400s BC
Houghton Mifflin Guide to Science & Technology:
Top
In the year 400 bce
Ecology & the environment
Hippocrates of Cos [b. Cos (Kos, Turkey), 460 bce, d. Thessaly, c. 370 bce] observes that a man involved in lead mining developed abdominal cramps. He recommends boiling water to remove pollutants.
EnergyThe Chinese in Sichuan start using petroleum and natural gas for cooking and lighting, piping gas in bamboo tubes from regions where it arises from the earth and taking petroleum from natural seeps. See also 100 bce Energy.
Medicine & healthHippocrates founds a school of medicine on the Aegean island of Cos. His followers develop the Hippocratic Oath, still taken by physicians, and encourages separation of medicine from religion. This earns him the sobriquet "the Father of Medicine." Inspired by Empedocles' theory of four elements, the Hippocratic medical tradition eventually develops the theory of the four humors in the human body -- blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. An imbalance in the humors is thought to be the cause of illness.
Hippocrates writes the first clinical description of diphtheria.
ToolsLocks operated with keys are invented in Sparta (Greece).
TransportationSemilegendary Chinese artisan Lu Pan produces the first known kite. See also 1232 Communication.
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
Top
400s BC
| 500s BC · 400s BC · 300s BC |
|---|
| Decades of the 400s BC: |
| 490s BC · 480s BC · 470s BC · 460s BC · 450s BC · 440s BC · 430s BC · 420s BC · 410s BC · 409–400 BC |
400s BC may refer to:
- The period from 499 BC to 400 BC, almost synonymous with the 5th century BC
- 409–400 BC, rarely
 |
This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. |
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:
Copyrights:
Houghton Mifflin Guide to Science & Technology
History of Science and Technology, edited by Bryan Bunch and Alexander Hellemans. Copyright © 2004 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Read more
