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Ancient Inventions: A Lively and Fascinating Look at the Genuine Wonders of the Past
"IT'S CHOCKABLOCK WITH CURIOUS LORE....[James and Thorpe] have amassed scores of persuasive testimonials of primeval ingenuity."
--The Boston Globe
We in the twentieth century tend to assume that our era has a monopoly on the inventions of clever machines, labor-saving devices, feats of engineering, and advanced technology. But as the authors of this fascinating and eye-opening book reveal, some of humankind's most important and most amazing inventions actually date back thousands of years.
Historian Peter James and archaeologist Nick Thorpe have pooled their expertise in amassing this compendium of human ingenuity through the ages. Together they conclusively prove that our ancestors, however long ago they lived and whatever part of the globe they occupied, were brilliant problem-solvers. Written with the pure joy of discovery, Ancient Inventions reveals
* Medieval Baghdad had an efficient postal service, banks, and a paper mill.
* Rudimentary calendars were being used in France as early as 13,000 B.C.
* Apartment condominiums rose in deserts of the American Southwest a
thousand years ago.
* The ancient Greeks used an early form of computer.
* Plastic surgery was being performed in India by the first century B.C.
* The Egyptians knew about effective contraceptives.
* Flamethrowers were used in battles waged in tenth-century China.
Brimming with odd facts and entertaining curiosities, written with zest and humor, comprehensive and fun to read, Ancient Inventions is a wonderful celebration of the endless inventiveness of the human mind.
"This presentation of the discoveries and innovations of the ancients will fascinate."
--Booklist
"Thoroughly researched...It is doubtful that anyone could examine [this book] without coming away enlightened in one of its broadly ranging areas."
--Library Journal
AN ALTERNATE SELECTION OF THE QUALITY PAPERBACK BOOK CLUB AND THE NATURAL SCIENCE BOOK CLUB
--The Boston Globe
We in the twentieth century tend to assume that our era has a monopoly on the inventions of clever machines, labor-saving devices, feats of engineering, and advanced technology. But as the authors of this fascinating and eye-opening book reveal, some of humankind's most important and most amazing inventions actually date back thousands of years.
Historian Peter James and archaeologist Nick Thorpe have pooled their expertise in amassing this compendium of human ingenuity through the ages. Together they conclusively prove that our ancestors, however long ago they lived and whatever part of the globe they occupied, were brilliant problem-solvers. Written with the pure joy of discovery, Ancient Inventions reveals
* Medieval Baghdad had an efficient postal service, banks, and a paper mill.
* Rudimentary calendars were being used in France as early as 13,000 B.C.
* Apartment condominiums rose in deserts of the American Southwest a
thousand years ago.
* The ancient Greeks used an early form of computer.
* Plastic surgery was being performed in India by the first century B.C.
* The Egyptians knew about effective contraceptives.
* Flamethrowers were used in battles waged in tenth-century China.
Brimming with odd facts and entertaining curiosities, written with zest and humor, comprehensive and fun to read, Ancient Inventions is a wonderful celebration of the endless inventiveness of the human mind.
"This presentation of the discoveries and innovations of the ancients will fascinate."
--Booklist
"Thoroughly researched...It is doubtful that anyone could examine [this book] without coming away enlightened in one of its broadly ranging areas."
--Library Journal
AN ALTERNATE SELECTION OF THE QUALITY PAPERBACK BOOK CLUB AND THE NATURAL SCIENCE BOOK CLUB
672 pages, Hardcover
First published October 18, 1994
12 people are currently reading
603 people want to read
About the author
Peter James
5 books7 followersPeter James is a British author and historian specialising in ancient history and archaeology of the Eastern Mediterranean region. He graduated in ancient history and archeology at the University of Birmingham (England) and does postgraduate research at University College London.
James has advanced several controversial theories about the chronology of Mediterranean civilizations, the Middle East, and Egypt. His theories are not generally accepted by mainstream historians or Egyptologists.
In his best known work, Centuries of Darkness, he challenges the traditional chronology of mainstream archaeology. In particular, he advances the idea that the Greek Dark Ages never occurred, arising solely from a misreading of key elements of Egyptian history. This theory is in part a revision of Immanuel Velikovsky's Revised Chronology. Ongoing criticism and discussion of the evidence is listed on the authors' own website.[1]
In The Sunken Kingdom: The Atlantis Mystery Solved, James hypothesizes about the location of Atlantis. By first claiming that references to mythological Tartarus by Plato were in fact meant to identify a Lydian king by the name of Tantalus, he goes on to identify Atlantis with a hypothetical lost temple city called Tantalis, corresponding to modern-day Manisa in Turkey.
