Shimra Ahamed
Clocks of Water and Stars: Timekeeping before Watches
From the very beginning, humans were fascinated with the passing of time; days turning into night, change of seasons that elongated the nights and shortening the daytime, and vice versa. They needed something to rely on and organize their days, plan the harvest and perform rituals.
The ancient humans tried many creative ways to track the time from observing stars to studying the shadows. Long before watches were invented, people of the past relied on natural elements like sun, water, fire, and the night sky to measure the flowing of time. Water and stars stand out among them.
The First Shadow Clock — Sundials
As we date back to Egypt in 1500 BCE, we find people using the earliest timekeeping device; the sundial. Time is calculated by observing how the shadows shifted during the day. They divided the daytime into small measurable parts and organized their day-to-day activities.
Soon sundial became popular in Greece and Rome, as the travelers started to rely on it while traveling. This timekeeping device was simple but worked perfectly when the sun was out. Its major drawback was when the sun hid behind the clouds on cloudy days or when the sun took its turn to rest.
Therefore, people of ancient civilization started to explore other ways to measure time.
Measure the Flow of Water: Water Clocks
The water clock device was invented for a more accurate time reading. The vessel had markings on it to measure the passing of hours as the water flowed or dripped steadily into the container under it. It was the advanced device at the time and was named as Clepsydra.
This time measuring device was used in most part of the world Egypt, China, India, Babylon and Greece. It played a crucial part in courtrooms which limited the time one can speak during trials.
With passing time, this device was updated with gears and dials to improve the accuracy of time measurement. As water clock was far better than the sundial as it worked day, night and rainy seasons, it became an invaluable source that helped people on astronomy and rituals where time played a major role.
Clock of Night Sky: Star and Moon Tracking
When the sun disappeared, travelers looked up at the heavens. They followed the stars to reach their destination. Later the Egyptians started to study the stars and the constellations, aligning them with the horizon to track the passing hours at night.
Meanwhile, waxing and waning of the moon was crucial in marking the start and end of months and seasons. It helped people with calculating the harvest and cultivation schedules and offering their rituals.
Astronomers of Mesopotamia and China were known as the guardians of time as they carefully observed and studied the celestial movements. Thus, laying groundwork for the calendars of today’s age and how we still mark months.
Other Early Timekeepers: Fire and Candle Clocks.
There were other civilizations which didn’t rely on earthly elements like sun, stars and moon, as they changed from time to time. People of Japan and China used candles that was evenly marked to indicate the passing hours as the wax melted.
Incense clocks released fragrance as it burned steadily marking the time. These diverse amd creative ways of reading time shows us how the people in the ancient era tried to read the time accurately. Fire and fragrance were practical ways to observe the passing of time as they helped to measure time even when the sun was not up.
Transitioning to Mechanical Timekeeping
Centuries later, people started to search for new ways to measure time which doesn’t depend on the sunlight or the weather, but something more reliable. In this search, Europe invented one of the biggest changes of history, the invention of mechanical clock, in the 13th century.
These mechanical clocks used gears, wheels and weights to measure the time. Weights lowly dropped resulting in the gears inside to turn, and a bell rang to announce the passing of an hour.
These mechanical clocks in the early period were huge and was built for churches or town squares. The whole city heard the bell and people started to rely on it to get along their day to day activities. It was easier to track time and know when to pray, rest, work or meet a fellow companion.
For the first time in the history, people of the same community started Follo the same time. As time passed, clockmakers began to improve their designs by adding pendulums and springs. With these new additions clockmakers were able to design more accurate and smaller clocks.
By 15th and 16th centuries, people were able to carry the clocks around and use it inside their house, and later in their pocket. Overtime, it led way to wristwatch.
What Legacy have Ancient Timekeepers Created in Modern Culture
In the modern era, we rely on digital watches and smartphones to measure our time, but the legacy of the ancient timekeeping remains evident. Few of the examples how they are still preserved in the modern era are below:
- Sundials are still built in gardens, parks and public places as an ornament. Though aren’t used to measure time, they serve as the beautiful reminder of how Egyptians and Greeks tracked time. The shadow slowly moving with time gives a peaceful sense of time passing.
- Water clocks are preseved in museums. Visitors can see how the ancient people kept track of time with the dripping of water.
- Incense clocks are still displayed in museums in China and Japan, where the visitors are shown how they were used. These incense clocks are being recreated by artisans as cultural art pieces for people who love to feel the passing time with fragrance.
- The mechanical clocks of the early times are still preserved and few of them still ring bell every hour. They have become historical heritages that are protected by the government.
These inventions to measure time shows us that it is not only science, but culture and survival play a major role in it. Each transition represents the creativity and need of the people.
Journey of timekeeping shows how far humans have developed. From relying on shadows, water and stars to digital smartwatches, people’s ingenuity has developed.
