In ancient times how did you tell time?

Answer 1

After the Sumerians, the Egyptians were the next to formally divide their day into parts something like hours. Slender, tapering, four-sided monuments (Obekusjs) were built as early as 3500 BC. Their moving shadows formed a kind of sundial, enabling citizens to partition the day into two parts by indicating noon. They also showed the year's longest and shortest days, when the shadow at noon was the shortest or longest of the year.

Another Egyptian shadow clock or sundial, possibly the first portable timepiece, came into use around 1500 BC to measure the passage of 'hours'. This device divided a sunlit day into 10 parts, plus two 'twilight hours' in the morning and evening. When the long stem with five variably spaced marks was oriented east and west in the morning, an elevated crossbar on the east end cast a moving shadow over the marks. At noon, the device was turned in the opposite direction to measure the afternoon 'hours'.

The Greeks invented a prototype of the alarm clock around 250 BC. They also built a water clock where clock where the raising waters would both keep time and eventually hit a mechanical bird that triggered an alarm.

In 1908, the Westclox Clock Company is issued a patent for the Big Ben alarm clock. The outstanding feature on this clock is the bell-back, which completely envelopes the inner case back and is an integral part of the case. The bell-back provides loud alarm.

Answer 2

They knew the time by looking at the shadow cast by a tree, a rock, or even their own body and that meant it was long early in the morning and grew shorter and shorter until it disappeared when the sun was overhead in the middle of the day. They also would have noticed that the shadow grew longer again, on the other side of the tree, as night came.

Answer 3

Time was measured by the passage of the sun, moon and stars overhead and the passage of the seasons. Sundials were one method of judging the time in the past. Water clocks were also used as well. But for the average person, time was told by how high the sun was in the sky.

In more general terms, time was also told by what season it was - spring was time to sow crops, fall time to harvest etc.

In most cultures, years were dated from the beginning of the reign of the current monarch, or from the reign of some very important monarch, or from the date of a specific code of laws.

The republican Romans used the names of consuls to date things, which was confusing because it required reference to a list.

The Egyptians of the Ptolemaic Dynasty added a curious twist to their dating system. They dated things according to the year in the reign of the monarch, so a year might be "fifth year in the reign of Ptolemy." But the twist here was that all fifteen of the kings of this dynasty were named Ptolemy, and they did not always bother to say which Ptolemy they were talking about.

Answer 4

We have the following methods:

1. sundial - sun

2. hourglass - sand

3. water clock - water

Answer 5

you use to tell time by looking at the sun.

Answer 6

They invented a calender so, that they could keep track of the time.

Answer 7

Ancient egyptians measured time by using the suns movement.

Answer 8

Greeks used to use Sun dials to tell time.

Answer 9

they used sundials

Answer 10

Calendar