Customer Reviews

Technology in the Ancient World (Pelican)

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This book does exactly what a good book should do. It is a well written and stimulating introduction to a different aspect of history. Most books on ancient history deal with kings, states and priests with the common people lurking some where in the background. Hodges makes the ancients more intesting by giving us a documented, detailed account of how technology changed through the ages. He deals with the facts and hypothesis in a clear, concise manner that is never boring and dry. It is intriguing to be able to follow the development of the wheel and cart, the making of metals and numerous other facits of technology through the milleniums. A book that should be of interest to anyone who wants to learn more about the dynamics of human history.

In tracing the evolution of the most important agrarian, architectural, military, and naval technologies, "Technology in the Ancient World" is of interest to the historian or lay reader.

Following a chronological timeline, the book's chapters are dedicated to broad periods corresponding to man's evolution from primitive beings through the complex Greco and Roman civilizations. While Hodges' focus is on the Middle East and Mediterranean areas, for purposes of comparison, his final chapter briefly summarizes technologies in ancient India, Europe, China and the New World.

Hodges is careful to note that the record from the earliest time is incomplete and open to interpretation. A completely objective account of the development of early technology is therefore difficult, if not impossible. In addition, to more fully understand the evolution of technological processes, he argues that something of the environment in which man was living at each stage must be known in order to understand the step by step evolution of technologies. Because the Near East and eastern Mediterranean combined favorable topography, a moderate climate, with a diversity of natural resources, this most likely explains why the region was the locus of major technological innovations.

Early man, before 5000 B.C., learned to manipulate the environment to his advantage and evolved from savage hunter to primitive farmer. At this stage, naturally occurring materials were altered mechanically, but not chemically. From 5000-3000 B. C., farming spread and cities emerged. As farming spread to the river valleys, systems of agriculture developed in the Nile and Euphrates valleys. Most importantly, the plow was responsible for the rise in population of Mesopotamian and Egyptian cities. The need for record keeping in city affairs led to cuneiform writing on clay tablets in the Near East, while Egypt developed pictograms, later hieroglyphs, recorded on papyrus.

The period from 3000-2000 B.C. is apparently a period of great technological change. Comprehensible written records found in Mesopotamia, in the Kingdoms of Sumer and Akkadia, and complex tomb paintings in Egypt provided the basis for this interpretation. Improved building materials led to the arch and pyramid. Other advances in boats, plows, furniture, and brewing materialized. Measuring, mathematics, and a system of weights were also devised.

From 2000-1000 B.C. the horse drawn chariot revolutionized warfare but did not become a means of more rapid communication. Neither Mesopotamia nor Egypt placed any emphasis on building roads or bridges. For transportation new more seaworthy vessels, propelled by oars or sails, increased their usefulness. The knowledge of iron working was slow to spread, possibly due to the monopoly of the Hittites. Glass technology improved with the addition of lead which permitted glazing. The lost wax casting method allowed more intricate designs.

After 1000 B.C. Assyria and Babylon assimilated older technologies from their neighbors and Assyria devised siege towers on wheels that incorporated battering rams to break down walls. Assyrian chariots were made more rugged with larger wheels and more spokes. By about 800 B.C., the Greeks emerged as merchants and colonizers, but their most obvious technological advancement came in pottery. The potter's wheel was larger, thus more steady, raised in height, and turned by an assistant. The clay surface was shaved; a techniques which produced a much finer surface. Navigation (Thales), maps and the sundial (Anaximander), the lathe (Theodorus of Samos), welding (Glaukos), all were advanced by the Greeks. The conflict between the Greeks and Persians led to the development of Greek triremes which they used to defeat the Persians at sea.

The period of 300 B.C. to 500 A.D. represents the end of technological development in Hodges' treatise. He argues, "virtually no new material was to be exploited for the next thousand years and that no really novel method of production was to be introduced."(208) Late Grecian and Romans accomplishments were in the field of engineering. Historians attribute this falling off of the rate of technological innovation to the use of slaves. Intelligent men spent their time inventing machines, but did not apply them to provide new sources of power or to make industry more efficient. The Romans adopted ideas from elsewhere and provided an administrative framework with which to use them. Whether this technological failure was ultimately the reason for the fall of the Roman Empire is an open question.

In conclusion, the availability of an abundance of raw materials and ease of communication were reasons for technological innovation, but technology did not advance steadily. It proceeded with sudden bursts followed by long periods of stagnation. Indeed some societies stagnated, sometime indefinitely. Man himself may have been self limiting. Authoritarian governments restrict technological advancement by stifling open communication and preventing ideas from being loaned or borrowed. So communication, both within societies and between them,is a key factor of development.

The book was received on 07/31/2010 in excellent condition. I'm still reading it but so far it is interesting.