Scholars on the Vedas

To begin with, we note that the wisdom of the ancient Vedas was recognized by many famous scientists and the greatest minds of mankind in the 19th-20th centuries. The American philosopher and writer Henry David Thoreau wrote: “There is not a shadow of sectarianism in the great teaching of the Vedas. It is intended for all ages, climatic regions and nations, and is the royal road to the attainment of Great Knowledge."

Leo Tolstoy in a letter to the Indian guru Premanand Bharati in 1907 remarked: "The metaphysical religious idea of ​​Krishna is the eternal and universal basis of all true philosophical systems and all religions."

Our classic of literature also said: “Only such great minds as the ancient Hindu sages could think of this great concept ... Our Christian concepts of spiritual life come from the ancients, from the Jewish ones, and the Jewish ones from the Assyrian ones, and the Assyrian ones from the Indian ones, and everyone goes backwards: the newer, the lower, the older, the higher.

It is curious that Albert Einstein specifically studied Sanskrit in order to read the Vedas in the original, which described the general laws of physical nature.

A lot others famous people such as Kant, Hegel, Gandhi recognized the Vedas as a source of diverse knowledge.

From zero to kalpa

Ancient mathematicians in India introduced many concepts that we still use today. Note that only in the 7th century AD, the number "zero" first began to be mentioned in Arabic sources, and only in the 8th century did it reach Europe.

However, in Indian mathematics, the concept of zero (in Sanskrit "shunya") has been known since the 4th century BC!

Exactly at ancient india this number first appeared. Note that without the concept of zero, a binary system and computers could not exist. The decimal number system was also invented in India.

In ancient India, the number "pi" was known, as well as the Pythagorean theorem, or rather the Baudhayana theorem, which was first stated in the 6th century BC.

The smallest number given in the Vedas is Krati. It is equal to one thirty-four thousandth of a second. The largest number, kalpa, is 4.32 billion years.

Kalpa is the day of Brahma. After this period, the night of Brahma comes, equal in duration to the day. Thus, the divine day lasts 8.64 billion years. The month of Brahma consists of thirty such days (thirty days and thirty nights), which is 259.2 billion years, and the year of Brahma (3.1104 1012 ordinary years) consists of twelve months. Brahma lives for a hundred years (3.1104 1014, or 311 trillion 40 billion years), after which he dies.

Bhaskaracharya is the first!

As we know, the Polish scientist Nicolaus Copernicus suggested that the Earth revolves around the Sun in 1543. However, 1000 years earlier, the Vedic astronomer and mathematician Aryabhatta stated the same thing: "Just as a person sailing on a boat, it seems that the trees on the banks are moving, so it seems to people living on Earth that the Sun is moving."

In his work called "Aryabhatiya", the scientist argued that the Earth is round, rotates around its axis and around the Sun and "hangs" in space. In addition, he gave accurate data on the size of the Earth and the Moon.

The theory of attraction was also well known to ancient astronomers. The sage Bhaskaracharya in the famous astronomical treatise "Surya Sidhanta" writes: "Objects fall to the Earth due to the force of its attraction. The Earth, Moon, Sun and other planets are also held in their orbits by the force of gravity.

Note that Isaac Newton discovered the law of attraction only in 1687.

In the Surya Sidhanta, Bhaskaracharya gives the time it takes the earth to go around the sun: 365.258756484 days. Modern scientists accept the figure of 365.2596 days.

The Rig Veda stated that the Moon is a satellite of the Earth! “Being a satellite of the Earth, the Moon revolves around its mother planet and accompanies it in rotation around its father planet, the Sun. There are 32 satellite planets in the solar system. The moon is the only satellite that has its own individual nature. The size of the remaining satellites does not exceed 1/8 of the size of their parent planets. The moon is the only satellite of a very large size.

The origin of matter was explained by the Upanishads: “From it (the Absolute) came space, from which the wind came, from the wind came fire, from fire – water, and from water – earth.” This is very similar to the sequence of the origin of matter, as modern physicists understand it: plasma, gas, energy, liquid, solid.

Amazing monuments of the past

Not only theoretical knowledge, but quite specific traces of material culture remained from the ancient Vedic civilization. The temple complex of Angkor Wat in the jungles of Cambodia is dedicated to the god Vishnu and is one of the most amazing monuments of the Vedic civilization.

This is the largest religious building in the world. Its area is 200 sq. km, and not its territory was inhabited by 500 thousand people.

How this amazing structure was created is still a mystery. Here is what Y. Iwasaki, director of the Geological Research Institute in Osaka, Japan, writes:

“Starting from 1906, a group of French restorers worked in Angkor. In the 50s. French experts tried to lift the stones onto a steep embankment. But since the angle of the steep embankment is 40º, after the first step 5 m high was built, the embankment collapsed. A second attempt was made, but with the same result. In the end, the French abandoned the idea of ​​​​following historical technologies and established concrete wall inside the pyramid to preserve earthworks. Today we do not know how the ancients could build such high and steep mounds.

There is a huge reservoir near Angkor. The dimensions of the reservoir are 8 km by 2.1 km, and the depth is 5 meters. It was made in time immemorial. The accuracy of the boundaries of the reservoir and the grandeur of the work performed are striking. This huge reservoir has clear straight boundaries, which is uncharacteristic even for modern similar structures.

In another temple, located in the village of Lepakshi in India (Andhra Pradesh), there is a mystery that haunts many researchers. The temple has 69 ordinary columns and one special one - it does not touch the ground. For the entertainment of tourists, local guides stick a newspaper or sticks under it to show that the column really “floats” in the air.

For many years, experts have tried to unravel the mystery of the hanging column. For example, British engineers during the period of colonization of India even tried to knock the column out of its place, but fortunately, they did not succeed. Until now, despite advanced engineering knowledge and modern equipment, scientists have not discovered the secret of the hanging column that violates the laws of gravity...

The problems of cognition in the ancient world are the subject of the history of science, since it was there that the prerequisites for modern science. The base, due to the removal of which (according to Hegel), modern science was formed.

The volume of knowledge about objective reality grew. Knowledge is true, relevant to reality and confirmed by practice. The question is why do we deprive this knowledge of the status of science? In ancient Egypt, the economy was largely dependent on the flooding of the Nile. Before each flood of the Nile, the priests necessarily said prayers to the god of the Nile so that it would spill. In fact, they simply knew when the Nile was due to flood. The knowledge possessed by this ancient society was not inscribed in the scientific worldview, but in the pre-scientific, in this case mythological worldview. From this t.z. there is no reason to say that even objective knowledge could be attributed to science. Science is a system of rational knowledge. And here, on the contrary, the irrational aspect is deliberately used in the use of this objective knowledge. Secondly, this knowledge is an objective reflection of reality, which has the form of stable recurring connections. These connections were hidden. The tasks of science are to establish not functional, but cause-and-effect relationships. Here only functional links were used.

