Notes on STS: Ancient, Medieval, Modern Ages; Philippine History of Science and Technology

Introduction

  • Science and Technology (S&T) play a major role in day-to-day living by enabling tasks to be completed more easily and efficiently.

  • Innovations in S&T are often the result of gradual improvements on earlier work, driven by the continuous desire to raise quality of life, not just one-time breakthroughs.

  • This module focuses on the development of science and scientific ideas within communities and their gradual impact on society.

  • Learning outcomes (from the transcript):

    • How Science and Technology affect society and the environment, and vice versa.

    • Significant innovations and inventions that changed the world across history.

    • Scientific and technological advancements in the Philippines through time.

  • How to learn from this module: read instructions, complete activities, do learning activities after each lesson, and answer the assessment task (online or paper submission).

  • Module context: MODULE 1, Science, Technology and Society (STS-GEC 6), Isabela State University.

Learning Objectives

  • At the end of this module, the learner should be able to:

    • Discuss the interactions between S&T and society throughout history.

    • Discuss how scientific and technological developments affect society and the environment.

    • Identify the paradigm shifts in history.

Historical Antecedents: Social Considerations and the Course of Science and Technology

  • Global scope: Historical antecedents are grouped into three broad eras:

    • In the World: Ancient Ages, Middle Ages, Modern Ages.

    • In the Philippines: local factors shaping technology and innovations.

  • Driving factors across history (in the Philippines context): transportation, communication, food production/agriculture, industry, military, conservation of life and health, engineering/architecture, aesthetics, power and energy.

  • Science emphasized organized observational methods and measurement.

LESSON 1: Driving Concerns for Science and Technology Development

  • Transportation

    • Evolution from human/animal power to combustion-powered automobiles, aircraft, rockets.

    • Examples: wheel, wheeled chariot, sailboat, sailing ship, road, compass, steamboat, railroad, bicycle, automobile, airplane, space launcher, jetliner, GPS.

  • Communication

    • Transmission of information to facilitate exploration, settlement, trade, prevent conflicts.

    • Transformation to an information-rich era (Age of Information).

    • Examples: cuneiform, ink, papyrus, paper, hieroglyphics, newspaper, codex, numbers, Greek/Latin alphabets, parchment, vellum, printing press, photography, telegraph, telephone, phonograph, motion pictures, radio, television, transistor, communications satellite, personal computer.

  • Food production, agriculture, and industry

    • Growth of living organisms and manufacturing of new materials to sustain a growing population.

    • Examples: plowshare, silk, tea, bronze, iron, petroleum refinery, power loom, canning, refrigeration, steel, aluminum, sheet/plate glass, rayon, Bakelite, combine harvester, industrial robots, fullerenes.

  • Military

    • Weapons and armor drive exploration, alliances, resource acquisition, security, and domination.

    • Examples: spear, bow and arrow, gunpowder, rifled muzzle-loaders, submarine, machine gun, assault rifle, tank, ballistic missile, nuclear weapons.

  • Conservation of life, medicine, and health

    • Understanding the human body and prolonging life through medical advances.

    • Examples: smallpox vaccine, general anesthesia, pasteurization, X-ray imaging, insulin, antibiotics, blood transfusion, polio vaccine, birth control pill, heart transplantation, genetic engineering, cloning.

  • Engineering and architecture

    • Building great structures demonstrates ingenuity, organization, and national identity.

    • Examples: city, ziggurat, irrigation, dike, Wonders of the World, aqueduct, arch, brick, dam, Roman dome, plumbing, paved road, reinforced concrete, suspension bridge, dynamite, skyscraper, elevator, HVAC.

  • Aesthetics

    • Technology to enhance appearance and presentation (e.g., wig, cosmetics).

  • Power and energy

    • Harnessing energy sources to do work: waterwheel, fire, windmill, steam engine, electric battery, generator, motor, incandescent bulb, turbines, HVAC, wind turbine, solar cell, fuel cell, nuclear reactor, laser.

  • Observation and measurement

    • Mastery of magnitude of time and distance; development of clocks, calendars, telescopes, microscopes, and measurement devices.

    • Examples: water clock (clepsydra), alarm clock, Gregorian calendar, clock, watch, telescope, microscope, radar, atomic clock, calculator.