James has advanced several controversial theories about the chronology of Mediterranean civilizations, the Middle East, and Egypt. His theories are not generally accepted by mainstream historians or Egyptologists.
In his best known work, Centuries of Darkness, he challenges the traditional chronology of mainstream archaeology. In particular, he advances the idea that the Greek Dark Ages never occurred, arising solely from a misreading of key elements of Egyptian history. This theory is in part a revision of Immanuel Velikovsky's Revised Chronology. Ongoing criticism and discussion of the evidence is listed on the authors' own website.[1]
In The Sunken Kingdom: The Atlantis Mystery Solved, James hypothesizes about the location of Atlantis. By first claiming that references to mythological Tartarus by Plato were in fact meant to identify a Lydian king by the name of Tantalus, he goes on to identify Atlantis with a hypothetical lost temple city called Tantalis, corresponding to modern-day Manisa in Turkey.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
December 12, 2012
Fun for history buffs, but you definitely have to be a history buff to read through all 600+ pages. I am, and I did. I picked it up because I had greatly enjoyed reading the equally huge Ancient Mysteries (both books are approximately the size and shape of an urban phone book), but this book is far more straightforward. There are few actual mysteries here, just what the archaeological record says and suggests came before. Luckily, the authors' writing styles are as interesting as the subject matter, and I practically breezed through it.
And now, the history buff nitpicking: There are limited citations, at the end of the book. Not every source is cited, apparently, but each section has at least one source, and usually more. I spotted a few tiny errors (the Great Wall of China can't be seen from space, and extrapolating that, because they didn't take fully immersive baths on a regular basis, medieval Europeans didn't wash at all on a regular basis) and both authors are pretty comfortable labeling the medieval era as "The Dark Ages". But they are specialists in prehistory and classical history, so I give them a pass. I didn't notice any overt errors in their own specialties.
And now, the history buff nitpicking: There are limited citations, at the end of the book. Not every source is cited, apparently, but each section has at least one source, and usually more. I spotted a few tiny errors (the Great Wall of China can't be seen from space, and extrapolating that, because they didn't take fully immersive baths on a regular basis, medieval Europeans didn't wash at all on a regular basis) and both authors are pretty comfortable labeling the medieval era as "The Dark Ages". But they are specialists in prehistory and classical history, so I give them a pass. I didn't notice any overt errors in their own specialties.
August 3, 2018
Pros: nice overview on a large number of topics
Cons: only a few photographs, mostly hand drawn illustrations, dated information
The book is comprised of an introduction and chapters on medicine, transportation, high tech, sex life, military technology, personal effects, food, drink, and drugs, urban life, working the land, house and home, communications and sport and leisure. Each chapter is subdivided, so under personal effects there are sections on mirrors, makeup, tattooing, soap, razors, perfume, wigs, clothing and shoes, jewelry, spectacles, and umbrellas. They’re followed by a shortened list of sources, a bibliography and index. The book covers a surprisingly large range of topics, and a large range of locations. While the majority of ancient artifacts are from the Middle East/Mediterranean, the book covers a fair amount of Chinese discoveries as well. South and Central America, Japan, India, and other places are also mentioned to a lesser degree.
Modern society tends to look down on civilizations of the past as being lesser in many ways. This book shows that a lot of habits and tools we think are modern have been around for a long time. Sometimes they’re lost and rediscovered, sometimes they have a long continuous history. The ingenuity of our ancestors is incredible and it’s fascinating to see the variety of things they invented.
Most of the images are hand drawn illustrations, which is fine when showing cross sections but odd when they’re meant as reproductions of historical items. I’m guessing they were unable to secure the rights to photographs and so did the next best thing, but it really would have been better to have photographs. And what photos the book does have are all black and white.
The book came out in 1994, so the information is already dated. That’s not to say it’s all wrong, just that you have to accept that not all of the conclusions mentioned here are still agreed upon. I do think the authors did a fantastic job of both showing how archaeological conclusions shift over time as new finds are discovered/researched, and also explaining that some mysteries may have different solutions to the ones proposed in this volume.
While the book has some limitations, it’s a fantastic volume if you want a nice overview of the breadth of human achievement throughout ancient history.
