What The Ancients Did For Us

''What the Ancients Did for Us'' is a 2005 BBC documentary series presented by Adam Hart-Davis that examines the impact of ancient civilizations on modern society.

Production

The series was produced in conjunction with the Open University and is a departure from the previous series not only in that each episode is an hour long rather than half an hour (though heavily edited half-hour versions have also been shown), but also in that it does not concentrate on a single period of history but rather one ancient civilization per episode including the Chinese, the Indians and the Greeks.

Episodes

Episode one: ''The Islamic World''

This episode features reports from Zain in Egypt, Spain and France elaborated by demonstrations from Adam Hart-Davis, Marty Jopson and expert guests that examine the ideas and inventions that emerged from the Islamic Golden Age.

*The Astrolabe, demonstrated to Hart-Davis, was used by Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi and Abu-Mahmud al-Khujandi to develop Islamic astronomy and Islamic geography.
*Optical science was developed using a camera obscura, demonstrated by Hart-Davis, created by Ibn al-Haytham, an Iraqi physicist, while under house arrest.
*The windmill, demonstrated by Jopsom, originated in Afghanistan and was brought back to the West by the Crusaders.
*The House of Wisdom founded by al-Ma'mun translated and preserved the science and philosophy of the ancient Greeks.
*The grab, demonstrated by Jopsom, was designed by the Banū Mūsā brothers to pick things up from the seabed.
* The Elephant clock and Multiculturalism by the Kurdish engineer al-Jazari.
*The Alhambra, visited by Zain, features magnificent gravity-driven fountains in the finest example of early Islamic architecture.
*Etiquette, fashion and fine-dining were introduced in Andalusia, visited by Zain, by a freed slave Ziryab.
*Lusterware, demonstrated to Hart-Davis, was developed by early Muslim alchemists to create beautiful porcelain.
*Distillation, demonstrated by Jopsom, was developed by ibn Hayyan using the alembic to make perfume, petrol and alcohol.
*Soap making, demonstrated by Hart-Davis, introduced hard soap to the bathhouses of the Islamic World.
*The reciprocating piston suction pump, incorporating a crankshaft-connecting rod mechanism, invented by Al-Jazari, is demonstrated.
*The torpedo by the Syrian inventor Hasan al-Rammah is demonstrated.

Episode two: ''The Chinese''

This episode features reports from Darling in China and demonstrations from Hart-Davis and Jopsom that examine the ideas and inventions that emerged from Ancient China.

* Canals linked the Yellow River and the Yangzi River in the 3rd century BC for transport and communication across the vast empire.
* The segmented arch bridge demonstrated by Hart-Davis in a potted history of bridge design was developed in the 7th century AD.
* Silk developed in China from the cocoons of silkworms is demonstrated to be weight-for-weight stronger than steel in a tug-of-war.
* The seismograph recreated by Jopsom based on the pendulum principal of its modern equivalent was developed in the 2nd century AD.
* Noodles developed as early as 5000 BC were taken back to Italy by Marco Polo in the 13th century.
* Tuned bells developed around 600 AD and are demonstrated by Hart-Davis to be the basis of a standardised system of measurement.
* The double acting piston bellows used in the early iron industry and in the development of the first flamethrower is recreated by Jopsom.
* Kite making goes back a thousand years and demonstrates a basic understanding of aerodynamics.
* Paper first made around 100 AD was used in the art of calligraphy demonstrated to Darling and as toilet paper demonstrated by Hart-Davis.
* Block printing was used by Monks for the distribution of the Buddhist sutras with the earliest known printed book dated to 868 AD.
* Paper money originally developed by private businessmen to confound highwaymen was taken up by the state in the 11th century.
* Gunpowder accidentally discovered by alchemists over 1,000 years ago was used in fireworks and bombs as demonstrated by Davis.

Episode three: ''The Aztecs, Maya and Incas''

This episode examines the ideas and inventions that emerged from the Aztec, Mayan and Incan peoples of Pre-columbian America.

