Water ancient cultures

Oil and gas have played quite an important role throughout world history. Ancient cultures made use of crude oil as a substance to bind materials and as a sealant to waterproof various surfaces [1]. However, the modern oil and gas industry was basically born in the nineteenth century. For example, in the early years of 1800s, merchants constructed dams that allowed oil to float to the waters surface in the Oil Creek area of Western Pennsylvania [1,2]. Furthermore, in the mid-1850s, the invention of the kerosene lamp led to the establishment of the first U.S. oil company called Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company. 

Water is essential for life. This was already recognized by ancient cultures. Humans always settled near sources of water. The ancient Egyptian culture developed near the Nile river and the civilization in Mesopotamia (this is the Greek expression for land between two rivers) flourished between the two rivers Euphrat and Tigris. The Chinese civilization was centered about the Yellow and Yangzi river basins. 

The four elements of antiquity perfuse the history of Western culture. Shakespeare s Lear runs amok in the stormy rain, the rushing air, and the oak-cleaving thunderbolts of fire, nature s fretful elements . Two of his sonnets are paired in celebration of the quartet sea and land... so much of earth and water wrought , and slight air and purging fire . Literary tradition has continued to uphold the four ancient elements, which supply the organizing principle of T. S. Eliot s Quartets. 

Aloe is a medicinal plant that has been used since ancient times by cultures in many countries and continents for many of the same applications. Africa is blessed with a wide variety of Aloe spp. each used by the indigenous cultures. Fleshy leaves are the source of two of the main products, gel and latex, with both products showing distinct differences in their chemical composition. Chemical composition of gel consists mainly of water with carbohydrate polymers and a range of other organic and inorganic components. In contrast, the chemical composition of the latex includes many phenolic compounds such as anthraquinones and chromones. The objective of this paper is to review the the botany, chemistiy and pharmacological properties of Aloes from Africa. 

In front of the pillars there is a pool, and in it several large earthen jars. This represents the hydrotherapy used by the ancients, especially the Tiahuanaco, Chan ca, Chimu, and Inca cultures. When one knows how to use it, water may be very beneficial, and with it one is able to cure many illnesses. It is very beneficial to drink water out of ceramic jars, because the jars absorb the sun rays, and in them water is purified. These jars are also symbolic, because they represent flying objects used by spiritual beings to transport themselves from one place to another. 

Dailey, S., Oleson, J. P. (2003). Sennacherib, archimedes, and the water screw The context of invention in the ancient world. Technology and Culture, 44, 1-26. 

---