Achievements, inventions and discoveries of ancient india

shiv

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Cotton Gin: The Ajanta caves of India yield evidence of a single roller cotton gin in use by the 5th century CE.This cotton gin was used in India until innovations were made in form of foot powered gins.The cotton gin was invented in India as a mechanical device known as charkhi, more technically the "wooden-worm-worked roller". This mechanical device was, in some parts of india, driven by water power.
 

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another great invention by J.C bose-->Crescograph: The crescograph, a device for measuring growth in plants, was invented in the early 20th century by the Bengali scientist Jagdish Chandra Bose
 

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from now on i am not going to give links,if anybody wants them then ask me and i will edit the post to include links for that particular discovery.
 

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* Crucible steel: Perhaps as early as 300 BCE—although certainly by 200 CE—high quality steel was being produced in southern India also by what Europeans would later call the crucible technique. In this system, high-purity wrought iron, charcoal, and glass were mixed in a crucible and heated until the iron melted and absorbed the carbon.The first crucible steel was the wootz steel that originated in India before the beginning of the common era.Archaeological evidence suggests that this manufacturing process was already in existence in South India well before the Christian era.
 

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Dentistry, dental drill, and dental surgery: The Indus Valley Civilization has yielded evidence of dentistry being practiced as far back as 7000 BCE. This earliest form of dentistry involved curing tooth related disorders with bow drills operated, perhaps, by skilled bead craftsmen.The reconstruction of this ancient form of dentistry showed that the methods used were reliable and effective.


look at this picture-->http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/25/060405_prehistoric_dentistry_vlg9a_hmedium.jpg
 

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Diamond Gemstones: Early diamonds used as gemstones originated in India.Golconda served as an important center for diamonds in central India. Diamonds then were exported to other parts of the world, including Europe. Early references to diamonds in India come from Sanskrit texts. The Arthashastra of Kautilya mentions diamond trade in India. India remained the only major source of diamonds in the world until the discovery of diamonds in Brazil. Buddhist works dating from the 4th century BC as a well-known and precious stone but don't mention the details of diamond cutting.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.A Chinese work from the 3rd century BC mentions: "Foreigners wear it [diamond] in the belief that it can ward off evil influences".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".
 

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Dice: The dice is attributed to India by some accounts.Some of the earliest archaeological evidence of oblong dice have been found in Harrapan sites such as Kalibangan, Lothal, Ropar, Alamgirpur, Desalpur and surrounding territories, some dating back to the third millennium BCE, which were used for gambling. The oblong or cubical dice (akṣa) is the precursor of the more primitive vibhīṣaka—small, hard nuts drawn randomly to obtain factors of a certain integer.Dicing is believed to have later spread westwards to Persia, influencing Persian board games.Early references to dicing can be found in the Ṛg Veda (c. early 2nd millennium BCE)as well as the newer Atharva Veda (c. late 2nd millennium ~ early 1st millennium BCE).
 

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Dike: Dikes were known to be widely used in the Indus valley civilization,which are believed to be the first dikes in the world,built as early as the 1st millennium BCE.This was the same period when the dockyard at Lothal was in operation.The use of dikes became known from then onwards
 

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Dock (maritime): The world's first dock at Lothal (2400 BCE) was located away from the main current to avoid deposition of silt. 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.This was the earliest known dock found in the world, equipped to berth and service ships.It is speculated that Lothal engineers studied tidal movements, and their effects on brick-built structures, since the walls are of kiln-burnt bricks.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.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)


Lothal - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 

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* Dyeing: Early evidence of dyeing comes from India where a piece of cotton dyed with a vegetable dye has been recovered from the archaeological site at Mohenjo-daro (3rd millennium BCE). The dye used in this case was madder, which, along with other dyes—such as Indigo—was introduced to other regions through trade.Contact with Alexander the Great, who had successfully used dyeing for military camouflage, may have further helped aid the spread of dyeing from India.Within India these dyes have found consistent mention in Indian literature and in some cases have been excavated in archaeological findings.Dyes in India were a commodity of both Internal trade and exports. Indian exports of Indigo alone reached nearly 15, 097, 622 pounds in 1887-88 with the principle markets being the United Kingdom, the United States of America, France and Egypt


look at this pic,these guys are using the same method for 2000 years--->File:Cotton dyeing in India.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 

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Furnace: The earliest furnace was excavated at Balakot, a site of the Indus Valley Civilization, dating back to its mature phase (c. 2500-1900 BCE). The furnace was most likely used for the manufacturing of ceramic objects.
 

