The beginnings

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The beginnings

The earliest human beings inevitably lived their lives in accordance with the cyclic processes of the natural world around them. The movements of the sun, moon, stars and planets provided units of time measured for them by the universe itself.

When people began to measure time for themselves they turned to other natural processes already familiar to them from their daily lives. These were processes which took time to happen and therefore could provide them with a measure of time. Simple things like the flow of water, the trickle of sand, the gradual lengthening of a shadow all suggested ways of measuring time.

Ultimately the motive power which lay behind all these ways of measuring time was gravity. The gravitational constant which governed the movement of the planets on a cosmic scale also powered the water clock, the sand glass and, later, mechanical weight driven pendulum clocks. It also of course guaranteed the regularity of the relative motions of the Sun, the Moon and the Earth, and this enabled the development of a wide range of instruments that exploited those motions by measuring the varying length and position of the shadows which they cast.

Unlike the 'natural' cycles of day and night, or the seasons, these measuring devices could be calibrated to provide an abstract measure of time such as the hour. This development marked a crucial stage in the ever increasing ability of human beings to exercise control over the world around them rather than simply adapting and responding to it.

Tibetan Shepherd's tapering octagonal hard-wood Timestick 19th century Click on the image to see larger version Tibetan Shepherd's tapering octagonal hard-wood Timestick 19th century Click on the image to see larger version	Sun dials are perhaps the earliest type of time measurement, dating from thousands of years before mechanical devices. These devices range from the simple shepherd's dial, like this Tibetan timestick, to the complex and sophisticated multi functional Nuremberg dials of the 16th and 17th centuries. The earliest sundials, like Cleopatra's Needle, were upright obelisks, but in order to measure true solar time, the angle of a sundial's spike, or gnomon, must correspond with the angle of latitude. Altitude sundials are dials which use the altitude of the sun to tell the time. This shepard's dial, or timestick, is one of the simplest and most widely used portable dials. Although the shepherd's dial is not very accurate, it is easy to make and inexpensive. The timestick is carved with eight vertical time scales each for a different period of the year, since the reading depends not only on the time of day but also on the latitude and time of year. A peg gnomon is inserted at the top in the appropriate hole for the season of the year. When not in use this gnomon fits into a hole drilled down the centre of the stick at the top.
Universal Equinoctial Sundial with crossbow gnomon by Johan Martin of Augsburg 17th century Click on the image to see larger version Universal Equinoctial Sundial with crossbow gnomon by John Martin of Augsburg 17th century Click on the image to see larger version	This is a German water gilt and silver mounted pocket universal sundial and is inscribed 'Johan Martin Augsburg 48'. Johan Martin of Augsburg was born 1642 and died 1720. The Dial has a cresent shaped gnomon which may be adjusted for the season of the year. Time is indicated when the shadow of one of the tops of the gnomon falls exactly upon the central line of one of the two arcs of equatorial circles. Provision is made for use in various latitudes and the base plate carries a list of towns with their latitiudes. On the underside is a perpetual calendar incorporating the signs of the Zodiac.
Sandglass Click on the image to see larger version	The flow of a measured quantity of sand from one container to another was a convenient, if not always very accurate, way of measuring a desired interval of time. It offered easy repeatability. The quantity of sand remained the same, and therefore in theory the interval of time which elapsed would also be the same. The notion of exact repetition or replication is one of the the fundamental concepts governing the development of time keeping. This basic principle can be seen in the Sand Glass shown opposite.

To see more examples of sundials and nocturnals visit the Dial Collection page.