ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
BY KIRK H. BEETZ
Tracing inventions, especially when they are from illiterate
cultures, can be diffi cult. For example, ancient Australians,
Indians, and Europeans all used the boomerang to hunt small
game. Who invented it? Th e answer is that they each did, sep-
arately from the others. How they invented the boomerang
is a mystery that puzzles engineers to this day because of its
complex aerodynamics. Another example is the bronze mak-
ing of the Shang Dynasty of China (ca. 1500–ca. 1045 b.c.e.):
Did the Shang invent bronze making independently? Th e an-
swer is that they probably did not. Th e techniques for making
bronze probably were imported from the Near East. Ancient
cultures were far more connected than modern people may
realize, with inventions that were useful moving across great
distances over hundreds of years.
Th e inventions of ancient China are far better known
than for the rest of ancient Asia and the Pacifi c because the
Chinese wrote about their inventions, and archaeologists
have been able to trace when certain inventions arose. For
Oceania archaeologists are fairly sure that the ancients in-
vented harpoons with teeth pointing backward so that the
harpoon would stick and not be shaken loose, but when or ex-
actly where they arose is not known. People of the Philippines
probably invented the yo-yo as a device for hunting game; a
hunter could hide up a tree and send a heavy yo-yo spinning
down onto his prey. Still, the details for when the yo-yo was
invented are so vague that it could have been invented else-
where and been taken to the Philippines, where it survived
because it remained useful.
For Korea and Japan the rarity of written records ham-
pers historians’ eff orts to identify their inventions. Both were
notably creative in the manufacture of ceramics, but Korea’s
great era of invention in ceramics came in the 1100s c.e., long
aft er the ancient era. Japan’s ceramics were among the best of
the ancient world, but what archaeologists have so far found
of advances in ancient Japanese technology consist of innova-
tions developed fi rst in China and then transferred to Japan
through Korea. On the other hand, there is one well-known
Japanese invention that predates 200 c.e.: the zori, sandals
with a strap next to the big toe that attaches to the sole and a
strap that arcs over the top of the foot. Th is invention is worn
throughout the world and is oft en called “fl ip-fl ops.”
In most of the ancient world, technology was learned
by being passed down from master to student. Over several
generations the knowledge would become tradition that each
new student was expected to learn. Th is tended to discour-
age inventions, because innovation would seem like tamper-
ing with unwritten laws for the manufacturing of goods. Th is
meant that changes in technology were usually minor ad-
justments in technique, as when Indian metalworkers of the
Maurya Dynasty (321–185 b.c.e.) of India fi gured out how to
make iron that resisted rust. Moreover, passing on knowledge
by word of mouth meant that innovations could be lost, as
was the case for making white ceramics during the Warring
States Period (453–221 b.c.e.) of China, which was not rein-
vented until the 700s c.e.
Th e Chinese developed an appreciation of scientifi c re-
search for its own sake, and inventors were oft en celebrated
fi gures. In fact, the Chinese developed the practice of pure
research, meaning learning about the natural world sim-
ply for the sake of acquiring knowledge. Th ey believed that
learning about the natural world contributed to a person’s
moral development. Th e impetus for research resulted in sig-
nifi cant inventions before they even became notably useful.
For instance, the Chinese knew that lodestone was magnetic
and that when hung from a string the lodestone would point
north and south. By the 400s c.e. they had carved lodestone
into the shape of a spoon called sinan that was used to help
miners know the direction in which they headed. It was sev-
eral hundred years before the device was adapted for navi-
gation by the Chinese, becoming a compass.
Th e Chinese were also good at taking an invention
and reinventing it to make it more useful. For instance, the
Scythians of central Asia invented the stirrup for horseback
riding in the 380s b.c.e. It consisted of a loop of leather in
which a foot was inserted, giving a rider stability. In about
the 100s c.e. the Chinese transformed this into a metal loop
with a fl at bottom that allowed horseback riders to stand
up in the stirrups and remain stable while fi ring arrows or
throwing spears. Th us, in hunting and battle the Chinese
stirrup gave riders an advantage they would not have had
with the leather stirrup. Another Chinese innovation for
horseback riding was the padded saddle in the fi rst century
c.e. Not only did it make riding more comfortable, it also
enabled people to stay in the saddle for longer periods and
cut down on the number of sores and injuries to the backs
of riders.
Many Chinese inventions were practical, and while they
may seem obvious now, they were world changing when they
were introduced. For example, the Chinese invented the
wheelbarrow in the fi rst century c.e. It was basically a cart
with only one wheel in front, but it was a remarkable labor-
saving device that allowed farmers and construction work-
ers to work faster and move heavier loads than they could
by carrying them. It allowed a worker to quickly move loads
that might have taken two men to move before. For ships the
Chinese invented the sternpost rudder for steering in about
200 b.c.e. In the 400s c.e. they created transverse bulkheads.
When a ship had a leak, the transverse bulkheads allowed
sailors to seal off the leaking section of the ship and thus keep
the ship afl oat. For land transportation the Chinese invented
carts with two shaft s in the fi rst century b.c.e. Th e shaft s went
outside instead of down the middle in front of the cart, mak-
ing it possible to use only one horse or other draft animal to
pull a cart rather than the two a single shaft would usually
require.
Two of the most widely used inventions have been
silk and paper. At present no one knows for sure when silk598 inventions: Asia and the Pacific