Timeline of Time

By meganfitzgerald
  • 100,000 BCE

    The Placement of the Sun

    People would tell time based on when the sun appeared, where it could be found throughout the day, and when the sun would disappear.
  • 3000 BCE

    Obelisk

    Egyptians used shadows cast by the sun to tell time.
  • 300 BCE

    Sundial

    Continue the use of shadows cast by the sun but with the addition of a 12-hour clock (dial) on a the flat circle surface.
  • 250 BCE

    Ancient China - Burning Rope

    Knots created a different intervals on a thick rope being burned would allow people to determine how much time had passed. Eventually this concept was carried over with the invention of candles.
  • 200 BCE

    Astrology

    The use and placement of planets, moon, and stars.
  • 150 BCE

    Clepsydra (water clock)

    Early Greeks and Egyptians created a device that used the flow of water to tell time. The movement of water from one point to another would help people determine how much time had passed.
  • 1000

    Hourglass

    First timekeeper that could be used at anytime.
  • 1200

    Mechanical Clocks

  • 1300

    Watches

  • 1500

    Mechanical Clocks - Pendulum Addition

  • International Date Line

  • Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)

  • Standard Time

  • Universal Time Coordinate (UTC)