When we talk about ancient knowledge, we must keep in mind that it was not focused on identifying stable connections ... but on solving practical problems. This is not a shortcoming, but a fact that does not allow bringing this knowledge to the level of science. An example is why Archimedes shouted "Eureka". He was instructed to determine the crown of gold or not? He solved a specific problem. He solved it. He knew or installed the dependency. But the task itself did not imply the establishment of essential relationships, but the establishment of some kind of functional relationships. The incentive for the expansion of knowledge in the ancient world was focused not on the development of science, but on the solution of specific problems.

It must be borne in mind that the ancient world with t. development of science was heterogeneous. In different cultures, the orientation towards objective knowledge was not the same. In the ancient Chinese and ancient Indian civilizations, the focus is on the self-awareness of a person. This difference between Eastern and European civilizations, however, does not limit these civilizations. People must also interact with the outside world and solve the problems of this interaction. Civilizations ancient Hellas, ancient Rome. It was here that the first attempts at some systematization of existing knowledge appeared. Moreover, in the 4th century BC. e. Aristotle carried out a purposeful classification of existing knowledge. From this t.z. he was the most educated person. He was able to comprehend the totality of the available knowledge. The first system of epistemology appeared in ancient Hellas. A fairly holistic theory of knowledge has emerged. It was expressed by Aristotle using formal logic. In ancient Greece, scientific concepts began to take shape that allowed entire systems of knowledge to sprout, which later became independent sciences. Then one more moment. It is related to the fact that Ancient Greece practically for the first time in a rudimentary form, problems were realized, posed, which later became problems of the philosophy of science. The first question to be explicitly borne in mind here is the relationship between striving for truth as absolute and between relativity. Sophists (bringing the problem to the point of absurdity).

At the same time, the knowledge of the ancients as a whole was oriented towards the pursuit of truth as the main criterion, the main goal of this knowledge. The same Athenians treated the sophists as people with low morals. In ancient Greece, for the first time, a system appeared, and not a set of individual manifestations, technical devices. The fact is that technical devices High Quality other civilizations also had it (ramming battering ram). Here we have a system of these devices, covering different stages of interaction with nature. The first is a developed agriculture, the second is associated with coastal shipping. Stimulus for the formation of these artificial devices. Gun technology in its main manifestations was created in the most developed form precisely in ancient times.

There is also the problem of abstracting from the specific features of the study. Here we actually encounter elements of the transition to science. Because while a specific task is being solved, there is still no scientific character in the modern sense. There is an attempt to abstract from particular conditions in order to establish general patterns. This is due to the peculiarities of ancient practice, namely, to shipping. It forced to receive astronomical knowledge in a relatively abstract form. Further, despite these achievements, it must be borne in mind that ancient knowledge still remained pre-scientific. It was synthesized with ideas about the supernatural, which filled the niches of the missing objective knowledge. Further, speaking of ancient knowledge, we must keep in mind one feature. The fact is that the concepts that the ancient Greeks used to designate the relationships they established in the surrounding reality were two-level. These were concepts and images. It was not possible to abstract from concrete material in order to purposefully investigate the essential repetitive connections, that is, to establish laws. Perhaps the first exceptions can be made here concerning the field of mathematics. It is here, summarizing the achievements of all ancient world, the ancient Hellenes successfully operated with many algebraic formulas, which in this case indicates scientific knowledge. rational and abstract. It so happened that ancient knowledge turned out to be, on the one hand, obviously the most complete in comparison with the knowledge of other civilizations. In order to get as close as possible to science, most of all to create the prerequisites for its emergence. It was certainly knowledge associated with the dominance of mythological consciousness.

The next stage of knowledge was the knowledge characteristic of the Middle Ages. The first is the misconception that this was a period that did not create any major advances in science and technology. It's a delusion. The Middle Ages created many fundamental technical devices without which the transition to machine technology in modern times would have been impossible (for example, steering). In the Middle Ages, that form of knowledge packaging was created, which was later adopted by science. After all, the very system of scientific treatises was formed precisely in the Middle Ages. Medieval knowledge gravitated toward maximum systematization. This was facilitated by the fact that it all the time had to not go beyond the bounds of religious dogmas. Medieval knowledge created very sophisticated, subtle forms of those provisions that the author expressed. The Middle Ages were the time when the first specialized scientific institutes appeared. Along with scientific and theological knowledge, they combine, but without such specialized institutions, the breakthrough that took place in the New Time would have been impossible. At the same time, the distrust of medieval developments…was openly very low in comparison with the Modern Times and Antiquity. The Middle Ages lost to antiquity in a variety of researched areas and approaches. Medieval knowledge was subject to religion, theology as a theoretical form of justification. This set the boundaries within which knowledge could be formed.

Historically, it so happened that we got more information about the ancient world than about early middle ages. The need for an active struggle for the introduction of Christianity led to the monotony of the material monuments of cultures, including those that expressed scientific knowledge. A rather meager number of these facts have come down to us from that time. The material carriers of culture, in which the knowledge of the Middle Ages, and even more so of previous eras, were embodied, were from such material that is not preserved. We have the same thing since the European Middle Ages.

Indeed, medieval knowledge turned out to be quite limited when it comes to the content of the main theoretical postulates. This limitation is reinforced by the fact that they all necessarily had to appeal to religious dogmas. The city was the concentration of all accumulated knowledge. It fixed, there was the greatest need for the application of this knowledge. The stimulus for development was the concentration of the bearer of knowledge. The city was a type of settlement and communities that were occupied with the maximum development of technical systems. In this regard, a prerequisite for the formation of new social relations was created in the city. Two types of capital are based and concentrated in the city: commercial and usurious. Further, this leads to the fact that social contradictions appear, stimulating the process of cognition. For example: the connection between the reformation and the development of science. The Reformation is a process when the emerging third estate begins to seek the protection of its interests, which are constantly encroached upon by the royal and church authorities that have developed before it. A parish is a community that must contain a church. The late Middle Ages created a conflict between the urban population and the church over the issue of material values. The result is a reformation. The Reformation proceeds from the fact that the form of communication between a layman and God is determined by a believer, except for. Rites. He decides how much and when to pay. All sorts of religious justifications were a way to justify the new economic relationship between the city and the church. Next is the problem of the formation of civil society. Unite to defend their interests in relations with royalty. There is clear scope for science here. The ability to comprehend the surrounding reality based on the old religious dogmas, but on new provisions. The layman determines the forms of comprehension of reality. If earlier there could be only a paradigm of theology, now other paradigms are possible. This leads to the emergence of original representatives of such protosciences as mechanics, mathematics, etc. There is a practical need. Without this preparation of the late Middle Ages, the formation of science in modern times could not have taken place. What did this emerging science use from the spiritual cognitive products of the Middle Ages. 1) Scholasticism. Used in two ways. On the one hand, science completely relied on the form of knowledge developed by scholasticism. On the other hand, scholasticism was the subject, criticizing which the formation of science was carried out.

