200s BC

Archaeology

The last stronghold of the Olmec, now called Tres Zapotes (Mexico), falls into ruin. This "mother civilization" for mesoamerica had been in decline since 500 bce. See also 650 bce Communication; 200 ce Communication.

The astrolabe, used for determining the level of elevation of the Sun or another star, is invented and introduced to Hellenic sailors. Some have attributed it to Apollonius of Perga [b. c. 262 bce, d. Alexandria, 190 bce] (shortly before 200 bce) or to Hipparchus [b. Nicaea, c. 190 bce, d. c. 120 bce] (shortly after 200 bce). Hipparchus certainly used some tool of this type in his astronomical research. See also 1391 ce Tools.

Ctesibius of Alexandria [b. c. 285 bce, d. c. 222 bce] builds a water organ, called in Latin a hydraulis. The hydraulis is a pipe organ in which air is supplied at constant pressure by water in a bell that obtains additional air from a bellows. Models (in Carthage in 1885) and portions of actual instruments from Antiquity have been found (near Budapest). The hydraulis is the instrument that Emperor Nero played on several infamous occasions. See also 120 ce Tools.

Many buildings in Rome are three-story apartment houses called insulae, or "islands." See also 100 bce Construction.

The Chinese develop a malleable form of cast iron. See also 300 bce Materials; 400 ce Materials.

Concrete is used in the Roman town of Palestrina in Italy. See also 100 bce Materials.

Apollonius of Perga writes Conics, a systematic study of the properties of the conic sections (circle, parabola, ellipse, hyperbola).

Diocles [b. Carystus, Euboea (Greek island), c. 240 bce, d. c. 180 bce] writes the first known anatomy book and is the first to use the term anatomy. See also 170 ce Medicine & health.

The development of gears leads to the ox-powered water wheel, used to raise water to the level of fields for irrigation purposes. See also 700 bce Food & agriculture. (See essay.)

Ctesibius of Alexandria improves the water clock, making it the most accurate timekeeping device available for nearly 2000 years. He also invents a water pump consisting of a cylinder and piston and two valves, one at the intake and one at the outlet. When the piston is lifted, the valve at the inlet is open, admitting water while the valve at the outlet is closed. When lowering the piston, the valve at the inlet is closed and the one at the outlet is open. He also invents a form of air gun, called a wind gun. See also 1380 bce Tools; 724 ce Tools.

Shipbuilders in the Mediterranean have begun to introduce three-masted vessels (a foremast with a distinctive forward rake called an artemon, the main, and a mizzenmast at the rear). A large ship, the Lady of Syracuse, whose building was supervised by Archimedes (although the ship was designed by Archias of Corinth) may have been the first of these. See also 650 bce Transportation; 1 ce Transportation.

In the South Pacific Polynesians colonize the Marquesas islands. See also 500 ce Transportation.

300s BC · 200s BC · 100s BC
Decades of the 200s BC:
290s BC · 280s BC · 270s BC · 260s BC · 250s BC · 240s BC · 230s BC · 220s BC · 210s BC · 209–200 BC

200s BC may refer to:

• The period from 299 BC to 200 BC, almost synonymous with the 3rd century BC
• 209–200 BC, rarely

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