New Clues for Antikythera Mechanism

fuzzybunny writes "The Register reports that British and Dutch scientists located a previously undetected word on the Antikythera Mechanism which seems to confirm its nature as a tool for astronomical prediction. This device is one of the world's first known geared devices; while its purpose is still not 100% clear, according to the article, 'Athens university researcher Xenophon Moussas is reported as saying the "newly discovered text seems to confirm that the mechanism was used to track planetary bodies."'"

Comments

Art

[Umbral Blot]

I've always been of the opinion that it was some sort of Greek modern art piece.

Heraclitus: Don't you see the way the gears symbolize man's oppression by the machine?

Portable Sky

[Doc Ruby]

It's a navigational device that used the night sky, available to everyone in perfect sync, instead of the many calendars that many Old World societies didn't even have. Maps with directions could encode "turning points" or durations in terms of stars and planets, then limit access to them to only those with the antikythera tech.

The really interesting question is how that portable machine relates to the ancient monuments like the Pyramids, Chichen Itza, and Angkor Wat which replicate star patterns on the ground for the ages.

The Word

[StikyPad]

For those wondering, the text they discovered was "...etarium Pat. Pending (1)"

I'm amazed

[Simon Garlick]

... that so many of the comments made thus far are attempts at humour.

The Antikythera Mechanism is either JOYOUSLY UPLIFTING or SOUL-CRUSHINGLY DEPRESSING. It isn't funny.

Uplifting because the human race developed the differential gear and incredibly intricate machinery TWO THOUSAND YEARS earlier than we thought, and used that technology for science.

Depressing because the human race then lobotomized itself and we practically went back to living in caves.

We had something amazing, and we lost it so utterly that we forgot we'd ever had it. Go humanity.

English grammar

[caitsith01]

The Register reports that British and Dutch scientists located a previously undetected word

May I recommend the present perfect simple tense? I think you'll find that nuanced grammar adds a delightful twist to the English language.

For instance:

Slashdot contributors and editors have discovered that applying simple grammatical principles can significantly enhance their audience's comprehension of stories posted on the site

Clear Skies

[Doc Ruby]

I haven't heard whether the antikythera actually worked to accurately show the sky, but I expect that further tests will show that it did.

The Pyramids aren't "incorrectly placed" to represent the stars of "Orion". Their positions are different from Orion's exact shape today, but are exactly correct for their slightly different positions 13.5Ky ago - and again about 12Ky in the future. Discovering that correspondence allowed the discoverers to find 2 previously undocumented pyramids buried nearby, corresponding to other stars in the constellation. FWIW, the "Greek" who knew the Earth was round, even calculating its circumference within 1% accuracy, was Eratosthenes, actually an "Egyptian" (or neighboring "Libyan").

Angkor Wat is sync'ed to "Draco", also 13.5Ky ago. Other global monuments reflect other constellations, including all kinds of Greek monuments.

Stonehenge wasn't merely a sundial, but rather a calibration to various celestial events throughout the year and the centuries.

These devices were used to navigate around a global civilization that shared a celestial framework. Not just markers, but also a consistent framework of stories of supernatural characters that ensured their perpetuation across the world and through time. Because that knowledge was accepted on faith by most, just like most people accept GPS, watches and Web reservation systems on faith today, they're "religious" objects. I hope our exposure to more ancient versions will help us examine our own mystification of current practices at least as much as it demystifies ancient practice.

Let's stick with fact, not legend

[laura20]

Legend, rather than fact. The article says:

2634 BC According to Legend, Huang Di, the Yellow Emperor designs the South Pointing Chariot. It is built for him by the craftsman Fang Bo.

I'll point out that the Yellow Emperor is also credited in Chinese lgeend with inventing the cart, the boat, and the calendar. He's a culture-hero and myth, not history to be cited. The Duke of Chou is similiarly legendified.

Note that the 'reinvention' of it (most likely, the actual invention) dates well after the Antikythera mechanism. And even then, there don't appear to be any surviving plans or carts, and at least one claim that it was an actual person in the cart, not a mechanism.