The crisis of the Middle Ages is essentially connected with two series of facts. The first row is the social row. The second is educational. There is no impassable line between them, they are constantly diffusing. Thanks to this accumulation of knowledge, caused by the formation of new types of organization of production, new productive forces, society found itself in a situation where medieval knowledge was unable to satisfy the demand for the knowledge that society needed. The crisis has come. The way to overcome it is Revival. Thanks to the revival, Europe has returned, remembered the values ​​that are associated with man. The desire for knowledge increases dramatically ... it is driven by practice. Spiritually it is justified by an appeal to antiquity. The era of the Renaissance is replaced by the era of the New Age.

1. The problem of the emergence of science.

2. Scientific knowledge in the Ancient East

3. The formation of science and scientific achievements ancient era

Our understanding of the essence of science will not be complete if we do not consider the question of the causes that gave rise to it. Here we immediately encounter a discussion about the time of the emergence of science.

When and why did science emerge? There are two extreme points view on this issue. Supporters of one declare any generalized abstract knowledge to be scientific and attribute the emergence of science to that hoary antiquity, when man began to make the first tools of labor. The other extreme is the assignment of the genesis (origin) of science to that relatively late stage of history (XV-XVII centuries), when experimental natural science appears.

Modern science of science does not yet give an unequivocal answer to this question, since it considers science itself in several aspects. According to the main points of view, science is a body of knowledge and an activity for the production of this knowledge; form of social consciousness; social institution; direct productive force of society; system of professional (academic) training and reproduction of personnel. Depending on which aspect we take into account, we will get different points of reference for the development of science:

Science as a system of personnel training has existed since the middle of the 19th century;

As a direct productive force - from the second half of the 20th century

As a social institution - in modern times;

- as a form of social consciousness - in Ancient Greece;

As knowledge and activities for the production of this knowledge - from the beginning of human culture.

Different specific sciences also have different birth times. So, antiquity gave the world mathematics, Modern times - modern natural science, in the XIX century. social science emerges.

In order to understand this process, we must turn to history.

The science- this is a complex multifaceted social phenomenon: outside of society, science can neither arise nor develop. But science appears when special objective conditions are created for this: a more or less clear social demand for objective knowledge; the social possibility of singling out a special group of people whose main task is to answer this request; the beginning of the division of labor within this group; the accumulation of knowledge, skills, cognitive techniques, ways of symbolic expression and transmission of information (the presence of writing), which prepare the revolutionary process of the emergence and dissemination of a new type of knowledge - objective universally valid truths of science.

The totality of such conditions, as well as the appearance in culture human society An independent sphere that meets the criteria of scientific character is formed in Ancient Greece in the 7th-6th centuries. BC.

To prove this, it is necessary to correlate the criteria of scientific character with the course of a real historical process and find out from what moment their correspondence begins. Recall the criteria of scientific character: science is not just a collection of knowledge, but also an activity to obtain new knowledge, which implies the existence of a special group of people specializing in this, relevant organizations coordinating research, as well as the existence of necessary materials, technologies, means of fixing information; theoretical - comprehension of truth for the sake of truth itself, rationality, systemic.

Before talking about the great upheaval in the spiritual life of society - the emergence of science that took place in Ancient Greece, it is necessary to study the situation in the Ancient East, traditionally considered the historical center of the birth of civilization and culture.

2. Starting from IV to II thousand. BC, in the East there are four centers of civilization: the interfluve of the Tigris and Euphrates, the valleys of the Nile, Indus and Huang He. In the history of the development of these states, the technology that was used there has a lot in common.

The world's oldest civilization originated in southern Mesopotamia, between the Tigris and Euphrates, it was called Sumer. In the IV millennium BC. agricultural settlements arose here, irrigation canals and other irrigation facilities were built. Irrigation led to population growth, and soon the first city-states appeared on the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates, with a common culture: Ur, Uruk, Umma, Eridu, Kish, Nippur, Larsa, Lagash.

Using the simplest tools, the Sumerians built canals that formed a huge irrigation system. Irrigated agriculture contributed to increased productivity and population growth. Along with agriculture, handicraft became the most important occupation. From local raw materials there was only clay, reed, asphalt, wool, leather and flax. Among the most significant inventions was the wheel, which appeared 5 thousand years ago. The wheel was the greatest discovery in history, as it was a fundamentally new invention. On the basis of the wheel, a potter's wheel appeared, ceramic production reaches its peak. Pottery vessels are becoming an export item. The exchange of achievements with other states contributed to the fact that the potter's wheel, wheel and loom appeared in other civilizations, for example, in Egypt. Glass was later invented in Mesopotamia.

Metalworking in Mesopotamia appeared earlier than in other civilizations, in the 6th millennium BC. The construction technique of Mesopotamia was distinguished by its originality, since the lack of wood and stone and the dry climate favored the use of mud bricks. Houses, fortress walls, temple towers-ziggurats were built from it. Fired ceramic bricks were used for cladding due to their high cost. Among the architectural monuments of Mesopotamia are the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Tower of Babel and the fortress walls of Babylon with a gate dedicated to the goddess Ishtar.

Egyptian civilization also arose on the basis of irrigated agriculture, combined with animal husbandry and handicrafts. There was a transition to high-yielding irrigated agriculture, which caused the separation of handicrafts into an independent industry. The formation of the state and the formation of royal power made it possible to concentrate the efforts of many Egyptians on the construction of huge and complex structures of economic and religious significance.

The specifics of the location of Ancient Egypt is that the inhabited area was located in the narrow Nile valley, which was irrigated by the natural flood of the river. The appearance in Egypt of the well crane, “shaduf”, made it possible to raise water to “high fields” remote from the riverbed, which increased the area of ​​cultivated land 10 times.

Metalworking in Egypt was mastered in the 4th millennium BC. At first, the Egyptians smelted copper, and in the 3rd millennium, bronze with a high nickel content. Soon they mastered the "classical bronze" - an alloy of copper and tin. The Egyptians also knew gold, silver, and lead.

Among the original inventions of Egyptian artisans were faience and glaze. An important achievement was the invention of paste glass. Throughout the ancient world, Egyptian faience beads covered with glazes were famous. Papyrus making was a separate craft.

