How Did Ancient Civilizations Measure Time Without Clocks?

Long ago, people didn’t have clocks like we do today. But they still knew when to plant crops and when to go to bed! They used the sun, which moves across the sky every day, and the moon, which changes shape each month. Some even used water in big pots to measure time, it’s called a clepsydra!

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Examples

  1. A farmer used the rising sun to know when it was time to start working.
  2. A child watched the moon change shape and knew how many days had passed.
  3. A king poured water into a big pot and waited for it to empty, that’s how he measured an hour.

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