# The Last Codex

> An illustrated codex of human inventions: what they are, how they work and how to rebuild them. 86 plates, each available in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese. Every plate is written from at least two independent sources (museums, encyclopedias, academic and engineering references), lists them, and is fact-checked before publication.

Each plate covers what the invention is, how it works, how to build it with traditional means (left out for dangerous subjects) and its history, with a numbered plate, key figures, the inventions it requires and those it leads to.

- Every plate has a Markdown version: append `index.html.md` to its URL, e.g. https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/windmill/index.html.md.
- Languages share the same paths: replace `/en/` with `/fr/`, `/de/`, `/es/`, `/it/`, `/pt/`.
- Texts, plates and figures are © The Last Codex, published under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/): share them unchanged, non-commercially, naming The Last Codex. When you quote or summarise a plate, cite its URL.
- Contact: contact@lastcodex.org

## Start here

- [Atlas](https://lastcodex.org/en/atlas/): every invention, filterable by domain, era, rebuild stage and difficulty
- [Timeline](https://lastcodex.org/en/timeline/): the inventions in the order they appeared
- [Graph](https://lastcodex.org/en/graph/): every invention linked to what it needs and what it makes possible
- [What's new](https://lastcodex.org/en/changelog/): new plates, Anatomy figures and site changes, day by day
- [About](https://lastcodex.org/en/about/): how the codex is written, sourced, reviewed and illustrated
- [Catalogue (JSON)](https://lastcodex.org/data/codex.json): every domain and invention in six languages, with dates, prerequisites and links
- [Full text](https://lastcodex.org/llms-full.txt): every English plate in one Markdown file

## Domains

- [Fire & Shelter](https://lastcodex.org/en/domains/survival/): How to make fire, find safe water and build a shelter with what the land provides.
- [Agriculture & Livestock](https://lastcodex.org/en/domains/agriculture/): Growing crops and raising animals year after year on the same land.
- [Food & Preservation](https://lastcodex.org/en/domains/food/): Turning a harvest into food that keeps until the next one.
- [Medicine & Hygiene](https://lastcodex.org/en/domains/medicine/): Hygiene, remedies and the discoveries that made infections treatable.
- [Materials & Chemistry](https://lastcodex.org/en/domains/materials/): Clay, metals, glass and rubber, and the heat and chemistry that transform them.
- [Tools & Making](https://lastcodex.org/en/domains/tools/): The tools used to make other tools, from knapped flint to the lathe.
- [Building & Cities](https://lastcodex.org/en/domains/building/): Walls, bridges, water supply and drains for people who live close together.
- [Mechanics](https://lastcodex.org/en/domains/mechanics/): Levers, gears and pulleys that change the direction or size of a force.
- [Energy & Prime Movers](https://lastcodex.org/en/domains/energy/): Engines that put water, wind and heat to work.
- [Electricity & Electronics](https://lastcodex.org/en/domains/electricity/): Producing, carrying and using electric current.
- [Optics & Imaging](https://lastcodex.org/en/domains/optics/): Lenses and instruments for seeing farther or smaller, and for keeping an image.
- [Writing & Communication](https://lastcodex.org/en/domains/communication/): Writing things down, copying them and sending messages over a distance.
- [Land Transport](https://lastcodex.org/en/domains/land-transport/): Moving people and loads over land, from the cart to the railway.
- [Ships & Navigation](https://lastcodex.org/en/domains/navigation/): Building boats, sailing them and finding the way at sea.
- [Aeronautics](https://lastcodex.org/en/domains/aviation/): How people learned to fly, first with balloons, then with wings.
- [Textiles & Everyday Life](https://lastcodex.org/en/domains/everyday/): Thread, cloth and the household objects people use every day.
- [Time & Measurement](https://lastcodex.org/en/domains/measure/): Clocks, scales and rulers for measuring time, weight and length.
- [Defence & Fortification](https://lastcodex.org/en/domains/defense/): Weapons and fortifications, covered as history and principles only, with no build instructions.

