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How civilization has systematized more and more areas of knowledge, collected the data associated with them and made them amenable to automation and computation

Julius Caesar institutes the Julian calendar, establishing the lengths of the twelve months.

A gear-based device that survives today is created to compute astronomical information.

Eratosthenes creates the system of longitude and latitude, and uses it to create a scaled map of the known world.

Archimedes uses mathematics to create and understand technological devices, and possibly builds gear-based, mechanical astronomical calculators.

Computing as a basis for technology

Euclid writes his Elements , systematically presenting theorems of geometry and arithmetic.

The Library of Alexandria collects perhaps half a million scrolls, with works covering all areas of knowledge.

Aristotle tries to systematize knowledge, first, by classifying objects in the world, and second, by inventing the idea of logic as a way to formalize human reasoning.

Classifying the world and introducing logic

Plato founds his "Academy", which operates in Athens for nine centuries.

Panini creates a grammar for Sanskrit, forming the basis for systematic linguistics.

Finding the rules of human language

The Pythagoreans promote the idea that numbers can be used to systematically understand and compute aspects of nature, music, and the world.

Numbers are the key to nature

The Babylonians introduce mathematical calculation as a way to find the behavior of planets and a few other systems in nature.

Using arithmetic to predict the heavens

Lydia (in modern Turkey) introduces gold and silver coins to represent monetary value.

Coins to represent value

The Turin Papyrus is the first known topographic map.

The Library at Thebes is the first known effort to gather and make many sources of knowledge available in one place.

Babylonians make tables of multiplication, reciprocals, squares, cubes, and square and cube roots.

Hammurabi writes down 281 laws prescribing civil behavior in the kingdom of Babylon.

The Babylonian census began the practice of systematically counting and recording people and commodities for taxation and other purposes.

The Akkadian Empire adopts a single official standard for measuring volume.

The 64 possible heagrams of the Chinese I Ching are taken to enumerate possible features of life and destiny.

The first known calendar system is established, rounding the lunar month to 30 days to create a 360-day year.

Babylonian stone boundary markers begin to include inscriptions that record ownership of land.

A central event in the emergence of civilization, written language provides a systematic way to record and transmit knowledge.

A systematic way to record knowledge

The Lascaux cave paintings record the first known narrative stories.

The invention of arithmetic provided a way to compute abstractly about numbers of objects.

20,000 BC

20,000 BC: Arithmetic Counting abstract objects The invention of arithmetic provides a way to abstractly compute numbers of objects.

15,000 BC: Cave Painting Representing events by pictures The Lascaux cave paintings record the first known narrative stories.

3500 BC: Written Language A systematic way to record knowledge A central event in the emergence of civilization, written language provides a systematic way to record and transmit knowledge.

3000 BC: Registering Land Ownership Babylonian stone boundary markers begin to include inscriptions that record ownership of land.

2500 BC

2500 BC: Sumerian Calendar Organizing time The first known calendar system is established, rounding the lunar month to 30 days to create a 360-day year.

2200 BC: I Ching Symbols for destiny The 64 possible hexagrams of the Chinese I Ching are taken to enumerate possible features of life and destiny.

2150 BC: Akkadian Measures Making a standard for measurement The Akkadian Empire adopts a single unified standard for measuring volume, based on the royal gur-cube.

1800 BC: Babylonian Census Taking stock of a kingdom The Babylonian census begins the practice of systematically counting and recording people and commodities for taxation and other purposes.

1790 BC: Code of Hammurabi Codifying civil laws Hammurabi writes down 281 laws prescribing civil behavior in the kingdom of Babylon.

1700 BC: Babylonian Mathematical Tables Babylonians make tables of multiplication, reciprocals, squares, cubes, and square and cube roots.

1250 BC: Library at Thebes A building to store knowledge The Library at Thebes is the first known effort to gather and make many sources of knowledge available in one place.

1150 BC: Egyptian Maps Recording geographic knowledge The Turin Papyrus is the first known topographic map.

1000 BC

600 BC: Lydian Coinage Coins to represent value Lydia (in modern Turkey) introduces gold and silver coins to represent monetary value.

500 BC: Babylonian Astronomy Using arithmetic to predict the heavens The Babylonians introduce mathematical calculation as a way to track the behavior of planets and a few other systems in nature.

500 BC: Pythagoras Numbers are the key to nature The Pythagoreans promote the idea that numbers can be used to systematically understand and compute aspects of nature, music, and the world.

400 BC: Panini Finding the rules of human language Panini creates a grammar for Sanskrit, forming the basis for systematic linguistics.

400 BC: Hippocrates A system of diseases Hippocrates identifies definite classes of human diseases.

387 BC: Plato's Academy Teaching knowledge systematically Plato founds his "Academy", which operates in Athens for nine centuries.

350 BC: Aristotle Classifying the world and introducing logic Aristotle tries to systematize knowledge, first, by classifying objects in the world, and second, by inventing the idea of logic as a way to formalize human reasoning.

325 BC: Library of Alexandria Collecting the world's knowledge The Library of Alexandria collects perhaps half a million scrolls with works covering all areas of knowledge.

300 BC: Euclid Organizing mathematical truth Euclid writes his Elements, systematically presenting theorems of geometry and arithmetic.

250 BC: Archimedes Computing as a basis for technology Archimedes uses mathematics to create and understand technological devices and possibly builds gear-based, mechanical astronomical calculators.

200 BC: Eratosthenes Labeling the Earth Eratosthenes creates the system of longitude and latitude and uses it to create a scaled map of the known world.

100 BC: Antikythera Mechanism A machine for computing A gear-based device that survives today is created to compute calendrical computation.