Category: Ancient Civilizations

Technology has been an indispensable progressive process in human life. It can be best understood when pursued from the historical background from the evolution of early human beings characterized by the use of simple tools to the complex enormous networks in the contemporary man’s world. Nevertheless, technological developments in the ancient civilizations were compelled by some factors that either led to the formation of new technologies or improvements of the existent ones.

Human population increase contributed to technological advancements during ancient civilizations. With their increasing numbers, humans noticed that reliance on hunting alone could not satisfy their food consumption needs, and they resorted to a cultural shift from nomadic hunting and gathering activities to crop growing. Around 7,000 B.C, some groups were doing experiments on intentional cultivation of plants which later led to farming (Scarre and Fagan 376). The agriculturalists inhabited the Fertile Crescent that consisted of the fertile banks of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers (Scarre and Fagan 63). The soil on these fertile hillsides encouraged tillage and other agricultural practices. By 5,000 B.C., agronomy had developed to various parts of the world and new technologies such as the use of primitive plow and harvesting tools came into existent (Scarre and Fagan 100). As evident, the growth in human population kindled agricultural developments which were featured by the use of new farm tools.

Besides populace increase, trade that existed between the prehistoric communities led to technological advancements. Business dealings produced demand for certain commercial items in the market therefore, industries had to be established. To supply the flourishing copper industry with structured mineral transportation, a two-wheeled cart was invented (Scarre and Fagan 33). Nonetheless, the first means of transport which emerged in Egypt and Mesopotamia were sailing boats which came into use before 3500 B.C (Scarre and Fagan 98). As well, trade enabled different individuals to meet and exchange ideas and that is why manufacturing was more prevalent in the New Stone Age period. Notably, techniques such as grinding corn and baking clay became part of human economic activities. Also, the early metal workers began to acquire the new skills of extracting and working the soft metals such as gold, copper, and tin (Scarre and Fagan 34). Therefore, the need to acquire a trade item that one was lacking shaped the skills of the early man in a way that led to the development of industries.

Moreover, the availability of stones and copper ores was a major contributing factor to the development of technology during prehistoric periods. Of all the materials that the early man is suspected to have used in his activities, stone has survived many years. During prehistoric times, Oldowan tools were stones that were deliberately shaped for specific purposes (Scarre and Fagan 9). Stones also led to improvement on how the early man could control fire. For instance, it was realized that striking stones against pyrites to produce sparks made it possible to ignite fires and that saved them the need to maintain fires from natural sources. On the other hand, copper was used alongside tin in making bronze tools and therefore a significant improvement in agricultural tools (Scarre and Fagan 33). The existence of stone and copper ores enhanced the improvement of human’s agricultural activities as well as warfare and defense.

In conclusion, technological advancements in the prehistoric period were driven by some factors that either created new techniques or transformed the existing practices. A factor that led to the creation of a new technological order was the rise in the human population. Similarly, trade also created new industries that not only opened the human’s economic sphere but also enhanced the spread of skills. The availability of stone and copper changed crop cultivation through advancements in agricultural tools. Therefore, technological advancements that featured in the ancient civilizations were not spontaneous as they might appear.

Work Cited

Scarre, Chris, and Brian Fagan. Ancient Civilizations. 4th ed., Routledge Publishers, 2016.

Introduction

History gives us the chance to make a journey into the past and have a glimpse at the kind of life that people in ancient civilizations led. Through access to this historical information, we are able to compare what used to be with what is in terms of human life. The phrase human life as used in this essay encompasses all elements of life such as the system of government, the type of architecture, the religion of the people, and the recreation activities practiced by a group of people. In this essay, the similarities that exist between ancient civilizations such as Rome, Persia, and Greece and modern urban settings and governments will be examined. A comparison will also be given on the effect of war on ancient cities and modern establishments. What are the similarities that exist between modern cities and governments and ancient cities or civilizations?

Main text

To start with, the system of architecture that is used in modern cities is similar to the system of architecture that was employed in most ancient cities (Crawford 1993,pp.19-20).The striking resemblance between modern city buildings and the buildings found in ancient cities is a testimony that these two settings are not different. What is the reason for this similarity? The possible explanation for the similarity is that most of the architectural ideas that are being used today came into existence during the early civilizations such as Rome and Greece. If there are any differences between the buildings, they are extremely minor and therefore hard to notice easily.

Apart from architecture, the system of government that existed in ancient city states such as Rome and Greece is closely related to the systems of government in many parts of the world today. For example the presence of senators in Rome is similar to the presence of senators in countries such as the United States and France. Other structures of administration that the ancient cities had are courts and these ones are in the modern systems of government too. Therefore there is a recognizable resemblance in terms of governments between the ancient establishments and modern nation-states. The most likely reason for this sis that the philosophy that the ancient philosophers developed in politics and government is what is being utilized in matters of government today. Therefore it is not possible to come up with something that is completely different from what used to exist in these ancient civilizations.

In addition to the above, culture in ancient cities included strong spirituality as shown by the deification of kings and emperors as well as the construction of magnificent temples for the gods. In modern days, people are equally spiritual and in some churches such as the Roman Catholic Church people who are perceived as doers of good deeds are canonized or made saints after their death. What did war do to ancient cities and how does it compare to what war is doing to modern establishments?

In ancient cities, war was a source of great destruction. People lost lives and property got destroyed. This is another similarity with modern life because war destroys property and lives are lost too. Julius Caesar’s war campaigns in Asia minor and Egypt were not without causalities (Potter 2009,pp.32-33).In modern times, the first world war and the second world war resulted in millions of deaths (Grosshans 1983,pp.21-22).

Conclusion

In conclusion, ancient civilizations such as Rome and Greece had so much in common with modern establishments in terms of architecture, culture, and government. The impact of war on ancient cities is also the same as the impact of war in modern cities.

References

Crawford, M. (1993). The Roman Republic (2^nd ed.).New York: Harvard University Press.

Grosshans, H. (1983). Hitler and the Artists. New York: Holmes & Meyer.

Potter, D. (2009). Ancient Rome: A New History. New York: Thames and Hudson.