Dr T. Matthew Ciolek,
Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies,
Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200, Australia
tmciolek@coombs.anu.edu.au
http://www.ciolek.com/PEOPLE/ciolek-tm.html
Document created: 9 Jan 1999. Last updated: 10 Jun 2005
This document, intended as a reliable electronic reference tool,
provides a timeline for three types of developments and milestones:
(1) advances in long distance person-to-person communication;
(2) advances in storage, replication, cataloguing, finding, and retrieval of data;
(3) standardisation of concepts and tools for long distance interaction.
The advancements may have a:
T echnical (hardware),
C onceptual (software),
or an O rganisational aspect,
or represent an important M ilestone in the history of a given invention,
and are annotated as such in the timeline.
This document is only as good as the collated information itself. Please email any additional
data and corrections to tmciolek@coombs.anu.edu.au. Your
collaboration and input is warmly appreciated.
work in progress - tmc
ca. 30,000 BCE
- [T] The earliest pictures are created in Western Europe.
These are engraved (on cave walls) outlines or black or red
silhouettes of animals, finger drawings on clay, and imprints of
hands. Abstract symbols are also engraved on stone slabs. Natural
mineral pigments (yellow ocher, red ocher, manganese, and iron oxide
and charcoal) are used. The colors are ground and mixed with animal
fat, blood, vegetable juices, or water. They are applied with a stick
or brush, or sprayed through a hollow reed (Grolier 1993).
ca. 9000 BCE
- [T] [O] The earliest confirmed instances of long-range relays of cargo of gifts to establish or improve inter-group relationships (Sherratt 2003).
ca. 9000 BCE
- [T] Coracles and dugouts were used in Northern Europe (Ciolek, forthcoming).
ca. 4000 BCE
- [T] Horses are domesticated and used for riding at Ukrainian steppes (Brown and Anthony 1997).
Memorised information can be carried at greater speeds and over longer distances.
ca. 4000 BCE
- [T] [O] The earliest evidence for the existence of long-distance commercial transportation paths. This incipient network of merchant contacts was used for bringing lapis lazuli (lazurite, a semi-precious stone) from the Chagai mountains in western Pakistan to early urban settlements situated some 1,250 miles (2,000 km) away in lowland Mesopotamia (southern Iraq). (Sherratt 2003).
ca. 3500 BCE
- [M] A 10,000 km strong network of long-distance trade routes spans the seas (a total of 1,000 km) and lands (a total of 9,000 km) of Eurasia and Africa (reanalysis of Sherratt 2003 data in Ciolek, forthcoming).
ca. 3500 BCE
- [T] Clay tablets (some of them placed in clay envelopes) are
used in Uruk, in Sumer as a writing material (Knops 1998). The
earliest Sumerian pictographic writing is used for administrative
purposes i.e. compiling lists of objects. Subsequently, both
ideograms and phonetic symbols were used (Grolier 1993).
ca. 3000 BCE
- [M] A 13,000 km strong network of long-distance trade routes spans the seas (a total of 1,000 km) and lands (a total of 12,000 km) of Eurasia and Africa (reanalysis of Sherratt 2003 data in Ciolek, forthcoming).
ca. 3000 BCE
- [T] Vehicles with disk wheels invented, in Mesopotamia. Ox and onager
are used as draft animals (IMH nd). Information and objects can be carried over long distances.
ca. 3000 BCE
- [M]The first boats of lashed-together wooden planks were built in Egypt. They were propelled by up to 30 oarsmen, and could carry about four metric tons (8,900 lb.) of cargo. (Ciolek, forthcoming).
ca. 3000 BCE
- [T] Writing stylus becomes used. It is made of reed,
wood, or bone with a narrow, rectangular head. The head (or sometimes only its corner)
is impressed into damp clay giving the writing a more regular and
wedge-shaped appearance (Grolier 1993).
ca. 3000 BCE
- [C] Cuneiform writing convention changes from columns to lines. The
direction of writing and orientation of signs changes. Texts are written from Left to Right,
the signs are placed on a line horizontally instead of vertically (Grolier 1993).
ca. 3000 BCE
- [T] Papyrus is used in Egypt as a writing material (PWN 1965b:258).
