How STEM built empires

"The ancient Greeks lived thousands of years ago. However, their discoveries about science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) aren't out-of-date or old-fashioned. In fact, some of the ideas and inventions they dreamed up so long ago are useful to the modern world. In every field, including geometry, astronomy, zoology, and medicine, the ancient Greeks were constantly looking at their world and making important discoveries--building blocks for science and technology in the modern age. This . . . book helps readers understand and better appreciate the . . . STEM discoveries the ancient Greeks have handed down through the centuries"--Provided by publisher.

"At the dawn of Europe's Scientific Revolution, China was a major world power. With million-person cities, vast navies, and a robust trade in luxury goods, China was a country of marvels. The 'Central Kingdom' was also a country of invention. This fascinating resource explores the science and technology behind China's rise to power: the incredible scope, the unique traditions that supported it, and the reasons for the eventual decline of the dynastic era. Readers will learn of agricultural innovations, massive building projects, elaborate machines, and countless inventions that changed the way the world ate, drank, read, waged war, and traveled"--Provided by the publisher.

"The archaeological evidence of Tenochtitlan isn't just impressive from a historical perspective, it is also remarkable from a STEM standpoint, too. After all, it reveals one . . . fact about the Aztecs: they were an . . . advanced civilization who utilized many science, math, technology, and engineering practices in the construction of their metropolis. This fact is made evident by the . . . structures, artwork, and artifacts that this long-lost people left behind deep underneath present-day Mexico City. Throughout this text, we'll be exploring some of the achievements of the Aztecs and how this people who lived some 500 years ago was able to use . . . STEM skills to build one of the grandest cities in the Americas--and the world--at that time"--Provided by publisher.

"From the founding of its republic in 509 B.C.E. to the demise of its empire in 476 C.E., Rome dominated the countries of the Mediterranean Sea, the Middle East, and Europe as far north as Britain. Roman scientists, engineers, mathematicians, architects, and others left a rich legacy of roads, aqueducts, bridges, mills, treatises, and more over its thousand-year history and for the centuries to come. This . . . volume explains the dramatic story of Rome's conquests and triumphs, and how they went hand in hand with advancements in science, technology, engineering, and math, or STEM"--Provided by publisher.

"Over its 2,700-year history, the Maya became one of the most complex and dominant indigenous civilizations in pre-Columbian America. They became masters in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)--evident through the archaeological remains. The Maya built massive civilizations with temples, palaces, extensive highway networks, and some of the largest pyramids in the world. This title explores all these innovations and more, explaining how, why, and when the Mayan empire's greatest minds came up with unique STEM solutions to everyday problems"--Provided by publisher.

"In size and sophistication, the most impressive empire in the Americas was the Incas. Established in Peru in the twelfth century, the Incan empire united millions of people and dozens of distinct cultures under a single governing system. The Incas lacked what many assume are essential to empire-building: writing, the wheel, a favorable climate. Still, the Incas overcame these challenges with incredible science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) innovations: terrace agriculture, elaborate road systems, earthquake-proof buildings, a planned economy without money, and an elaborate mathematics communicated with textiles. Incan accomplishments show that technological developments take many unexpected forms"--Provided by publisher.

"The ancient Greeks lived thousands of years ago. However, their discoveries about science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) aren't out-of-date or old-fashioned. In fact, some of the ideas and inventions they dreamed up so long ago are useful to the modern world. In every field, including geometry, astronomy, zoology, and medicine, the ancient Greeks were constantly looking at their world and making important discoveries--building blocks for science and technology in the modern age. This . . . book helps readers understand and better appreciate the . . . STEM discoveries the ancient Greeks have handed down through the centuries"--Provided by publisher.

"Pyramids, . . . mummies, intricate hieroglyphics, and . . . tomb paintings carry the echoes of ancient Egypt through thousands of years into the present. Science, technology, engineering, and mathematical or STEM achievements lay at the heart of the Egyptians' grandeur. Their . . . use of basic tools and machines in massive construction projects, the preservation of human remains, and agricultural inventions that remain useful in modern times are just some of the subjects investigated in this volume"--Provided by publisher.

"It is common to think of the history of STEM as a succession of great names, moving in a direct line from Archimedes to Isaac Newton to Einstein. China will offer more than enough brilliant figures for us to admire, but that will not be the entire story. Many of China's inventions evolved over great time scales, spread by diffusion, and were anonymously perfected over time. As China's fortunes rose and fell through the centuries, geniuses in science, politics, and warfare would alternate with unknown inventors and workers solving problems. People would debate the most virtuous way to run a state, or simply seize it outright. People discussed China's place in the world, the citizen's role in the country, and the natural world's place in the cosmos. Each of these questions spurred people to discover and invent with STEM--and in the process, shape China's destiny"--Provided by publisher.

"The archaeological evidence of Tenochtitlan isn't just impressive from a historical perspective, it is also remarkable from a STEM standpoint, too. After all, it reveals one . . . fact about the Aztecs: they were an . . . advanced civilization who utilized many science, math, technology, and engineering practices in the construction of their metropolis. This fact is made evident by the . . . structures, artwork, and artifacts that this long-lost people left behind deep underneath present-day Mexico City. Throughout this text, we'll be exploring some of the achievements of the Aztecs and how this people who lived some 500 years ago was able to use . . . STEM skills to build one of the grandest cities in the Americas--and the world--at that time"--Provided by publisher.