The Chemistry Timeline

Today we venture back to the start of philosophical thinking. We will learn about two Greek thinkers who started to try and comprehend the universe. What was the Arche? How did their ideas fare to modern science? And how far off were they?

References

1. Aristotle. Metaphysics (Book I, Chapter 3).

2. Diogenes Laërtius. Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers (Book I).

3. Plato. Theaetetus (174a).

4. Kirk, G.S., Raven, J.E., & Schofield, M. The Presocratic Philosophers. Cambridge University Press.

5. Burnet, John. Early Greek Philosophy. A&C Black.

Script writing, recording and editing done by me, Jake. Sound effects and backing music from Pixabay.

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AI Disclaimer: Research, script writing and editing done by myself. AI is used in the fine tuning of my script to help create a smooth flow of ideas (otherwise it would be as chaotic as the early universe), but all research and writing is not AI-Generated.

Today, we venture back to the point where we started turning boring sand into beautiful glass. How did we turn this common ingredient into a clear crystal? What problems did they have, and why was coloured glass the original idea?

References:

• Degryse, P., Scott, R. B., & Brems, D. (2014). The archaeometry of ancient glassmaking: Reconstructing ancient technology and the trade of raw materials. Perspective, (2), 224–238. https://doi.org/10.4000/perspective.5617

• Gherardi, F. (2022). Compositional and morphological investigations of Roman glass from cremation deposits at Birdoswald Fort on Hadrian’s Wall, UK. Heritage, 5(1), 362–377. https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage5010021

• Jackson, C. M., Paynter, S., Nenna, M.-D., & Degryse, P. (2016). Glassmaking using natron from el-Barnugi (Egypt); Pliny and the Roman glass industry. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 10(5), 1179–1191. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-016-0447-4

• Lü, Q.-Q., Henderson, J., Wang, Y., & Wang, B. (2021). Natron glass beads reveal proto-Silk Road between the Mediterranean and China in the 1st millennium BCE. Scientific Reports, 11(1), Article 2911. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-82245-w

• Muros, V. (n.d.). Down in the dumps: Analysis of glass production debris from Petrie's excavations at Amarna. Smithsonian Research Online.

• Rasmussen, S. C. (n.d.). A brief history of early silica glass: Impact on science and society. Firenze University Press.

• Shortland, A. (n.d.). Glass production. UC Berkeley: eScholarship.

Script writing, recording and editing done by me, Jake. Sound effects and backing music from Pixabay.

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Fancy making a shiny new cover art, or a unique theme song, reach out to me using the email above to discuss.

Chapters:

(00:00) Intro

(02:17) Act 1 - The Vitreous State: What is a glass?

(07:15) Act 2 - The Magic of Flux: The Ancient Egyptian Recipe

(12:04) Act 3 - Colour, Clarity and the Roman Factory

(15:25) Conclusion

In today's episode, we venture back to one of the most loved ancient civilisations, the Egyptians. How did we preserve human bodies for thousands of years? What did they use? And why did they have lovely black lines on their eyes?

References:

• Lucas, A. (1962). Ancient Egyptian Materials and Industries. Edward Arnold Publishers. (The definitive, classic text on the material chemistry of ancient Egypt).

• Tapsoba, I., et al. (2010). Finding Out Why Ancient Egyptian Kohl Makeup Had Bactericidal and Therapeutic Properties. Analytical Chemistry, 82(2), 457-460. (The groundbreaking study revealing the lead-induced nitric oxide defense mechanism).

• Bickerstaffe, D. (2001). The Dehydration of the Dead: Natron and its Use in Mummification. Journal of Egyptian Archaeology. (Excellent analysis of the osmotic properties of Wadi El Natrun minerals).

• Evershed, R. P., et al. (1997). Chemical Composition of Organic Residues in Ancient Egyptian Mummies. Nature, 390, 661-662. (An analytical study utilizing gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to decode the natural polymers and resins used in wrapping).

Script writing, recording and editing done by me, Jake. Sound effects and backing music from Pixabay.

Noticed a mistake? Let me know at [email protected]

Fancy making a shiny new cover art, or a unique theme song, reach out to me using the email above to discuss.

I'd like to apologise for the delay in this episode. Last weeks heatwave absolutely destroyed me!

In our fourth episode, we explore how clay leads to ceramics. How do we turn this lump of slimy mud into durable, glazed jars and pots?

References:

• Aitken, M. J. (1985). Thermoluminescence dating. Academic Press.

• Eppler, R. A., & Eppler, D. R. (2000). Glazes and glass coatings. American Ceramic Society.

• Kingery, W. D. (1948). Fundamental study of clay: VIII, a new method for studying the plasticity of clays. Journal of the American Ceramic Society, 31(10), 288–290. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1151-2916.1948.tb14231.x

• Rice, P. M. (2015). Pottery analysis: A sourcebook. University of Chicago Press.

• Velde, B., & Meunier, A. (2008). The origin of clay minerals in soils and weathered rocks. Springer Science & Business Media. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-75674-3

Script writing, recording and editing done by me, Jake. Sound effects and backing music from Pixabay.

