10 SURPRISING ANCIENT INDIAN INVENTIONS AND DISCOVERIES!!

 

  
                    Ancient India was the most advanced civilization of the ancient world, advancement and progress was emphasized on every field of knowledge whether it was Science, Mathematics, Astrology, Physics, Metullurgy, etc. and even in the Entertainment prospect. Due to this reasons, ancient India was successful in Discovering and Inventing various things that that were helpful for enhancing the society and sciences alike. Most of these discoveries and Inventions are still valid and hold high positions in the modern world today, many are used as base to further enhance the collective knowledge of mankind.

                           Today, let's take a look on 10 such surprising Inventions and discoveries from our ancient ancestors!

1. ZERO "0" (628 CE)

               Ancient Indian mathematician, Brahmagupta was the first person to describe and treat "0" as a number which has it's own rights in his book "Brahmasphutasiddhanta" which he wrote in the 17th century. This was a revolutionary discovery in the field of maths as before this concept, placeholder digits were used to show the lack of quantity by the Babylonians and the Romans.

2. DIAMOND MINING (3000 BC)

             India was the first country to discover and and start the mining of diamonds. Major diamond reserves were found in central India along the rivers Krishna, Godavari and Penner. The brilliance of quality and strength of these diamonds were mentioned by many including Kautilya pandit "Chanakya" in his "Arthashastra" and many Buddhist monks. India was the only exporter of diamonds in the entire world for thousands of years, until it was discovered in Brazil in the 18th century.

3. PLASTIC SURGERY (2000 BC)

             The procedure of plastic surgery was invented in ancient India. The procedure was first mentioned in the "Atharvaveda" and later was ellaborated in great detail by Saint Shushruta in his "Shushrutasamhita". Shushruta and other Vaidyas used this technique for facial reconstructions, especially of the nose. Many people confuse plastic surgery as using of plastic (polyester) to reshape body, when it actually means to remould and reshape the body parts.

4. CHATURANGA "CHESS" (200 CE)

            During the rule of the great Gupta dynasty, an amazing game of tactics and strategy was invented which was the "Chaturanga"( army of four divisions ). Initially the game was played by 4 people at a time. The game later spread in various parts of the world like Europe and Africa where different variations were made of it, especially in Persia were it was called "Shatranj" and was played by 2 people only.

5. ANCIENT DENTISTRY (7000 BC)

            Ancient Indians may definitely have healthy and shiny white teeth as Dentistry was practiced in the Indus Valley Civilization as far back as 9000 years. The most facinating thing is that dental procedures were done by skilled bead crafters, I guess beads and teeth have great similarities. Bow drills were used to cure tooth related disorders as indicated by foundings in Mehrgarh, an archeological Indus Valley site.

6. WEIGHING SCALE (2400 BC)

           The most Ancient weighing scale and weights are fount in the Indus Valley and are 4-5,000 years old. The scales were of a simple design with two plates hanged to a overhead beam on opposite extremes. Measuremments were made by putting a measured object on one plate and a weighing stone on the other until equilibrium was maintained. A total of 558 weights were excavated from various IVC archeological sites.

7. CATARACT SURGERY (800 BC)

               Ancient Indian Vaidyas like Shushruta were the first to perform cateract surgery in the world. While performing the surgery a special tool called "Jabamukhi Salaka"( a curved needle) was used to push the cataract out of the vision area and then was bursted by a very sharp object, this process is now referred to as couching. After the surgery the eye was soaked with warm butter and bandaged and a rest of 10 days was needed. Philosophers from different parts of the world like Greece and China travelled to India to observe the Indian physicians who performed these surgeries.

8. BUTTONS (3000 BC)

              The oldest button made of a curved shell and was found in the city of Mohenjo-daro of the Indus Valley Civilization, estimated to be atleast 5,000 years old. More than a cloth fastener, buttons were initially used as ornaments. They were made with precious stones and shells, were carved in geometrical shapes and had holes for attachment in cloth. Looks like buttons were a fashion staple of people at the time!

9. RULER (2400 BC)

            Looks like the Indus Valley civilization was much more technologically advanced that we estimate it to be! Even highly accurate measuring rulers are found in the archeological sites like Lothal and many others. These rulers were made from ivory and were of very high precision. One such rulers found is calibrated to have measurement of about 1/16 of an inch ( 1.6 mm ). These rulers were of great use in city plannings, constructions and measurements hence, all these skill were mastered by the Ancient Indians.

10. CRUCIBLE STEEL (300 BC) 

               
                 Thanks to southern India, the Ancient world was benefited with very high quality steel. The Indians produced steel by mixing and heating pure wrought iron, charcoal and glass in a crucible until the iron absorbs the carbon, this technique was later referred by the Europeans as crucible technique. The steel was renowned throughout the world for its toughness and high quality and was heavily demanded.

                                  These were just 10 such incredible inventions, But there are many, many and many more such surprising inventions and discoveries made by our great civilization. So stay tuned to know about all of them!!