Author: L. Mays Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media ISBN: 9048186323 Category : Technology & Engineering Languages : en Pages : 286
Book Description
There is no more fundamental resource than water. The basis of all life, water is fast becoming a key issue in today’s world, as well as a source of conflict. This fascinating book, which sets out many of the ingenious methods by which ancient societies gathered, transported and stored water, is a timely publication as overextraction and profligacy threaten the existence of aquifers and watercourses that have supplied our needs for millennia. It provides an overview of the water technologies developed by a number of ancient civilizations, from those of Mesopotamia and the Indus valley to later societies such as the Mycenaeans, Minoans, Persians, and the ancient Egyptians. Of course, no book on ancient water technologies would be complete without discussing the engineering feats of the Romans and Greeks, yet as well as covering these key civilizations, it also examines how ancient American societies from the Hohokams to the Mayans and Incas husbanded their water supplies. This unusually wide-ranging text could offer today’s parched world some solutions to the impending crisis in our water supply. "This book provides valuable insights into the water technologies developed in ancient civilizations which are the underpinning of modern achievements in water engineering and management practices. It is the best proof that "the past is the key for the future." Andreas N. Angelakis, Hellenic Water Supply and Sewerage Systems Association, Greece "This book makes a fundamental contribution to what will become the most important challenge of our civilization facing the global crisis: the problem of water. Ancient Water Technologies provides a complete panorama of how ancient societies confronted themselves with the management of water. The role of this volume is to provide, for the first time on this issue, an extensive historical and scientific reconstruction and an indication of how traditional knowledge may be employed to ensure a sustainable future for all." Pietro Laureano, UNESCO expert for ecosystems at risk, Director of IPOGEA-Institute of Traditional Knowledge, Italy
Author: Mark Altaweel Publisher: UCL Press ISBN: 1911576704 Category : Social Science Languages : en Pages : 334
Book Description
Today our societies face great challenges with water, in terms of both quantity and quality, but many of these challenges have already existed in the past. Focusing on Asia, Water Societies and Technologies from the Past and Present seeks to highlight the issues that emerge or re-emerge across different societies and periods, and asks what they can tell us about water sustainability. Incorporating cutting-edge research and pioneering field surveys on past and present water management practices, the interdisciplinary contributors together identify how societies managed water resource challenges and utilised water in ways that allowed them to evolve, persist, or drastically alter their environment. The case studies, from different periods, ancient and modern, and from different regions, including Egypt, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Southwest United States, the Indus Basin, the Yangtze River, the Mesopotamian floodplain, the early Islamic city of Sultan Kala in Turkmenistan, and ancient Korea, offer crucial empirical data to readers interested in comparing the dynamics of water management practices across time and space, and to those who wish to understand water-related issues through conceptual and quantitative models of water use. The case studies also challenge classical theories on water management and social evolution, examine and establish the deep historical roots and ecological foundations of water sustainability issues, and contribute new grounds for innovations in sustainable urban planning and ecological resilience.
Author: Frank Joseph Publisher: Simon and Schuster ISBN: 1591433835 Category : Body, Mind & Spirit Languages : en Pages : 461
Book Description
A detailed look into ancient advanced technology, science, and medicine--some of which has yet to be reproduced today • Explores countless examples of ancient high tech, including robotics, artificial intelligence, aircraft, solar-powered cannons, high-speed drills, illuminated underground temples, massive refrigerators, and subterranean cities • Examines evidence of advanced medicine in ancient times • Includes examples from ancient Egypt, China, Greece, Babylon, Siberia, the Americas, and India The first self-igniting match was invented in 1805 by Jean Chancel, a French chemist. Yet, in Babylon, 3,600 years before, identical sulfur matches were in common use. On the Panchavarnaswamy Temple in India, built millennia ago, there is a detailed carving of a man on a bicycle, yet the bicycle wasn’t invented in the modern world until 1817. These inventions are only two examples of technology lost in the Dark Ages. Exploring the sophisticated tech achieved by ancient civilizations hundreds and thousands of years ago, Frank Joseph examines evidence of robotics and other forms of artificial intelligence; manned flight, such as hot-air balloons and gliders; and military science, including flamethrowers, biological warfare, poison gas, and solar-powered cannons. He reveals how ancient construction engineers excavated subterranean cities, turned stone walls into glass, lifted 100-ton blocks of granite, illuminated underground temples and pyramids, and stored their food in massive refrigerators. Examples explored in the book include the first known alarm clock, invented by Plato in 4th-century-BC Greece; 600-year-old Aztec whistles that reproduce animal sounds and human voices with uncanny accuracy; Stone Age jewelry from Siberia worked by a high-speed drill; sex robots in ancient Troy, Greece, and China; ancient Egyptian aircraft; and India’s iron pillar exposed to sixteen hundred years of monsoons but still standing rust-free. The author also explores evidence of advanced medicine in ancient times, particularly in Egypt and China, from brain surgery, optometry, and prosthetics to dentistry, magnet therapy, and cancer cures. By examining the achievements of our ancient ancestors, we can not only reverse-engineer their inventions but also learn from their civilizations’ mistakes, enabling us to avoid more dark ages. Imagine how scientifically advanced humanity would be if our early achievements had escaped destruction and been allowed to develop?
Author: Andreas N. Angelakis Publisher: IWA Publishing ISBN: 1843395401 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 585
Book Description
Evolution of Water Supply Through the Millennia presents the major achievements in the scientific fields of water supply technologies and management throughout the millennia. It provides valuable insights into ancient water supply technologies with their apparent characteristics of durability, adaptability to the environment, and sustainability. A comparison of the water technological developments in several civilizations is undertaken. These technologies are the underpinning of modern achievements in water engineering and management practices. It is the best proof that “the past is the key for the future.” Rapid technological progress in the twentieth century created a disregard for past water technologies that were considered to be far behind the present ones. There are a great deal of unresolved problems related to the management principles, such as the decentralization of the processes, the durability of the water projects, the cost effectiveness, and sustainability issues such as protection from floods and droughts. In the developing world, such problems were intensified to an unprecedented degree. Moreover, new problems have arisen such as the contamination of surface and groundwater. Naturally, intensification of unresolved problems led societies to revisit the past and to reinvestigate the successful past achievements. To their surprise, those who attempted this retrospect, based on archaeological, historical, and technical evidence were impressed by two things: the similarity of principles with present ones and the advanced level of water engineering and management practices. Evolution of Water Supply Through the Millennia is intended for engineers in water resources companies, hydraulic design companies, and water Institutes. It can be used for all courses related to water resources. Authors: Andreas N. Angelakis, Institute of Iraklion, National Foundation for Agricultural Research (N.AG.RE.F.), Greece, Larry W. Mays, School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, Arizona State University, USA, Demetris Koutsoyiannis, School of Civil Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Greece, Nikos Manassis, School of Civil Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Greece.
Author: Saeid Eslamian Publisher: John Wiley & Sons ISBN: 1119775981 Category : Technology & Engineering Languages : en Pages : 62
Book Description
Water harvesting is gaining more and more recognition as the sustainable and resilient alternative to other water supply options. It is economically viable, socially compatible and environmentally friendly. Water harvesting has proven to be a robust solution to overcome or reduce water shortages all over the world. To apply this in a sustainable and effective way, it is important to understand exactly where it can be applied to make full use of its potential. The Handbook of Water Harvesting and Conservation: Case Studies and Application Examples is the most comprehensive, up-to-date and applied casebook on water harvesting and conservation yet published. The editors bring together the many perspectives into a synthesis that is both academically-based and practical in its potential applications. The Handbook of Water Harvesting and Conservation: Case Studies and Application Examples will be an important tool for education, research and technical works in the soil, water and watershed management area, and will be highly useful for drought strategy planning, flood management and adaptation to climate change in all urban, agricultural, forest, rangeland areas.
Author: Örjan Wikander Publisher: Brill Academic Publishers ISBN: 9789004111233 Category : Architecture Languages : en Pages : 741
Book Description
A magisterial handbook on water use and water technology in an area from Mesopotamia to the Atlantic Ocean, from the beginning of the Neolithic period up to ca. A.D. 600. Based on the archaeological and written evidence, it discusses the socio-economic background, irrigation and drainage, water supply, water in recreation (fountains, baths, etc.), larger hydraulic works (canals and sluices, dams, drainage), water-power, water legislation and the administration of water resources.
Author: Charles R. Ortloff Publisher: Taylor & Francis ISBN: 1000088235 Category : Technology & Engineering Languages : en Pages : 415
Book Description
The Hydraulic State explores the hydraulic engineering technology underlying water system constructions of many of the ancient World Heritage sites in South America, the Middle East and Asia as used in their urban and agricultural water supply systems. Using a range of methods and techniques, some new to archaeology, Ortloff analyzes various ancient water systems such as agricultural field system designs known in ancient Peruvian and Bolivian Andean societies, water management at Nabataean Petra, the Roman Pont du Garde water distribution castellum, the Minoan site of Knossos and the water systems of dynastic (and modern) China, particularly the Grand Canal and early water systems designed to control flood episodes. In doing so the book greatly increases our understanding of the hydraulic/hydrological engineering of ancient societies through the application of Complexity Theory, Similitude Theory and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis, as well as traditional archaeological analysis methods. Serving to highlight the engineering science behind water structures of the ancient World Heritage sites discussed, this book will be of interest to archaeologists working on landscape archaeology, urbanism, agriculture and water management.
Author: John W. Humphrey Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA ISBN: 031308386X Category : History Languages : en Pages : 246
Book Description
Since ancient times, technological advances have increased man's chances for survival. From the practicality of a Roman aqueduct to the art of the written word, man has always adapted his environment to meet his needs, and to provide himself with sustenance, comfort, comfort, leisure, a higher quality of living, and a thriving culture. This concise reference source takes a closer look at six technological events that significantly impacted the evolution of civilization, from the Palaeolithic age to the height of the Roman Empire. As he touches on the common elements of ancient technology—energy, machines, mining, metallurgy, ceramics, agriculture, engineering, transportation, and communication—Humphrey asks questions central to understanding the impact of ancient tools on the modern world: What prompts change? What cultural traditions inhibit change? What effect do these changes have on their societies and civilization? Humphrey explores technologies as both physical tools and as extensions of the human body, beginning with the invention of the Greek alphabet and including such accomplishments as early Neolithic plant cultivation, the invention of coinage, the building of the Parthenon, and Rome's urban water system. Detailed line drawings of tools and machines make ancient mechanics more easily accessible. Primary documents, glossary, biographies, and a timeline dating from the Palaeolithic age to the Roman Empire round out the work, making this an ideal reference source for understanding the tools of the ancient world.
Author: Andreas N. Angelakis Publisher: IWA Publishing ISBN: 1780404840 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 558
Book Description
Most of the technological developments relevant to water supply and wastewater date back to more than to five thousand years ago. These developments were driven by the necessity to make efficient use of natural resources, to make civilizations more resistant to destructive natural elements, and to improve the standards of life, both at public and private level. Rapid technological progress in the 20th century created a disregard for past sanitation and wastewater and stormwater technologies that were considered to be far behind the present ones. A great deal of unresolved problems in the developing world related to the wastewater management principles, such as the decentralization of the processes, the durability of the water projects, the cost effectiveness, and sustainability issues, such as protection from floods and droughts were intensified to an unprecedented degree. New problems have arisen such as the contamination of surface and groundwater. Naturally, intensification of unresolved problems has led to the reconsideration of successful past achievements. This retrospective view, based on archaeological, historical, and technical evidence, has shown two things: the similarity of physicochemical and biological principles with the present ones and the advanced level of wastewater engineering and management practices. Evolution of Sanitation and Wastewater Technologies through the Centuries presents and discusses the major achievements in the scientific fields of sanitation and hygienic water use systems throughout the millennia, and compares the water technological developments in several civilizations. It provides valuable insights into ancient wastewater and stormwater management technologies with their apparent characteristics of durability, adaptability to the environment, and sustainability. These technologies are the underpinning of modern achievements in sanitary engineering and wastewater management practices. It is the best proof that “the past is the key for the future”. Evolution of Sanitation and Wastewater Technologies through the Centuries is a textbook for undergraduate and graduate courses of Water Resources, Civil Engineering, Hydraulics, Ancient History, Archaeology, Environmental Management and is also a valuable resource for all researchers in the these fields. Authors: Andreas N. Angelakis, Institute of Iraklion, Iraklion, Greece and Joan B. Rose, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
Author: L. Mays
Author: Mark Altaweel
Author: Frank Joseph
Author: Jonas Berking
Author: Andreas N. Angelakis
Author: Saeid Eslamian
Author: Örjan Wikander
Author: Charles R. Ortloff
Author: John W. Humphrey
Author: Andreas N. Angelakis