The papyri scrolls can be up to 40 m long [O] The Egyptian state has a monopoly over the making
of papyrus. Papyrus is exported throughout the Mediterranean region and is a significant source
of revenue (Georges 1992:41).
ca. 3000 BCE
- [T] A reed 'pen' and ink are used to write on papyrus. Black
ink is made of water, soot and a fixative such as gum arabic (Georges 1992:41).
ca. 2500 BCE
- [M] A 16,000 km strong network of long-distance trade routes spans the seas (a total of 2,000 km) and lands (a total of 14,000 km) of Eurasia and Africa. (reanalysis of Sherratt 2003 data in Ciolek, forthcoming). A web of permanent trade routes connected the cities of the Mediterranean with those in western India (Sherratt 2003).
ca. 2500 BCE
- [T] Animal hide is used in the Middle East as a writing material (Knops 1998).
ca. 2400 BCE
- [T] Red
ink uses a base made of cinnabar (mercuric sulphide) or minium (lead
oxide) (Georges 1992:41).
ca. 2000 BCE
- [M] A 21,000 km strong network of long-distance trade routes spans the seas (a total of 8,000 km) and lands (a total of 13,000 km) of Eurasia and Africa (reanalysis of Sherratt 2003 data in Ciolek, forthcoming).
ca. 2000 BCE
- [T] Protruding copper nails are placed in the wheel to provide greater traction. This enables wheeled vehicles to carry greater weights (Meyer 2005).
ca. 2000 BCE
- [O] Government only, courier service is used by the court in Egypt (PWN 1966b:771).
ca. 2000 BCE
- [C] Chinese writing system is invented. It was codified around 1500 BCE (Georges 1992:45).
ca. 1500 BCE
- [M] A 23,000 km strong network of long-distance trade routes spans the seas (a total of 10,000 km) and lands (a total of 13,000 km) of Eurasia and Africa. (reanalysis of Sherratt 2003 data in Ciolek, forthcoming). A second network (in addition to that established circa 4000 BCE in Mesopotamia), centered on north-eastern China, was established (Sherratt 2003).
ca. 1500 BCE
- [T] Vehicles with spoked wheels used, in Egypt (IMH nd.).
Chariots become lighter, stronger and faster.
ca. 1350 BCE
- [C] The first cuneiform alphabet appears in Ugarit, near Byblos in Syria.
The script uses 22 signs for consonants (Georges 1992:52).
ca. 1200 BCE
- [C] The first non-cuneiform alphabet appears in Phoenicia (Georges 1992:52).
ca. 1100 BCE
- [T] Homing pigeons (domesticated circa 2000 BCE in Sumer) are used by the Egyptians to
deliver military communications (James and Thorpe 1994:526, cited in Sterling &
Kadrey 1999, note 04.1). A pigeon can fly 60-100 kms/hr at over
distances of up to 800 km (500 mi) or more. It can navigate both
during day and night, and feed itself during the travel (PWN 1966b:771, Grolier 1993).
ca. 1000 BCE
- [M] A 19,000 km strong network of long-distance trade routes spans the seas (a total of 6,000 km) and lands (a total of 13,000 km) of Eurasia and Africa (reanalysis of Sherratt 2003 data in Ciolek, forthcoming).
ca. 800 BCE
- [M] Aramaic alphabet appears in Syria (Georges 1992:53).
ca. 700 BCE
- [T] Iron rims are fastened to the edges of wheels to
increase the strength and durability of the wheels. This enables wheeled vehicles to carry greater weights (Meyer 2005).
ca. 660 BCE
- [O] The library of king Ashurbanipal (ruled 669-626 BCE) in
Nineveh, Assyria contains over 20,000 cuneiform clay tablets with
texts in Babylonian, Assyrian, and Sumerian (PWN 1962:434, Grolier
1993).
650 BCE
- [T] Papyrus is used in Greece as a writing material (Knops 1998).
6th century BCE
- [M] Latin alphabet used in Rome (Davies 1997:116).
ca. 550 BCE
- [C] Greek (alphabetic) writing becomes standardised, and runs from Left to Right (PWN 1964b:415).
ca. 515 BCE
- [0] Darius I the Great (r. 521-486 BCE), establishes a network
of military roads spanning the Persian Empire and a government
only, courier service employing horse-riders. Along those roads,
every four parsangs (every 22.44 km) there were posting
houses and caravanserais at which relays of horses were kept for
the governmental couriers. In the Western part of the empire a 2,475 kms
(1,500 mi) long "Royal Road" linked Sardes (Sart) with
Susa (Shust). At the common rate of travel that distance could be
covered in 90 days (average travel speed = 27.5 kms/day).
However, the relay system of imperial couriers could move a
message across that distance in 7 days (average communication
speed = 353.6 kms/day) (Fuller 1958:76-78, PWN 1966:771).
ca. 500 BCE
- [M] A 86,000 km strong network of long-distance trade routes spans the seas (a total of 35,000 km) and lands (a total of 51,000 km) of Eurasia and Africa (reanalysis of Sherratt 2003 data in Ciolek, forthcoming).
490 BCE
- [M] According to legend, a Greek soldier named
Phidippides runs the 36.2 km (22.5 mi) from the site of the battle of
Marathon to Athens, to bring the news of the Greek victory over the
Persians. A good runner can cover that distance in approx 2 hours (Grolier 1993).
ca. 450 BCE
- [M] Mediterranean ships carry loads of 90 to 360 metric tons (200,000 to 800,000 lb.) for up to 60 miles (100 km) a day. Their crews are quite small: a total of 15 to 60 sailors and armed escorts, depending on the size of the ship. (Ciolek, forthcoming).
