Description
Book SynopsisThis volume in the highly respected Cambridge History of Science series is devoted to the history of science, medicine and mathematics of the Old World in antiquity. Organized by topic and culture, its essays by distinguished scholars offer the most comprehensive and up-to-date history of ancient science currently available. Together, they reveal the diversity of goals, contexts, and accomplishments in the study of nature in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Rome, China, and India. Intended to provide a balanced and inclusive treatment of the ancient world, contributors consider scientific, medical and mathematical learning in the cultures associated with the ancient world.
Trade Review'The entire set of volumes in this comprehensive work should eventually be found on the shelves of any institution of higher learning with a serious science program, and more broadly, in the libraries of academic institutions offering area studies programs and/or courses on the history of science and philosophy … Highly recommended.' C. G. Wood, Choice
'As one would expect from a Cambridge History volume dedicated to “ancient science,” this book provides a coherent and accessible overview of the history, sources, philosophy, and sociology of the principal fields of natural inquiry in the ancient world. I find it as invaluable as a reference book, since it is accessible for introductory reading, and it is a model, in my opinion, of the sort of questions and approach toward which the field is rightly moving.' Daniel Patrick Morgan, Journal of the American Oriental Society
Table of ContentsPart I. Mesopotamia: 1. Science and ancient Mesopotamia Francesca Rochberg; 2. Babylonian medicine as a discipline Markham Geller; 3. Mesopotamian mathematics Jens Høyrup; 4. Babylonian and Assyrian astral science John M. Steele; Part II. Egypt: 5. The cultural context of (mathematical) experts in Ancient Egypt Annette Imhausen; 6. Egyptian medicine John Nunn; 7. Egyptian calendars and astronomy Rolf Krauss; 8. Egyptian mathematics Jens Høyrup; Part III. Greek and Greco-Roman: 9. Physical and cosmological thought before Aristotle Daniel Graham; 10. Aristotle: an overview Andrea Falcon; 11. Aristotle's physical theory Eric Lewis; 12. Aristotle and the origins of zoology James G. Lennox; 13. Botany Laurence Totelin; 14. Science after Aristotle: Hellenistic and Roman science Liba Taub; 15. Late antiquity: science in the philosophical schools Miira Tuominen; 16. Medicine in early and classical Greece Philip van der Eijk; 17. Hellenistic and Roman medicine Vivian Nutton; 18. Greek mathematics Nathan Sidoli; 19. Astronomy and astrology Alexander Jones; 20. Greek and Greco-Roman geography Klaus Geus; 21. Greek optics A. Mark Smith; 22. Harmonics Andrew Barker; 23. Greek mechanics Serafina Cuomo; 24. Graeco-Egyptian alchemy Cristina Viano; Part IV. India: 25. Astronomy and astrology in India Kim Plofker; 26. Mathematics in early India (1000 BCE–1000 CE) Clemency Montelle; 27. Indian medicine and Ayurveda Philipp A. Maas; Part V. China: 28. Mathematical knowledge and practices from early imperial China until the Tang Dynasty Karine Chemla; 29. Medicine and healing in Han China Vivienne Lo; 30. Chinese astronomy in the early imperial age: a brief outline Christopher Cullen.
