Читать книгу World History For Dummies - Peter Haugen - Страница 67

Just as the practice of farming led to the founding of villages, towns, and then cities, it gave rise to record keeping and disciplines including astronomy and math.

In Egypt, for example, practical scientific and engineering methods arose as ways to keep track of planting seasons. The Nile flooded in predictable annual patterns, so farmers could calculate when the water would rise. They studied the sun and the stars, and over centuries, Egyptians developed an accurate calendar with 365 days in a year. In Mesopotamia, too, practical considerations such as keeping track of seasons, trade transactions, lawmaking, and the invention of that most-treasured aspect of modern life — large-scale government bureaucracy — gave rise to record keeping. Record keeping soon led to more general writing and reading, without which you wouldn’t be doing what you’re doing right now.