A Look Back In Time At Early Clocks
According to scientists humans have been on the planet for millions of years but
it wasn’t until a few thousand years ago that some of the ancient
civilizations saw the need to know the time of day. It is believed that this
became necessary due to the growing religious events and social activities.
One culture that disappeared without leaving behind its developed knowledge was
that of the ancient Sumerians but it is believed that the Egyptians began to
partition off their day by building obelisks which worked similar to a sundial
dividing the day into morning and afternoon. This eventually evolved into a more
accurate time keeper with markers around the base to show other divisions of
time. The Egyptians are also credited with the development of the sundial which
was a portable timepiece. The sundial separated the day into ten parts plus
allowed for two twilight hours in the morning and evening.
So what it is that makes something a clock and not just something that casts
shadows? One thing necessary to be considered a clock is a repetitive process to
show equal divisions of time. The second component that must be present is a way
to track the measurements of time and displaying the result.
Another method of timekeeping was the use of water clocks with one of the
earliest being found in the tomb of Amenhotep 1 who died around 1500 BC. The
ancient Greeks began using them about 1200 years later designing stone vessels
with sloping sides allowing the water to drop at a constant rate from a small
hole in the bottom. There were measurements marked on the inside of the vessels
to delineate the amount of time that had passed. These clocks continued to be
used in North Africa well into the 20th century.
Andronikos, a Macedonian astronomer devised a time keeping device he called the
Horologion which is now known as the Tower Of The Winds. He constructed the
device in the marketplace of Athens around the middle of the first century BC.
The device featured sundials and mechanical hour indicators and even displayed
the seasons of the year along with astrological dates as well.
The Chinese developed a mechanized clock with one of the most sophisticated
being built by Su Sung in 1088. This tower was over thirty feet tall and
included an observation deck, an automatically rotating globe and tablets that
showed the hour of the day as well as other special times.
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Gregg Hall is a business consultant and author for many
online and offline businesses and lives in Navarre Florida with his 16 year old
son. For a great selection of wall
clocks go to www.customwallclocksdirect.com