Mankind has always been fascinated with the concept of time. Its one of the many things mankind cannot control or bend to its will. Ancient men have painstakingly tried to record and “tell” time to the means they conceive to be the most accurate that our technology can precisely measure. In this article we explore what us humans do to keep time, from ancient time keeping tools like the sundial or using the stars’ movement to our modern iteration of the digital and analog watch.
Ancient Timekeeping: Before the 24-Hour Day
Before the adoption of the 24-hour day, ancient civilizations employed various methods to measure time. The most primitive form of timekeeping was the natural observation of celestial bodies. Early humans used the cycles of the moon, the position of the sun, and the changing seasons to mark the passage of time.
- Sundials and Water Clocks:
- The Egyptians were among the first to divide the day into smaller parts. Around 1500 BCE, they used sundials to measure time during daylight. These sundials divided the period from sunrise to sunset into 12 parts, which varied in length throughout the year.
- At night, Egyptians relied on water clocks, or “clepsydra,” which measured time based on the regulated flow of water from one container to another.
- Babylonian Influence:
- The Babylonians, known for their advanced astronomy and mathematics, used a base-60 (sexagesimal) system. This system significantly influenced their timekeeping, leading to the division of the hour into 60 minutes and the minute into 60 seconds.
The Development of the 24-Hour Day
The concept of the 24-hour day as we know it originated with the ancient Egyptians. They divided the period from sunrise to sunrise into 24 parts. This division was likely influenced by their use of both the duodecimal (base-12) and sexagesimal systems, which they inherited from the Babylonians.
- Egyptian Contributions:
- Egyptians initially divided the night into 12 hours based on observations of 12 stars or constellations that appeared at different times in the night sky. They eventually extended this system to the daytime, creating a 24-hour cycle.
- Greek and Roman Adoption:
- The Greeks adopted the Egyptian system and further refined it. Hipparchus, a Greek astronomer, proposed dividing the day into 24 equinoctial hours, which are of equal length.
The Romans inherited this system from the Greeks. However, their hours were not of equal length; they varied with the seasons. It wasn’t until the advent of mechanical clocks in the Middle Ages that equal hours became standard.
Medieval Timekeeping: A Tale of Two Systems
During the Middle Ages, timekeeping methods became more diverse. In some parts of Europe, sundials with 24-hour dials became popular, particularly in Italy. These dials counted the 24 hours from sunset to sunset. However, other regions, like England, preferred a 12-hour system that counted twice a day (1 to 12) to reflect the changing daylight hours.
Improvements and Standardization
The journey to our current 24-hour day was marked by several key improvements and standardizations:
- Mechanical Clocks:
- The development of mechanical clocks in the 14th century was a pivotal moment. These clocks, with their ability to keep time more accurately than sundials or water clocks, helped standardize the length of hours. By the 16th century, mechanical clocks commonly featured a 24-hour dial.
- The Adoption of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT):
- In the 19th century, the need for standardized time became more pressing with the expansion of the railways and communication networks. The introduction of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) in 1884 provided a single reference time, making scheduling and timekeeping more consistent worldwide.
- Atomic Clocks and Coordinated Universal Time (UTC):
- The 20th century saw the invention of atomic clocks, which measure time based on the vibrations of atoms, offering unprecedented accuracy. This led to the establishment of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) in 1960, which is used as the global standard today.
Conclusion
The long history of timekeeping in general is a long and fruitful endeavor. It goes to show the lengths the human mind can go to make time as easy as humanly possible to keep. The human race is a continuously growing organism that is always busy in achieving new ways to better its existence.
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