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WRITTEN ERA

Era

WRITTEN ERA             3500 BCE-700 BCE       written language,  ancient civilizations, metals, carpentry, wheel, sailboat

WRITTEN ERA – by time represents 1% of human existence.

WRITTEN ERA – represents 6% of inventions or 124/2000 inventions.

Inventions from the Data communication Classification

InventionDescriptionYearInventorCountry
Seal emblem for marking documents 3500 BCE Sumer, Mesopotamia
Stringed musical instruments music 3000 BCE Egypt
Checkers board game 3000 BCE Mesopotamia
Lyre, harp music instruments 2600 BCE Mesopotamia
Standard weights and measures for commerce 2500 BCE Indus River
Puppetry theatre 2500 BCE Indus River
Ruler, protractor measuring 2400 BCE Indus River
Balance scale measuring 2000 BCE Indus River
Sundial timekeeping 1500 BCE Babylonia
Trumpet music, signaling 1500 BCE King Tut, Egypt
Playing cards game 1000 BCE China
Kite signaling 1000 BCE China
Bagpipe music instrument 1000 BCE Scotland/Rome

Inventions from the Data storage Classification

InventionDescriptionYearInventorCountry
Cuneiform first written language 3500 BCE Sumer, Mesopotamia (2)
Base 60 numbers counting time, seconds, minutes 3100 BCE Sumer, Mesopotamia
Math number systems 2700 BCE Egypt
Ink for writing on papyrus 2500 BCE Egypt, China
Map on clay tablet navigation 2300 BCE Babylonia
Proto semitic alphabet consonants only, no vowels 2000 BCE Mesopotamia
Phoenician alphabet consonants only, no vowels 1100 BCE Phoenicia
Dictionary reference book 1000 BCE China

Inventions from the Energy radiant Classification

InventionDescriptionYearInventorCountry
Oven for bread baking 3000 BCE Egypt
Candle radiant light 3000 BCE Egypt/Crete
Bellows for smelting 2500 BCE Mesopotamia

        
HISTORIC TOP 100 FIRE USES
        
1) Control of FIRE
        
2) Smelting copper, bronze, iron
        
3) Steam engine
        
4) Internal combustion engine
        
5) Black gunpowder
        
6) Glass, optical lenses
        
7) Ceramics
        
8) Fission power
        
9) Artificial satellite
        
10) Semiconductor electronics
        
11) Smokeless gunpowder
        
12) Plastics
        
13) Steam turbine
        
14) Nitrogen fixation (Haber-Bosch process)
        
15) Concrete
        
16) V-2 rocket
        
17) Petroleum refining
        
18) Soap
        
19) Stainless steel
        
20) Aluminum
        
21) Fiberoptics
        
22) Nail
        
23) Screw
        
24) Photovoltaic cell, silicon
        
25) Fusion technology
        
26) Oxy-acetylene torch welding
        
27) Safety bicycle
        
28) Saw
        
29) Gears
        
30) Axe, wedge, chisel
        
31) Rivet
        
32) Synthetic diamond
        
33) Disposable hypodermic syringe
        
34). Polyester, synthetic fiber polymers        

Inventions from the Machines non-transport Classification

InventionDescriptionYearInventorCountry
Helmet head protection 3000 BCE Sumer, Mesopotamia/ Egypt
Comb grooming 3000 BCE Persia
Umbrella shade, rain 2400 BCE China/Mesopotamia
Water clock time keeping 2000 BCE Babylonia/Indus River
Seismograph earthquake detection 1800 BCE China
Composite bow wood/horn/sinew composite 1700 BCE Egypt
Pulley simple machine 1500 BCE Egypt
Spoon hygiene utensil 1000 BCE Egypt

Inventions from the Transport Machines Classification

InventionDescriptionYearInventorCountry
Wheel/axle domesticated horse same time 3500 BCE Sumer/Eurasia steppes Mesopotamia/Eurasia (8)
Cart wheeled vehicle 3500 BCE Mesopotamia
Chariot horse drawn 3200 BCE Kazakhstan
Wood hulled sailboat with oars 3000 BCE Egypt, Mesopotamia (9)
Sea going ship wooden 3000 BCE Austronesian (Taiwan)
Spoked wheel wooden 2000 BCE Eurasia/Egypt
Phoenician war galley ship battering ram 1500 BCE Phoenicia, Middle East
Rudder ship steering 1420 BCE Egypt
Ice skates winter transportation 1000 BCE Scandinavia