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something interesting,even i dint knew this--->

* Hookah: The invention of the modern Hookah is attributed to Hakim Abul Fateh Gilani (c. 1580 CE), who was a physician in the court of Mughal emperor Akbar (1542 - 1605 CE).Following the European introduction of tobacco to India, Gilani raised concerns after smoking tobacco became popular among Indian noblemen, and subsequently envisaged a system which allowed smoke to be passed through water in order to be 'purified'.Gilani invented the Hookah after Asad Beg, then ambassador of Bijapur, encouraged Akbar to take up smoking. Following popularity among noblemen, this new device for smoking soon became a status symbol for the Indian affluent.
 

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* Hospital: Brahmanic hospitals were established in what is now Sri Lanka as early as 431 BCE.The Indian emperor Ashoka (ruled from 273 BCE to 232 BCE) himself established a chain of hospitals throughout the Mauryan empire (322–185 BCE) by 230 BCE.One of the edicts of Ashoka (272—231 BCE) reads: "Everywhere King Piyadasi (Asoka) erected two kinds of hospitals, hospitals for people and hospitals for animals. Where there were no healing herbs for people and animals, he ordered that they be bought and planted."
 

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another chinese buster-->

Incense clock: Although popularly associated with China the incense clock is believed to have originated in India, at least in its fundamental form if not function.Early incense clocks found in China between the 6th and 8th century CE—the period it appeared in China all seem to have Devanāgarī carvings on them instead of Chinese seal characters.Incense itself was introduced to China from India in the early centuries CE, along with the spread of Buddhism by travelling monks. Edward Schafer asserts that incense clocks were probably an Indian invention, transmitted to China, which explains the Devanāgarī inscriptions on early incense clocks found in China.Silvio Bedini on the other hand asserts that incense clocks were derived in part from incense seals mentioned in Tantric Buddhist scriptures, which first came to light in China after those scriptures from India were translated into Chinese, but holds that the time-telling function of the seal was incorporated by the Chinese.
 

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India ink, carbonaceous pigment for: The source of the carbon pigment used in India ink was India.In India, the carbon black from which India ink is produced is obtained by burning bones, tar, pitch, and other substances.Ink itself has been used in India since at least the 4th century BC. Masi, an early ink in India was an admixture of several chemical components.Indian documents written in Kharosthi with ink have been unearthed in Xinjiang.The practice of writing with ink and a sharp pointed needle was common in ancient South India.Several Jain sutras in India were compiled in ink.
 

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Indian clubs: The Indian club—which appeared in Europe during the 18th century—was used long by India's native soldiery before its introduction to Europe.During the British Raj the British officers in India performed calisthenic exercises with clubs to keep in for physical conditioning.From Britain the use of club swinging spread to the rest of the world.
 

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this is a good read--->

Interferometer, lateral shear: Invented by M.V.R.K. Murty, a Lateral Shear Interferometer utilizes a laser source for measuring refractive index.The principle of the Murty Interferometer is: 'when a parallel plate of glass receives a collimated laser beam at an oblique angle, the reflections from front and back of the plate are always separated by a certain amount of shear depending on thickness and refractive index of the glass plate and angle of incidence of the beam. An interference fringe of uniform intensity is obtained in the common area of two laterally sheared beams. When a wedged plate of a few arc seconds instead of parallel plates is used as a shearing plate such as its apex of wedge lies in the horizontal plane, a set of straight fringes parallel to the horizontal direction are formed for the well collimated laser beam. The interferometer is insensitive to vibrations and therefore the fringes are stable even without isolation table. The schematic diagram for measuring refractive index of liquids or solids by using the Murty Interferometer is given in this figure.The laser interferometer did not require any optical path compensation.

look at the pic here-->http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...ing_refractive_index_of_liquids_or_solids.jpg
 

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another good read-->

* Iron: Iron was developed in the Vedic period of India, around the same time as, but independently of, Anatolia and the Caucasus. Archaeological sites in India, such as Malhar, Dadupur, Raja Nala Ka Tila and Lahuradewa in present day Uttar Pradesh show iron implements in the period between 1800 BC—1200 BC.Early iron objects found in India can be dated to 1400 BC by employing the method of radiocarbon dating. Spikes, knives, daggers, arrow-heads, bowls, spoons, saucepans, axes, chisels, tongs, door fittings etc. ranging from 600 BC to 200 BC have been discovered from several archaeological sites of India.Some scholars believe that by the early 13th century BC, iron smelting was practiced on a bigger scale in India, suggesting that the date the technology's inception may be placed earlier.In Southern India (present day Mysore) iron appeared as early as 11th to 12th centuries BC; these developments were too early for any significant close contact with the northwest of the country.
 

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i am repeating this one-->

Iron pillar: The first iron pillar was the Iron pillar of Delhi, erected at the times of Chandragupta II Vikramaditya (375–413 CE).
 

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i used to play this a lot--->

Kabaddi: The game of kabaddi originated in India during prehistory.Suggestions on how it evolved into the modern form range from wrestling exercises, military drills, and collective self defense but most authorities agree that the game existed in some form or the other in India during the period between 1500-400 BCE
 

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