Cradles of Early Science

Buried artifacts and ancient structures

What are living proofs of existence of science and technology since ancient times?

Archeologist, Paleontologist, & Anthropologist

Who un-earthed those buried artifacts and materials?

To address the needs of the people and the problems they were facing in their current time

Why were there scientific discoveries even on the ancient times?

The need to address issues and circumstances

The driving force for every technological advancement?

Aztecs, Mayans, & Incas

Three major tribes of the Meso-American region

Meso-American

The region known for its contribution in the fields of agriculture, engineering, architecture, astronomy, mathematics, commerce, education, social management, manufacturing, arts, and the creation of chocolates

Southern Region of North America

Where do the Aztecs and Mayans reside?

South America (Peru)

Incas occupy which part of the region

Major - Aztec
Subsidiary - Toltec

Which one is the major and subsidiary tribe from the Aztec and Toltec?

The Aztecs

• Were known as the great city builders among the three tribes

• Had great architectural works

• Understood geometry and mathematical principles

• Comprised and created numerous temples

Ziggurat

Temple of the Aztecs for Religious purposes

Public Latrines (Public Bathrooms)

Created by the Aztecs as a means of maintaining public sanitation

Spaniards

Aztecs are the first ones to be visited by which colonizers?

They practice human sacrifice (removed as they believed it was the work of the devil)

Why did the Spaniards burn most of the written works of the Aztec people?

Mayans

• Experts of Astronomy and Mathematics

• Focused also on agriculture

• Came up with their own Calendar

The Silk Road

Which route was used by the Mayans to throw trading of goods and information

Mayan Calendar

Which Calendar contained seasonal agricultural dates that was also the basis of other civilization’s calendar systems

Incas

• The isolated groups, living on top of the mountain considering them mountain dwellers

• The first to use roads and bridge systems

• Constructed earthquake proof homes through the use of stones

Machu picchu

The city where Incas dwelled and lived that is a part of the 7 wonders of the world that used stones from the mountains itself

The Aztecs

The first to impose mandatory educational system that influenced public-school education around the world

Administrative
Technical and domestic works

Two distinctions between education implemented by the Aztecs

Administrative

Concerns cultural teachings and leadership

Technical and domestic works

Concerned with livelihood, protecting the territory etc.

Incas

Founded the legal expressions and punishments, the laws

Olmec, Zapotec, and Mixtec

Practiced paper making

Mayans

Used paper extensively and were able to transcribe their calendars into the materials

Asian region

Region with the biggest contributions to science and technology

China

• Emerged around the end of the Christ Era and After Death

• Notable inventions were paper, printing technology, gunpowder, and compass

By carving wood, dipping it in ink, and pasting the ink on paper

How did the Chinese mass produce their printing technology?

Chinese

• The first people to do iron casting or metallurgy and brass production

• Also practiced hydraulic engineering and construction of flood controls

Brass

The very first alloy produced by humanity

To protect their country boundaries, armor, and weaponry

Why did the Chinese use brass?

Acupuncture and herbal remedies

• One of the oldest medical systems the Chinese invented that have a certain level of mysticism (spells and the super naturals)

Yin (Passive) & Yang (Active)

• Chinese believe that the body is composed of two forces

• If homeostasis is affected, the person may get sick

India

• Had huge contributions in the fields that weren’t given credit

• Contributed in the fields of mathematics, medicine, metallurgy, textile and ship-building

India

• Invented the idea of zero and its integration to the place-value system that allows us to write numbers with using only ten symbols

1 - 9

Before writing equations only used how many symbols?

Algorithm

India’s influence on the idea of the mathematical equation led to the innovation of what term that replaced the use of abacus in calculations

Chinese

Who introduced the abacus that allowed for simple arithmetic calculations

Brahmagupta

• Gave the definition of zero as a result from subtracting a number by itself

• Gave rules for positive and negative numbers

• Described the method for multiplication using the place-value system, algorithms in square roots and astronomical works

Brahmagupta

• Used Mathematics to predict certain levels of astronomical events such as eclipses

• Important as beliefs before suggested that they carry bad omens

Kerala

• Came up with different mathematical infinite series that he use for the convergent expression “pi” and its use in the unit circle with incorporations on trigonometric functions

• There are some beliefs that the Pythagorean Theorem was related to his ideas in calculus and geometry

Pythagoras and Plato

Which Philosophers and Mathematicians actually studied in Egypt

Indian Scholars

There was also a belief that Egyptians enslaved whom that probably transferred their understanding of mathematics to some of the religious teachers

Medicine

India also had a long history of what that advocated a system of humans over divine intervention

Ayurveda

• A medical practice that advocate the use of herbs and drugs

• Indians learned to extract bioactive compounds from animals and mineral origins to cure diseases

Scientific Basis on Medicine

Ayurveda led to the researches of these naturally occurring substances (Ethnomedicine - Natural Products)

Ehtnomedicine

Field of science that handles bioactive materials

Vaccination, rhinoplasty and eye surgery

India also practiced what medical procedures that were first before the Wester culture?

4th Century BCE

As pioneers in the industries of metallurgy, textiles and ship-building. India also practiced Zinc extraction as early as _________, and created trade routes

Arab Region

• Most of their scholars went unnoticed

• Practiced in mathematics, astronomy, architecture and horticulture

• Affected by the Dark Ages (Dropped by the Western Culture), a scheme made to mask the Golden Era of Islam in Science and technology

Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi

• According to the references, he was the first one to design the subject of Algebra and Algorithm developed by others

• A belief that the term “algorithm” came from his name

Abu Al Wafa Muhammad al Buzjani

• The first to show the applicability of the sine theorem relative to spherical triangles

• Specializes in geometry and trigonometry

• Announced the use of secant and cosecant, adding solutions for geometrical problems during his time

Al Hasan Ibn Al Haytham

• Father of Modern Optics

• Through his Book of Optics transcribed to Latin as De Aspectibus, he influenced European scholars in the 17th century

• How light influenced different materials and the application of lenses

Abu Ali Ibn Sina

• A medical specialist

• Written the books kitab al shifa (book of healing) and qanun fit tipp (the canons of medicine) that became the medical guide in the west from 12th to 17th century

• The first to describe meningitis

Meningitis

Inflammation of the tissue and the spinal chord

Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi

• An expert surgeon

• Advocated the usage of alcohol to disinfect the tools used for surgery

• Used opium as anesthesia

Opium

• Capable of delivering euphoria through its presence with dopamine, numbing the feeling of pain

Kenya, Ethiopia, and Nigeria

Advanced countries in Africa

African Mathematics

• Introduced multiplication and division of fractions, geometric formulas for calculating areas and volumes, distance, angles, algebraic equations, concept of square root, and their own version of the pi-value estimation

• It was often looked at as a pragmatic subject, rather than a theoretical one

Dogon Culture

For astronomy, Africans has what culture that enabled them to discover the rings of Saturn, Jupiter’s moons, the spherical structure of the Milky ay and the movements of the sun and constellations

Looking up at the skies and stars

Africans used what methods to not get lost, and making them be known as expert navigators as they scavenge for food

Hydrotherapy

• In medicine, ancient Africans used this

• The current practices where this is used as a means to transfer medicine and other liquids through a tube depending on the condition of the patient