darwin’s tea party ancient knowledge part i: middle east the hanging gardens of babylon with...

Darwin’s Tea PartyDarwin’s Tea Party

Ancient KnowledgeAncient KnowledgePart I: Middle EastPart I: Middle East

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon with Ziggurat of Marduk on the left (artist’s recreation)The Hanging Gardens of Babylon with Ziggurat of Marduk on the left (artist’s recreation)

Ancient Near Eastern Knowledge

By the end of the Neolithic period (6,000 ya or 4,000 BC) conditions were right for the birth of civilization.

This happened first in the Ancient Near East, where agriculture had also appeared 4,000 years earlier.

A Ziggurat – like the pyramids, these public religious buildings show the advanced science and technology as well as religious beliefs of Mesopotamian civilization

Ancient Near Eastern Knowledge

• The Ancient Near East includes two major areas:

Mesopotamia (now mostly in Iraq)Mesopotamia (now mostly in Iraq)

Egypt (along Nile river)Egypt (along Nile river)

Mesopotamia (now mostly in Iraq)Mesopotamia (now mostly in Iraq)

Ancient Sumer• Ancient Sumer has been called Ancient Sumer has been called

the “cradle of civilization”. the “cradle of civilization”. • Others claim “history begins at Others claim “history begins at

Sumer”. Sumer”. • The Sumerians are believed to The Sumerians are believed to

be the first culture to develop be the first culture to develop writing and built the first large writing and built the first large urban centresurban centres. .

Ancient Sumer

• The Sumerians The Sumerians developed developed cuneiform writingcuneiform writing. .

• This is one of the This is one of the tablets of the tablets of the famous famous Epic of Epic of GilgameshGilgamesh (c. 2000 (c. 2000 BC). BC).

Ancient BabyloniaAncient Babylonia

A few hundred years later and a few hundred miles to A few hundred years later and a few hundred miles to the North the civilization of ancient Babylonia with its the North the civilization of ancient Babylonia with its capital in the city of Babylon. capital in the city of Babylon.

Ancient Babylonia

• The Babylonians developed the lunar The Babylonians developed the lunar calendar, mathematics and calendar, mathematics and astronomy/astrology.astronomy/astrology.

• These influenced the neighbouring These influenced the neighbouring Egyptian civilization as well as the Egyptian civilization as well as the ancient Greeks.ancient Greeks.

Ancient Babylonian Ancient Babylonian astronomy/astrologyastronomy/astrology

• The Babylonians, like The Babylonians, like most other civilizations, most other civilizations, built their civilization built their civilization along the rich agricultural along the rich agricultural river valleys – in this case river valleys – in this case the Tigris and Euphrates the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. rivers.

Counterclockwise from bottom: Counterclockwise from bottom: Sirius (Arrow), Pegasus + Sirius (Arrow), Pegasus + Andromeda (Field + Plough), Andromeda (Field + Plough), [Aries], the Pleiades, Gemini, [Aries], the Pleiades, Gemini, Hydra + Corvus + Virgo, Libra. Hydra + Corvus + Virgo, Libra. Drawing by L.W.King with Drawing by L.W.King with corrections by J.Koch. Neue corrections by J.Koch. Neue Untersuchungen zut Topographie Untersuchungen zut Topographie des Babilonischen des Babilonischen Fixsternhimmels (Wiesbaden Fixsternhimmels (Wiesbaden 1989), p. 56ff.1989), p. 56ff.

Ancient Babylonian astronomy/astrology

Assyrian Star map

Babylonian numerals

Babylonian number system was based on 60Babylonian number system was based on 60

• Like other civilizations, the Babylonians needed to have a reliable calendar and time-keeping system

• Their mathematics and astronomy/astrology came out of these practical needs.



• The calendar could help them predict when the annual floods would come.

• It could also help establish the dates for important religious holidays.


• The Babylonians developed a number The Babylonians developed a number system based on 60 (called the system based on 60 (called the sexagesimal system) whereby:sexagesimal system) whereby:– 60 seconds = 1 minute60 seconds = 1 minute– 60 minutes = 1 hour 60 minutes = 1 hour – 24 hours (6 X 4) = 1 day 24 hours (6 X 4) = 1 day – 360 days (60 X 6) = (1 year)360 days (60 X 6) = (1 year)


• The 360 days of the year corresponded to the 360 degrees of a perfect circle:

360 degrees


360 degrees

• This perfect shape was the shape of time – the time it took the sun to go around the earth!


• And is now the perfectly circular shape of your watch, also based on the sexagesimal system of 60 and a circular view of time!

360 degrees

12

6

39


• Note how the 360 days don’t add up to a full year.

• The Babylonians understood that a year was actually over 365 days and added an extra month every few years.

• But they were still committed to the perfect circle view of the time cosmos.


• Thus they maintained the circular view of things for “esthetic” reasons and for “religious” reasons.

• How else would the gods have arranged things but by perfect circles?

They night sky was divided up into constellations like this one – called Cygnus (the Swan).


Ancient Babylonian Ancient Babylonian astronomy/astrologyastronomy/astrology


The Babylonians saw mythologicaly and religiously inspired themes in the jumble of stars in the night sky.

It’s possible to make your own constellation out of randomly chosen stars!


They also believed the stars were the abode of gods and goddesses.

Since observation of the stars could help in the prediction of the annual floods, they also believed the same knowledge could predict the fate of people on the earth.

And this is how astrology was born!

Sumerian-Babylonian god of the sun, Utu (Shamash in Babylonian). Note the rays emanating from his shoulders and one of his feet on the mountain of the East which he crosses daily.


Symbol of Shamash

Babylonian moon god Sin.



Two images of Ishtar – goddess of love and war – with the evening star (Venus) representing her.

The Nature of Ancient Knowledge

Thus we learn that:

1. Ancient civilizations (like the Babylonian and Sumerian civilizations) helped advance science and technology.

2. These sciences were an important part of their religious and mythological traditions and not seen as separate from them.


In Babylon, for example, the science of astronomy was thus deeply intertwined with the religious system of astrology.

But all sciences began this way: they were at first deeply intertwined with magic, religion and mythology.


Do you know other examples of sciences originally rooted in magic, religion, mythology?


Alchemy was a religious or magical system which was the origin of modern chemistry

The “philosopher’s stone” was supposed to be able to convert the base metals into gold and even contain the secret of immortality.


Thus ancient civilizations made no distinction between what we now call science (or philosophy) and what we now call religion.

Science (L. scientia, = “to know”, “having knowledge” Gr. Gnosis = “knowledge”), the body of knowledge obtained by methods based upon observation” (L. Fischer)

Religion (L. “religio” = to bind or tie together). “The belief in an unseen world and that our greatest good lies in harmoniously adjusting ourselves hitherto” (Wm. James).


However, one ancient civilization did begin to distinguish between religious explanations and scientific explanations (or, philosophical explanations ) of the world.

End of Ancient Knowledge (Part I)

darwin’s tea party ancient knowledge part i: middle east the hanging gardens of babylon with...

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