The architecture and construction business of the Egyptians had differences from Mesopotamia. Only temples and burial structures, primarily pyramids, were built of stone. The most striking buildings of Ancient Egypt are the pyramids, the Sphinx, the temples of Luxor and Karnak, the rock temple of Ramesses in Abu Simbel. The pyramid of Cheops has a height of 146 m and consists of 2.3 million stone blocks, each weighing about 2 tons. The monuments of Egyptian architecture that have come down to us demonstrate the highest skill of stonemasons and builders.

The third center of early civilization was the Indus Valley in the northwest of the Hindustan Peninsula, where one of the least studied civilizations of the Ancient East was located. This civilization is also called the civilization of Mohenjo-Daro or Harappa. Here, as in Egypt and Mesopotamia, a state formation was formed, the economy of which was based on irrigation agriculture and cattle breeding. Innovations in agriculture there were cultivated rice and cotton, which appeared in the Indus civilization earlier than in other areas of the Ancient East. Locals first began to domesticate chickens. It is known about the use of a water scoop wheel here, but there is no data on the existence of large irrigation facilities.

The Indian civilization was familiar with the potter's wheel, and ceramic Construction Materials have been widely adopted. Almost all the buildings were made of baked bricks, plumbing and sewer pipes were ceramic, floors in houses, yards and even streets were paved ceramic plates on mud or asphalt. Metalworking began earlier than in Egypt, in the 4th millennium BC. Here they learned to smelt bronze. From copper and bronze they made tools, tools, utensils, figurines, jewelry. The smelting and soldering of copper and its alloys were known. Cotton growing provided raw materials for the production of cotton fabrics, which were exported.

Chinese civilization began to take shape in the 2nd millennium BC. BC. feature Chinese culture was that an original civilization had developed that had no contact with other states of the Ancient East. The prerequisites for the emergence of the state was the development of the agricultural economy, but the spread of metal tools was slowed down here. The specificity of China manifested itself in the development of certain agricultural crops, for the first time they began to grow tea, cultivate mulberry and lacquer trees.

In China, technologies were mastered that had not been known to the West for a long time: silk, paper, porcelain. The Chinese independently made a number of discoveries: they invented the wheel, the potter's wheel, mastered the technology of smelting copper, tin, obtaining an alloy of bronze, learned lathe and weaving machines. Other areas of Chinese inventive thought were the technique of using oil and natural gas. For these purposes, wooden tanks were built to store this raw material and bamboo gas pipelines were made. The Chinese invented the compass, explosives and gunpowder mixtures that were used for fireworks.

Science owes its appearance to the practical needs faced by early civilizations. The need for planning and building irrigation, public and burial structures, determining the timing of harvesting and sowing crops, calculating the amount of taxes and accounting for the costs of the state apparatus brought to life in the Ancient East a branch of activity that can be called the sphere of science and education. Science was closely connected with religion, and scientific and educational centers there were temples.

One of the most important signs of civilization was writing. This is a qualitative leap in the development of the means of accumulating and transmitting information, which was the result of socio-economic and cultural development. It appeared when the amount of knowledge accumulated by society exceeded the level at which they could only be transmitted orally. All further development of mankind is connected with the consolidation of the accumulated scientific and cultural values ​​in writing.

At first, ideogram icons were used to fix information, then stylized drawings. Later, several types of writing were formed, and only at the turn of II-Itys. BC. The Phoenicians created a 22-letter alphabet based on cuneiform, with which most modern scripts were created. But it did not reach all parts of the ancient world, and China, for example, still uses hieroglyphic writing.

The ancient letter of Egypt appeared at the end of the 4th millennium BC. in the form of ideograms-hieroglyphs. Although Egyptian writing was constantly modified, it retained its hieroglyphic structure to the end. Mesopotamia developed its own form of writing, called cuneiform writing, since ideograms were not written here, but were imprinted on wet clay tiles with a sharp instrument. In ancient China, the first forms of writing were hieroglyphs, which at first were about 500, and later their number exceeded 3000. They were repeatedly tried to unify and simplify.

The Ancient East is characterized by the development of many branches of science: astronomy, medicine, and mathematics. Astronomy was necessary for all agricultural peoples, and sailors, military men and builders later began to use its achievements. Scientists or priests predicted solar and lunar eclipses. In Mesopotamia, a solar-lunar calendar was developed, but the Egyptian calendar turned out to be more accurate. In China, they watched the starry sky, built observatories. According to the Chinese calendar, the year consisted of 12 months; an extra month was added in a leap year, which was set once every three years.

The ancient physicians various methods diagnostics, field surgery was practiced, manuals for doctors were compiled, medical preparations were used from herbs, minerals, ingredients of animal origin, etc. Ancient Eastern doctors used massage, dressings, and gymnastics. Egyptian physicians were especially famous for their mastery of surgical operations and the treatment of eye diseases. It was in ancient Egypt that medicine in the modern sense arose.

Mathematical knowledge was unique. Mathematics appeared before writing. The counting system was different everywhere. In Mesopotamia, there was a positional system of numbers and a sexagesimal account. The division of an hour into 60 minutes, and a minute into 60 seconds, and so on, originates from this system. Egyptian mathematicians operated not only with four operations of arithmetic, but also knew how to raise numbers to the second and third powers, calculate progressions, solve linear equations with one unknown, etc. They achieved great success in geometry, calculating the area of ​​triangles, quadrilaterals, circles, volumes of parallelepipeds, cylinders and an irregular pyramid. The Egyptians had a decimal system of counting, the same as everywhere else now. An important contribution to world science was made by ancient Indian mathematicians, who created a decimal positional counting system using zero (which the Indians meant "emptiness"), which is currently accepted. The "Arabic" numerals that have become widespread are actually borrowed from the Indians. The Arabs themselves called these figures "Indian".

Philosophy can be named among other sciences that originated in the Ancient East; Lao Tzu (VI-V centuries BC) is considered the first philosopher.

Many achievements of ancient Eastern civilizations entered the arsenal European culture and science. The Greco-Roman (Julian) calendar that we use today is based on the Egyptian calendar. European medicine is based on ancient Egyptian and Babylonian medicine. The successes of ancient scientists were impossible without corresponding achievements in astronomy, mathematics, physics, chemistry, medicine and surgery.

The Middle East was the birthplace of many machines and tools; the wheel, plow, hand mill, presses for squeezing oil and juice, a loom, hoisting mechanisms, metal smelting, etc. were created here. The development of crafts and trade led to the formation of cities, and the transformation of war into a source of a constant influx of slaves influenced the development of military affairs and weapons. The greatest achievement of the period is the development of iron smelting methods. For the first time in history, irrigation facilities, roads, water pipes, bridges, fortifications and ships began to be built.