433 BCE - [C] Meton, Greek astronomer, reforms Athenian calendar to synchronise
it better with the long-term (235 phases or 19 years) lunar cycles (PWN 1966a:235).
403 BCE
- [C] Alphabetic script accepted throughout all Greek states (PWN 1964b:415).
400 BCE
- [O] A system of runners [hemerodrom] is used
to carry messages in Greece. (PWN 1966b:771).
400 BCE
- [M] Homing pigeons are used
to carry messages in Greece (PWN 1966b:771, Grolier 1993).
4th century BCE
- [T] Aeneas Tacticus, the Greek military scientist and
cryptographer, invents an optical communication system employing two
sychronised water clocks (calibrated jars which leak water at a steady
rate). Distant signalling stations would use torches to indicate the
beginning and end of the transmission, as well as which of the many
possible water levels was to be noted down and interpreted according
to a given codebook (James and Thorpe 1994, cited in Chang et al.
1999).
ca. 387 BCE
- [O] Academy established by Plato (427-347 BCE) in Athens.
It was closed down by Emperor Justinian in 529 CE (Tarnas 1991:448, 451).
ca. 300 BCE - [C] Dikairach of Messina (350-290 BCE), Greek geographer
introduces to the map making world the notion of latitude and longitude (PWN 1966:495).
3rd century BCE
- [T] Ink is made from the galls of oak and nut trees (PWN 1962:453).
ca. 295 BCE
- [O] The Museum [Mouseion] and the associated Library,
established by king Ptolemy Soter I (ca. 367-283 BCE) in
Alexandria (Grolier 1993). The Library eventually stored up to 500,000 manuscripts.
ca. 280 BCE
- [T] The Pharos (Lighthouse) of Alexandria, planned by
Ptolemy Soter I, is completed by his successor. It is designed by
Sostratus of Cnidus. At the top of the 122 m (400 ft) high tower the
light from burning wood or oil is reflected by metal mirrors. The
beacon could be seen over a distance of some 50 km (about 30 mi)
(Grolier 1993).
ca. 245 BCE
- [C] Callimachus of Cyrene, a scholar and librarian at
the Library of Alexandria, "created for the first time a catalog
of Greek literature covering 120,000 books, called the Pinakes or
Tables." These included tables of authors by genre (orators,
philosophers, etc); entries typically included a bibliography and
short biography (Brundige 1993).
202 BCE
- [C] During the Han dynasty (202 BC-AD 220) a simplified
version of Chinese script, "lishu" or clerical script, becomes used.
[T] The writing is done with brush and ink. Subsequently, lishu
became the basis for modern Chinese (Grolier 1993).
3rd century BCE
- [T] Wax tablet [codex], framed and backed with wood, is used
in Mesopotamia, Greece, and Etruria for notetaking, correspondence,
and other temporary information (Knops 1998).
2nd century BCE
- [T] Multiple wax tablets [codices] (diptichon - 2 leaves,
poliptichon - several leaves), joined with thongs or cords, are used
by Romans and Greeks (Knops 1998).
ca. 200 BCE - [C] Chinese geographers conduct a
cartographical survey of SE Asia (PWN 1966:495).
200 BCE
- Aristophanes of Byzantium, and other scholars from the Library
of Alexandria, invent punctuation. Before then, written words
were strung into one continuous line (Manguel 1996:48).
197 BCE
- [T] Parchment becomes widely used as a writing material in Pergamum, Anatolia (Knops 1998).
170 BCE
- [C] Graeco-Roman historian Polybius (ca. 205-125 BCE) proposes the use as an
optical telegraph system
a number of torches placed in various positions to represent letters of the alphabet (Momsen 1999).
100 BCE
- [T]
Multiple animals start being harnessed to a single vehicle. This enables wheeled vehicles to carry greater weights (Meyer 2005).
1st c. BCE
- [T] The book changes its format from a scroll to a
collection of pages, a codex (Knops 1998). Scroll becomes finally
abandoned, except for ceremonial or religious purposes, by 400 CE (Manguel 1996:127).
