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List of Indian inventions and discoveries

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The Hindu-Arabic numeral system.

Indian technology begins at Mehrgarh (7000–3300 BCE), where graineries, and mud brick houses were constructed.[1] Farming, metal working, flint knapping, tanning, bead production, and dentistry, are also known to the inhabitants of Mehrgarh.[1][2] The Indus Valley civilization yields evidence of hydrography, metrology and sewage collection and disposal being practiced by its inhabitants.[3][4][5] Significant inventions were made in India by scholars like Aryabhatta, Brahmagupta, Bhaskara II.[6] These inventions ranged from innovations in fields of scientific inquiry leading to the decimal number system,[6] zero,[7] linguistics,[8] negative numbers,[9], and plastic surgery,[10] to a number of inventions made for entertainment, leisure and religion, respective notable examples being chess,[11] diamond (gemstone)[12] and prayer flags.[13]

The advent of Islam led to diffusion, innovation and new inventions in India.[14] The British Raj, too, facilitated a number of Indian scholars to enter prestigious foreign institutions in its ultimate aim of producing worthy civil and administrative service candidates.[15]

Agriculture and Food Technology

Jute plants (Corchorus olitorius and Corchorus capsularis).
  • Jute, cultivation of: Jute has been cultivated in India since ancient times.[19] Raw jute was exported to the western world, where it was used to make ropes and cordage.[19] The Indian jute industry, in turn, was modernized during the British Raj in India.[19] The modern day area of Bengal-Bangladesh region was the major center for Jute cultivation, and remained so before the modernization of India's jute industry in 1855, when Kolkata became a center for jute processing in India.[19]
  • Sugar: John F. Robyt (1998) locates the two most probable origins of sugarcane cultivation as the South Pacific or North East India, as early as 10,000 BC and 6,000 BC respectively.[20] Further archaeological evidence associates sugar with the Indus valley.[20] Crystallized sugar was discovered by the time of the Imperial Guptas[21], and the earliest reference of candied sugar come from India.[22] The process was soon transmitted to China with traveling Buddhist monks.[22] Chinese documents confirm at least two missions to India, initiated in 647 CE, for obtaining technology for sugar-refining.[23] Each mission returned with results on refining sugar.[23]

Architecture and Engineering

The Great Stupa at Sanchi (4th-1st century BCE).
Chand Baori, in the village of Abhaneri near Bandikui, Rajasthan.
The Rani Ki Vav, Patan, Gujarat.
  • Pagoda, origin of: The origin of the pagoda can be traced to the Indian stupa (3rd century BCE).[24] The Buddhist pagoda, a dome shaped monument, was used in India as a commemorative monument associated with storing sacred relics.[24] The stupa architecture was adopted in Southeast and East Asia, where it became prominent as a Buddhist monument used for enshrining sacred relics.[24] Upon its discovery, this architectural became known as pagoda to the people from the western world.[24]
  • Dock (maritime): The world's first dock at Lothal (2400 BCE) was located away from the main current to avoid deposition of silt.[3] Modern oceanographers have observed that the Harappans must have possessed great knowledge relating to tides in order to build such a dock on the ever-shifting course of the Sabarmati, as well as exemplary hydrography and maritime engineering.[3] This was the earliest known dock found in the world, equipped to berth and service ships.[3] It is speculated that Lothal engineers studied tidal movements, and their effects on brick-built structures, since the walls are of kiln-burnt bricks.[25] This knowledge also enabled them to select Lothal's location in the first place, as the Gulf of Khambhat has the highest tidal amplitude and ships can be sluiced through flow tides in the river estuary.[25] The engineers built a trapezoidal structure, with north-south arms of average 21.8 metres (71.5 ft), and east-west arms of 37 metres (121 ft).[25]
  • Artificial reservoirs: Sophisticated irrigation and storage systems were developed by the Indus Valley Civilization, including the artificial reservoirs at Girnar in 3000 BCE and an early canal irrigation system from circa 2600 BCE.[26] Irrigation was developed in the Indus Valley Civilization around 4500 BCE.[5] The size and prosperity of the Indus civilization grew as a result of this innovation, which eventually lead to more planned settlements which further made use of drainage and sewers.[5]
  • Torii, origin of: Torii may have originated in India.[27] The Indian gateway archs, the torana, reached East Asia with the spread of Buddhism.[28] Some scholars hold that it derives from the torana gates at the Buddhist historic site of Sanchi (3rd century BCE - 11 century CE).[27]
  • Large scale sewage collection and disposal: Large scale sanitary sewer systems were in place in the Indus Valley by 2700 BCE.[29] The drains were 7-10 feet wide and 2 feet below ground level.[29] The sewage was then led into cesspools, built at the intersection of two drains, which had stairs leading to them for periodic cleaning.[29] Plumbing using earthenware plumbing pipes with broad flanges for easy joining with asphalt to stop leaks was in place by 2700 BCE.[29]
  • Stepwell: Rock-cut step wells in India date from 200-400 CE.[30] Subsequently, the wells at Dhank (550-625 CE) and construction of stepped ponds at Bhinmal (850-950 CE) takes place.[30] The city of Mohenjo-daro has wells which may be the predecessors of the step well; as many as 700 wells, constructed by 3rd millennium BCE, have been discovered in just one section of the city, leading scholars to believe that 'cylindrical brick lined wells' were invented by the people of the Indus Valley Civilization.[31]
  • Private bathroom and Toilet: By 2800 BCE, private bathrooms, located on the ground floor, were found in nearly all the houses of the Indus Valley Civilization.[29] The pottery pipes in walls allowed drainage of water and there was, in some case, provision of a crib for sitting.[29] The Indus Valley Civilization had some of the most advanced private lavatories in the world.[29] "Western-style" toilets were made from bricks using toilet seats made of wood on top.[29] The waste was then transmitted to drainage systems.[29]

