a. The people that wrote history tended to be from the aristocracy. They looked with contempt on those that worked for a living through the practice of a skill. Therefore it should be of no surprise they make no mention of the working technology of their age. Ben mentions the Antikythera mechanism, yet there is no ancient record of such a device.
You've pinned the tail on the donkey...
I've always been disappointed by the lack of writings in science and technology, especially
that of it's application to day-to-day living. The authors we have available are
writing mostly
about political life and diaries of the "rich and famous", i.e., people of little importance.
When I go looking through ancient ruins I like to try to spot the technology of the people.
One interesting item was the plumbing at Knossos,
Crete. It was modular design. A series of
flared tubes could be laid down quickly and easily to create underground plumbing. It's the
same system we use today. Clever design.
Last week I was reading de Architectura, Book X by
Marcus Vitruvius
Pollio, and he was describing
a digital odometer with a milage recording feature that could be mounted to a
chariot or wagon.
Chapter Nine.
Enormous batteries have been found in early
Egyptian ruins. No idea what they did with them.
Genius was just as common in ancient times as it is today. There have probably been many inventions
that have been lost to the intermediate dark ages of war and the lack of literacy.
And, the last point is that most historians are liberal arts
type people. They are bored and
confused by science and technology. It isn't a hot item for a lecture. Everybody will walk out to
take that cool cruise down the Nile while you are speaking. A real yawner for most folks.
Tom