LESSON 2. STS in the ANCIENT, MIDDLE and MODERN AGES

2.1 THE ANCIENT WORLD

  • Major technological advancements across Asian, African, and Western civilizations.

  • ASIAN CIVILIZATIONS

    • Sumerians (Sumer) and Mesopotamia (4500–4000 BC): first writing system (Cuneiform) using wedge-shaped marks on clay; city of Uruk as an early true city; Great Ziggurat of Ur; sailboats for transport/trade; wheel (initially for farming, later for mass production); plow for farming; irrigation and dikes enabling year-long farming; roads linking regions.

    • Babylonian Civilization (4000 BC): Hammurabi’s Codes (written legal code) and empire building; Neo-Babylonian Empire (626–539 BC) as a cultural renaissance; contributions to mathematics, physics, astronomy (trigonometry, time-tracking methods); Hanging Gardens of Babylon (one of the Seven Wonders).

    • CHINESE CIVILIZATION (1250 BC – 220 AD): silk trade; tea production; Great Wall of China; Chinese medicine (e.g., acupuncture); paper making; gunpowder; printing; compass; paper as a major technology; printing press and movable type (Bi Sheng); gunpowder’s military use; compass for navigation.

    • INDIAN CIVILIZATION (Indus Valley, 2500–1700 BC): Harappan/Indus Valley civilization with planned cities and advanced urban planning; metallurgy (high-purity wrought iron, crucible steel called wootz); Ayurveda (Sushruta Samhita) and surgery; astronomy (Siddhanta Shiromani; Aryabhatta with heliocentric ideas); mathematics (zero and decimal system; numeral notations; value of pi; Fibonacci sequence origins; binary numbers; Chakravala method for solving indeterminate equations).

    • AFRICAN CIVILIZATION (Egyptian, 3100 BC – 332 BC): papyrus as a writing medium; ink production from soot and chemicals; hieroglyphics; alchemy (pre-chemistry precursor); cosmetics (kohl) and wigs; water clock (clepsydra) for timekeeping.

    • WESTERN CIVILIZATION: GREEK influence on early science and technology; alarm water clock (early clocks); Greek contributions to philosophy and early physics; ROMAN contributions (engineering and governance): newspaper/gazettes; codex (bound books); Roman numerals; Roman architecture (structural innovations).

    • MESOAMERICAN CIVILIZATION: Maya (astronomy, calendars, observatories, hieroglyphic writing, mathematics, architecture); Inca (road networks, suspension bridges, irrigation, calendar, quipu, textiles); Aztec (mandatory education, chocolate/tribute economy, chinampas, aztec calendars, canoeing).

  • 2.2 MEDIEVAL/MIDDLE AGES

    • The era marked by invasions and migrations; warfare spurred innovations in weaponry, navigation, agriculture, health; known as the Age of Exploration.

    • INNOVATION HIGHLIGHTS DURING MEDIEVAL TIMES:

    • PRINTING PRESS: Gutenberg’s development of movable type and mechanical press to enable faster book production and broader dissemination of knowledge.

    • MICROSCOPE: Janssen’s device enabling magnified observation; vital for medical knowledge due to urbanization and crowding.

    • TELESCOPE: Lippershey’s patent and improvements enabling astronomical observation and navigation.

    • WAR WEAPONS: Crossbows, longbows, armor; advancement in military technology due to warfare needs.

  • LEARNING ACTIVITY 2 prompts discussion of additional medieval breakthroughs and a photo essay assignment to relate inventions to societal impact.

2.3 MODERN AGES

  • The Modern Era spans from roughly 1500 to present, with three phases:

    • A. Early Modern Period

    • Renaissance (circa 1300–1600): rebirth of European culture and knowledge.

    • Scientific Revolution (roughly 1550–1700): mathematics, physics, astronomy, biology, chemistry transformed views of nature; laid groundwork for Enlightenment.

    • Age of Enlightenment (18th century): France and Germany; emphasis on freedom, democracy, reason.

    • Famous scientists: Galileo Galilei (Father of Modern Astronomy and Modern Physics), Nicolaus Copernicus (heliocentric theory), Johannes Kepler (laws of planetary motion), Isaac Newton (universal gravitation, motion, calculus).

