Dictionary of Scientific Units of Measurement - Volume II : Oxford Book Writers : 9781961636651 : 1961636654 : 01 Jan 2024 : Since the appearance of humanities on earth, and since human beings started to have activities, the need for measuring units appeared. Measuring weight, distance (length) and time were the first tasks to be measured. This is why weights and measures were among the earliest tools invented by man. Primitive societies needed rudimentary measures for many tasks: constructing dwellings of an appropriate size and shape, fashioning clothing, or bartering food or raw materials. Man, understandably, turned first to parts of the body and the natural surroundings for measuring instruments. Early Babylonian and Egyptian records and the Bible indicate that length was first measured with the forearm, hand, or finger and that time was measured by the periods of the sun, moon, and other heavenly bodies. With time, many societies started to appear worldwide and because of the