Practical skills and production needs stimulated the development of scientific knowledge, as to solve issues related to construction, the movement of large loads, etc. required mathematical calculations, drawings and knowledge of the properties of materials. First of all, the natural sciences were developed, since they are in demand by the need to solve problems put forward by practice. The main method of ancient Eastern science was speculative conclusions that did not require verification by experience. The accumulated knowledge and scientific discoveries laid the foundations for the further development of science.

3. Antiquity or ancient civilization is called the period of history from the XII century. BC. to 476 AD Basically, ancient civilization refers to Ancient Greece and Rome. A feature of ancient civilization was the widest use of slave labor, which created conditions for the development of science, art and science. public life, but hindered the development of technical devices and devices. The cheap labor force of slaves replaced most of the mechanisms and provoked a stagnation in technology. In fact, only one branch developed and improved - military equipment. Throughout ancient civilization, war was an indispensable phenomenon in the life of ancient society. Wars were fought constantly: for the sake of capturing booty, new territories, and most importantly - slaves, the basis of production in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.

Ancient Greece became the successor early cultures, so many of the technical achievements and inventions were borrowed from Egypt, Asia Minor. Ancient civilization existed under the conditions of classical slavery, when the slave was the main worker, turned into a talking tool.

The set of machines of antiquity is limited: water-lifting mechanisms; a wooden water-lifting wheel that rotates with the help of slaves; a drainage device with an "Archimedean screw" rotated by a slave. Trispasta hoisting machines were used in construction. Ancient civilization knew a water mill, but it did not become widespread. The basis of ancient "energy" was the muscular strength of slaves and the draft power of animals, with their use the mechanization of Ancient Greece and Rome was put into action: millstones of mills and oil presses, water-lifting wheels, wheels for lifting weights, etc. The exception was military vehicles.

Slave labor and the disinterest of forced laborers in the results of labor prevented the introduction of new technologies. Under such conditions, the possibility of using perfect tools and achievements in the field of agronomic sciences was excluded.

Some progress occurred where slaves could not be used or where better technology was needed. Examples include: the invention and use of muffle furnaces, sheep shearing, pottery forges, rock caving and lifting manual gates in mining, etc.

Some progress is noted in the field of casting from copper, bronze and copper alloys. When casting large statues, the method of hollow casting on wax models was invented. Among the notable achievements of antiquity are the statue of the god Helios on the island of Rhodes, the "Colossus of Rhodes" of the 3rd century BC. BC, included in the list of seven wonders of the world. Its height reached about 35-38 m.

Ancient masters were able to develop and put into practice many innovations, justified and calculated with the help of scientific knowledge. For example, it is enough to recall the buildings from the list of seven wonders of the world: the Lighthouse of Alexandria, the temple of Artemis in the city of Ephesus. And the water supply on the island of Samos passed through the mountain range, the water flowed through a kilometer-long artificial tunnel cut through the thickness of the rock.

The Greeks created the basic principles of classical architecture. This is the creation of architectural orders (Ionic, Doric, Corinthian), as a special organization of the ratio of load-bearing and load-bearing parts of a building in a beam-rack structure. The Romans favored the Corinthian, Tuscan and Composite orders. Other achievements of the Greeks were the formation architectural styles, construction of structures without binding material, new types of public buildings - theater, stadium, hippodrome, library, gymnasium, lighthouse, etc. A new word in urban planning was the use of a regular layout (checkerboard), developed by Hippodamus of Miletus.

The order system made it possible to give special expressiveness to various elements of the building. Thus, a single common Greek type of temple building was formed in the form of a rectangular building, surrounded by columns on all sides. An example of a Doric building was the Temple of Apollo at Corinth, and an Ionic one was the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus. The famous Athenian Parthenon combined Doric and Ionic styles.

The original building was the Lighthouse of Alexandria on about. Pharos. It was a three-stage tower 120 m high, inside of which there was a spiral ramp, along which combustible materials were brought up on donkeys. At the top was a lantern, where a fire was lit at nightfall.

The Romans went down in history as outstanding builders. The main Roman innovations in the construction industry: the widespread use of concrete, fired bricks, lime mortar and vaulted ceilings. The pinnacle of stonework was the construction of an arch and a semicircular vault from wedge-shaped stone blocks laid dry. In the III century. BC. in the construction technique of the Romans was made important discovery- the use of a pozzolanic solution, made from crushed rock of volcanic origin. Roman concrete was made on this solution. The Romans learned to use formwork and build concrete structures, and use crushed stone as a filler. In the II century. AD in Rome, the Pantheon was built, the "Temple of all the gods", with a cast concrete dome with a diameter of 43 m, it was considered the largest in the world. This building became a model for the architects of the New Age.

The Romans borrowed many achievements from their Etruscan predecessors. The Etruscans were considered excellent metallurgists, builders, sailors. These acquisitions included the main types of structures that made the Roman builders famous. The Romans developed the ideas of the Etruscans and achieved maximum success in them. These are aqueducts and roads, cesspools and triumphal arches, forums and amphitheaters, irrigation of swampy areas, canons in architecture and sculptural portraiture.

The overriding principle of expediency, practicality and utility were clearly manifested in Roman architecture. Etruscan traditions in architecture and the invention of concrete allowed the Romans to move from simple beam ceilings to arches, vaults and domes. The rapid construction of the cities of the Roman state, the powerful influx and accumulation of the population in them, the dense building of the streets - all this forced the city authorities to introduce new principles of urban planning and take care of the basic amenities and entertainment of the inhabitants of Rome. These include amphitheatres, circuses, stadiums, baths ( public baths), palaces of emperors and nobility. In Rome, they built apartment buildings - insulas, which could reach a height of 3-6 and even 8 floors.

To provide water to Rome, 11 aqueducts-water pipelines were built, the length of some of them reached 70 km. A number of arches made it possible to build multi-tiered arcades, inside of which there were pipes supplying water to the city. One of the most original creations of the Romans in the field of public buildings were the terms - Roman baths, which were used not only for the purpose of hygiene, but also for relaxation and communication. A feature of the term were ceramic pipes for heating walls and floors.

The Romans made extensive use of cement and concrete. The foundation of the Colosseum, fortresses, bridges, aqueducts, port piers, roads were built from concrete. The Colosseum has become one of the most grandiose structures. The building, intended for gladiator fights and baiting of animals, was an ellipse with a circumference of 524 m. The walls of the Colosseum had a height of 50 m and consisted of three tiers.

Roman roads were admired by contemporaries and subsequent generations. During their construction, concrete was used in combination with a multi-level structure of the roadway. In addition to roads, the Romans are famous for their bridges, among which the bridge over the Danube, built by Apollodorus, stands out. The famous scientist and engineer of Roman times was Vitruvius, I century. BC. He wrote Ten Books on Architecture, a work on construction and various machines; this work contains the first description of a water mill.

