The Clock: A Cultural Artifact Through the Ages - History Essay

This essay examines the clock as a significant cultural artifact, tracing its evolution from ancient sundials and water clocks to modern mechanical and digital timepieces. It explores the technological advancements that improved the accuracy and design of clocks throughout history, including the influence of astronomical clocks and the development of automated mechanisms. The essay highlights how different types of clocks reflect specific eras, such as pocket watches in the Victorian era and smartwatches in the postmodern era. It concludes that the clock's significance has changed with technological advancements and symbolizes the development of human civilization, influencing cultural art forms and depictions, and showing the importance of timekeeping in society.

Running head:
Topic
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1Heading
Clock as a cultural artifact
Clock is a device that helps in measuring time and is considered as an important cultural
artifact and an integral part of the development of human societies. Clock has been present
throughout human history for thousands of years of the ancient civilizations and has become
a constant part of our post-modern society as an important cultural artifact (Riskin, 2016).
The earliest forms of clocks started in the form of sun dials that were used by the Egyptians
as well as Greece and the Indian subcontinent during the 1300 BC. This approach used the
light of the sun to create a shadow of the Gnomon on a circular dial that would the length of
the day into many hours (Jerome, 2017). Water clocks started to be used as early as 4000BC
in various places such as China, India, Egypt and Babylon. This was further developed by
Japan, Korea and Chinese. The earliest mechanical clocks however, included a water
powered cogwheel apparatus built in 725AD by Chinese and the development of
astronomical clock during 1020 AD in China (Dixit et al., 2017). The modern version of the
clock however originates from early Europe during 1277 AD by a Spanish clock maker
(Stolz, 2015).
The modern clock therefore can be considered as an influence from the astronomical clocks
used in Ancient China, India and Egypt to study the movement of celestial objects and also
by the incorporation of the water clock apparatus to provide more accurate rime-keeping to
record smaller timescales. During 1283 AD, one of the first large clocks was built for the
Canterbury Cathedral followed by more similar clocks to be developed during the 1300s.
these clocks involved an astronomical dial that was two meters in diameter along with bells
and automata to automate the time keeping process thereby representing the earliest, modern
automated clocks that we know today (Jerome, 2017). The accuracy of clocks as a tie keeping
apparatus further increased with technological advancements from 15th Century onwards until

2Heading
the modern times where the accuracy of the device can be calibrated to millionth of seconds.
Depiction of clocks similarly have changed with the times with different types of clocks
becoming a cultural relic for a specific time in history, for example, clocks such as hour
glass, water clocks and sun dials are usual associated with ancient history or pocket watches
being associated with the Victorian era, digital watches with the modern era and smart
watches with the post-modern era (Stolz, 2015; Riskin, 2016).
Thus it can be concluded that he usage of clock and its symbolic significance has changed in
the modern society with changes in technology that affected the design accuracy and ease of
measuring time. The clock has not only been an important artifact of our culture but also an
important indicator showing the development of human civilization and technology from one
era to next. The clocks have therefore not only captured human imagination but also been
depicted in various cultural art forms and mobilization.
References:
Riskin, J. (2016). The restless clock: a history of the centuries-long argument over what
makes living things tick. University of Chicago Press.
Jerome, C. (2017). History of the American Clock Business for the Past Sixty Years and Life
of Chauncey Jerome. Read Books Ltd.
Stolz, D. A. (2015). Positioning the Watch Hand: ʿUlamaʾ and the Practice of Mechanical
Timekeeping in Cairo, 1737–1874. International Journal of Middle East Studies, 47(3), 489-
510.
Dixit, U. S., Hazarika, M., & Davim, J. P. (2017). A brief history of mechanical engineering.
Springer International Publishing.