Serendipitous Nanotechnology in Antiquity

Like Mayan blue, involving indigo dye trapped in palygorskite nanofibers (chapter “Examples of Materials Science and Engineering in Antiquity”), Egyptian blue and Chinese (or Han) blue and purple represent nano-pigments with rich roles in Egyptian and Chinese antiquity. Kaolin nanosilicate sheets also contributed to Chinese porcelain in antiquity. While these examples represent nano-particulate materials, the role of carbon and carbide nanoparticles in bulk iron matrices and related accidental nanotechnology in antiquity, manifested in the development of Damascus and related patterned swords and daggers, represents the application of the materials science and engineering paradigm in antiquity: structure–properties–processing–performance interactions and relationships. These issues are presented in this chapter which, along with other developments in the many parts of this handbook, attest to the evolution of nanomaterials and nanotechnologies over many millennia.