Could a clock tell the time with a bird’s whistle? Meet al-Jazari’s peacock water-clock design in this simple history and engineering lesson for shared family learning.
Al-Jazari’s book was composed in 1206 CE. His design used water power. A model peahen moved from right to left over thirty minutes and caused the peacocks to whistle, marking half an hour.
The Met’s surviving illustration is from a 1315 manuscript copy. Our pictures and diagrams are simplified educational interpretations, not footage or a tested reconstruction of the original mechanism.
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Sources:
The Met — Design for the Water Clock of the Peacocks:
Ashmolean Museum — Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Devices:
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