Legacy

Ancient Mesopotamia

• Cuneiform: First form of writing, led to all later written languages/systems. Allowed for record keeping and literature. Allowed knowledge to be passed down

• The Wheel: Originally solid disks used for pottery before being adapted for chariots. Inspired development of gears, pulleys, and wheeled machinery, allowing for engineering and mechanics

• Code of Hammurabi: early form of written legal code establishing law and punishment. This pioneered the concept of justice systems, and influenced later legal systems

Ancient Egypt

• Papyrus: the plant papyrus was turned into a form of paper, allowing for more accessible forms of literature and communication. Led to paper made from wood pulp

• Agricultural developments: Irrigation systems influenced later farming techniques, and the concept of the plow created in ancient egypt is still used today

Ancient Greece

• Democracy: a system of government still similarly used today. Solon (removed debt-slavery, categorized citizens by wealth), Cleisthenes (reorganized citizens into 10 voting tribes based on geographic location), Pericles (made democracy the most similar to what it is today, allowed poorer people to participate in government with pay, access to office for all classes, etc)

• Philospoy: Socrates (“i know that i know nothing” father of western phiosphy), Plato, Aristotle (influenced modern computer science),

• Olympic Games: First held in 776 BCE Olympia and a celebration of physical prowess, festival for Zeus, Originally a foot race

Ancient Rome

• Grid Based Layout: Used a grid layout with straight streets, dividing cities into insulae (blocks) for housing and public spaces

• Sewer Systems: designed to drain the roman forum and prevent flooding, led to modern sewer systems and wastewater treatments

• Public libraries: roman’s established public libraries to preserve and share knowledge