63 BCE
- [C] Julius Caesar hires Sosigenes,
an astronomer from Alexandria, to reform Roman calendar (Tarnas
1991:448).
ca. 60 BCE
- [O] Government regular postal service employing horse drawn carts, on routes
between Rome and provincial capitals, introduced by Julius Caesar (PWN
1966:771). At that time ordinary travellers averaged about 50 miles a day [5 miles/hr] using
reda, a light four-wheeled vehicle. In cases of urgency, official couriers could cover by
reda over 160 miles in 24 hours [6.7 miles/hr] (Fuller 1965:73).
ca. 55 BCE
- [T] Julius Caesar is the first known person to fold a papyrus scroll into codex-shaped
pages, for dispatches to his troops (Manguel 1996:48).
ca. 50 BCE
- [O] Titus Pomponius Atticus (110-32 BCE), Roman historian and
a friend of Cicero, founds a business by getting slaves to make copies of books
(Thomas 1995:241, PWN 1962:455).
ca. 1 AD
- [M] A 153,000 km strong network of long-distance trade routes spans the seas (a total of 58,000 km) and lands (a total of 95,000 km) of Eurasia and Africa. (reanalysis of Sherratt 2003 data in Ciolek, forthcoming). The Mediterranean, Indian and Chinese networks of trade routes have been bridged for the first time by commercial pathways formed across Central Asia, and across South East Asia (Sherratt 2003).
ca. 100
- [C] Imperial Latin alphabet of 22 characters (A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H,
I, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, V, X) [it did not distinguish betwen I and J,
or V and U, and it did not have W] acquires Y and Z to handle foreign words (Davies 1997:117).
105 - [T] Ts'ai Lun, a Chinese government official, is
credited with invention of paper (Van Doren 1991:154) Paper had, in
fact, been made in China for at least two hundred years before this
date. The first papers were made from hemp, bark, and discarded cotton
(Knops 1998).
ca. 150 - [C] Ptolemy (Claudius Ptolomaeus) (ca.100-ca.168 CE), Roman geographer in Egypt,
compiles Introduction to Geography with the map of the Graeco-Roman world and a gazetteer of ca. 8,000
partially geo-referenced placenames (PWN 1966:495,1967:601).
ca. 250 - [C] Pei Sin (224-271 CE), Chinese geographer
compiles the first map of China drawn to approx 1:5 mln scale (PWN 1966:495).
ca. 500
- [M] A 104,000 km strong network of long-distance trade routes spans the seas (a total of 41,000 km) and lands (a total of 63,000 km) of Eurasia and Africa (reanalysis of Sherratt 2003 data in Ciolek, forthcoming).
529
- [O] St. Benedict of Norcia founds the first monastery on Monte Cassino, Italy (Tarnas 1991:451).
Monasteries, in time, become repositories of books and centres for copying documents.
ca. 600
- [M] The technique of paper-making spreads from China to Korea (Georges 1992:175).
ca. 600
- [C] Latin minuscules, which are the basis of modern 'small letters'
are introduced, in addition to majuscules, or 'capitals' in Europe (Davies 1997:117).
ca. 600
- [T] The first uses of quill (Sanford Berol nd.a). The tail
and wings of one goose can provide some 10-12 quills.
ca. 700
- [O] Arab caliphs develop the pigeon post into a regular
airmail system in the service of the state. Postmasters in the Arab
empire act as the eyes and ears of the government, and the local
postal centers are stocked with well-trained pigeons (James and
Thorpe 1994:526, cited in Sterling &
Kadrey 1999, note 04.1).
724 -
[T] The first mechanical clock, built by Liang Ling-Can, in China (PWN 1969:687).
731
- [O] Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English
People popularises method of dating events from birth of Christ
(Tarnas 1991:451). This date in the 20th c. is neutrally called
'the start of CE' (i.e. Common Era).
750
- [M] Papermaking introduced in the Islamic world. Paper making
reached Samarkand before 750, Baghdad in 793, Damascus and Cairo in
approximately 950 (Knops 1998).
ca. 750
- [T] The first known block printing [xylograph] was used to produce
a Buddhist charm, Japan
(Thomas 1995:242).
868 May 11
- [T]
The earliest explicitly dated xylographic [block carved with
characters] book printed on paper in China, is a Buddhist text
Diamond
Sutra (British Library Board 1997). The book contains a
colophon stating "made for universal free distribution by Wang
Jie on behalf of his two parents on the 13th of the 4th moon of
the 9th year of Xiantong [i.e. 11th May, AD 868]".
896
- [C] The oldest known manuscript colophon (i.e. meta-data), is Books of the Prophets written
by Moses ben Asher in Tiberias (Knops 1998).
976
- [C] Arabic numerals (Indian, gubari format) used in Europe for the first time. The system
becomes widely used in the 14th c. (PWN 1963:648).
976
- [M] The first recorded example of airmail parcel post in
history. Nizar Abu Mansur al-Aziz, the caliph (975-996) of North Africa, has cherries grown
in Baalbek, Lebanon delivered to him in Cairo, Egypt by 600 homing
pigeons each with a small silk bag containing a cherry attached to its
leg (James and Thorpe 1994:526, cited in Sterling & Kadrey 1999,
note 04.1).
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