Historic roots of science
The origins of science are rich and diverse. Over millennia, many scientific developments were made by those living in organised societies who could afford to spend time away from the daily grind of survival to study natural phenomena. In different historical eras, people from China, South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and the Americas have made significant contributions to the scientific knowledge and understanding we take for granted today.
Here are just three examples of historic scientific achievements that illustrate the discipline's diverse roots:
- In the fifth century AD, the Indian astronomer Aryabhata proposed that the Earth spins on its axis.
- The Arabic alchemist Abu Musa Jabir ibn Hayyan, born in about 721 AD, knew how to prepare aluminium chloride, nitric acid and ethanoic acid.
- A baboon's fibula dating from around 35,000 BC, and inscribed with 29 notches, is the earliest known evidence of counting. It was found in Swaziland, Southern Africa.
Some discoveries attributed to modern scientists may actually have been made much earlier than is commonly believed. For example, there is evidence that the Chinese Yellow Emperor discovered the circulation of the blood in humans some 2200 years ago - well before William Harvey was around!
Of course, there is still a great deal to find out about early scientific breakthroughs, and much that we will never know owing to the destruction - or non-existence - of records that we can interpret.
Now look at the Activity on the right, which gives you the opportunity to look at some examples of the diverse historic roots of science.
Activity Resources:
- Images
- Interactive
- Sound
- Text
- Video
Activity
Click on the Interactive icon above to find out more about scientific discoveries from around the world.
- Click on a highlighted region to read about a scientific discovery of that region.
- With one or more colleagues, briefly discuss ways of incorporating some of the examples into your teaching. There is an opportunity to consider this in greater detail in Unit 2, page 2 of this course.
