Ancient Inventions You Think Are Modern

The industrial revolutions and the years that followed them gave rise to some of the most remarkable inventions in human history, and certainly some of the most intricate ones. Because this has been a part of our history for so long, we often assume that many of our modern conveniences originated from those times. What's astonishing is how many of the things we use every day have actually been in use by humans for thousands of years. This list includes ten items, all of which predate the birth of Christ, and they are all things that we are familiar with, if not regular users of.

 

NO.1: PERFUME

 

The world's first recorded chemist is believed to be a woman named Tapputi, who worked as a perfume maker and was mentioned in a cuneiform tablet dating back to the second millennium BC in Mesopotamia. She engaged in the distillation of flowers, oils, and calamus with other aromatic substances, and then filtered and reprocessed them in the still multiple times. Recently, archaeologists have uncovered what are thought to be the world's oldest perfumes in Pyrgos, Cyprus, dating back over 4,000 years. These ancient perfumes were discovered in an ancient perfumery, which contained at least 60 stills, mixing bowls, funnels, and perfume bottles within its 43,000-square foot (4,000 m2) facility. Residues from four of the perfumes found at the site have been successfully recreated.

 

NO.2: PLASTIC SURGERY

 

Plastic surgery is one of the earliest forms of surgical practice. Nose-reconstruction procedures likely date back to ancient India around 2000 BC when nose amputation was a form of punishment. Members of the potter caste in India developed a method for reconstructing the nose using a section of the forehead, a technique that is still employed today. Some discussion of such surgery also appears in ancient Greek and Roman writings. The image above shows Walter Yeo, the first individual to benefit from modern plastic surgery. The image on the right was taken after Yeo received a skin graft.

 

NO.3: LENSES

 

The Nimrud lens is a 3,000-year old artifact made of rock crystal that was discovered by Austen Henry Layard at the Assyrian palace of Nimrud. It is believed to have served as a magnifying glass or a burning-glass used to start fires by concentrating sunlight. Assyrian craftsmen were known for their intricate engravings and might have utilized such a lens in their work. Italian scientist Giovanni Pettinato of the University of Rome has suggested that the lens could have been used by ancient Assyrians as a component of a telescope. This theory could potentially explain why the ancient Assyrians had a considerable knowledge of astronomy.

 

NO.4: CENTRAL HEATING

 

Cities in the northern regions of the Ancient Roman civilization employed central heating systems as early as 1,000 BC. These systems involved directing air heated by furnaces through empty spaces beneath the floors and out of pipes in the walls, a method referred to as a "hypocaust." Hypocausts were used to heat public baths and private homes. The floors were elevated above the ground using pillars called "pilae stacks," and gaps were incorporated into the walls to allow hot air and smoke from the furnace (praefurnium) to pass through these enclosed spaces and exit through flues in the roof. This process heated the interior of the room without causing pollution. Ceramic box tiles were positioned inside the walls to remove the hot, burned air and heat the walls. A similar central heating system was employed in ancient Korea, known as "ondol." In the image above, you can see the sections under the floor where the heated air would circulate.

 

NO.5: METROLOGY & CALIBRATION

 

The inhabitants of the Indus Valley Civilization, which thrived from around 3000 to 1500 BC, with its Mature period from 2600 to 1900 BC, developed an advanced system of standardization that involved the use of weights and measures. This standardization is evident from the excavations conducted at the Indus Valley sites. Their sophisticated approach to standardization allowed for the effective use of measuring tools for both angular measurements and construction purposes. The discovered measuring devices also exhibited calibration and had multiple subdivisions in some cases. The concept of metrology, the science of measurement, has existed in some form or another since ancient times. In its early stages, metrology involved the establishment of arbitrary standards by regional or local authorities, often based on practical measures like the length of an arm. The initial standardized measures encompassed length, time, and weight.