Among the technical inventions of ancient Greece, one can name innovations that were either ahead of their time or did not carry practical significance in the conditions of slavery. Although many of them are still in use today. Such inventions were the automata of Heron of Alexandria. The models he developed used the power of water vapor or compressed air. Aeropil (Heron steam balloon) is the prototype of the modern steam engine. It was impossible to use this invention in ancient civilization, so it and many similar ones remained just toys. Some of Heron's creations turned out to be applicable, for example, a vending machine for the sale of goods, a useful invention of Heron was a hodometer (path meter).

Craft and science are closely connected, which is noticeable in the appearance of an instrument that measures time. In antiquity, sundials, water clocks, and sand clocks were common. Ancient craftsmen learned how to make travel sundials, and water clocks got a device to play the role of an alarm clock.

The achievements of Archimedes are connected with the needs of practice. They were used in the machine technology of that time, in the creation of blocks and winches, gears, irrigation and military machines. Numerous inventions were made by Archimedes: the Archimedes screw - a device for raising water to more high level; various systems levers, blocks and screws for lifting weights.

Technique for war. The ancient world is inconceivable without war. More and more sophisticated machines were needed to wage war. If we talk about the progress of technology, then we will talk about artillery. Among the authors of ancient artillery, the most important are the mechanics Philo and Heron.

Crossbows (analogous to a crossbow), which were called gastrafet, were military vehicles arranged like a bow. On this basis, the first samples of larger catapult throwing machines were created. They have various names: oxybel (a tool for throwing arrows or a catapult) or lithobol (a tool for throwing stone balls or a ballista). Even more advanced tools were invented by Philo: chalcothon, in which the elasticity of forged bronze springs was used to pull the bow; the polyball, based on the use of torsional resilience, could recharge itself.

In addition to throwing machines, military equipment included a variety of devices for storming cities and destroying fortifications: siege towers, battering rams, drills, mobile galleries, mechanized assault ladders, and drawbridges. For the siege of fortresses, the Greek mechanic Demetrius Poliorketes invented a large number of siege structures. Among them were shelters from projectiles - turtles for earthworks, turtles with rams. A significant structure was the helepole - a moving pyramid-shaped tower up to 35 m high on eight large wheels.

The Greeks were a maritime civilization, their supremacy at sea is usually associated with the invention of a new type of warship - the trireme. Great speed and maneuverability allowed the trireme to effectively use its main weapon - a ram that pierced the bottom of enemy ships. Trier allowed the Greeks to gain dominance in the Mediterranean and master maritime trade. The appearance of the ballista changed the tactics of not only land battles, but also naval ones. If earlier the ram was the main weapon of the trireme, now they began to build ships with towers on which ballistas were installed.

A military invention of a different nature was the Macedonian phalanx. Starting from the father of Alexander the Great, his warriors had long spears (up to 6 m) and were built in dense rows, creating a palisade of steel tips. The new construction and tactics led to the great conquests of the Macedonian kings, and from the point of view of history - to the beginning of a new era of Hellenism.

The new center of ancient civilization, Ancient Rome, began an active military expansion, constantly modernizing weapons, tactics, and military devices. As a result, the Romans created the best army of the Ancient World, which gave rise to a wave of conquests and the emergence of the "Roman world" or the Roman Empire.

During this period, many important inventions and discoveries appeared, which were used in construction, navigation and everyday life. They were not of a revolutionary nature, but contributed to the gradual development of the material and technical thought of mankind. The main technical achievements of antiquity were focused on weapons of war, but many discoveries were made for peaceful purposes, especially in agriculture.

The achievements of ancient material culture became the basis for the technical development of Western Europe in the Middle Ages and subsequent periods.

The history of ancient science is conditionally divided into three periods:

The first period is the early Greek science, which received from the ancient authors the name of the science of "nature" ("natural philosophy"). This "science" was an undifferentiated, speculative discipline, the main problem of which was the problem of the origin and structure of the world, considered as a whole. Until the end of the 5th century BC. science was inseparable from philosophy. The highest point of development and the final stage of the science "about nature" was the scientific and philosophical system of Aristotle.

The second period is Hellenistic science. This is the period of differentiation of sciences. The process of disciplinary fragmentation of a single science began in the 5th century. BC, when, simultaneously with the development of the deduction method, mathematics became isolated. The works of Eudox laid the foundation for scientific astronomy.

In the works of Aristotle and his students, one can already see the emergence of logic, zoology, embryology, psychology, botany, mineralogy, geography, musical acoustics, not counting the humanitarian disciplines such as ethics, poetics and others that were not part of the science "about nature". Later, new disciplines acquired independent significance: geometric optics (in particular, catoptrics, i.e., the science of mirrors), mechanics (statics and its applications), and hydrostatics. The heyday of Hellenistic science was one of the forms of the flowering of Hellenistic culture as a whole and was due to the creative achievements of such scientists as Euclid, Archimedes, Eratosthenes, Apollonius of Perga, Hipparchus and others. It was in the III-II centuries. BC ancient science in its spirit and aspirations came closest to the science of modern times.

The third period is the period of the decline of ancient science. Although the works of Ptolemy, Diophenes, Galen, and others belong to this time, nevertheless, in the first centuries AD. there is an increase in regressive tendencies associated with the growth of world rationalism, the emergence of occult disciplines, the revival of attempts to syncretize the unification of science and philosophy.

A feature of the origin and development of ancient science was a new system of government - Athenian democracy. In the Greek courts, each defended himself; at these trials, plaintiffs and defendants excelled in oratory. This art began to be taught in private schools by the sages - "sophists". The head of the sophists was Protagoras; he argued that "man is the measure of all things" and that truth is what appears to the majority (i.e. the majority of judges). The student of Protagoras, Pericles, became the first politician to master the art of oratory; thanks to this art, he ruled Athens for 30 years. From the Sophists and Protagoras came Greek philosophy; to a large extent it was reduced to speculative reasoning. Nevertheless, in the reasoning of philosophers there were also rational thoughts. Socrates was the first to raise the question of the objectivity of knowledge; he questioned conventional truths and asserted: "I only know that I know nothing." Anaxagoras went further - he denied the existence of gods and tried to create his own picture of the world, arguing that bodies are made up of tiny particles. Democritus called these particles atoms and tried to use infinitesimal quantities in mathematical calculations; he obtained a formula for the volume of a cone. The Athenians were outraged by attempts to deny the gods, Protagoras and Anaxagoras were expelled from Athens, and Socrates was forced to drink a cup of poison by a court verdict.

