While we are so much addicted to communication so much, I'd like to go on a journey with you about the Adventure of Communication from past to present.
Communication in Old Ages – Late News is not a News anymore!
In order to survive and resume their lives, human beings have always been interested in what is happening in their environment. I think this is the basis of all the cultural formations. In Old Ages people were using audio-visual and textual techniques such as; sound, light, smoke, water and letters.
Transmitting our messages to far distances is a never ending and a global desire. The effect of climate, geography and technical abilities shapes the development of our communication methods. Let’s remember, GSM was invented in mountainous Scandinavian countries. The only change during the time is SPEED which is the most powerful weapon of mankind against nature. We all know that “Late News is not a News anymore”.
- Communication via Sound
In the archaeological researches it is not difficult to guess what primitive man kinds used for communication. “Drums” or “Horns” which produce high volume sound were preferred those days and even today the extension of those materials are still used, such as trumpets in ceremonies, bells at schools, and the whistles of referees in football matches, etc.
- Visiual Communication - Coding was invented before writing!
According to researches, first visual communication was used by the hunters to notify the others about the location of the hunt via silent and easy method which is "smoke"
We can still see this method in Westerns of Hollywood movies.
 |
| Tower of Babylon |
It is said that even the fabulous Tower of Babylon was built for communication purpose as well. As a result, we can easily say that, audio-visual coding methods for communication were invented long before human beings started writing.
In the history, first known “Remote Communication” method was made on the wooden towers via sound and flambeaus in Iran during the King Ardishir-I time. (474-471 BC)
For the ancient historians , inventor of the communication via fire is Palamedes, son of Nauplios. Heredotos claims that defeat of Greeks by Persian in Salamis battle was delivered to Kserkses -escapee of the battle- from Athens to Dardanel, which is in Asia via towers of fire. This was done via fire of bulk wooden from tower to tower especially at nights, where there is no daylight.
It is hard to believe but it seems like ancient Greek really liked this way of communication. Even in the movie called “Lord of the Rings” blockade news of Minas Tirith and support from the allies were asked by this method. In Ancient Turks, communication was done by special runners called “Peyk” and also horse riders called “Tatars”
As it is explained in Agamemnon tragedy of Aisklos, map of fire communication in Greece in 5th century is shown above. Now in the same route, it is not difficult to guess many underwater cables which carries Mbits of voice and data traffic.
 |
| Fire Towers |
Fire Towers was invented by two communication engineers called Kleoksenos and Dempklitos of Iskandariya in Egypt. It is retouched by Polybios (10-45 AD) The design is simple; there are five spaces in ramparts, with two meters distance each other and by placing flambeaus in these spaces, coding was transmited and received between the stations preferably at nights. Distance between the stations are based on sight limits and each has 2 walls with five spaces. Operators in each station were using the same coding for the 24 letters of the alphabet.
· Water Telegraph
One bottle is placed on Tower-A and the other is on Tower-B which can see the light of fire in the other tower.
The Sender in Tower-A raises the flambeau and receiver in Tower-B also raises his flambeau after he sees the light of fire in Tower-A.
This is called the first signaling. Then immediately both people remove the stoppable of their bottles. When the water level decreases to the desired letter, Tower-A raises to flambeau again and Tower-B raises its flambeau as an acknowledge to put the stoppable in its hole.
The level of water in the bottle which indicates a letter on the stripe is the “letter” which Tower-A has sent. This processes continue many times to transmit meaningful messages. This is a little bit tiresome but a clever solution considering the limited possibilities of that Age.
- Invention of Scriptures
· With the invention of first scriptures in 3500-3000 BC, a new communication age has started in political, economical and social life which heavily continues today by means of short messaging (SMS).
Correspondence via mails, is mainly sending a well being, yearning or sometimes gloomy messages to its collocutor. Sometimes they carry messages of commanders to move their armies to glory or complaints of a lover with full of yearnings and sometimes the knell of relative. I believe that in the songs and poems of all nations there are plenty of examples which contains “letters”.
Systematic postal systems were required to deliver these mails to their addresses.
 |
| Carrier Pigeons |
Romans used "carrier pigeons" in the races and on blockades of their cities. (Mutina 43 BC). Later on this method became widespread by the Muslims in the east and between 12th and 15th century official carrier pigeons postal system was used in Anatolia and Egypt.
In other parts of the World, human beings have tried all possible alternatives of Fast Communication according to geographical characteristics.
Most of the future of communication methods visualized by famous Star Trek, Star Wars and other science fiction movies were already realized as of today. Even the movies can't reach the speed of technological improvements.
If we come back to today, evaluation of GSM technology, mobile phones, fast internet, LTE, smaller and faster micro processors draw our attention to new methods which is inevitable as long as human beings own this curiosity of communication with others.
Murat Gürkaş
Marketing Director
Eagle Mobile, Albania
No comments:
Post a Comment