    • B. Mid Modern Period

    • Industrial Revolution (1700s): steam engine (Newcomen, 1712); mechanization and mass production; power shift in industry and transport.

    • Progressive Era (1890s–1920s): social reform in the U.S.; responses to industrialization, urbanization, immigration and government corruption.

    • Machine Age (late 19th – early 20th centuries): expansion of machinery and mass production.

    • C. Contemporary Period

    • Atomic Age (mid-20th century): atomic bomb, early computers, transistors.

    • Space Age: Space Race, space exploration and related technology.

    • Information Age: digital/communication revolutions; access to information.

  • OTHER SIGNIFICANT HIGHLIGHTS DURING THE MODERN AGE:

    • PASTEURIZATION: heating dairy to kill harmful bacteria; invented by Louis Pasteur; extends shelf life and food safety.

    • PETROLEUM REFINERY: kerosene as illumination fuel; petroleum refining foundation of modern energy systems.

    • TELEPHONE: connected people over long distances; invented by Alexander Graham Bell.

    • CALCULATOR: early devices that enabled arithmetic and paved the way for computers.

  • LEARNING ACTIVITY 3: Expository essay prompt to discuss one major modern development and its daily-life impact.

LESSON 3. HISTORICAL ANTECEDENTS IN THE PHILIPPINES

  • The Philippines contributed to global science and technology but is highly vulnerable to natural disasters; indigenous materials and context-specific innovations abound.

  • Structure of science and technology governance: the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) as the main agency; notable Filipino scientists (Fe del Mundo, Eduardo Quisumbing, Gavino Trono, Maria Orosa).

  • PERIODS:

    • PRE-SPANISH ERA

    • Indigenous knowledge: medicinal uses of plants, calendars, alphabet-like systems, measurement systems, farming, shipbuilding, mining, weaving.

    • Banaue Rice Terraces cited as sophisticated engineering by pre-Spanish Filipinos.

    • SPANISH COLONIAL ERA

    • Introduction of formal education and scientific institutions; parish schools (religion, reading, writing, arithmetic, music); sanitation and agriculture education; establishment of universities (e.g., University of Santo Tomas).

    • Galleon Trade linked the colonial economy; Enlightenment ideas influenced some Filipinos via European exposure.

    • AMERICAN PERIOD

    • Public education expansion, improved engineering and health, establishment of the University of the Philippines (a research university), more public hospitals; science teaching focused on nature studies and sanitation; malaria, cholera, tuberculosis research.

    • JAPANESE OCCUPATION (1942–1945)

    • Disruption of industry and destruction of infrastructure; six basic principles in education during occupation (Realization of new order; Propagation of Filipino culture; Elevating morals; Propagation of Niponggo; Diffusion of elementary/vocational education; Promotion of love of labor).

    • Education priorities: elementary and vocational schools; longer school calendars; bans on American symbols; licensing for teachers; transportation and health were severely affected; rice production declined; malaria and tuberculosis increased; the war economy prioritized essential goods.

    • POST COMMONWEALTH ERA

    • Rebuild and advance science and technology through human resource development (engineers, scientists, doctors, etc.).

  • NOTABLE PHILIPPINE INVENTIONS AND INNOVATIONS:

    • Salamander Amphibious Tricycle: conversion of WWII US Jeeps into jeepneys; amphibious capability to cross floods using additional sidecars and water-adaptation features.

    • Salt Lamp (SALT): Aisa Mijeno’s lamp powered by saltwater; safe, inexpensive, and environmentally friendly lighting solution for rural areas.

    • Medical incubator by Fe Del Mundo: first Asian woman in Harvard Medical School; bamboo/portable incubator using non-electrical heat sources for newborns.

    • eJeepney: electrified jeepney variant using electricity instead of diesel; eco-friendly public transport.

  • INSTITUTIONS AND HERITAGE:

    • The University of the Philippines as a flagship research university.

    • Galleon Trade links and colonial education shaped scientific and cultural exchanges.

LEARNING ACTIVITY 3: REFLECTIONS AND MULTI-BUBBLE MAP

  • Task: Create a multi-bubble map comparing pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial periods in the Philippines.

  • inner circles: similarities among periods; outer circles: differences.

  • Example prompts: influence of political and cultural landscapes on science; the impact of education systems; the role of foreign influence and local adaptation.

