Ancient Machine Technology

Did you know . . . • Ancient people used bows to drill holes and start fires? • The ancient Chinese built a machine to detect earthquakes? •The ancient Romans operated a factory for milling grain? Machine technology is as old as human society itself. The first humans on Earth used basic machines. They used stone axes to butcher meat. They use levers to pry roots and rocks from the ground. Over the centuries, ancient peoples learned to make more complicated machines. People in the ancient Middle East devised wheels and pulleys. The ancient Chinese created wheelbarrows and bellows. The ancient Greeks built big war machines. What kinds of tools and techniques did ancient craftspeople use? Which methods worked and which didn't? And how did ancient machines set the stage for our own modern machines? Learn more in Ancient Machine Technology.