talent was equal to 3,000 shekels instead of the 2,600 shekels
of the Mesopotamian talent.
Ancient Mesopotamians measured volume in sila or qa;
1 sila was equivalent to about 1.5 pints. A sila was made up of
60 gin, each equal to about 2⁄5 ounce. Sixty sila made 1 mas-
siktu or pi, which was about 11 gallons or 1.3 bushels. One
hundred sila made 1 imeru, which was about 18.3 gallons or
2.25 bushels and was the amount one donkey was expected to
be able to carry. A qurru or gur was 180 sila, about 33 gallons
or 4 bushels.
Th e basic Mesopotamian measurement of length was the
ammatu, or cubit, which was about 15 inches long. It origi-
nally was the length of a man’s arm from elbow to fi ngertip,
a convenient measuring device for merchants anywhere. An
ubanu was about ⅔ inch, the length of a fi nger joint; 24 or 30
ubanu made up 1 ammatu, depending on the time and place.
A kanu was 6 ammatu (around 8 feet), and a gar was 12 am-
matu. One ashlu consisted of 10 gar. A beru was 1800 gar,
about 5.25 miles.
Fields and land were measured in iku, which consisted of
about 5⁄6 acre. One musaru was equal to 1 square gar, about
27.5 square yards; this was the standard measurement of a
garden plot. One buru was equal to 18 iku, or 15 acres. One
shar was equal to 1,080 iku, or 25.3 square miles.
During the Hellenistic Period (323–31 b.c.e.) Greek units
of weights and measures spread throughout Mesopotamia
and the Near East. During the Roman Republic and Empire
(509 b.c.e.–476 c.e.) many people in the Near East and Meso-
potamia used the Roman system of weights and measures.
Th roughout the ancient world there was much fl exibility
of weights and measures. For example, archaeologists have
found objects in Greece and Rome that appear to have been
made according to Persian weights and measures. Although
these objects could have come from Persia, historians believe
it is more likely that people in Greece and Rome occasionally
used foreign measurement schemes to make certain objects.
Even within the well-regulated Greek and Roman systems,
there was a great deal of local variation, as individual towns
customized weights and measurements to fi t their needs.ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
BY AMY HACKNEY BLACKWELL
Th e earliest documented systems of precise measurements
were created in the fourth and third millennia b.c.e. in the
Indus Valley, Mesopotamia, and Egypt. Chinese people are
known to have developed precise weights and measures by
the late second millennium b.c.e., though they may have done
so several centuries earlier. Chinese systems of measurement
spread throughout the rest of eastern Asia toward the end of
the ancient period.
Th e peoples who lived in the Indus Valley between 3300
and 1500 b.c.e. developed precise systems of measurement.
Th ey divided weights and measures into units of 10. Th e basic
unit of weight was about 10 ounces. Weights were multiplesof this unit; the standard weights were 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100,
200, and 500 units. Smaller weights were measured as frac-
tions of the basic unit; the main fractional weights were 0.5,
0.2, 0.1, and 0.05 units. Th e Harappan people who lived in
the Indus Valley at this time built cities and houses accord-
ing to precise plans, which required them to measure bricks,
boards, streets, and other units carefully. Bricks were made
according to a ratio of 4 to 2 to 1; that is, a brick was twice as
wide and four times as long as it was tall.
By the late fi rst millennium b.c.e. in India, overseeing
weights and measures was considered the government’s re-
sponsibility. Th e Manusmriti, a book of Hindu laws written
around the fi rst or second century b.c.e., observes that one
of a ruler’s duties was to ensure that weights and measures
remained constant. During the Maurya Dynasty (321–185
b.c.e.) the government established a system of measurements
that was used throughout the realm. Despite standardiza-
tion, all measurements were somewhat fl exible; it is impos-
sible to know exactly how long any of these measurements
rea l ly were because t hey varied somewhat f rom place to place.
Many of them were determined by body proportions and so
would naturally vary from person to person.
Th e smallest unit of length under the Indian system was
a parmanu, which was microscopically small and could not
be subdivided; the parmanu was a strictly theoretical unit
because no one had the technology to work with such small
items. From there, units were generally defi ned by groups of
four or eight. Eight parmanu equaled 1 rajahkan, the length
of a dust particle. Eight rajahkan equaled 1 liksha, the length
of a louse egg. Eight liksha equaled 1 yookamadhya. Eight
yookamadhya equaled 1 yavamadhya.
Eight yavamadhya equaled 1 angul, the width of a fi nger,
or about ¾ inch. Eight angul equaled 1 dhanurmushti, the
length of a fi st with the thumb sticking out, or about 6 inches.
Four angul were the width of a bow grip, called dharnugrah.
Twelve angul made 1 vitastaa, about 9 inches, or the distance
between a stretched-out little fi nger and thumb. Four vitastaa
equaled 1 aratni or hast, about 18 inches, or the distance from
an elbow to an outstretched middle fi nger, a unit known as
the cubit in European systems. Four aratni made 1 dand or
dhanush, about 6 feet, or the length of a bow. Ten dand made
1 rajju, which was about 60 feet. Two rajju equaled one pa-
ridesh, about 120 feet. Two thousand dand equaled 1 krosh,
which was about 2 or 2.25 miles. Four krosh made 1 yojan,
which was about 9 miles.
Th e system of weight measurement in India was closely tied
with ayurveda, the main type of medicine. Ayurvedic medi-
cine used many herbs and oils as treatments, and ayurvedic
practitioners developed a precise system of weights and mea-
sures to ensure accuracy in their preparations. Doctors typi-
cally needed to weigh very small amounts of substances, and
they used natural seeds as standards. Mustard seeds, sesame
seeds, and madatiya seeds were all common weights. Texts on
ayurveda list tables describing numerous weights and mea-
sures to be used in making drug preparations.1176 weights and measures: Asia and the Pacific0895-1194_Soc&Culturev4(s-z).i1176 1176 10/10/07 2:31:21 PM