Ancient
Measurement
System
Presenter
Gabriel, Angela Mae B. Sungahid, Jhucel S.
Introduction
Ancient Measurement Systems
were developed by different
civilizations to quantify various
aspects of daily life, such as
length, weight, and volume. These
systems were often based on
practical references like body
parts, natural objects or common
items.
Egyptian System
One which gained a certain universal nature
was that of the Egyptian cubit developed
around 3000 BC. The ancient Egyptians used a
system of measurement based on the human
arm. They used cubits, palms, and digits. A
cubit is the length from the bent elbow to the
tips of the fingers, while a palm is the width of
the palm of the hand, and a digit is the width of
the human fingers. Four digits equals one palm
Cubit
Cubit, unit of linear measure
used by many ancient and
medieval peoples. The cubit,
generally taken as equal to
18 inches (457 mm), was
based on the length of the
arm from the elbow to the tip
of the middle finger and was
considered the equivalent of
A span
Spanis the distance
measured by a human hand,
from the tip of the thumb to
the tip of the little finger.
In ancient times, a span was
considered to be half a cubit.
Sometimes the distinction is
made between the great
span or full span (thumb to
little finger) and little span or
Digit
The digit, also called a finger
or fingerbreadth, is a unit of
measurement originally
based on the breadth of a
human finger. In Ancient
Egypt it was the basic unit of
subdivision of the cubit.
Egyptian System
Babylonian System
Among the earliest of all known weights is the
Babylonian mina, which in one surviving form
weighed about 640 grams (about 23 ounces)
and in another about 978 grams (about 34
ounces). The shekel, familiar from the Bible as a
standard Hebrew coin and weight, was
originally Babylonian. The basic Babylonian unit
of length was the kus (about 530 mm or 20.9
inches), also called the Babylonian cubit.
Babylonian
System
The sacred mina was equal
to 60 shekels and the
sacred talent to 3,000
shekels, or 50 sacred
minas. The Talmudic mina
equaled 25 shekels; the
Talmudic talent equaled
1,500 shekels, or 60
Talmudic minas. The gerah
was the smallest unit of
Chinese System
It employed parts of the body as a source of
units—for example, the distance from the pulse
to the base of the thumb. Chinese units of
measurement, known in Chinese as the shìzhì
("market system"), are the traditional
units of measurement of the Han Chinese.
Although Chinese numerals have been decimal
(base-10) since the Shang, several Chinese
measures use hexadecimal (base-16).
Chinese System
Chih/Chang – a unit of length,
roughly equivalent to a foot,
varying in length but often
about 33 cm.
Li – a unit of distance, about
500 m.
Sheng – a unit of volume
about 1.94 liters.
Shih/Tan – the basic unit of
Mesopotamian System
Ancient Mesopotamian units of measurement
originated in the loosely organized city-states of
Early Dynastic Sumer.
Ancient Mesopotamian units of measurement
included the following:
[Link] (cubit) for length
[Link] (garden-plot) for area and volume
[Link] for capacity
[Link] for weight
Greek and Roman System
In the 1st millennium bce commercial domination
of the Mediterranean passed into the hands of the
Greeks and then the Romans.
A basic Greek unit of length was the finger (19.3
mm or 0.76 inch); 16 fingers equaled about 30 cm
(about 1 foot), and 24 fingers equaled 1 Olympic
cubit. Larger linear units were always expressed
in feet. The cubit (cubitum) was 11/2 Roman feet
(444 mm or 17.48 inches). Five Roman feet made
Greek and Roman System
The most frequently used itinerary measures were
the furlong or stade (stadium), the mile (mille
passus), and the league (leuga). The stade
consisted of 625 Roman feet (185 metres or 606.9
feet), or 125 paces, and was equal to one-eighth
of a mile. The mile was 5,000 Roman feet (1,480
metres or 4,856 feet) or 8 stades. The league had
7,500 Roman feet (2,220 metres or 7,283 feet) or
1,500 paces.
Greek and Roman System
• Pace (Passus) – roughly 5 roman ft. or about
1.48 m.
• Mile (mille passuum) – literally “a thousand
paces”, approximately 1.48 km.
• Foot (pous) – the length of a foot, varying
between regions but often about 29.6 cm.
• Stadion – a unit of length, often about 600 ft.,
used to measure distances in races and
geography.
Medieval System
The Medieval system of measurement was an
offshoot of the Roman system which was a
mixture of the Babylonian, the Egyptian and the
Chinese systems.
• Libra – the medieval unit of weight
• Roman mile – the unit of measure for distance
with varying number of feet and yards.
• quart – the unit of dry measure similar to the
modern English quart.
Sundial
Sundial, the earliest type of
timekeeping device, which
indicates the time of day by
the position of the shadow of
some object exposed to the
sun’s rays. As the day
progresses, the sun moves
across the sky, causing the
shadow of the object to move
Obelisks
Obelisks are tower-like with four
sides, slender and tapering,
erected as early as 3500 BCE.
Like in sundial, the shadows if an
obelisk enabling the people to
partition the day into two parts,
morning and noon. This ancient
measuring tool able to show the
year’s longest and shortest day.
Later, makers of the obelisk
Water
The water clock, or klepsydra,
the
Clocks
probably developed in response
to shortcomings of the
sundial, namely the inability of
the sundial to work when there
was no sun and to maintain a
constant division of time. The
later, though, was only an issue
when a timer was needed rather
Hourglass
Hourglass, an early device for measuring
intervals of time. It is also known as a
sandglass or a log glass when used in
conjunction with the common log for
ascertaining the speed of a ship. It consists
of two pear-shaped bulbs of glass, united at
their apexes and having a minute passage
formed between them. A quantity of sand (or
occasionally mercury) is enclosed in the
bulbs, and the size of the passage is so
proportioned that this media will completely
run through from one bulb to another in the
References
• [Link]
papers/wshs_02/wshs02_02_paulson.pdf
• [Link]
TalentConverter#:~:text=1%20talent%20=%203000%20shekels
• [Link]
• [Link]
• [Link]
• [Link]
Thank You!
