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JIM WIESE is a science teacher and an educational coordinator for nonprofit organizations. He is the author of many popular kids' science activity books, including Roller Coaster Science, Rocket Science, Detective Science, Cosmic Science, and Sports Science, all from Wiley.

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Dig into the science of ancient times and unearth amazing discoveries!

• Have you ever wondered where paper comes from, who made the first known maps, or how the ancient Egyptians were able to build the pyramids?
• Would you like to make your own sundial, discover how to detect earthquakes, or learn to write in hieroglyphics?
• Are you looking for great ideas for your next science fair project?

If you answered "Yes" to any of these questions, then Ancient Science is for you! From Greek lighthouses and Roman bridges to Chinese kites and Mesopotamian soap, you ll investigate some of the greatest scientific discoveries and the people who introduced them to the world. Dozens of fun-packed activities help you see for yourself how the earliest humans cultivated plants, why instruments make different sounds, how fireworks get their explosive power, and much more. All of the projects are safe and easy to do, and all you need is everyday stuff from around the house. So step back in time and take an amazing journey with Ancient Science!

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Dig into the science of ancient times and unearth amazing discoveries!

• Have you ever wondered where paper comes from, who made the first known maps, or how the ancient Egyptians were able to build the pyramids?
• Would you like to make your own sundial, discover how to detect earthquakes, or learn to write in hieroglyphics?
• Are you looking for great ideas for your next science fair project?

If you answered "Yes" to any of these questions, then Ancient Science is for you! From Greek lighthouses and Roman bridges to Chinese kites and Mesopotamian soap, you’ll investigate some of the greatest scientific discoveries and the people who introduced them to the world. Dozens of fun-packed activities help you see for yourself how the earliest humans cultivated plants, why instruments make different sounds, how fireworks get their explosive power, and much more. All of the projects are safe and easy to do, and all you need is everyday stuff from around the house. So step back in time and take an amazing journey with Ancient Science!

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Ancient Science

Jossey-Bass

Chapter One

The First Humans

Every civilization has contributed to the scientific knowledge that we use today. Some early civilizations such as the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Chinese, and Romans lasted longer than others and left many records, so we know more about them. But others, such as the earliest known societies in Africa, India, and Europe, left few records. We have to try and interpret what these cultures knew from the things they left behind.

An archaeologist is a scientist who studies the remains of past peoples. Archeologists dig up ancient fossils (bones that have been turned to stone) and artifacts (objects made by humans, such as primitive tools, weapons, cooking pots, or works of art). They then study these artifacts to determine when humans first used fire, when they made their first stone tools, the types of crops they first cultivated, and so on. The oldest artifacts have been found in an area known as the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, Africa.

To learn more about some of the earliest humans and their discoveries, try the activities in this chapter.

PROJECT 1

The Stone Age

It's thought that the first humanoid apes walked the plains of west and south Africa over 4 million years ago. But the first stone tools didn't appear until about 2.4 million years ago. These first crude stone tools were used for scraping and hammering, and they marked our departure from other species of animals. Simple stone tools were the technology that first made us human. Try this activity to learn the science behind how simple tools make work easier.

Materials

1-yard (1-m) piece of 1/2-inch- (1.25-cm) diameter dowel felt marker sharp knife adult helper

Procedure

1. Take the dowel outside to a lawn area.

2. Stick one end of the dowel into the ground. How hard is it to push the dowel into the ground? Use the marker to mark on the dowel the depth the dowel goes into the ground. How deep does the dowel go?

3. Have the adult use the knife to sharpen one end of the dowel into a point.

4. Stick the pointed end of the dowel into the ground near where you previously stuck the dowel. How hard is it to push in this time? Again, mark the depth the dowel goes into the ground. How deep does the dowel go?

Explanation

The dowel with the pointed end goes deeper into the ground than the dowel with a flat end, and it's easier to push. It may seem simple, but the tool you made in this activity actually took early humans thousands of years to figure out. When a dowel or a stick is sharpened, it becomes a digging tool or a spear. Rocks that have certain shapes, like the kind you found in More Fun Stuff to Do, can be used as hammers, knives, scrapers, or ax heads.

A sharpened object is an example of a simple machine called a wedge. Many archaeologists believe that the wedge was the first simple machine discovered by early humans. A wedge makes work easier because it causes force to be concentrated in a smaller area. When you push the dowel without a point into the ground, the force of your push is spread out over the entire end of the dowel. But when you sharpen the dowel, the same force is concentrated at the point of the dowel, making it easier to stick in the ground. When digging up edible roots for an ancient dinner, a pointed stick could save time and energy that would otherwise be expended scraping and grubbing with flat stones or fingers.

Ancient Science in Action

During Paleolithic times, or the Old Stone Age, the first stone tools were crude fist-size wedges made by splitting one stone with another. These first tools were probably used to cut up and chop plant and animal materials, as well as for digging. Sharpened stone tools, called hand axes, date back to about 1.3 million years ago. Hand axes were used for cutting, scraping, digging, and probably killing. At the beginning of Neolithic times, or the New Stone Age, stone tools were made smoother by polishing the sharp edges with sand.

By the end of Neolithic times, stone tools were being used to make other tools out of softer materials, such as wood and antlers. Late Neolithic humans made sewing needles and fishhooks out of antlers.

PROJECT 2

Make It Grow

Humans in the Old Stone Age were nomadic, meaning they moved in groups from place to place, taking everything they owned with them. They were hunters and gatherers, which means they hunted animals and gathered plants and fruit for food. But around 10,000 B.C.E. some early humans began to settle in communities that revolved around agriculture, cultivating plants and raising animals. To supply food for the people in the community, they began to grow their own plants rather than just eating the ones that they found in nature. But there is more to growing plants than just throwing a few seeds on the ground, as the humans in the first agricultural communities no doubt understood. Try this activity to investigate the conditions needed to cultivate plants.

Materials

2 plastic cups potting soil sand felt marker millet seeds (available from a pet store) water paper pencil

Procedure

1. Fill one of the plastic cups halfway with soil and the other cup halfway with sand. Use the felt marker to label the outside of each cup "soil" or "sand."

2. Sprinkle several millet seeds in each cup.

3. Cover the seeds in the soil cup with a thin layer of soil, and the seeds in the sand cup with a thin layer of sand. 4. Water the soil and sand until they're just damp.

5. Place the plastic cups on a windowsill so that they get sunlight.

6. Water the seeds every other day.

7. Observe and record what you see happening to the seeds every day.

Explanation

The seeds in both cups should sprout and begin to grow in a short time. However, the millet seeds will grow better in soil than in sand.

Most plants require sunlight, water, and nutrients in order to grow. Green plants use water and minerals in the soil, carbon dioxide from the air, and sunlight to make glucose in a process called photosynthesis. Sand has few minerals in it, so it is not good for growing plants.

The first humans settled in the Indus Valley between modern India and Pakistan, the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in modern Iraq, the Yellow River valley in China, and the Nile River valley in northeastern Africa. These are all areas with good soil, plenty of water, and a lot of sun. In these regions, large nearby rivers would flood every spring, depositing a rich silt that turned desert into farmlands. The river also gave a supply of fish and water birds to eat, as well as mud to build shelters.

Millet, which you grew here, and other cereal crops such as wheat, barley, and sorghum, were the first plants to be grown by early humans in the Nubian Desert of northeastern Sudan, in Africa. Along with the cultivation of crops, early humans also domesticated animals, such as sheep and goats.

Ancient Science in Action

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