Astronomy

Cloth Industry

Pashmina shawl.
  • Indigo dye, use of: Indigo, a blue pigment and a dye, was used in India, which was also the earliest major center for its production and processing.[32] The Indigofera tinctoria variety of Indigo was domesticated in India.[32] Indigo, used as a dye, made its way to the Greeks and the Romans via various trade routes, and was valued as a luxury product.[32]
  • Cashmere wool: The fiber is also known as pashm or pashmina for its use in the handmade shawls of Kashmir, India.[33] The woolen shawls made from wool in Kashmir region of India find written mention between 3rd century BC and the 11th century AD.[34] However, the founder of the cashmere wool industry is traditionally held to be the 15th century ruler of Kashmir, Zayn-ul-Abidin, who employed weavers from Central Asia.[34]

Devices

  • Spinning wheel: The origins of the spinning wheel are unclear but the device was probably invented in India.[35][36] The device certainly reached Europe from India by the 14 century CE, and is still popular today.[37]
  • Cotton Gin: The Ajanta caves of India yield evidence of a single roller cotton gin in use by the 5th century CE.[38] This cotton gin was used in India until innovations were made, in form foot powered gins.[38] The cotton gin was invented in India as a mechanical device known as charkhi, more technically the "wooden-worm-worked roller".[39] This mechanical device was, in some parts of india, driven by water power.[39]
  • Carding, devices for: Historian of science Joseph Needham ascribes the invention of bow-instruments used in textile technology to India.[39] The earliest evidence for using bow-instruments for carding comes from India (2nd century CE).[39] These carding devices, called kaman and dhunaki would loosen the texture of the fiber by the means of a vibrating string.[39]

Games

Krishna and Radha playing chaturanga on an 8x8 Ashtāpada.

Mathematics

Brahmagupta's theorem states that AF = FD.
  • Decimal Number System: The modern number system originated in India.[6] Other cultures discovered a few features of this number system but the system, in its entirely, was compiled in India, where it attained coherence and completion.[6] By the 9th century CE, this complete number system had existed in India but several of its ideas were transmitted to to China and the Islamic world before that time.[47]
  • Zero: The concept of zero as a number, and not merely a symbol for separation is attributed to India.[7] In India, practical calculations were carried out using zero, which was treated like any other number by the 9th century CE, even in case of division.[7][47]
  • Negative numbers: The use of negative numbers was known in early India, and their role in situations like mathematical problems of debt was understood.[9] Consistent and correct rules for working with these numbers were formulated.[47] The diffusion of this concept led the Arab intermediaries to pass it to Europe.[9]
  • Large numbers: The religious texts of the Vedic Period provide evidence for the use of large numbers.[54] By the time of the last Veda, the Yajurvedasaṃhitā (1200-900 BCE), numbers as high as were being included in the texts.[54] For example, the mantra (sacrificial formula) at the end of the annahoma ("food-oblation rite") performed during the aśvamedha ("horse sacrifice"), and uttered just before-, during-, and just after sunrise, invokes powers of ten from a hundred to a trillion.[54]
where is a nonsquare integer. [56]

Metallurgy

  • Wootz steel: Wootz originated in India before the beginning of the common era.[57] Wootz steel was widely exported and traded throughout ancient Europe, China, the Arab world, and became particularly famous in the Middle East, where it became known as Damascus steel. Archaeological evidence suggests that this manufacturing process was already in existence in South India even before the Christian era.[58][59]
File:060405 prehistoric dentistry vlg9a hmedium.jpg
A modern replica of the Dentistry drills uncovered at Mehrgarh.

