Weighing scales have become very high-tech devices. From bathroom scales with wi-fi connection to ultra-precise devices used in research or industry, modern scales are able to provide very accurate measures almost instantly. This has not always been the case however and today we take a look at the different systems that emerged over the millennia.
Weighing scales are born of necessity. As trading developed during the Antiquity, merchants needed a way to assess the value of goods that could not simply be counted by the pieces, like irregular-shaped gold nuggets for instance. The most ancient relics of a weighing scale have been discovered in the Indus River valley, near present day’s Pakistan, and are dated back to around 2,000 B.C. Those first weighing scales were actually balances, using two plates attached to an overhead beam, itself fixed on a central pole. The measure was made by putting the object measured on one plate and weight-setting stones on the other, until equilibrium is reached.