03.03.21
A few weeks ago we offered the graphic above to introduce a different kind of thought in the tech world… Examining the roots, the deep, ancient roots. We hear a lot about technological origin stories with the IBMs and Apples of the 1970s/80s, but what are the deeper roots of some of today’s greatest techno-advancement?
As a means of bookkeeping, in the graphic above all the graphics, save the Hanging Gardens, came from an Envato Elements subscription. That standalone graphic has a special source. While the source of the Hanging Gardens Graphic didn’t suggest any restrictions on use, we site as referenced on that site and offer it below. If anyone should see any problem with this please let us know. Our goal, the open dissemination of thought and inspiration, through digital word, art, and work.
The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Picture Collection, The New York Public Library. “Beautiful reconstruction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon” New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed February 24, 2021. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e4-4d45-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99
Parallels
This is where we come in today. To start these explorations we will be building a great new Wisdom section dedicated to ancient technologies and the linkages, parallels if you will, to their innovative contemporaries.
Our introduction to that section debuts now. We begin by pulling a quick sketch of the parallels between early, ancient tech as found in one of humanity’s oldest urban outposts: Mesopotamia, and comparing today’s greatest variants. Yeah, you know, the Tigris and Euphrates folks that started the party for humanity; quite literally as we’ll come to see in some cases.
Mesopotamia, you’ve got to be kidding me. They didn’t have tech. Oh contraire my friend…
Hey, it’s even a catchy tune…
How could we miss this start?!?!?!?
Building Society
While the materials may have changed the ambitions have not. Nor does the fact that the rudiments of today’s greatest advances begin in the cradle of human society. It appears tech is built into our social code.
Building inspiring works of architecture, labor divisions, great food and drink, a strong military, and providing electrical power to enhance the work and comfort of humanity have been staples from the beginning. Nope, not just all cuneiform and wheels but real, socially-defining tech that changed the way society worked. For Mesopotamia, technology was real and technology was the way.
As InterestingEngineering puts it, there are ten great tech innovations of the Mesopotamians: Cuneiform Writing, Currency, the Wheel (that’s right, not the Flintstones), Mathematics and the sexagesimal system, Astrology (ok, we’ll give ’em a pass here), Astronomy, Calendar, Sailboat, Plow, and Metallurgy. A few pretty important human-defining elements. Whether it was money or writing, or the combination in math, we owe it to those Mesopotamians (Mesos).
For BCB Cyber we pick three of the coolest parallels: Architecture, Food & Drink, and the Baghdad Battery. Plus a bonus, runner up.
Architecture
The stacked buildings of the ancient world were all about the Ziggurat. For those crazy Mesos, these buildings were built from around approximately 2200 until 500 BCE. They went all crazy in the mud and came up with mud-brick as a core and baked a few to cover the exterior.
Here’s the gist:
Image by ExplorersInternational from Pixabay
Checking out today’s urban parallels, its not hard to start seeing the comparables:
Ok, so ours in modern history are shinier, but come on…
One of the best known examples is the Ziggurat of Ur, Neo-Sumer, around 2100 BC. In addition was the Tower of Babel, from Neo-Babylon around 575 B.C.
You know this one, The Tower of Babel, just gotta remember Bible school…
4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”
5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 6 The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.
Genesis 11:4-6 New International Version
Ok, so there is some debate on this…
But there is an old Greek guy who gives us a clue… Herodotus told us all about the structure, more importantly, the effort required to get to the top: all about a spiral staircase that wrapped around the building and a place to rest. Go figure, somethings never change: complaining about how many stairs to the top. Humanity will never change.
And ultimately we have the Hanging Gardens of Babylon built by Nebuchadnezzar that we saw in our opening graphics. Most notable about this particular structure is how the ancients talked about the machines used to pump water throughout for all the plants. One wacky ancient writer, Diodorus Siculus talked all about how they were suspended in air under which you could walk, even though you couldn’t see them from the outside. Sounds a lot like the interior plumbing tech of modern buildings!
Food and Drink
For this one, the tech is clear and greatly appreciated. For the Mesos it was all about fermentation: They loved their beer and wine production. Wine was expensive and for those of more refined taste as it was costly. However, despite the love of barley they had no hops for taste so instead the beer was a little more porridgy.
Plus, here we get a bonus for the first depictions of that great tech known as the straw. Depictions in clay of the earliest debaucheries and imbibing of alcohol come from the Mesos. Really, ya’ gotta check out that link and all the images. Pretty impressive stuff (Be Warned, Not For Younger Audiences).
Baghdad Battery
Finally, we come to the Baghdad Battery. Created during the Parthian Period which occurred from approximately 250 BC to 250 AD, there has been much conjecture about this little device.
Ok, so maybe not a true battery, and it certainly doesn’t compare to the Lithium powered batteries of our modern electric vehicles (EVs). But hey, it was a start!
The Baghdad Battery was apparently made of copper, iron and used vinegar as the acid… its been estimated that this construction produced about one half volt. For comparison, the modern AA battery produces 1.5 Volts and the modern Lithium AA produces 3 Volts.
Runner Up: Militaria
We love our military tech today. So many incredible systems and capacities to destroy the world. Great right!?!?!?! Ok, so we’ll reserve judgement. Or do we?
While we love our gear today built to fight, we aren’t the first. Apparently the Ancient Assyrians of Mesopotamia were no slouches. From about 1000 – 612 BC they were getting super busy with military tech of their own. Crafting up battering rams, siegecraft, chariots, and flotation devices to aid in assault, etc. these crafty Mesos were all about being more effective combatants in their own squabbles. So much so, the Assyrians are considered by some to be the world’s first professional army.
Concluding Thoughts
While they may not have had the advancements or the refined materials, the Mesos sure tech’d up their lives to the greatest extent they could. In doing so they built the rudiments of what would become our technologically enabled societies of today.
That’s it for this week folks, check back soon as we dig up more cutting edge tech from around the ancient world. Speaking of cool, cutting edge tech, make sure to come back tomorrow for the latest in Cyberpunk Gear.