Cons: only a few photographs, mostly hand drawn illustrations, dated information
The book is comprised of an introduction and chapters on medicine, transportation, high tech, sex life, military technology, personal effects, food, drink, and drugs, urban life, working the land, house and home, communications and sport and leisure. Each chapter is subdivided, so under personal effects there are sections on mirrors, makeup, tattooing, soap, razors, perfume, wigs, clothing and shoes, jewelry, spectacles, and umbrellas. They’re followed by a shortened list of sources, a bibliography and index. The book covers a surprisingly large range of topics, and a large range of locations. While the majority of ancient artifacts are from the Middle East/Mediterranean, the book covers a fair amount of Chinese discoveries as well. South and Central America, Japan, India, and other places are also mentioned to a lesser degree.
Modern society tends to look down on civilizations of the past as being lesser in many ways. This book shows that a lot of habits and tools we think are modern have been around for a long time. Sometimes they’re lost and rediscovered, sometimes they have a long continuous history. The ingenuity of our ancestors is incredible and it’s fascinating to see the variety of things they invented.
Most of the images are hand drawn illustrations, which is fine when showing cross sections but odd when they’re meant as reproductions of historical items. I’m guessing they were unable to secure the rights to photographs and so did the next best thing, but it really would have been better to have photographs. And what photos the book does have are all black and white.
The book came out in 1994, so the information is already dated. That’s not to say it’s all wrong, just that you have to accept that not all of the conclusions mentioned here are still agreed upon. I do think the authors did a fantastic job of both showing how archaeological conclusions shift over time as new finds are discovered/researched, and also explaining that some mysteries may have different solutions to the ones proposed in this volume.
While the book has some limitations, it’s a fantastic volume if you want a nice overview of the breadth of human achievement throughout ancient history.
November 27, 2017
As the review on the back from the Boston Globe says, "It's chockablock with curious lore," and that pretty neatly sums up this book.
The information was concise and very informative, with lots of interesting facts about what the ancient world created. I liked the point made in the introduction that we like to think of modern man as clever and ancient man as primitive, but this is not the case: the ancients were just as smart and inventive as people today.
The format is based on subject, which worked fine, but in a few instances I wish it would have been by historical period or country.
In a few instances I did not appreciate the author's tone, a sort of snarky know-it-all, although thankfully this was not throughout.
Some parts were more dense and less interesting than others, but ultimately there is so much good info here that I'll give it a "4".
The information was concise and very informative, with lots of interesting facts about what the ancient world created. I liked the point made in the introduction that we like to think of modern man as clever and ancient man as primitive, but this is not the case: the ancients were just as smart and inventive as people today.
The format is based on subject, which worked fine, but in a few instances I wish it would have been by historical period or country.
In a few instances I did not appreciate the author's tone, a sort of snarky know-it-all, although thankfully this was not throughout.
Some parts were more dense and less interesting than others, but ultimately there is so much good info here that I'll give it a "4".
October 26, 2025
Ancient Inventions is a collection of ingenuity from antiquity. Yes, it's a bit of a tautology, but I did learn some valuable things from this book. The book was published in 1994. I don't know if anything has changed in archaeology since then.
The biggest contributors to many technologies were the Chinese and the Egyptians. I didn't actually count it out. It was surprising that the Egyptians didn't have more advanced medical technology, given the mummification process and all that.
I enjoyed the book. Thanks for reading my review, and see you next time.
The biggest contributors to many technologies were the Chinese and the Egyptians. I didn't actually count it out. It was surprising that the Egyptians didn't have more advanced medical technology, given the mummification process and all that.
I enjoyed the book. Thanks for reading my review, and see you next time.
May 13, 2020
Though its impact is blunted by the passage of time (both for someone as well-informed as I have become, and for the book in a world full of newer books which have built and expanded on the work done here), this remains a perfect introduction to world history for the (mature, liberal) teenager. Just the facts. If this had existed in 1984, it would have made my life so much richer. (My family was neither liberal nor mature, so I was nearly an unlettered savage until college.)
July 15, 2022
A fun, exhaustive, informative exploration of human innovation prior to the year 1492.
July 17, 2022
Interesting. A lot of history here. Enjoyably written.
July 29, 2023
3.0 / 5.0
Just a bit too cute and hypothetical at times. Interesting stories though.
Just a bit too cute and hypothetical at times. Interesting stories though.
