Beginnings of Modern Science

Science did not begin, as we might have been expected, with a study of those matters closest to hand, namely human affairs, and then work outward toward the most distant things , namely the stars. On the other hand science begin with the observation of the stars and worked from their inward. The last matters to come under scientific observation were human affairs  The key to the newness of modern science was its insistence on testing theories by direct confrontation with reality , checking them by observing and measuring the data they were supposed to explain.Before then, theories had been tested chiefly by discussion and argument.

In prehistoric times, advice and knowledge was passed from generation to generation in an oral tradition. For example, the domestication of maize for agriculture has been dated to about 9,000 years ago in southern Mexico, before the development of writing systems.Similarly, archaeological evidence indicates the development of astronomical knowledge in preliterate societies.

The development of writing enabled knowledge to be stored and communicated across generations with much greater fidelity. Combined with the development of agriculture, which allowed for a surplus of food, it became possible for early civilizations to develop, because more time and effort could be devoted to tasks (other than food production) than hunter-gatherers or early subsistence farmers had available. This surplus allowed a community to support individuals who did things other than work towards bare survival. These other tasks included systematic studies of nature, study of written information gathered and recorded by others, and often of adding to that body of information.

Many ancient civilizations collected astronomical information in a systematic manner through simple observation. Though they had no knowledge of the real physical structure of the planets and stars, many theoretical explanations were proposed. Basic facts about human physiology were known in some places, and alchemy was practiced in several civilizations. Considerable observation ofmacroscopic flora and fauna was also performed.