Category: Science/Technology

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Z is for Zodiac

Modern Zodiac wheel. Graphic by Pearson Scott Foresman.

I’ve always been interested in astrology. I used to be able to calculate birth charts by hand, before apps could do it. I am also familiar with numerology, read palms, and interpret tarot cards. I often did tarot readings at corporate off sites. They were wonderful for discussing team strategy; people open up and speak their minds. I was also peppered with questions about why a person who did finance and math for a living was so knowledgeable about occult practices.

They shouldn’t have been surprised. Ancient astrology was heavily dependent on math and scientific measurement. Historians often find it quaint that astrology and astronomy were taught together, but to ancient Sumerians and Egyptians, this was like statistical analysis, using data to make predictions. Where today we might apply theories of random walk, Keynesian economics, or monetary policy–given that we are a society fueled by capitalism–in 2500 BCE, the ancients generated predictions based on interpretations of the night sky. Across multiple societies, astrologers were key advisors to the king-emperor-leader, in the same way that Cabinet members function today. Will the harvest be bountiful? Will the attack on a rival neighbor be a success? Should we apply tariffs? What actions should we take to maintain celestial harmony?

The zodiac might be easily dismissed as simple superstition. Yet, for all our modern access to information and expertise, our predictions aren’t necessarily more accurate. Economists disagree, and economic results don’t always follow predictions. Political polls seem no more conclusive than a newspaper horoscope. Meanwhile, today’s horoscopes bear very little connection to the horoscopes generated three thousand years ago, which were mathematically calculated based on that day and that person, not simple platitudes.

The cultures of ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, Greece, and others paid close attention to the night sky and acted accordingly. Their view also linked the activities of the constellations, along with the sun, moon, and planets, to the seasonal climate of their environment. Weather was everything, and weather came from the heavens, which meant it was affected by the stars. Just as ancient cultures defined their calendar, months, and seasons, they also organized the heavens into the zodiac.

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W is for Wind

…The North wind is the wind of satisfaction,
the South wind overthrows the men it hits,
the East wind is the wind that brings rain,
and the West wind is mightier than the man living there.

Sumerian proverb, @1900 BCE.
Soldiers of the 1st Chinese Regiment flying kites, China,1902. Photo courtesy University of Brisol.

In our alphabetic journey through Ancient Inventions, we are now into the last four letters, so I feel a bit of wind at my back. Which is good, since Wind is today’s topic–specifically, wind power and how ancient people used it.

In yesterday’s post on Valves, I described how ancient civilizations developed plumbing in order to control water. It is in the DNA of Homo sapiens–all the hominids–control the environment. We have always wanted to mold the world as we wished. What separated primates and apes in particular from other animals is tool use, and what seemed to caused hominids evolution was tool upon tool upon tool use. Fire-arrows-wheels-axes-thread-carrying slings all reflect continuous adaptation. We change things in the world to suit our needs until we try to shape the world into a tool for ourselves. This was modest 10,000 years ago with stone towers and calendars; bigger by the time of the pyramids, 5000 years ago. As of 2025 CE, it may be an experiment gone too far, now that the environment is fighting back.

However, in 3500 BCE, in Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, and even in the South Pacific, people understood there were significant forces of nature and wanted at least to use them to their advantage. Diverting water and controlling it with valves could irrigate the crops and grow a hungry population; sailing across water could lead to places with new goods or resources. Fire was the life-giver to humans, known early on to the oldest of hominids, and staying with us through our evolving species. Shaping the earth into houses or bowls for food was part of daily life. But the air they breathed–could they control it? The wind brought storms that wrecked the crops and disturbed the cattle–could they harness it?

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V is for Valve

Ancient Roman bronze valve, from Valve magazine. Photo credit: Ministry for Better Cultural Activities — Superintendent for Archaeological Good of Naples and Pompeii

Indoor plumbing doesn’t get enough credit. We take it for granted, but one night spent camping is always enough for me to write fan letters to my en suite bathroom at home. In fact, plumbing as a whole doesn’t get enough credit. Prehistorians love to wax lyrical about the plow or cave paintings or Platonic ideals. They should be talking about irrigation. After all, find a sizeable population in history, and you’ll probably find a valve.

The Romans kind of cornered the historical air time on valves since they were the gold standard (Bronze standard? it’s the Bronze Age…) for plumbing as well as central heating. Numerous articles cover this in Valve magazine, and yes, there’s a magazine dedicated to valves. However, while we should give the Romans their due, the Egyptians were the first to use valves in irrigation, the Indus Valley builders of the largest public baths, the Mesopotamians creators of one fabulous desert garden after another, and the Incans masters of harnessing gravity to create waterfalls and canals.

Harnessing the power of water was one of humanity’s first ways of controlling their environment. The valve was an integral part of the story, such a simple little thing but very powerful. The best inventions are. Let’s consider:

  1. What is a valve?
  2. When and where were valves first introduced in ancient civilizations?
  3. What does the creation of the valve and the control of water imply about human thinking?
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