May 29, 2021
Fun read with some new learning, with a braid view of topics
October 2, 2013
Invaluable Information
I bought this book as a reference for writing Velvak's Victory. As my novels take place in a world that has never had an industrial revolution, I wanted some ideas of what technology would be available to the people of Bradapol.
This book is amazing. Not only is the content fascinating, but it is arranged in such a way that any subject can be easily found. When a specific subject is covered, e.g. a specific plant used for cooking, there are also references to other section of the book where the same plant is used for other purposes.
I would recommend this book to anyone doing research, or for simply reading to increase your knowledge.
I bought this book as a reference for writing Velvak's Victory. As my novels take place in a world that has never had an industrial revolution, I wanted some ideas of what technology would be available to the people of Bradapol.
This book is amazing. Not only is the content fascinating, but it is arranged in such a way that any subject can be easily found. When a specific subject is covered, e.g. a specific plant used for cooking, there are also references to other section of the book where the same plant is used for other purposes.
I would recommend this book to anyone doing research, or for simply reading to increase your knowledge.
January 1, 2013
Recently, I was looking for something I can read in small spurts without having to break up any continuity or remember any storyline so I'm going back and reading this one cover to cover. I had previously read a large portion of this book solely for research purposes for writing classes for my job. This book was a good source of information concerning historical backgrounds for these things because it is indeed chock full of great information. Now, upon reading it for leisure, I'm feeling like a two minute brainiac historian, able to recall strange amazing knowledge on cue. Very interesting stuff!
December 20, 2008
This non-fiction book is ideal for those people who wish to know >who else< invented stuff long before the European Renaissance. Turns out many things, including the lightning rod and armored ships, were invented way before the Industrial Revolution. As an archaeologist, I like the excellent referencing and documenting the authors do for each of their topic areas. Very good bibliography. Highly recommended.
November 14, 2016
Great book for history geeks. Because you really have to be one to read 760 pages about mostly ancient and some medieval history.
In addition, it is an amazing book for curious people. If questions, like how the calendar was invented? what people used to clean their homes before Fairy and Gala? still pop up in your head, then go for this cradle of answers.
In addition, it is an amazing book for curious people. If questions, like how the calendar was invented? what people used to clean their homes before Fairy and Gala? still pop up in your head, then go for this cradle of answers.
June 3, 2008
A beautiful work on the history of technology. I really recommend it... wondering why China is leading the manufacturing nowadays? Well, you might want to know a bit about their thousands of years in developing technology.
March 23, 2009
This book contains, among much other interesting stuff, one of my favorite sentences: "Gunpowder seems to have been discovered in China by accident--ironically, by alchemists seeking the elixir of immortality."
February 11, 2009
This book includes a very detailed look at how the ancients used to live. It was very, very interesting, and is written in an easy-to-read fashion.
I intend to keep this book in my personal library for future reference during the writing of my novels.
I intend to keep this book in my personal library for future reference during the writing of my novels.
April 5, 2010
Another well written book by these two authors. I didn't enjoy it as much as Ancient Mysteries, but that's mostly because Mysteries had the multiple view points and explanations included. This is more of a text book read (which is great by me), but it's still a very fun book to read!
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October 22, 2010Proof that despite ancient did not understand the Universe as well our society does, they could still pull off feats of cleverness, e.g. cataract surgery in 2nd Millenium India that resulted in genuine improvement of vision.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 22, 2016
I learned A LOT from this book! I was amazed by how advance ancient technology was, and how much
I didn't know. I do wish more sources were cited throughout the book. There were times I found myself wondering how we know about certain things, or how a topic was researched.
I didn't know. I do wish more sources were cited throughout the book. There were times I found myself wondering how we know about certain things, or how a topic was researched.
March 24, 2008
I love this book! Definitely fun the the ancient historian.
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September 26, 2011fascinating- B.C. Brain surgery, anasthesia, magnets, batteries, magnifying glasses.
August 30, 2009
Good. There are a lot of parts to this book so I skipped around a bit to those parts that most interested me. Very informative and entertaining. Great for reference for writers.
September 7, 2011
An absolutely phenomenal book. Highly recommended reading.
September 7, 2012
I never cease to be amazed by the things people can dream up...and by how much knowledge is lost over time. One of my thought trigger books.
September 27, 2012
Fascinating. I did not read it in one sitting but rather about a year period. It made me more inquisitive about science/engineering and the art of invention.
January 2, 2011
You never know what is possible without technology until you read this book.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews