What the Ancients Did for Us?

The Egyptians, the Greeks or the Romans did not kicked off civilisation says Adam Hart-Davis in the above posted BBC TWO 2005 What the Ancients Did for Us series. Human history began in the great alluvial plain between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, with its rich and immensely fertile soil: a land known as Mesopotamia. The Mesopotamian civilisation of Sumer emerges in the Ubaid period (6500-3800 BC) and Uruk period (ca. 4000 to 3100 BC) and is often identified as the first empire in history. The Sumerians knew how to irrigate the land with canals, ditches and farms. The Assyrian, Babylonian and Sumerian civilisations flourished here in an area stretching from modern Turkey, to western Syria, and Iraq. But what did they do for us? For a start, they invented writing, with the oldest book, the epic of Gilgamesh, written around 18th century BC. The Sumerians also gave us the first written laws, invented brick, first professional army, invented the tank, siege engine, wheel, chariot, observed the movement of the stars, and created the Zodiac, thereby being responsible for both astrology and astronomy. The list goes on and on – the reed boat and the sail, glass blowing… They even came up with the electric battery. Curious, want to know more? I do! Back to school Folks…Enjoy! What the Ancients Did for Us is a brilliant 2005 BBC TWO documentary series presented by English polymath and historian Adam Hart-Davis. Hart-Davis examined the impact of ancient civilisations on modern society. All BBC TWO 9 produced episodes here: Episode one: The Islamic World, Episode two: The Chinese, Episode three: The Aztecs, Maya and Incas, Episode four: The Romans, Episode five: The Indians, Episode six: The Mesopotamians, Episode seven: The Egyptians (Recommend The Revelation Of The Pyramids 2-parts), Episode eight: The Greeks and Episode nine: The Britons. (Source open.edu)