Skip to main content

Technology in the Ancient World

By: Barnes & Noble Books

Type: Hardcover

Product Line: Historical Reference Books (Barnes & Noble Books)

Last Stocked on 2/3/2006

Product Info

Title
Technology in the Ancient World
Category
Author
Henry Hodges
Publish Year
1992
Pages
287
Dimensions
6x9x1"
NKG Part #
2147354739
MFG. Part #
0-88029-893-6
Type
Hardcover

Description

A flint hand-ax made more than 250,000 years ago...A kiln (c.3500 B.C.) in operation...A water clock (c. 200 B.C.)...A complex crane, six times the height of a man, used by ancient Roman builders...These and many more complicated inventions are included in this lively history of technology in the ancient world, from its origins in the "chipped stone industries" of the Paleolithic period to the sophisticated tools and machines already in use when Rome fell in the 5th century A.D. Examined in fascinating detail are the inventions of navigation and overland transportation, of city construction and water works, of war and domestic life and luxury. Although the focus is on Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece & Rome, there are side glances at ancient China, India & pre-Columbian America, and a glimpse of the mechanical curiosities in the museum of Alexandria--including such oddities as the Roman "vacuum" flask and a Chinese seismograph.