Timeline of Systematic Data and the Development of Computable Knowledge

How civilization has systematized more and more areas of knowledge, collected the data associated with them and made them amenable to automation and computation
Historical Timeline of Computable Knowledge: 20,000 BC-0

20,000 BC

Counting abstract objects

20,000 BC: Arithmetic

Counting abstract objects

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

Representing events by pictures

15,000 BC: Cave Painting

Representing events by pictures

The Lascaux cave paintings record the first known narrative stories.

A systematic way to record knowledge

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.

undefined

3000 BC: Registering Land Ownership

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

2500 BC

Organizing time

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.

Symbols for destiny

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.

Making a standard for measurement

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.

Taking stock of a kingdom

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.

Codifying civil laws

1790 BC: Code of Hammurabi

Codifying civil laws

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

undefined

1700 BC: Babylonian Mathematical Tables

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

A building to store knowledge

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.

Recording geographic knowledge

1150 BC: Egyptian Maps

Recording geographic knowledge

The Turin Papyrus is the first known topographic map.

1000 BC

Coins to represent value

600 BC: Lydian Coinage

Coins to represent value

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

Using arithmetic to predict the heavens

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.

Numbers are the key to 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.

A system of diseases

400 BC: Hippocrates

A system of diseases

Hippocrates identifies definite classes of human diseases.

Finding the rules of human language

400 BC: Panini

Finding the rules of human language

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

Teaching knowledge systematically

387 BC: Plato's Academy

Teaching knowledge systematically

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

Classifying the world and introducing logic

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.

Collecting the world's knowledge

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.

Organizing mathematical truth

300 BC: Euclid

Organizing mathematical truth

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

Computing as a basis for technology

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.

Labeling the Earth

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.

A machine for computing

100 BC: Antikythera Mechanism

A machine for computing

A gear-based device that survives today is created to compute calendrical computation.

Standardizing the months

45 BC: Julius Caesar

Standardizing the months

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