Episode four: ''The Romans''

This episode examines the ideas and inventions that emerged from Ancient Rome.

Episode five: ''The Indians''

This episode features reports from Darling in India and demonstrations from Hart-Davis, Jopson and other experts that examine the ideas and inventions that emerged from Ancient India.

* Water clocks to regulate Buddhist meditations are discovered by Darling and recreated by Jopson for demonstration.
* Observatories, like the 18th century Jantar Mantar visited by Darling, precisely monitored the sun for more accurate measurements of time.
* Harappan cities, like the 4,000-year-old Dholavira visited by Darling, were built to a grid-plan and boasted the world's first sewage system.
* Indian numerals, including the number zero discovered by Darling in a 9th-century temple, revolutionised modern mathematics.
* Cotton cultivated, woven and coloured with traditional techniques taught to Darling by local workers for export all over the world.
* Metalworking resulted in wonders like the iron pillar visited by Darling and Wootz steel.
* Yoga as demonstrated by Darling developed 4,000 years ago to unite the spiritual and the physical.
* Herbal remedies, using ingredients such as cocoa butter, ginseng and ginger, have been adopted into Western medicine.
* Surgery, including early plastic surgery, developed some 2,500 years ago.
* Inoculation against smallpox, as demonstrated by Davis on Jompson, emerged centuries before Edward Jenner.
* Chess is a simplified version of the ancient Indian game of military strategy chaturanga.
* Rockets demonstrated at the Royal Artillery Museum were first deployed against the British Army by the Tipu Sultan in 1780.

Episode six: ''The Mesopotamians''

This episode features reports from Cockburn in Syria and Bahrain elaborated by demonstrations from Hart-Davis, Jopson and a variety of experts that examine ideas and inventions of the Mesopotamians.

* Wooden frames demonstrated by Cockburn for the mass production of mud bricks used in building the first cities.
* Irrigation devices, including the Archimedes' screw demonstrated by Jopson, improved agricultural yield and protected against flooding.
* Liver omens demonstrated to Davies used systemically recorded observations to understand the world in a primitive science.
* The Zodiac and horoscopes gave priests the astronomical know-how to accurately predict the coming of the seasons.
* Farming developed around 10,000 years ago with inventions such as the plough, the sickle, demonstrated by Cockburn.
* Yeast used in recipes for bread and beer, demonstrated by Cockburn and Davies, first recorded around 4,000 years ago.
* Cuneiform characters impressed into soft clay tablets with a stylus as demonstrated by Cockburn was the first writing system.
* Literature such as the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' related by Davies was first written down some 4,000 years ago.
* Diving and Sailing, demonstrated by Cockburn and Davies, are first recorded in the Epic.
* Organised warfare with uniformed soldiers carrying standardised weapons is first recorded 4,500 years ago on the Standard of Ur.
* Buoyancy aids made from inflatable goatskins, demonstrated by Cockburn, allowed armies to cross rivers.
* The wheel used on war chariots and siege engines recreated by Cockburn and Jopsom was developed over 4,000 years ago.

Episode seven: ''The Egyptians''

This episode features reports from Zain in Egypt elaborated by demonstrations from Adam Hart-Davis, Marty Jopson and expert guests that examine developments of the Ancient Egyptians.

*Boat building, like the sewn-plank vessel reconstructed by Jopsom, allowed trade along the Nile and beyond.
*Mass-production, using the foot-bellows reconstructed by Jopsom, supplied the tools used to construct the great monuments.
*Early dam building, like the ''Dam of the Pagans'' reconstructed by Jopsom, failed to control flooding and was abandoned.
*Mummification techniques, demonstrated by Hart-Davis, indicate an advanced understanding of human anatomy.
*Propaganda, like that visited by Zain at Luxor Temple, was carved to demonstrate the power of the Pharaohs.
*Hieroglyphs, decoded from the Rosetta Stone explained to Hart-Davis, were used to record the civilisation.
*Glass making, using core-forming demonstrated to Hart-Davis, provided a material now taken for granted.
*Craftsmanship, demonstrated by the treasures of Tutankhamun visited, is still greatly admired.
*Furniture making, using techniques and tools demonstrated by Jopsom, are little changed today.
*Recreational fishing, demonstrated by Hart-Davis, originated with the Ancient Egyptian nobility.
* Astronomical observations, demonstrated by Hart-Davis, allowed for the perfect alignment of the pyramids.
*Wooden sledges, reconstructed by Jopsom, transported the blocks used to construct the Pyramids.