Inventions from the Materials, metals Classification

InventionDescriptionYearInventorCountry
Bronze smelting tin and copper alloy 3400 BCE Mesopotamia (11)
Nail bronze 3400 BCE Egypt (64)
Bell bronze 3000 BCE China
Saw bronze 3000 BCE Egypt
Metal pliers metal tongs 3000 BCE Egypt/Mesopotamia
Brazing and soldering metal bonding 2500 BCE Egypt
Wrought iron simple iron 2500 BCE Anatolia, Turkey
Welding strong metal bonding 2500 BCE Anatolia, Turkey
Iron and gold dagger meteoric iron 2500 BCE Anatolia, Turkey (82)
Metal lock and key security 2000 BCE Assyria/Egypt
Iron smelting iron from ore 1800 BCE Mesopotamia (11)
Steel iron-carbon alloy 1800 BCE Anatolia, Turkey
Iron weaponry swords, spears, arrow heads 1600 BCE Hittites Anatolia, Turkey (82)
Scissors bronze 1500 CE Egypt
Wool shears metal 1000 BCE Egypt

Inventions from the Materials, non-Metals Classification

InventionDescriptionYearInventorCountry
Clay tablets writing medium 3500 BCE Mesopotamia
Plywood layered wood 3500 BCE Egypt
Lubricating grease used with sledge, axles 3500 BCE Mesopotamia
Glass non blown glass 3000 BCE Lebanon, Middle East (22)
Hydraulic engineering canals, wells, dams, aqueducts, dykes 3000 BCE Egypt, Mesopotamia, Indus River (14)
Stone ware durable ceramic 1400 BCE China

Inventions from the Domestic Biotech Classification

InventionDescriptionYearInventorCountry
Horse domesticated coincides with wheel/axle 3500 BCE Eurasian steppes
First large city Uruk, Sumer 3200 BCE Sumer, Mesopotamia
Cat domesticated felines 3000 BCE Egypt
Dice game 3000 BCE Egypt
Donkey/ass domesticated beast of burden 3000 BCE Egypt
Distillation of alcohol ethanol 3000 BCE Indus River
Toilet indoor plumbing 3000 BCE Indus River (25)
Dam with reservoir 3000 BCE Indus River
Cotton fabric woven 3000 BCE Egypt
Soap personal hygiene 2800 BCE Sumer, Mesopotamia (53)
Public baths sewage system 2600 BCE Indus River
Levee flood control 2600 BCE Indus River
Enclosed harbor protected shipping 2500 BCE Indus River
Sulfur as a pesticide agriculture 2500 BCE Mesopotamia
Pickles preserved cucumbers 2400 BCE India/Mesopotamia
Noodles from wheat dough 2000 BCE China
Aqueduct water transport 2000 BCE Greece

Inventions from the Medical Biotech Classification

InventionDescriptionYearInventorCountry
Wine as anesthesia highly intoxicated 3500 BCE Mesopotamia
Tattoo skin scar/pigment 3200 BCE Otzi the Iceman Alps of Europe
Willow bark aspirin herbal 3000 BCE Egypt
Honey wound treatment 2800 BCE Egypt
Soap very harsh initially 2800 BCE Mesopotamia (Sumer) (52)
Mummification anatomic preservation 2600 BCE Egypt
Acupuncture needle therapy 2500 BCE China
Garlic as mosquito repellant malaria prevention 2500 BCE Egypt
Mosquito bed netting sheer fabric 2500 BCE Egypt
Opium as anesthesia narcotic herbal 2000 BCE Egypt
Calamine, zinc oxide, iron oxide skin rash Rx 1500 BCE Egypt
Toe prosthesis toe replacement 950 BCE Egypt
Dentures false teeth 750 BCE Italy

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Leo Dean Jansen

Leo Dean Jansen, MD is a retired orthopedic surgeon with a special interest in the history of technology.  This web page is the culmination of  his efforts to define and organize the history of technology as seen through 2000 inventions.  TECHNOLOGY:  TABLE, TRUTHS, TIMELINE, TOP 100 represents the 4 parts of this project.

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