Socrates' student was the philosopher Plato (427-347 BC). Plato believed in the existence of the soul and in the transmigration of souls after death. Plato was the founder of sociology, the science of society and the state. He proposed a project of an ideal state, which is controlled by a caste of philosophers like the Egyptian priests. Philosophers are supported by warriors, "guards" similar to Spartans, they live in one community and have everything in common - including wives. Plato claimed that his ideal state existed in Atlantis, a country located in the West, on the subsequently sunken mainland. Of course, it was "science fiction". Plato and his student Dion tried to create an ideal state in Syracuse, in Sicily; this political experiment led to civil war and the ruin of Syracuse.

Plato's research was continued by Aristotle, he wrote the treatise "Politics", which contained a comparative analysis of the social system of most of the then known states. Aristotle put forward a number of provisions adopted modern sociology; he argued that the leading factor in social development is population growth; overpopulation breeds famine, revolts, civil wars and the establishment of "tyranny". The purpose of the "tyrants" is the establishment of "justice" and the redistribution of the land. Aristotle is known as the founder of biology; he described and systematized animals just as he described and systematized states; such researchers are called "systematics".

Alexander the Great showed interest in the sciences and helped Aristotle create the first higher educational institution, "Likey"; he took Aristotle's nephew Callisthenes with him on a campaign. Callisthenes described the nature of the conquered countries, measured the latitude of the area, sent stuffed animals and herbariums to Aristotle. After Alexander's death, his friend Ptolemy assumed the role of patron of sciences. When the empire of Alexander was divided, Ptolemy got Egypt, and he founded in Alexandria, on the model of the Lyceum, a new center of learning, the Musaeus. The buildings of the Museum were located in the middle of the park, there were audiences for students, teachers' houses, an observatory, a botanical garden, and the famous library - there were 700 thousand manuscripts in it. Museum teachers received salaries; among them were not only philosophers and mechanics, but also poets, oriental sages who translated into Greek language Egyptian and Babylonian treatises. The Egyptian priest Manetho was the author of the treatise Antiquities of Egypt, and the Babylonian priest Beroes wrote Antiquities of Babylon; 72 Jewish sages translated the Bible into Greek.

Musei was the first scientific center funded by the state. In fact, the birthday of Musaeus was the birthday of ancient science. The head of the Museum was the geographer Eratosthenes, who, by measuring the latitude at various points, was able to calculate the length of the meridian; thus, it was proved that the Earth is a sphere. Euclid created the geometry that is taught in schools today. He put strict proofs at the basis of science; when Ptolemy asked that proof be dispensed with, Euclid replied, "There are no special paths for kings in mathematics."

In Mouseion, the hypothesis of Aristarchus of Samos that the Earth rotates in a circle around the Sun was discussed, it turned out that this contradicts observations (the Earth does not move in a circle, but in an ellipse). As a result, scientists led by Claudius Ptolemy (II century AD) created the theory of epicycles: the Earth is in the center of the Universe, transparent spheres are located around, embracing one another; Together with these spheres, the Sun and planets move along complex epicycles. Behind the last sphere of the fixed stars, Ptolemy placed "the dwelling of the blessed." Ptolemy's work "The Great Mathematical Construction of Astronomy in 13 Books" was the main guide to astronomy until modern times. Ptolemy created scientific geography and gave the coordinates of 8 thousand different geographical points, this "Guide to Geography" was used by Europeans until the time of Columbus.

Vitruvius in his work used the works of scientists from the Museum of Alexandria, which functioned until the end of the 4th century BC. AD In 391 AD Musey was destroyed during a religious pogrom - Christians accused scientists of worshiping pagan gods.

Christianity claimed the role of a monopoly ideology, it fought with other religions and gods, pursuing any dissent. No one had the right to doubt what is written in the Bible: the Earth lies in the middle of the Ocean and is covered like a tent, with seven domes of heaven, which is in the center

The emergence of scientific knowledge

The undivided dominance of religion could not completely suppress the free thought of man, which sought to know the nature around him. In this regard, there is an idea of ​​“knowledge”, as such, and of the high value of knowledge, which distinguishes a “knowing” person from all other people. Thus, the author of one "Instruction" says: "They will do whatever you say, if you are knowledgeable. Go deep into the scriptures and put them into your heart, and then whatever you say will be beautiful. No matter what position a scribe is appointed to, he will always turn to books.

Knowledge was accumulated and passed on from older generations to younger ones in special schools. For the most part, these were either court schools of scribes, in which the children of slave-owning aristocrats studied, or special schools located at the central departments, in which scribes-officials were trained for a given department, for example, for the royal treasury. Strict discipline reigned in these schools, which was supported by measures of corporal punishment and inspired by special "Instructions". So, the author of one "Instruction" says: "Oh, scribe, do not be lazy, otherwise you will be severely punished. Do not incline your heart to pleasures, otherwise you will go to the bottom. With books in hand, read aloud and consult those who know more than you. Happy is the scribe who is experienced in all his fields... Do not spend a single day in laziness, otherwise you will be flogged. After all, the boy's ears are on his back and he will hear when they beat him. Constantly ask for advice and do not forget about it. Write, and don't let it bother you."

The students were taught mainly difficult and complex literacy, forcing them to write off about three pages daily from special copybooks. The student had to firmly master not only the spelling system, but also complex calligraphy and style. The exercises of novice scribes have come down to us, containing mainly teachings with an educational purpose and exemplary, equally instructive letters. Finally, in Egypt there were also higher "scribe schools" called "house of life" ("per ankh"). The ruins of such a "house of life" were discovered in the ancient capital of Pharaoh Akhenaten (see p. 218).

Needs Everyday life, the development of the economy, trade exchange and observation of nature led to the gradual accumulation of the first scientific knowledge. All this knowledge is still mainly applied in nature. Such, for example, is the most ancient knowledge in the field of mathematics, which is most closely connected with practical life and is intended to facilitate the work of surveyors and builders. So, for example, we know that Amenemhat I established the boundaries of the nomes on the basis of "what is in the books and is in the ancient scriptures." This determination of the boundaries was made by special surveyors on the basis of calculations, which were then recorded. This is indicated by the drawings preserved in the tombs and depicting the measurement of the earth with the help of a special surveying rope. Judging by the content of mathematical problems, knowledge in the field of arithmetic and geometry was used in determining the area of ​​the field, in determining the volume of a heap of grain or a barn that served to store it. Finally, thanks to knowledge in the field of mathematics, the Egyptians were able to draw up schematic maps of the area and primitive drawings. The great importance of mathematics, in particular geometry, in the development of the construction business is evidenced by the numerous and grandiose buildings, especially the pyramids, which could only be erected on the basis of a series of precise calculations.

