Recorded history affords us the opportunity to trace the evolution of mankind from early ancient civilizations to where we currently stand. Throughout this history, there have been many technological advancements that have had a tremendous impact on both the immediate societies that they originated in and future societies as well. This brief essay will discuss the impact of 3 inventions from 3 different eras in history: Ancient Civilization, The Middle Ages, and the 19th-21st Centuries.
Ancient Civilization: The Sundial
The sundial is the oldest known device for the measurement of time and the most ancient of scientific instruments. It is based on the fact that the shadow of an object will move from one side of the object to the other as the sun “moves” from east to west during the day. Historians differ on who exactly created the sundial but most agree that they first appeared in Ancient Greece and Egypt around 3500 BC. This invention had one if the greatest impacts on human civilization because it eventually led to the development of the time clock. Imagine a living in a world in which we could not accurately measure time: we could not develop schedules, make appointments or meet deadlines. We would be unable to determine how old a person is, how long it takes for crops to grow, and the time it takes to go from one destination to another. The world would be a very different place without this invention.
The Middle Ages: The Printing Press
The printing press is a machine that forever changed the lives of people in Europe, and eventually, all over the world. This machine, invented by Johann Gutenberg in 1445, completely revolutionized how books were written and distributed. Previously, books were written by hand, which greatly limited their ability to be widely distributed. This also limited the amount of people that could receive higher levels of education because books were extremely rare and costly. The