Geared clocks appeared in the 1500's; watches with miniaturized, sophisticated gear systems appeared in the 1800's; computers were invented in the 2nd half of the 20th century.
Except for an analog computer that was used in the Mediterranean, about 100-150 years before Christ was born.
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In 1900, the Antikythera Mechanism was discovered in sea wreckage of Atikythera Island at a depth of about 130 feet. The "manual" on its side is inscribed with Greek characters from the era 100-150 BC. The date of the mechanism is not controversial.
How the culture of that time could have obtained such technology is controversial.
The mechanism contains from 30 to 70 gears, has three external dials, and is made of bronze, enclosed in a wood casing only 13 x 7 x 4 inches. On it side is the "manual" with 3,000 Greek characters that describes how to use the device, and which contains references to heavenly bodies.
Professor Michael Edmunds, who led the examination of the device, said:
"This device is just extraordinary, the only thing of its kind. The design is beautiful, the astronomy is exactly right. The way the mechanics are designed just makes your jaw drop. Whoever has done this has done it extremely carefully." and added: "in terms of historic and scarcity value, I have to regard this mechanism as being more valuable than the Mona Lisa."The device is essentially an analog computer, made with gears (the teeth being equilateral triangles, as opposed to the squared teeth that Archimedes attempted). When a date was entered (with a dial or crank), the machine accurately calculated the position of the Sun, Moon, and other heavenly bodies (relative to an observer's position on Earth) and indicated them with hands on the side of the casing. (Do you think that you could construct such a gear system, even given the manuals and information available to you now?) ............ It is difficult to imagine exactly how this machine was used, in view of the fact that science of the time did not understand gravity, much less orbits or planetary motion. Plausible uses of the machine might have included:
1. Calculation of religious dates and festivals. 2. Astrology. 3. Calendar adjustment.Near the area of the wreckage, Rhodes Island had museums with display of other mechanical devices -- about 100 interesting mechanical devices of the time are known to exist, though none with nearly the level of sophistication of the Antikythera Mechanism. Cicero, Archimedes, and others refer to astronomical machines in their writings. Also, it is unlikely that it was built for public display only, because its size and the "manual" on the side clearly imply that it was meant to be used by non-technical travelers. And yet, eclipses of the moon are not important for navigation. ............... See reconstruction at right. This machine -- which is a computer, not a clock -- would have been an incredible accomplishment -- in 1800 A.D. If Thomas Edison had invented it, it might have been one of his greatest achievements. So, here is another case in which we learn that ancient cultures used machines far beyond what we would have expected them to use. The explosion of technology in Western civilization occurred over, relatively, only a few years. It is tantalizing to meditate on the Babylonian, Egyptian, and Greek halls of learning and the libraries that could have sprung up over a century or two, and then been sacked and burned by invading conquerors. Yet: why were these super-valuable inventions always destroyed by the kingdoms that appropriated them? That the Greeks came up with surprisingly advanced, non-powered, machines in a few centuries does not seem implausible to me. The interesting question, for me, is this: how did the Greek technology disappear so suddenly and so utterly? ................. If you want a paranormal suggestion (and you didn't say you did), here's mine: the Tower of Babel (Gen. 11) emphatically states that Higher Powers suppressed the advance of technology. The earth bears the marks of having technology suppressed on at least three major occasions: in Egypt, in Babylon and in Greece. This may also have occurred in Central America and in China, if not in other places also (consider Stonehenge, the Nazca lines, etc.). This time around -- in Western culture -- there has been no suppression. We wonder why? Cheers, Jeff ....................... images: http://onter.net/art/antikythera_mechanism.jpg http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Kythera-Dateien/image009.jpg