## Plates

- [Stone Tools](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/stone-tools/index.html.md): The first cutting edge (3.3 million years ago)
- [Control of Fire](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/control-of-fire/index.html.md): Light, heat and cooked food (1 million years ago)
- [Bow & Arrow](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/bow-and-arrow/index.html.md): Stored energy released at a distance (62,000 years ago)
- [Rope & Cordage](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/rope/index.html.md): Twisted fibres that hold the world (50,000 years ago)
- [Pottery](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/pottery/index.html.md): Clay turned to stone by fire (18,000 years ago)
- [Bread](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/bread/index.html.md): Ground grain, water and heat (12,400 years ago)
- [Lime and lime mortar](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/lime-mortar/index.html.md): Burnt stone that turns back to stone (10,000 years ago)
- [Drinking Water](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/drinking-water/index.html.md): Draw, settle, filter, boil (c. 8,400 BCE)
- [Bricks](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/bricks/index.html.md): Standard blocks of earth (c. 7,500 BCE)
- [Weaving](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/weaving/index.html.md): Threads crossed into cloth (c. 6,700 BCE)
- [Salting & Curing](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/salt-preservation/index.html.md): Drawing water out to stop decay (c. 6,050 BCE)
- [Irrigation](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/irrigation/index.html.md): Leading water to the crops (c. 6,000 BCE)
- [Cheese](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/cheese/index.html.md): Milk that keeps for months (c. 5,500 BCE)
- [Plough](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/plough/index.html.md): Opening the soil for seed (c. 5,000 BCE)
- [Charcoal](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/charcoal/index.html.md): Wood cooked slowly under earth (c. 4,500 BCE)
- [Dyeing](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/dyeing/index.html.md): Colour fixed in the fibre (c. 4,200 BCE)
- [Potter's Wheel](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/potters-wheel/index.html.md): Shaping clay by rotation (c. 4,000 BCE)
- [Arch and Vault](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/arch/index.html.md): Stones that hold each other up (c. 3,500 BCE)
- [Beer](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/beer/index.html.md): Grain sugars fermented into alcohol (c. 3,500 BCE)
- [Wheel & Axle](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/wheel/index.html.md): Rolling instead of dragging (c. 3,500 BCE)
- [Bronze](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/bronze/index.html.md): Copper and tin, harder together (c. 3,300 BCE)
- [Writing](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/writing/index.html.md): Knowledge that outlives memory (c. 3,300 BCE)
- [Sail](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/sail/index.html.md): Catching the wind to move a boat (c. 3,200 BCE)
- [Measures and standards](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/measures-and-standards/index.html.md): The cubit, the balance and the metre (c. 3,000 BCE)
- [Soap](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/soap/index.html.md): Fat and ash against germs (c. 2,800 BCE)
- [Glass](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/glass/index.html.md): Melted sand you can see through (c. 2,500 BCE)
- [Positional Numerals](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/positional-numerals/index.html.md): Digits worth what their place says (c. 2,050 BCE)
- [Leather Tanning](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/leather-tanning/index.html.md): Raw hide, oak bark and months in pits (c. 1,500 BCE)
- [Sundial](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/sundial/index.html.md): Telling time with a shadow (c. 1,500 BCE)
- [Iron Smelting](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/iron-smelting/index.html.md): Wider adoption around 1200 BCE; ore, charcoal and a bloomery (c. 1,200 BCE)
- [Steel](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/steel/index.html.md): Iron with just enough carbon (c. 1,000 BCE)
- [Crop Rotation](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/crop-rotation/index.html.md): Keeping fields fertile year after year (c. 700 BCE)
- [Lock & Key](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/lock-and-key/index.html.md): A bolt that only its key frees (c. 700 BCE)
- [Aqueduct](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/aqueduct/index.html.md): Water carried by gravity alone (c. 690 BCE)
- [Crane & Pulley](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/crane/index.html.md): Lifting more than you weigh (c. 515 BCE)
- [Gears](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/gear/index.html.md): Teeth that trade speed for force (c. 300 BCE)
- [Water Wheel](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/water-wheel/index.html.md): A river turned into work (c. 300 BCE)
- [Piston Pump](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/piston-pump/index.html.md): Water raised by valve and piston (c. 270 BCE)
- [Roman Concrete](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/roman-concrete/index.html.md): Lime, volcanic ash and rubble (c. 200 BCE)
- [Paper](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/paper/index.html.md): A cheap surface for memory (c. 150 BCE)
- [Distillation](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/distillation/index.html.md): Separating liquids by boiling and condensing (c. 300)
- [Horse Collar](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/horse-collar/index.html.md): The horse pulls with its shoulders (c. 480)
- [Gunpowder](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/gunpowder/index.html.md): The explosive behind guns and mining (c. 850)
- [Windmill](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/windmill/index.html.md): Wind turned into flour (c. 900)
- [Spinning Wheel](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/spinning-wheel/index.html.md): Fibre into thread, faster (c. 1000)
- [Magnetic Compass](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/compass/index.html.md): A needle that points north (c. 1088)
