LinkExchange Member

Free Home Pages at GeoCities

Ancient Times Middle Ages XVI Century XVII Century XVIII Century XIX Century

Do you know who invented fountain pen?

In ancient times the Croats did not live in the territory of their future homeland. It may therefore seem that the period had no importance for later scientific development. But, this is not so, because they took over much of the knowledge available in the area which was to become their ethnic territory. This was very important for the development of science in the centuries to come.

In the Roman Empire the sciences were not developed as they were in ancient Greece. On the contrary, one might say that there was no scientific development in any Roman territories including those later to become Croatian. However, the Romans who lived in these lands had a very rich and developed civilization and in smaller measure this was also true of the Illyrian tribes. Within these civilizations one is aware of much empirical knowledge applied to satisfy people's needs, especially in building and construction. Many traces survive of practical scientific applications in everyday life which are very important for our understanding of the scientific awareness existing at that time. This awareness led to the production of wares and appliances in everyday use, as well as items capable of application in the technical and medical field. Of course these cannot in any way be seen as products of even minimal scientific research.

Surviving from Roman times are several devices for the measuring of time, weight, volume and distance: milestones placed along the roads, large stone sundials as well as small scales used in everyday life for merchandise or in the pharmacy. Very important are articles from apothecary and medical practice such as small dishes and vessels for the mincing and grinding of herbs etc. Among the technical achievements first place goes to construction, especially of aqueducts. Also of great importance are the relics of ships showing the way in which they were built. The surviving remnants indicate that technology was applied in their construction.

The examples mentioned so far testify to the use of applications and often just empirical skills which cannot be related to science proper. Nevertheless, all these applications and uses of individual objects in everyday life were a precondition for later scientific activity. The Croats who settled in their future homeland already armed with some empirical scientific notions, developed them further by adding those they found in their new abode. Many practical skills and technical procedures were simply taken over from the previous settlers. All this allows us to conclude that all the knowledge existing on this territory before it was settled by the Croats was an important precondition for the subsequent development of Croatian science which must not be overlooked.(Ž.D.)

I. Measuring

Measuring and the exchange of data relevant to it began in the darkness of the distant past when people realized that a common system of related measurements was important in everyday life, in the description of the world and the exchange of goods. The thinking about weights and measurements (De ponderibus et mensuris) was from the beginning reduced to bodies incorporating a certain quantity of physical size, e.g. length, volume, weight etc. The originals of these measures were kept like relics in sanctuaries and their copies were exhibited in public places where all could become aware of them and use them. It is now known which were the oldest weights and measures used on Croatian territory: the Greek colonists brought and spread their own system of measurements, which was subsequently replaced by the Roman measuring system.

If one wishes to learn about a natural phenomenon one must begin by observing and measuring it. Measuring is therefore the basis of the development in natural and technical science. This required the use of special instruments and tools necessary to determine the numerical value of a certain magnitude. Sundials (gnomon) from Roman times survive in our territories. The Illyrians already used twin compasses for certain measurements. Milestones are stone monuments used for measurement, indicating the distance between certain places necessary to travelers, merchants and military leaders.

Among the most notable proofs of developed measuring skills on Croatian territory are surviving one-levered hand scales (invented by Archimedes) and several examples of two-levered pharmacists' hand scales (libra or iugum) with flat weights which have been in use until modern times. These scales were first of all important for the technology of drug preparation. Apart from drugs other smaller items were also weighed on these scales such as coins, precious metals and poisons. (V.G.)

II.Medicine and Pharmacy

In ancient history medical and apothecary activity was rarely professionally (and never officially) separated. The Illyrians brought to this territory the first iron items for this particular use. Bronze and iron instruments were very important for the development of surgery. Many pincers, needles, tongs and tubes for the treatment of wounds etc and also used for cosmetic and medical purposes have survived. Temples dedicated to Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine, were built on Croatian soil. Rudimentary surgical instruments, tombstones of persons in the medical professions, receptacles and grinders for medicines, receptacles for unguents and drops, various unguentaria and balsamaria, small receptacles for the last rites, spatulae and other items used in healing and medicine also survive. All these items were products of skills, but they also testify to forms of scientific thinking, although often their use has not been explained.

