Science Memes

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submitted 1 month ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 119 points 1 month ago (20 children)

I love how often "we have no idea how they did it!" and "they couldn't possibly do something this sophisticated!" turns into "we know how, when, where they got the materials and the name of the project foreman" when you just ask an archeologist.

[–] [email protected] 75 points 1 month ago (18 children)

Even when archaeologists don’t have that level of detail, they can still confidently tell you that people don’t really change. If we can imagine something now, they could most likely imagine the same thing a thousand years ago.

For example, you know what’s an incredibly common thing to find on a dig? Dildos. Phallic stuff is everywhere, and when you find a well-polished, life-sized clay dick, it’s pretty clear what it was used for. The Greeks had devices that were essentially computers that could predict celestial movements. Running water and indoor plumbing was relatively common in the ancient world.

We’re so egotistical to think that humans in the past were somehow incapable of thinking, planning, or building at our level. And we convince ourselves that we’re better than them because we have all this fancy stuff No, their brains were just as complex and capable, they just didn’t have access to the same kinds of tools that we do.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago (3 children)

@BertramDitore @Hegar
Running water and indoor plumbing was relatively common in the ancient world.

really ?
In 1920, only *** 1% of US homes** had indoor plumbing

https://www.aceee.org/files/proceedings/2004/data/papers/SS04_Panel1_Paper17.pdf

[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Yeah, that has more to do with American social issues and lack of government support for the general population. Water engineering is expensive no matter where or when you are, and America is huuuge.

Plumbing was common in the ancient world in the Near East, Middle East, Mediterranean (Greece and Rome), and really wherever there were people. Keep in mind if you ask two different archaeologists, you'll get two slightly different answers, but it's pretty common knowledge that running water is not a modern invention.

Some sources (only a quick search, I don't have access to all the academic journals where you'd find the good stuff):

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7004096/

https://ancientengrtech.wisc.edu/greece-overview/water-systems/

https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/roman-aqueducts/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek_technology

https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1506/ <--this one is really cool, the Qanats are still fully functional today

Edit: fixed links

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

My favourite example:

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2023/aug/chinas-oldest-water-pipes-were-communal-effort

A system of ancient ceramic water pipes, the oldest ever unearthed in China, shows that neolithic people were capable of complex engineering feats without the need for a centralised state authority, finds a new study by UCL researchers.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 month ago

this would be residential, if we're just talking "indoor plumbing" than i would assume it doesn't have to include residential spaces, and probably applies to things like public baths, and bathrooms/latrines or whatever for example.

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