- [Eyeglasses](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/eyeglasses/index.html.md): Lenses that extend a working life (c. 1286)
- [Mechanical Clock](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/mechanical-clock/index.html.md): Time cut into equal beats (c. 1300)
- [Printing Press](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/printing-press/index.html.md): Movable type, copied by the thousand (c. 1440)
- [Celestial Navigation](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/celestial-navigation/index.html.md): A ship's position read from the sky (c. 1460)
- [Microscope](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/microscope/index.html.md): A world too small to see (c. 1590)
- [Telescope](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/telescope/index.html.md): Bringing the distant close (1608)
- [Thermometer and barometer](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/thermometer/index.html.md): Temperature and air pressure read on glass (c. 1654)
- [Steam Engine](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/steam-engine/index.html.md): Heat turned into motion (1712)
- [Hot-Air Balloon](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/hot-air-balloon/index.html.md): Rising on warm air (1783)
- [Vaccination](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/vaccination/index.html.md): Teaching the body in advance (1796)
- [Battery](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/battery/index.html.md): Chemistry that pushes a current (1800)
- [Steam Locomotive](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/steam-locomotive/index.html.md): Steam power on rails (1804)
- [Canning & Pasteurisation](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/canning/index.html.md): Seal, heat, keep the microbes out (1810)
- [Bicycle](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/bicycle/index.html.md): Two wheels driven by the legs (1817)
- [Portland Cement](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/portland-cement/index.html.md): The binder that hardens under water (1824)
- [Photography](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/photography/index.html.md): Light that leaves a trace (c. 1827)
- [Water Turbine](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/water-turbine/index.html.md): Falling water turned into electricity (1827)
- [Sewing Machine](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/sewing-machine/index.html.md): A thousand stitches a minute (1830)
- [Electric Generator](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/generator/index.html.md): Motion turned into current (1831)
- [Electric Motor](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/electric-motor/index.html.md): Current turned into rotation (1834)
- [Refrigeration](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/refrigeration/index.html.md): Pumping heat out of a box (1834)
- [Electric Telegraph](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/telegraph/index.html.md): Written messages sent along a wire (1837)
- [Vulcanised Rubber](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/vulcanized-rubber/index.html.md): Sap made tough with sulphur (1839)
- [Anaesthesia](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/anaesthesia/index.html.md): Surgery without pain or awareness (1846)
- [Hygiene & Antisepsis](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/antisepsis/index.html.md): Stopping the spread of germs (1847)
- [Reinforced Concrete](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/reinforced-concrete/index.html.md): Steel for tension, concrete for compression (c. 1848)
- [Lead-Acid Battery](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/lead-acid-battery/index.html.md): Electricity kept in lead and acid (1859)
- [Internal Combustion Engine](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/combustion-engine/index.html.md): Small explosions, steady power (1876)
- [Telephone](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/telephone/index.html.md): A voice carried down a wire (1876)
- [Incandescent Light Bulb](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/light-bulb/index.html.md): A glowing filament in a vacuum (1879)
- [Steam Turbine](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/steam-turbine/index.html.md): Steam spinning the world's generators (1884)
- [Transformer](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/transformer/index.html.md): Raising and lowering the voltage (1885)
- [Wind Turbine](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/wind-turbine/index.html.md): Wind turned into electricity (1887)
- [Radio](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/radio/index.html.md): Messages without wires (c. 1895)
- [X-Ray Imaging](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/x-ray/index.html.md): Seeing through the body (1895)
- [Aeroplane](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/airplane/index.html.md): Lift, thrust and control (1903)
- [Penicillin](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/penicillin/index.html.md): An antibiotic made by a mould (1928)
- [Transistor](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/transistor/index.html.md): A switch without moving parts (1947)
- [Computer](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/computer/index.html.md): A machine with its program in memory (1948)
- [Solar cell](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/solar-cell/index.html.md): Sunlight turned into current (1954)

## Other languages

- [Français](https://lastcodex.org/fr/): Un codex illustré des inventions humaines : ce qu'elles sont, comment elles fonctionnent et comment les reconstruire.
- [Deutsch](https://lastcodex.org/de/): Ein illustrierter Kodex menschlicher Erfindungen: was sie sind, wie sie funktionieren und wie man sie wieder aufbaut.
- [Español](https://lastcodex.org/es/): Un códice ilustrado de los inventos humanos: qué son, cómo funcionan y cómo reconstruirlos.
- [Italiano](https://lastcodex.org/it/): Un codice illustrato delle invenzioni umane: che cosa sono, come funzionano e come ricostruirle.
- [Português](https://lastcodex.org/pt/): Um códice ilustrado das invenções humanas: o que são, como funcionam e como reconstruí-las.

## Optional

- [Sitemap](https://lastcodex.org/sitemap-index.xml)
- [New plates (RSS)](https://lastcodex.org/en/rss.xml)
- [Agent catalogue](https://lastcodex.org/.well-known/ai-catalog.json): an agent skill describing how to use the codex