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3000 BCE
Obelisk
Egyptians told time by the shadow cast by the sun on an unmoving object. They used a vertical structure with for sides as a shadow clock. The shadow showed the position of the sun throughout the day. -
3000 BCE
Earlist and Simplist
People used to tell time by looking at the position of the sun. When the sun appeared the light part of the day started, sunrise, when the daylight was ending this time of day was the sunset. The highest point of the sun was noon or midday. -
300 BCE
Sundial
The Babylonians used a flat circle on a 12 hr clock face or a dial had been written. They attached a gnomon, to the middle of the dial casting a shadow on the dial as the suns position changed during daylight hours. -
400
Chinese Knots
A way of telling time in the night was to tie knots in regular intervals, then burn the rope. You could tell the time by seeing how many knots were burnt. Once Candles were invented they made notches in the candle to represent the time. -
550
Water Clocks
Early Greeks and Egyptians used the flow of water to measure time. In the 16th century. -
1100
The Hourglass
It was used in Europe by the 11th century. It was the first timekeeper tools to tell time without using the sun. It could be manipulated to tell different times like hours or minutes.