The Seventy Great Inventions of the Ancient World
Brian M. Fagan, Brian M. Fagan, Anthony F. Aveni, ...
- U.S.A. Thames & Hudson 2004
- 304tr. hardcover, color illustrations, color photographs 27 cm
The book begins with the basic technologies of stone, fire, woodworking, ceramics, metallurgy, glass, and weaving. We watch Stone Age flint-knappers at work and look over the shoulders of early metalworkers as they fabricate glittering ornaments in copper and gold. Some of the most fundamental questions of the past are addressed. How and where did agriculture evolve? ... Later sections look at the origins of hunting, war and sport, art and science, and personal adornment. Weapons of war evolved from spears, bows, and arrows to swords, shields, catapults, and crossbows. The book examines the earliest human art traditions - body painting and tattooing - and traces the beginning of writing, the early use of codes and ciphers, and the origins of calendars and astronomy...