Timeline : Discoveries
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ishango Bone, Mathematical Tool - 1960
The Ishango bone is a bone tool, dated to the Upper Paleolithic era, about 18000 to 20000 BC. It is a dark brown length of bone, the fibula of a baboon, with a sharp piece of quartz affixed to one end... |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
The Epic of Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh is one of the oldest recorded stories in the world. It tells the story of an ancient King of Uruk, Gilgamesh, who may have actually existed, and whose name is on the Sumerian King List. Th... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Cyrus Cylinder
The Cyrus Cylinder, discovered in 1879 and now in the British Museum, is one of the most famous cuneiform texts, because it was once believed that it confirmed what the Bible says: that in 539 BCE, th... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Behistun Inscription, Darius I
The Behistun Inscription is to cuneiform what the Rosetta Stone is to Egyptian hieroglyphs: the document most crucial in the decipherment of a previously lost script. It is located in the Kermanshah P... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Democritus, Atomic Theory
Democritus of Abdera is best known for his atomic theory but he was also an excellent geometer. Very little is known of his life but we know that Leucippus was his teacher. Although little is known of... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Eratosthenes, Measuring the Earth
Eratosthenes of Cyrene was a Greek scholar who lived and worked in Cyrene and Alexandria. Eratosthenes was director of the famous library in Alexandria, and is known for numerous important contributio... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Qin Terra Cotta Army
The Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses are the most significant archeological excavations of the 20th century. Work is ongoing at this site, which is around 1.5 kilometers east of Emperor Qin Shi Huang's... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Rosetta Stone, Found in 1799
The Rosetta Stone, a black basalt slab bearing an inscription that was the key to the deciphering of Egyptian hieroglyphics and thus to the foundation of modern Egyptology. It was unearthed in July 17... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
China Discovered the World
On the 8th of March, 1421, the largest fleet the world had ever seen sailed from its base in China. The ships, huge junks nearly five hundred feet long and built from the finest teak, were under the c... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Machu Picchu, Lost City of the Incas
Machu Picchu is a pre-Columbian Inca site located 2,430 metres (8,000 ft) above sea level. It is situated on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, which is 80 kilometres (50 mi) northwes... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balboa, Reaches Pacific Ocean - 1513
Vasco Núñez de Balboa was a Spanish conquistador who founded the colony of Darién in Panama, the oldest extant European settlement in the mainland of the Americas. He crossed the Isthmus in search of... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Magellan, Circled the Globe - 1521
Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese sea explorer who sailed for both Portugal and Spain. He was the first to sail from Europe westwards to Asia, the first European to sail the Pacific Ocean, and the f... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Columbus Discovers America
After little over a month at sea, Columbus' ships sighted land in what is now known as the Bahamas. The ship's recorder entered in his journal on Thursday, October 11, 1492, the following:
At tw... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Discovery Sea Route to India, Da Gama
Prince John and Prince Manuel continued the efforts of Prince Henry to find a sea route to India, and in 1497 Manuel placed Vasco da Gama, who already had some reputation as a warrior and navigator,... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hudson, Found New York - 1609
Henry Hudson was an English explorer and navigator who explored parts of the Arctic Ocean and northeastern North America. The Hudson River, Hudson Strait, and Hudson Bay are named for Hudson.
Littl... |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Previous <
1 + 2 + 3 > Next
|