Noticed a mistake? Let me know at [email protected]

Fancy making a shiny new cover art, or a unique theme song, reach out to me using the email above to discuss.

In the third episode of this season, we explore why the iron age didn't come first. How did we come to use metal? What did it do to early empires? Where did an unlikely object shatter the understanding of rusting? Find out in this episode.

References:

• Comelli, D., et al. (2016). The meteoritic origin of Tutankhamun's iron dagger blade. Meteoritics & Planetary Science, 51(7), 1301-1309.

• Wertime, T. A., & Muhly, J. D. (1980). The Coming of the Age of Iron. Yale University Press.

• Balasubramaniam, R. (2000). On the Corrosion Resistance of the Delhi Iron Pillar. Corrosion Science, 42(12), 2103-2129.

• Reardon, A. C. (2011). Metallurgy for the Non-Metallurgist. ASM International.

Script writing, recording and editing done by me, Jake. Sound effects and backing music from Pixabay.

Noticed a mistake? Let me know at [email protected]

Fancy making a shiny new cover art, or a unique theme song, reach out to me using the email above to discuss.

In our second episode, we look at how humans went from simple stones, to magnificent metal. How did we come to use copper? Where did we get it from? And what were the challenges of creating bronze? Find out in this latest episode.

References:

• Kradradjee, B., & Charles, J. A. (1980). The first metallurgists: Smelting and alloying in the ancient Near East. Journal of Archaeological Science, 7(3), 211–230.

• Pernicka, E. (2014). Provenance determination of archaeological metal objects. In Roberts, B. W., & Thornton, C. P. (Eds.), Archaeometallurgy in Global Perspective (pp. 239–268). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9017-3_10

• Radivojević, M., Rehren, T., Pernicka, E., Šljivar, D., Brauns, M., & Borić, D. (2010). On the origins of extractive metallurgy: New evidence from Europe. Journal of Archaeological Science, 37(11), 2775–2787. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2010.06.012

• Roberts, B. W., Thornton, C. P., & Pigott, V. C. (2009). Development of metallurgical technologies in the ancient world. World Archaeology, 41(4), 512–522. https://doi.org/10.1080/00438240903345134

• Wertime, T. A. (1973). The beginnings of metallurgy: A new look. Science, 182(4115), 875–887. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.182.4115.875

Script writing, recording and editing done by me, Jake. Sound effects and backing music from Pixabay.

Noticed a mistake? Let me know at [email protected]

Fancy making a shiny new cover art, or a unique theme song, reach out to me using the email above to discuss.

Chapters:

(00:00) Intro

(02:50) Act 1 - Extraction Chemistry: The Smelting Breakthrough

(07:46) Act 2 - The Crystal Lattice & The Arsenic Gamble

(12:19) Act 3 - Enter Tin: The Geopolitical Atom

(15:32) Act 4 - The Collapse and the Chemistry of Yesterday

(17:56) Conclusion

In the first, inaugural episode of the Chemistry Timeline, we travel back to the first time hominins harnessed chemistry. How did fire come to be part of our everyday lives, and how did it change our biology, our social skills, and our understanding of the material world?

References:

• Attila, Y. (2018). The history of fire use and its effects on human sociality. DergiPark, 4(2), 112–125.

• Gowlett, J. A. J. (2016). The discovery of fire by humans: a long and convoluted process. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 371(1696), 20150164. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2015.0164

• Huang, C., Li, J., & Gao, X. (2022). Evidence of fire use by Homo erectus pekinensis: An XRD study of archaeological bones from Zhoukoudian Locality 1, China. Frontiers in Earth Science, 9, Article 811319. https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2021.811319

• Marin-Monfort, M. D., Shaw, C. L., Natalio, F., Grossman, L., Andrews, P., Campos, J., & Fernández-Jalvo, Y. (2026). New evidence for Early Pleistocene use of fire at Wonderwerk Cave (South Africa). PLoS ONE, 21(6), e0347480. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0347480

• Roebroeks, W., & Villa, P. (2011). On the earliest evidence for habitual use of fire in Europe. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(13), 5209–5214. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1018116108

• Wiessner, P. W. (2014). Embers of society: Firelight talk among the Ju/’hoansi Bushmen. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(39), 14027–14033. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1404212111

• Wrangham, R. (2009). Catching fire: How cooking made us human. Basic Books.

Script writing, recording and editing done by me, Jake. Sound effects and backing music from Pixabay.

Noticed a mistake? Let me know at [email protected]

Fancy making a shiny new cover art, or a unique theme song, reach out to me using the email above to discuss.

Chapters:

(00:00) Intro

(03:03) Act 1: The Microscopic Mosh Pit (The Science of Combustion)

(09:05) Act 2: The Pyrophilic Primate & The Muddy Evidence

(14:02) Act 3: How Cooking Rewrote the Human Anatomy

(18:07) Act 4: The Fireside Social Network

(21:33) Conclusion