who spent years discovering how long a year should be, how did they know how to measure time without a clock?

Answer 1

They generally used the movement of the stars and the phases of the moon to figure out their calendars. Also the phases of the seasons were taken into account in certain calendar systems. This meant that month lengths and year lengths could vary.
Eventually some calendar systems went for fixed lenghts that did not follow the moon phases.

There were so many calendar systems used in the past as well as today each use their own methods to determine the year. Generally they went by stuff that happened every year or month that they could easily measure, like position of constellations, the seasons, or the phases of the moon.

Below is a website explaining the different calendar systems both past and present.

Answer 2

Before Stonehenge (building started c.1800 BC) there was a wooden equivalent at least a thousand years older (you do the arithmetic). Such stone circles and their wooden precedents are well known throughout Europe but most common in the British Isles.

These circles (sometimes lines) almost invariably line up with one particular natural feature (hilltop, valley etc) in such a way that the mid-summer sun (solstice) rises over the feature when viewed along or across the artifact. Where a natural feature wasn't available one was put in place, e.g the Heelstone. Many also incorporate features that delineate the spring and autumn equinoxes and the winter solstice.

Before sundials there were hills, trees and other natural features that could be used to tell time from shadows. The first man-made device would have been a deliberately placed rock or a stick (totem-pole?) stuck in the ground. Sundials are relatively modern, sophisticated devices.

The two oldest civilisations are reckoned to be the Akkadians (who preceeded the Sumerians and the Babylonians) in Mesopotamia (between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates) and the Egyptians. The earliest records of both indicate that they already had sophisticated Astronomical, Astrological and calendrical systems when writing began.

All these civilisations, however, had exactly 360 days to the year as did the Greeks millennia later, hence 360 degrees to a circle! They made up for the mismatch by having 4 or 5 intercalendrical days between the end of one year and the start of the next, which were used as an excuse for 'letting your hair down', in ways that would, nowadays get you dowsed in cold water and/or arrested for obscene behaviour in public.

Public feasting and copulation remained popular across Europe well into the Middle-Ages, especially at May Day ceremonies, until the Calvinistic protestants got into power and led to such things as Puritanism (booooo!).

Answer 3

the technological precise measurement of time, like most things in humanity did not happen overnight!
However, even primitive man had a brain and noticed how light and darkness fell and managed to discern that was the measurement of a day. Ancients also watched the sky and the stars and would not be able to fail to notice the differing seasons, longer day light in the summer and the long dark nights of winter. So early man had a rudimentary idea of time even if they did not have a precise measurement. Sun dials were probably the first accurate measurement of time, the rest is history!

Answer 4

Sundials?harvests?

Over the last couple of thousand years there have been a few systems that have come and gone, have run in parallel and lots still do still do for example the standard Western calendar and the Muslim calendar which is why Ramadan is a different month each year

One interesting quirk of this is if you visit a very old Church in what were non catholic countries such as the UK you may see two dates of death on the tombstones as the country switched from one system to another.

The UK was one of the last counties to switch from the Julian to Gregorian calendar in 1752 it meant that the difference in the two systems had caused the dates to drift apart and when the UK eventually switched there was a difference of eleven days

Answer 5

Many people in ancient civilization figured out how long a year should be; time was first measured by the sun and they figured out how to use a sundial to tell the time of day.

Answer 6

earths rotation and orbit ( rotation =day position of sun ....sundial or stick stuck in ground gave year) units are arbitrary now we use atomic decay bit more accurate and many cultures measured time first use was determining when to plant and harvest ( and those religious sacrifices to the Gods of the day)

Answer 7

the romans used the sun and stars,befor them early man used sundails, the shadow always falling at point pe date history no one knows

Answer 8

the chinese they watch the sun moon & stars by shadows in the sand with rock,s before the closk,s

Answer 9

ancient astrologist