History of the Sundial

Before quartz and winding clocks, people relied on a sundial.  Giving accurate measurements in daylight, sundials were the first step towards scientifically ordering the passage of time.

Sundial origins lost in shadows

The world's first clocks were sundials.  Who invented the sundial is lost in antiquity.  Historians believe the early timeline of sundials looks like this:

5000 BC:  Babylonians make the first sundials and divide the day into twenty-four hours.

600 BC:  Anaximander of Miletus brings sundial technology to ancient Greece.

200 BC:  Roman poet Plautus curses the sundial for slicing up his day.
 

The arrival of the ancient sundial meant people could have no excuse for being late to work.

Sunrise, sunset

It all started with watching a shadow creep across a sundial.  Since the advent of the sundial, all cultures have used similar timepieces.  The premise behind sundials is the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.  The midpoint along this journey is, of course, recorded on the sundial as high noon.

Time to plant the corn

Measuring hours is useful, but the first sundials did more than that.  The angles of the sun change with seasons.  This dependable rhythm led civilizations to develop complex forecasting methods using a sundial.  Sundials helped determine the perfect times for planting and harvesting crops.  In ages when people lived or died according to agricultural skills, sundials were an essential tool for a community's survival.

How times have changed

Sundials are no longer the choice method for keeping time.  However, how sundials function and their amazing designs still captivate interest.  Sundials are still found in town squares, public school yards, even gardens.  Some people also build their own to better understand these elementary timepieces.  In fact, building a sundial is a fun project for both children and adults.  Decorative sundials are made from a variety of materials.  One common type is the brass sundial, though colored stones or glass are also popular. 

In your garden or in a park, sundials still show the slow passage of the sun's shadow.

More information on sundials