Ancient people were a pretty clever bunch. They invented many things to make their life more comfortable and fun, things we still use today like fire, the wheel, the sailboat, paper, silk, kites, tea, umbrellas, ice cream and many more!

Ancient Inventions for Kids

• The next time you reach for a piece of paper, thank the ancient Chinese.

• The next time you see a public works project of trees or flowers planted along the roadway, remember ancient India.

• The next time you refer to a calendar, thank the ancient Egyptians.

• The next time you refer to the months of the year, remember the ancient Romans.

• The next time you ride on a bike or get in a car, thank the ancient Sumerians for their clever invention of the wheel.

• The next time you vote, remember the ancient Greeks.
  

Ancient Mesopotamia Inventions - The Wheel, Sailboats Ancient Egyptian Achievements and Inventions Ancient Greece - Achievements and Inventions Ancient Rome - Achievements and Inventions	Invention of Writing - Pictographs, Hieroglyphics, Cuneiform, Calligraphy Invention of Money for Kids Invention of Gods, Goddesses, and Magical Creatures Invention Games for Kids Ancient China - Lots of Inventions! Ancient India - Achievements & Inventions Ancient Incas - Inventions Ancient Mayas - Inventions

Staying Cool!

People in ancient times dove into streams and rivers. But what did the ancients invent to stay cool? (The following information on ancient cooling is from an article written by Gilly at Ancient/Classical History. This information is used with her permission.)

Mesopotamia/Babylonians: There were ice houses in the Near East as early as 1700 BC! Some ancient Babylonians splashed water on the walls and floors. As it evaporated, it cooled their homes. Sunshades were also popular.

Ancient Egypt: The ancient Egyptians made their own ice. Women placed shallow clay trays of water on straw beds. Evaporation, combined with the drop in night temperatures, froze the water. Cool night air circulated from the air shaft built in the middle of their houses. Windows were arranged opposite doors to allow for a cross draft.

Ancient Greece: Alexander the Great built the first Greek ice house. Even normal Greeks and Roman bought snow and ice, at snow shops, that was imported on donkey trains! Wealthy Greeks washed up and cooled down in showers with piped in water emerging from an artistic structure shaped like an animal's mouth.

Ancient Rome: Deep pits were filled with snow and covered with straw. Water melted and ran through forming a bottom layer of ice which was sold at expensive prices. Women carried parasols which were made of light cloth stretched over a wooden frame.

Ancient China: Chou emperors had ice houses! Hu the Tiger (Age of Division) had a bathhouse, air-conditioned with a creative system of running water. Fans and sunshades helped to cool the common people.

We owe the ancient a huge thank you for all their inventions. Can you imagine what the world would be like today if the following civilizations had never invented these things, and no one else had either? How might this change the world, and how might it affect you!

• Ancient Mesopotamia: the wheel, the sailboat, the first written laws, Hammurabi's Code

• Ancient Egypt: a number system based on 10, a 365 day calendar, use of textiles to make clothing (linen, wool, cotton)

• Ancient Greece: trial by jury, democracy, the Olympics

• Ancient Rome concrete, paved roads, the milestone (road signs)

• Ancient China: the compass, paper, gunpowder.

Play the Inventions Game: Ancient Civilizations game, interactive, inventions; give it a minute to work around flash, then flash is gone and the games works well