According to Dioscorides and Pliny the inhabitants of Croatian territories knew and valued various medicinal herbs. From Pedonis Dioscorides work On medicinal matter (De materia medica) written about the middle of the first century A.D. we learn of the use of drugs of animal, vegetable and mineral origin. Predominant were herbs, about 600 varieties. Along with the increase in the number of drugs many processes of drug production and use were also discovered and developed. True, some of the herbs could be administered in their natural state, but others had to be ground, pressed, boiled, purified, even turned into extracts, pills or other forms easier to administer. Some substances were inhaled, administered in enemas or as suppositoria. Some plants were pressed for juice, but more often they were dried and ground into powder, then mixed and boiled in water or fat. The mortar was the basic tool of ancient pharmaceutical technology and was used for the grinding and mixing of drugs, paints and cosmetic preparations. (V.G.)

III. Shipbuilding

Transport across water was considerably cheaper than across land and ships could also carry much more freight. On Croatian territory carpenters and shipbuilders used the advantage of native timber supplies such as cypress, pine, yew and walnut. They had almost all the necessary tools, also using rulers and rezulje ?? for better results. The ancient craftsman based his work on empirical methods. He experimented mostly by trial and error but with infinite patience. Undertaking an experiment and watching for results he was in fact already fulfilling the first demand of science. On the rivers sailed several kinds of smaller and larger boats and ships. There was rather intense traffic on the rivers Sava, Drava and Danube. Only some ships were capable of sea travel on the open sea. The existence of these ships testifies to the skills and experience of a "seafaring people".

In ancient history shipbuilding on the Croatian coast thus went back to the seafaring activities of the Illyrians who built good and sturdy ships, and some of whose skills were taken over by the Greek colonists and the Romans. (V.G.)

IV. Architecture

Villages sometimes developed into trading posts, trading posts into towns. The towns were connected by Roman roads. The power of the central authority (secular and/or religious) was symbolized by palaces and temples much larger and richer than the houses of the ordinary citizens. The patronage of the rich and mighty was an incentive for the development of architecture into an art. Intense construction went on in the Croatian territories, taking various directions in accordance with the technical developments outlined in the works of the classical Roman writer Marcus Vitruvius Polion: A work about architecture in ten books (De architectura libri decem) from the first century B.C. The work outlines the rules for the building of temples, public and private buildings, especially the rules of geometry including the golden section. It also offers information on healthy building sites, building materials, columns, natural and artificial paints, types of water, aqueducts, machinery etc. The inhabitants of Illyricum built towns with great expertise in public hygiene illustrated by the great number of archeological excavations of baths, sports grounds, public toilets, canals, wells and large aqueducts. The Croatian engineers and architects could rely on native stone, as well as on a variety of other materials. (V.G.)

V. Cattle Breeding and Forestry

The value of cattle rose after oxen began to be used for ploughing. Of all the Roman provinces Illyricus had the best potentials for cattle breeding and applied well-known methods for the selection process producing superior stock. Sheep were an important source of clothing materials. The ram (with sheep's feet) used as symbol of Sylvanus, god of forests and herds, may have been some native variety or a copy of foreign sources. Sheep were brought to Croatian territory from the Middle East. Other mammals of the same provenance were the dog, donkey, goat, pig and among the birds there were geese and ducks.

The restriction of grazing to certain pastures and forests had been known since Roman times. In the winter the stock fodder came from the deciduous forests. Cattle breeding was mostly an occupation of people inhabiting the hills and mountains, but after the arrival of the Romans the Illyrian population mostly descended into the plains and took up agriculture. In this way the god Sylvanus became god of the harvest (V.G.)

This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page