Medicine and Surgery

  • Plastic surgery: Plastic surgery was being carried out in india by 2000 BCE.[61] The system of punishment by deforming a miscreant's body may have led to an increase in demand for this practice.[61] During the Imperial Guptas, the Indian court physician Sushruta was performing plastic surgery operations.[10]
  • Dentistry: The Indus Valley Civilization has yielded evidence of dentistry being practiced as far back as 7000 BCE.[2] This earliest form of dentistry involved curing tooth related disorders with drills operated, perhaps, by skilled bead craftsmen.[62] The reconstruction of this ancient form of dentistry showed that the methods used were reliable and effective.[63]

Military technology

Tipu Sultan, 1792.
  • Metal Cylinder Rocket Artillery: In Encyclopedia Britannica (2008), Stephen Oliver Fought & John F. Guilmartin, Jr. describe the gunpowder technology in 18th century India: "Hyder Ali, prince of Mysore, developed war rockets with an important change: the use of metal cylinders to contain the combustion powder. Although the hammered soft iron he used was crude, the bursting strength of the container of black powder was much higher than the earlier paper construction. Thus a greater internal pressure was possible, with a resultant greater thrust of the propulsive jet. The rocket body was lashed with leather thongs to a long bamboo stick. Range was perhaps up to three-quarters of a mile (more than a kilometre). Although individually these rockets were not accurate, dispersion error became less important when large numbers were fired rapidly in mass attacks. They were particularly effective against cavalry and were hurled into the air, after lighting, or skimmed along the hard dry ground. Hyder Ali's son, Tippu Sultan, continued to develop and expand the use of rocket weapons, reportedly increasing the number of rocket troops from 1,200 to a corps of 5,000. In battles at Seringapatam in 1792 and 1799 these rockets were used with considerable effect against the British."[65]

Sciences

Har Gobind Khorana, winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine (1968).
  • Raman effect: The Encyclopedia Britannica (2008) reports: "change in the wavelength of light that occurs when a light beam is deflected by molecules. The phenomenon is named for Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, who discovered it in 1928. When a beam of light traverses a dust-free, transparent sample of a chemical compound, a small fraction of the light emerges in directions other than that of the incident (incoming) beam. Most of this scattered light is of unchanged wavelength. A small part, however, has wavelengths different from that of the incident light; its presence is a result of the Raman effect."[66]
  • Mahalanobis distance: Introduced in 1936 by The Indian statistician Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis (June 29, 1893–June 28, 1972), this distance measure, based upon the correlation between variables, is used to identify and analyze differing pattern with respect to one base.[68]

Miscellaneous

A darchor-style prayer flag in northern India.
  • Prayer Flags, origin of: The Indian Buddhist Sutras, written on cloth in India, were transmitted to other regions of the world.[71] These sutras, written on banners, were the origin of prayer flags.[71] Legend ascribes the origin of the prayer flag to the Shakyamuni Buddha, whose prayers were written on battle flags used by the devas against their adversaries, the asuras.[13] The legend may have given the Indian bhikku a reason for carrying the 'heavenly' banner as a way of signyfying his commitment to ahimsa.[72] This knowledge was carried into Tibet by 800 CE, and the actual flags were introduced no later than 1040 CE, where they were further modified.[72] The Indian monk Atisha (980-1054 CE) introduced the Indian practice of printing on cloth prayer flags to Tibet.[13]
  • Diamond (gemstone): Early diamonds used as gemstones originated in India.[12] Golconda served as an important center for diamonds in central India.[12] Diamonds then were exported to other parts of the world, including Europe.[12] Early references to diamonds in India come from Sanskrit texts.[73] The Arthashastra of Kautilya mentions diamond trade in India.[74] India remained the only major source of diamonds in the world until the discovery of diamonds in Brazil.[74] Buddhist works dating from the 4th century BC as a well-known and precious stone but don't mention the details of diamond cutting.[75] Another Indian description written at the beginning of the 3rd century describes strength, regularity, brilliance, ability to scratch metals, and good refractive properties as the desirable qualities of a diamond.[75] A Chinese work from the 3rd century BC mentions: "Foreigners wear it [diamond] in the belief that it can ward off evil influences".[75] The Chinese, who did not find diamonds in their country, initially did not use diamond as a jewel but used as a "jade cutting knife".[75]