The development of mathematical knowledge in ancient Egypt, especially during the Middle Kingdom, is evidenced by a fairly large number of mathematical texts of that time, in particular the Moscow Mathematical Papyrus. One of the great achievements of Egyptian mathematics was the development of the decimal number system. In Egyptian writing, there were already special signs for the numbers 1, 10, 100, 1000, 10,000, 100,000, and even a million, indicated by a figure of a man who raised his hands in surprise. The original units of length are very characteristic of the forms of Egyptian mathematics. These units were the finger, palm, foot and elbow, between the length of which the Egyptian mathematician established certain relationships. Mathematical knowledge was widely used in art. An Egyptian artist, in order to draw a human figure on a plane, drew a square grid into which he inscribed the human body, using for this singing knowledge of the mathematical ratios of the length of one part of the body to another. Some primitiveness of Egyptian mathematics is indicated by the way the four simple arithmetic operations are applied. So, for example, when multiplying, they used the method of sequential actions. In order to multiply eight by eight, the Egyptian had to make 4 consecutive multiplications by 2. The division was carried out using multiplication. In order to divide 77 by 7, it was necessary to establish by what number 7 should be multiplied to get 77. Geometry, which was of great practical importance, reached a high level of development in Egypt. Egyptian mathematicians were able to determine the surface of a rectangle, a triangle, in particular an isosceles one, a trapezoid and even a circle, taking the value? equal to 3.16, i.e., more accurate than the Babylonians. The Moscow "Mathematical Papyrus" preserved solutions to difficult problems for calculating the volume of a truncated pyramid and a hemisphere. The ancient Egyptians had some very elementary knowledge in the field of algebra, being able to calculate equations with one unknown, and they called the unknown by the word, "heap" (obviously "heap of grain").

Text of the Egyptian collection of problems in geometry

The ancient Egyptians also had some knowledge in the field of astronomy. Frequent observations of celestial bodies taught them to distinguish planets from stars and even gave them the opportunity to establish a map of the starry sky. The Egyptians gave special names to individual constellations and even stars (for example, Sirius). Using special tables of the location of stars and a special tool, the Egyptians were able to determine the time even at night. Astronomical knowledge gave the Egyptians the ability to build a calendar system. The Egyptian calendar year was divided into 12 months containing 30 days each, with 5 added by the end of the year. public holidays, which gave a total of 365 days a year. Thus, the Egyptian calendar year lagged behind the tropical one by 1/4 of a day. This error for 1460 years became equal to 365 days, i.e. one year.

A star chart from a royal tomb of the 20th Dynasty.

New Kingdom

Significant development was received in Egypt by medicine and veterinary medicine. In a number of texts from the Middle Kingdom, a list of recipes for the treatment of various diseases is given. Using a wealth of empirical observations, however, the Egyptian physicians could not yet completely renounce ancient magic. Therefore, treatment with drugs was usually combined with magic spells and rituals. But learning human body, facilitated by the opening of corpses during mummification, made it possible for doctors to more or less correctly approach the issues of the structure and functioning of the human body. So, the first knowledge in the field of anatomy gradually appears, which is fixed in a number of anatomical terms. In some medical texts, a peculiar method of treatment is also given, requiring the doctor to examine the patient, determine the symptoms, diagnose and establish a method of treatment. Doctors specialize in certain types of diseases. There are special clinics for gynecology, surgery and eye diseases. A fairly accurate description of some diseases, their symptoms and phenomena suggests some knowledge of the Egyptians in the field of diagnostics. Thus, the Egyptian medical texts describe in detail gastric diseases, respiratory diseases, hemorrhages, rheumatism, scarlet fever, eye diseases, skin diseases, and many others. Special manuals on gynecology described early and late childbirth, and indicated the means to "distinguish a woman who can give birth from one who cannot." In one tomb of the Old Kingdom, images of various operations (arms, legs, knees) have been preserved. In more recent times, surgery has reached a much higher level of development. The names of certain diseases, as well as the recipe based on long experience, testify to the rather significant development of Egyptian medicine, the achievements of which were widely borrowed by the authors of medical treatises of the ancient world.

The appearance of the first attempts at theoretical generalizations is indicated by the doctrine of blood circulation and those “22 vessels” coming from the heart, which, according to the Egyptian doctor, played a certain role in the life of the human body and in the course of illness. In this regard, the following words from the Ebers medical papyrus are very characteristic: “The beginning of the secrets of the doctor, the knowledge of the course of the heart, from which the vessels go to all members, for every doctor, every priest of the goddess Sokhmet, every spellcaster, touching the head, nape, hands, palms, feet, everywhere it touches the heart, because from it the vessels are directed to each member.

Thus, the inquisitive thought of man gradually developed, despite the dominance of the religious-magical worldview.

Ornamental hieroglyphic inscription of the Middle Kingdom

From the book History of Germany. Volume 1. From ancient times to creation German Empire author Bonwetsch Bernd

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Introduction

Since time immemorial, the ancient Egyptian civilization has attracted the attention of mankind. Egypt, like no other ancient civilization, gives the impression of eternity and rare integrity. On the land of the country, which is now called the Arab Republic of Egypt, in ancient times one of the most powerful and mysterious civilizations arose, which for centuries and millennia attracted the attention of contemporaries like a magnet.

At a time when the era of the Stone Age and primitive hunters still dominated Europe and America, ancient Egyptian engineers built irrigation facilities along the Great Nile, ancient Egyptian mathematicians calculated the square of the base and the angle of inclination of the Great Pyramids, ancient Egyptian architects erected grandiose temples, the grandeur of which can reduce time.

The history of Egypt has more than 6 thousand years. The unique monuments of ancient culture preserved on its territory annually attract a huge number of tourists from all over the world. The grandiose pyramids and the Great Sphinx, the majestic temples in Upper Egypt, many other architectural and historical masterpieces - all this still amazes the imagination of everyone who manages to get to know this amazing country. Today's Egypt is the largest Arab country located in northeast Africa. Let's take a closer look

Development of scientific knowledge of the Ancient East

Ancient Eastern history has been going on since about 3000 BC. Geographically, the ancient East refers to countries located in South Asia and partly in North Africa. A characteristic feature of the natural conditions of these countries is the alternation of fertile river valleys with vast desert areas and mountain ranges. The valleys of the rivers Nile, Tigris and Euphrates, Ganges and Huang He are very favorable for agriculture. River floods provide irrigation for fields, warm climate - fertile soil.

However, economic life and life in the northern Mesopotamia were built differently than in the southern. Southern Mesopotamia, as it was written earlier, was a fertile country, but only the hard work of the population brought the harvest. The construction of a complex network of water structures that regulate floods and provide a supply of water for the dry season. Nevertheless, the tribes there led a settled way of life and gave rise to ancient historical cultures. The source of information about the origin and history of the states of Egypt and Mesopotamia was the excavations of hills and mounds formed over a number of centuries on the site of destroyed cities, temples and palaces, and for the history of Judah and Israel, the only source was the Bible - a collection of mythological works