PERSPECTIVES ON ROMAN TECHNOLOGY

doi:10.1111/J.1468-0092.1990.TB00223.X

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PERSPECTIVES ON ROMAN TECHNOLOGY

Published Jul 1, 1990 · Kevin D. Greene

Oxford Journal of Archaeology

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65

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Abstract

Summary. This paper considers the very different views on Roman technology expressed by K.D. White, O. Wikander and J.P. Oleson. The concept of Roman technology is explored in the light of recent archaeological research into boats, vehicles, water-lifting devices and water-mills. It is argued that the application of appropriate, evolving, and occasionally innovative technology can be detected in several spheres of civil and military engineering, such as water-supply and architecture. However, the application of technology is most impressive in the context of food production and transport. Whilst agreeing that the Roman empire was not fertile ground for an Industrial Revolution of the kind experienced in eighteenth-century England, I hope to demonstrate that this conclusion does not require a wholesale rejection of the possibility of technical innovation.

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Key takeawayRoman technology shows evidence of evolving and occasionally innovative applications in civil and military engineering, particularly in food production and transport, but it was not a fertile ground for an Industrial Revolution.

PopulationOlder adults (50-71 years)

Sample size24

MethodsObservational

OutcomesBody Mass Index projections

ResultsSocial networks mitigate obesity in older groups.

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PERSPECTIVES ON ROMAN TECHNOLOGY

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References

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The Roman horizontal loom was developed in the eastern provinces, probably in Syria, around A.D. 250, and was used to weave damask silks with geometric patterns and fluid-outline patterns by about A.D. 400.

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The ancient world experienced both more and less technical progress than previously thought, with more progress in traditional techniques and less in radical inventions.

Citations

Evaluating the Co-dependence and Co-existence between Religion and Robots: Past, Present and Insights on the Future

Ancient societies and their religious traditions contributed positively to technological progress, dispelling the view that ancient cultures were bereft of technological knowledge and innovation.

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The domestic chicken's introduction into Europe after the Bronze Age was primarily driven by human agency, with India as the most likely origin and multiple centers of domestication.

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