.C., they started making kohl to line their eyes by mixing soot with galena, a mineral with a metallic bluish, gray or black hue. In some ancient paintings, Egyptians are depicted wearing green eye makeup, a shade they achieved by mixing another mineral, malachite, with the galena. Both women and men wore kohl eye makeup in ancient Egypt. They believed it had healing properties, as well as the power to protect the wearer from the evil eye.

Democratic government

The word "democracy" comes from the Greek term demokratia, literally meaning "rule by the people." The word-and the concept-was introduced in 507 B.C. by Cleisthenes, ruler of the Greek city-state of Athens. This form of popular government consisted of three separate institutions: the ekklesia, or Assembly, which wrote laws and dictated foreign policy; the boule, a council of representatives chosen from the different Athenian tribes; and the dikasteria, a popular court system. In practice, only a small minority of the Athenian population took part in this early form of democratic government, as participation was limited to male citizens over 18. Athens' system of popular rule would last only until around 460 B.C. when an aristocracy began to emerge under the leadership of the general Pericles. However, the democratic ideals and processes that originated in ancient Greece have influenced politicians and governments ever since.

The marathon

In 490 B.C., as the story goes, a Greek soldier ran from Marathon to Athens, a distance of just over 26 miles, to bring news of the Athenian victory over the Persians in the Battle of Marathon. After delivering his message, the soldier promptly died. Over the centuries, his story became conflated with that of another, more famous, Greek soldier: Pheidippides. Before the Battle of Marathon took place, Pheidippides ran from Athens to Sparta to warn other Greeks of the Persian invasion, reportedly covering some 250 kilometers of uneven terrain in only two days. Unfortunately, Sparta was in the middle of a religious celebration when he arrived, and the Spartans were unable to mobilize for war until it was too late; the battle was already over. The first modern marathon took place at the revived Olympic Games in Athens in 1896 and was won-fittingly-by a Greek runner, Spyridon Louis.

Concrete

The frighteningly durable substance known as opus caementicium, or Roman concrete, first emerged some 2,100 years ago, and would make possible the architectural frenzy that began with Augustus, the first Roman emperor, in 27 B.C. The Romans mixed limestone with volcanic ash to form a mortar, then packed this thick substance together with chunks of brick or volcanic tuff to form the basic material for roads, bridges, aqueducts, buildings and other structures-including such enduring behemoths as the Pantheon and the Colosseum. Today's scientists have concluded that Roman concrete, though weaker than modern cement, is astonishingly long lasting, remaining relatively intact even after centuries of exposure to seawater and other damaging elements.

Newspaper

The Acta Diurna (or "daily acts"), which first appeared around 131 B.C., served as a gazette of political and social happenings in ancient Rome. News of events such as military victories, gladiatorial bouts and other games, births and deaths and even human-interest stories were inscribed on metal or stone and posted in areas with heavy foot traffic, such as the Roman Forum. Later on, during the first consulship of Julius Caesar, the Acta Senatus began chronicling the activities of the Roman Senate. The Acta Diurna, which continued publication under the Roman Empire (after 27 B.C.), can be considered the prototype for the modern newspaper.

Chocolate

This all-important invention comes from the beans of the cacao tree, which was cultivated more than 3,000 years ago by the Maya, Aztec and Toltec peoples of ancient Mesoamerica. These civilizations used the tree's fruit, the cocoa bean, to prepare a frothy beverage they considered an energy drink, mood enhancer and aphrodisiac all in one. The Maya worshiped the cacao tree as sacred, and cocoa beans grew so valuable they were used as currency. In the 16th century, Spanish conquistadores seeking gold and silver in the New World brought chocolate back to Europe with them, launching a craze that-let's be honest-never really ended.

Zero

For all its importance, it may surprise you to learn that zero is a relatively recent concept in human history, though it still has its roots in ancient times. The idea to use a zero-like symbol as a placeholder-to show the difference between 10 and 100, for example, or to show the absence in one column of another number (e.g. 2015)-emerged sometime after 300 B.C., when the ancient Babylonians adapted the Sumerian counting system. Half a world away, in ancient Mesoamerica, the Maya came up with the idea of zero as a placeholder independently, around A.D. 350. They used it in their elaborate calendar systems, but like the Babylonians, didn't really conceive of zero as a number in itself or use it in equations. The more complete vision of zero didn't emerge until the 7th century in India, when the Hindu astronomer Brahmagupta wrote rules for using zero in mathematical operations and equations, introducing the concept that zero could be seen as a number of its own.

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8 Inventions We Owe to the Ancients - History Lists

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Print Cite Article Details: If you take a good look, it may surprise you to learn how many of the objects that surround you every day were originally invented thousands of years ago by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Romans or other societies. These advanced civilizations came up with ideas that would revolutionize their existence-and ours.

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inventions that we didnt know were indian

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Top 5 Ancient Indian Inventions | INCREDIBLE INDIA| SC #195

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Top 5 Ancient Indian Inventions Discoveries and development in Ancient India were not restricted to Science, Mathematics and Medicines. Many of us are not aware that the objects/products that we use on a daily basis- small but most essential were invented by our ancestors.

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While the modern term orthopaedics came into existence around 1741, based on the book by the same name Orthopedie, by Nicholas Andry, India has known fracture care for ages.