See Also

Footnotes

Glass replica of the Koh-i-Noor as it appeared in its original form, turned upside down.
  1. ^ a b Possehl, Gregory L. (1996)
  2. ^ a b Coppa, A. et al.
  3. ^ a b c d Rao, pages 27–28
  4. ^ a b c d Baber, page 23
  5. ^ a b c Rodda & Ubertini, page 279
  6. ^ a b c d Ifrah, page 346
  7. ^ a b c Bourbaki, page 46
  8. ^ a b c Encyclopedia Britannica (2008). Linguistics.
  9. ^ a b c Bourbaki, page 49
  10. ^ a b Wolpert, page 193.
  11. ^ a b Wilkinson, Charles K (May 1943)
  12. ^ a b c d Wenk, pages 535-539
  13. ^ a b c Beer, page 60
  14. ^ Siddiqui (1986)
  15. ^ Raja (2006)
  16. ^ Stein, page 47
  17. ^ Wisseman & Williams, page 127
  18. ^ The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. cotton.
  19. ^ a b c d Encyclopedia Britannica (2008). jute.
  20. ^ a b Robyt, pages 19-21
  21. ^ Adas, page 311
  22. ^ a b Kieschnick (2003)
  23. ^ a b Kieschnick, page 258
  24. ^ a b c d Encyclopedia Britannica (2008). Pagoda.
  25. ^ a b c Rao, pages 28–29
  26. ^ Rodda & Ubertini, page 161
  27. ^ a b Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System (2001). torii.
  28. ^ Encyclopedia Britannica (2008). torii
  29. ^ a b c d e f g h i Teresi, pages 351-352
  30. ^ a b Livingstone & Beach, page xxiii
  31. ^ Livingstone & Beach, page 19
  32. ^ a b c Kriger & Connah, page 120
  33. ^ Encyclopedia Britannica (2008). cashmere.
  34. ^ a b Encyclopedia Britannica (2008). kashmir shawl.
  35. ^ "spinning wheel" in Britannica Concise Encyclopedia (2007). 1994-2008 Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.
  36. ^ Encyclopeedia Britnnica (2008). spinning
  37. ^ MSN Encarta (2008). Spinning
  38. ^ a b Baber, page 56
  39. ^ a b c d e Baber, page 57
  40. ^ Hooper & Whyld, page 74
  41. ^ a b Meri, page 148
  42. ^ a b c Encyclopedia Britannica (2002). Chess: Ancient precursors and related games.
  43. ^ Encyclopedia Britannica (2007). Chess: Introduction to Europe.
  44. ^ a b Augustyn, pages 27-28
  45. ^ a b c d MSN Encarta (2008). Pachisi.
  46. ^ a b c d Flegg, pages 67-70.
  47. ^ a b c Britannica Concise Encyclopedia (2007). algebra
  48. ^ a b Singh, P. (1985)
  49. ^ a b c Fowler, page 11
  50. ^ Sanchez & Canton, page 37
  51. ^ a b Stillwell, page 173
  52. ^ Staal, 1999
  53. ^ Cooke, page 198
  54. ^ a b c Hayashi, page 360-361
  55. ^ a b Singh. pages 623-624
  56. ^ Stillwell, pages 72-73
  57. ^ Srinivasan & Ranganathan
  58. ^ Srinivasan 1994
  59. ^ Srinivasan & Griffiths
  60. ^ a b c Craddock, page 13
  61. ^ a b MSN Encarta (2008). Plastic Surgery.
  62. ^ BBC (2006). Stone age man used dentist drill.
  63. ^ MSNBC (2008). Dig uncovers ancient roots of dentistry.
  64. ^ a b Bag 2005
  65. ^ Encyclopedia Britannica (2008). rocket and missile.
  66. ^ Encyclopedia Britannica (2008). Raman effect
  67. ^ Narlikar, page 188
  68. ^ Taguchi & Jugulum, pages 6-7
  69. ^ Lynn Townsend White, Jr..
  70. ^ Pacey, page 14
  71. ^ a b Barker, page 13
  72. ^ a b Wise, page 11-12
  73. ^ MSN Encarta (2007). Diamond.
  74. ^ a b Lee, page 685
  75. ^ a b c d Dickinson, pages 1-3

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