LEARNING ACTIVITY 4 (Implied): PHOTO ESSAY AND VISUAL ANALYSIS

  • Students produce a photo essay (4 pictures) illustrating a medieval-era breakthrough and its societal impact.

  • Evaluation rubric includes: image relevance, typography/captions, organization, thematic consistency.

ASSESSMENT TASK: STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS

  • Newton’s famous line cited: “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.”

  • Encourages recognizing how past discoveries enable future progress.

  • References and recommended readings listed in the module (McNamara et al., Serafica et al.).

Key Figures and Concepts (Selected Examples)

  • Sumerians: cuneiform, Uruk, ziggurat, sailboats, wheel, plow, irrigation and dikes, roads.

  • Hammurabi: Code of Hammurabi, early legal code.

  • Babylonians: trigonometry, astronomy, time-tracking methods; Hanging Gardens.

  • Chinese: silk, tea, Great Wall, medicine (acupuncture), paper making, gunpowder, compass, printing, movable type (Bi Sheng).

  • Indians: Aryabhatta, heliocentric theory, zero, decimal system, numeral notation, pi value, Fibonacci sequence origins, binary numbers, Chakravala method, algebraic methods.

  • Egyptians: papyrus, ink, hieroglyphics, alchemy, cosmetics, wig, water clock.

  • Greeks/Romans: alarm water clock, mills, bound books/codex, Roman numerals, Roman architecture, newspaper/gazettes.

  • Mayans/Incas/Aztecs: astronomy, calendars, observatories, quipu, chinampas, roads, suspension bridges, weaving, education, calendars.

  • Medieval innovations: printing press, microscope, telescope, weaponry.

  • Modern era: Renaissance, Scientific Revolution, Enlightenment; Newton, Galileo, Copernicus, Kepler, etc.; Industrial Revolution; Pasteurization; petroleum refining; telephone; calculator; space and information ages.

  • Philippines: pre-colonial innovations; education system; Fe Del Mundo; Salamander amphibious tricycle; SALT lamp; eJeepney; incubator; Galleon trade; UP as a research university.

Connections and Implications

  • Interdependence of S&T and society: technology shapes social organization, economy, and governance; societal needs drive technological development.

  • Ethical and practical implications: access to technology, sustainability, disaster resilience, inclusive education, and equitable distribution of innovations.

  • Foundational principles and real-world relevance: the module links ancient innovations to modern systems (writing, math, measurement) and shows how foundational ideas reappear in modern technology (computing, information networks, energy systems).

Formulas and Notable Equations (LaTeX)

  • Pythagorean theorem (noted in Indian mathematical context):a^2 + b^2 = c^2

  • Value of pi (historical note; Budhayana’s contribution to pi):oxed{ rac{C}{d} = rac{ ext{circumference}}{ ext{diameter}} \, ext{and} \, \pi \approx 3.14159…}

  • Decimal system (base-10 place-value): representation of a numberN = \,\sum{k=0}^{m} dk \, 10^k where each digit $d_k \in {0,1,\ldots,9}$.

  • Fibonacci sequence (origin in Indian mathematics):Fn = F{n-1} + F{n-2}, \ F0 = 0, \ F_1 = 1

  • Binary numerals (early concept in Indian math leading to computer logic): base-2 representation uses digits $0$ and $1$.

  • Chakravala method (algorithm for solving certain quadratic equations, e.g., Pell-type): general idea is to solve equations of the formx^2 - D y^2 = k with an iterative cyclic method; related to Pell’s equationx^2 - D y^2 = 1

  • Pell’s equation (classic Diophantine equation):x^2 - D y^2 = 1

References and Suggested Readings (from the module)

  • McNamara, J., et al. 2018. Science Technology and Society. C&E Publishing Inc.

  • Serafica, J., et al. 2018. Science Technology and Society. Rex Book Store Inc.

Note on structure

  • The notes above are organized to mirror the module’s progression across ancient, medieval, and modern ages, with a dedicated section on the Philippines. Each civilization or period includes core innovations, example artifacts or systems, and their significance to later developments. LaTeX-formatted equations are included for mathematical concepts mentioned in the transcript. If you want these notes in a PDF format, I can generate a PDF accordingly.