“God has created man and the tailor has created a Gentleman.” And the gentleman is the creator of the Civilization.
Searching for a home started with the advent of life on earth. Both man and animal were equally after it. White ants’ caves, bees’ honeycombs with uniform hexagonal shapes, and tailor bird nest weaving skills are amazing to architects and engineers of all ages. But their house remains the same shape as in pre-historic days. On the other hand, Man’s house has continuously changed for better living. A present-day house differs entirely from that of the ancient Age. The cage has now turned into a lovely palace.
But this was not achieved in a day. It has been enriched with the advancement of Science and Technology through different Ages. It’s important to note the following:
Old Stone Age
Archaeological evidence indicates that human civilization began at least two million years ago, during the Old Stone Age. Humans at this time lived in caves, trees, and pits dug in the earth. In region of Iraq and West Asia, as well as in China, early humans built tent-like structures with the help of animal skins, bones, and tree branches. This period is also known as the Ice Age, when most animals became extinct due to prolonged ice coverage on Earth.
New Stone Age
About 20,000 years ago, the New Stone Age started. People couldn’t find enough animals to hunt, so they started looking for wild grasses to eat. These grasses were the forefathers of rice and barley. This is when people started to grow urban civilization. During this period, the first city was built in West Asia.
Bronze Age
During the Bronze Age, people in West Asia figured out how to make bronze by mixing copper and tin, both of which are found naturally. Around the same time, people in Arab discovered glass while cooking in the desert.
This era saw the rise of civilizations like the Sumerians, Babylonians, and Assyrians in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq), particularly in Babylon and Ashur in West Asia.
The Sumerians were the first to make bricks by drying them in the sun and then baking them to make them hard. They also invented a picture-based writing system called “cuneiform,” and wrote on clay. They developed irrigation for farming by using water from rivers and made advancements in astronomy. They even figured out latitude and longitude during this time.
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, built by King Nebuchadnezzar (605-562 B.C.) to please his queen, were one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world.
Iron Age
When people figured out how to make iron, which was cheaper than bronze, things really started to take off. Civilizations grew fast in places like China, Egypt, Greece, Syria, Turkey, Persia (present Iran), and the Indus Valley. The Hittites first invented iron way back around 2300 B.C.
The Phoenician, Greek, Chinese, American, Chaldean, Egyptian, Hittite, Lydian, Persian, Cretan, and Indus civilizations were crucial steps towards the modern Atomic and Electronic Age.
New Ideas and Inventions
Writing: The Phoenicians made the first alphabet with 22 pictures. The Greeks made it even better, and that’s where our alphabet comes from.
Thinking: In Greece, great philosophers and scientists like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle helped people understand the world better.
China’s Cool Stuff: The Chinese invented paper, the compass, sculpture, the magnet, silk, and printing. They also built the Great Wall of China in the 4th century B.C., which is one of the oldest wonders of the world.
Building Big: In Mexico and South America, the Mayans, Incas, and Aztecs built amazing buildings and bridges.
Time: The Chaldeans were the first to invent 60 minutes an hour, 24 hours a day, and 7 days a week.
Egypt’s Smarts: The Egyptians were good at Arithmetic, Geometry, Medicine, and Astronomy. They built pyramids to preserve the dead bodies of their kings.
Money: The Lydians were the first to invent the use of silver and gold coins with pictures of their kings.
Persia’s Power: The Persians also built fancy palaces and roads and introduced gold and silver coins.
Olives: People on the island of Crete figured out how to get oil from olives.
Indus Valley: This civilization was developed by ancestors at Mohenjo-daro and Harappa in Sindh, modern-day Pakistan, and northwest India. They were masters of urban planning, with sophisticated drainage systems and well-organized cities. Recent evidence suggests a part of this civilization existed at the Lalmai Hills of Comilla, Bangladesh, about 20,000 years ago.
Basically, the Iron Age was a time of big changes and lots of new ideas that helped build the world we live in today.
About 6,000 years ago, the Sumerians were the first to invent bricks. They found that mixing burned lime and brick dust equally made a good glue to hold the bricks together, which was their old-time mortar. We still don’t fully understand how the Egyptians glued their stones together. But we do know that cement, the stuff we use now, is only about 300 years old, and it totally changed how we build things.
We are now building skyscrapers over 100 stories tall, using strong stuff like concrete and steel. Humans have always wanted to build tall structures. Engineers, architects, scientists, and many others have helped science and technology advance. We can’t live without technology today.
These people are the creators of modern civilization.
