Ancient Babylonian Science

Brieana PaiceLynette Lewis Eric Moehrle

Nida kiali

Babylonian Civilization• Babylonia is an ancient country of

Mesopotamia ( nowadays Iraq). • Urbanized country based on

agriculture. • Babylonia consisted of cities, and

small villages. • Ruled by a king who had absolute

power.• Babylonians were polytheistic:

believed in many gods.• Babylonian civilization lasted 1200

years, from 18th century BC to 6th century BC.

• Babylonians had a great impact on both, ancient and modern world.

Map of Babylonia

Science of Babylonia

• Babylonians were quite advance when it comes to science.

• They recorded their knowledge on clay tablets known as cuneiform.

• They left their signature in many sciences such as astronomy/ astrology, mathematics, medicine, art and architecture etc.

• In addition, they were the first to develop the early form of writing.

Babylonian Clay Tablet

Purpose of Astronomy in Babylonia

. Astronomy was practiced as astrology.

. Among Babylonians, astronomical events have a religious meaning.

. Astronomers predicted events in people’s lives based on the movements of the planets.

. To many Babylonians, the Sun, planets, and stars were gods and goddesses who controlled their lives.

. Location of constellations helped them identifying seasons for planting and harvesting crops.

. The yearly rising and setting times of some constellations, acted as a time measurement tool.

Shamash- Sun God

Astronomical Achievements of Babylonians

. Because Babylonians believed that there was a purpose behind the creation of the universe , the position of planets and stars, they watched the heavens and predicted astronomical events.

. They predicted solar and lunar eclipses.

. Established a simple model based on observations.

. Babylonians mapped venue's cycle and were able to calculate its lengths.

Venus the Moon and the Sun

Astronomical Achievements of Babylonians(continue)

. Babylonians acknowledged the 18 years of Saros cycle.

. Records show that from 8th century BC, Babylonians started to contemplate the origin of the cosmos with corresponds to astronomical observations.

. The first to form the familiar contemporary zodiac of the 12 constellations and brightest stars which the sun passes through.

. These constellations and bright stars followed the annual path of the sun.

Babylonian Star Map

Astronomical Achievements of Babylonians(continue)

. Babylonian constellations: Gemini, Cancer, Libra, the goat-fish Capricorn. Taurus with bright star Aldebaran, Leo with Regulus. Scorpius with Antares. Virgo with Spica.

. Planets included the moon were measured relatively to the bright stars in the zodiac constellations.

. Measured the sky in degrees.

. Knew the exact path of sun through the zodiac constellations.

Babylonian Ecliptic

Babylonian Mathematics. Babylonians developed

mathematics to understand astronomy.

. Understood fractions squares, and square roots.

. Founded a place value system, where the position of the sign in the number determines its value.

. Place-value system is similar to our modern decimal system.

. Naburimanni 490 B.C. and Kidinu 480 B.C famous astronomers and mathematicians, developed “System B”: Babylonian theory describes the speed of the moon's motion around the zodiac.

Babylonian Mathematics Continue• The place value is a sexagessimal

system, based on 60.

• A place value system helped Babylonia astronomers to work easily with fractions, reciprocals, multiplication and division.

• Plimpton 322, a Babylonian mathematical tablet from 1900 B.C., contains a table of Pythagorean triples.

• Came up with the 360 degree circle and the 60 minute hour.

• Babylonian numeration system began about 5,000 years ago.

• An early numeration system was developed and based on 10.

• There was also a system based on 60.

• “The system first started with tally marks just like most of the ancient math systems did.”

• The Babylonian system contained 60 characters.

• Their symbols for their numbers were wedge shaped.

Babylonian Numbers

Sexigesimal system

Babylonian Numbers continue

• They used instrument and pressed it into wet clay. Then, they dried it. This writing known as cuneiform ="wedge shape".

• Any number less than 10 had a wedge that pointed down.

• The number 10 was symbolized by a wedge pointing to the left.

. Numbers less than 60 were made by combing the symbols of 1 and 10.

• The Babylonian system also had units.

.

. No symbol for zero, but the idea of zero was used.

. To express zero. they left a blank space between the number they were writing.

Plimpton 322

Babylonian Calendar. The year began on spring equinox.. Based on 12 lunar months a year.. Each month beginning when a new

crescent moon was observed.. Months consist of 29-30 days.. To keep the year 352 days, a month

was added every 3 years or so.. Months were divided into weeks.. Each week had 7 days. . Each day consisted of 24 hours.. Each hour consisted fro 60 minutes.. Each minute consisted of 6o

second.. The 60 bases system still in uses.

Babylonian Calendar

References http://assets.cambridge.org/97805218/08408/sample/9780521808408ws.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylonia

http://www.euclides.org/menu/articles/article3004.htm

http://history-world.org/babylonia.htm

http://hsci.ou.edu/images/images/mov/Babylon.pdf

http://ircamera.as.arizona.edu/NatSci102/text/babylonian.htm

http://www.livius.org/k/kidinnu/kidinnu.htm

http://www.math.wichita.edu/history/topics/num-sys.html#babylonian

http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/mod/resource/view.php?id=369437&direct=1

http://visav.phys.uvic.ca/~babul/AstroCourses/P303/mesopotamia.html

http://visav.phys.uvic.ca/~babul/AstroCourses/P303/mesopotamia.html

http://www.webexhibits.org/calendars/calendar-ancient.html#anchor-babylonian