Episode eight: ''The Greeks''

This episode features reports from Cockburn in Greece and Italy elaborated by demonstrations from Hart-Davis, Jopson and expert guests that examine the ideas and inventions that emerged from Ancient Greece.
* Geometry allowed for advances in engineering such as the Tunnel of Eupalinos visited by Cockburn on Samos.
* Musical scales were invented by Pythagoras in a process explained by Hart-Davis that he applied to the universe.
* The water organ was invented by Ctesibius of Alexandria using a device reconstructed by Jopsom that was the first to use compressed air.
* Mirrors were used by Archimedes in a process demonstrated by Jopsom to set fire to an enemy ship at Syracuse.
* Belly bow, demonstrated to Hart-Davis, was the first mechanical weapon and more powerful than a standard bow.
* Communication devices, such as those reconstructed by Jopsom, allowed the secure transmission of messages.
* Democracy was originally developed in the city of Athens visited by Cockburn.
* The kleroterion, reconstructed by Jopsom, secured the fair and democratic selection of juries.
* The high-tech stagecraft of Heron of Alexandria, reconstructed by Jopsom, included the first robot, steam engine and automatic doors.
* Ethylene was inhaled by the Oracle at Delphi, visited by Cockburn, prior to her predictions.
* Advanced astronomical theories, explained by Hart-Davis, were put forward by Pythagoras, Aristarchus of Samos and Eratosthenes.
* The antikythera mechanism, demonstrated to Hart-Davis, was the world's first computer.

Episode nine: ''The Britons''

This episode features reports from around the British Isles by Hart-Davis and Darling elaborated by demonstrations from Jopson and a variety of experts that examine the ideas and inventions of the Ancient Britons.

* Flint tools, like the 700,000-year-old flint hand-axe found on the Norfolk coast, are the earliest man-made tools.
* Settlements, like the 5,000-year-old Skara Brae visited by Hart-Davis, are the earliest known in Europe.
* Henges, like Woodhenge visited by Darling, indicate a rich spiritual life connected to the seasons.
* Solar observations, demonstrated by Hart-Davis, allowed the accurate charting of the passing seasons for agriculture.
* Bronze making, introduced by the beaker people and demonstrated by Hart-Davis, was the first man-made alloy.
* Roundhouses, demonstrated to Darling at the Peak Moors Centre, Sommerset Levels, were unique in Europe.
* Gold artefacts, like those at the National Museum of Ireland visited by Darling, are amongst the finest in Europe.
* Sewn plank boats, such as the Dover Bronze Age Boat visited by Darling, could carry large cargos.
* Navigational techniques, using tools such as the ''Lead and Line'' demonstrated to Darling, allowed trade with Europe.
* Iron working, demonstrated to Darling, allowed the construction of weapons used in the first organised warfare.
* Coin making, introduced from Europe and demonstrated by Jopsom, records the earliest samples of writing in Britain.
* Chariot making, demonstrated to Darling by Robert Herford, provided a powerful weapon against the invading Romans.

See also

* List of Islamic films

External links

*

Open University page on ''What the Ancients Did for Us''

"Ancient art of invention,"
an article about some of the featured inventions, from ''The Scotsman''
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:What The Ancients Did For Us
2005 British television series debuts
2005 British television series endings
BBC television documentaries about prehistoric and ancient history
BBC television documentaries about medieval history