People began to think about what the Universe is in ancient times, before the advent of writing and more or less scientific methods of understanding the world around us. Ancient man in his ideas proceeded from the limited knowledge that he could obtain through observations of the nature among which he lived.
Modern science has borrowed an approximate understanding of the most ancient cosmogonic theories from the worldviews of the peoples of Africa and Northern Siberia, whose culture for a long time did not come into contact with the common human culture.
Representations of prehistoric peoples
Prehistoric people considered the world around them to be a single living being, huge and incomprehensible. Thus, until recently, one of the Siberian tribes had the idea of the world as a huge deer grazing among the stars. Her wool is endless forests, and animals, birds and people are just fleas living in her wool. When they are too annoying, the doe tries to get rid of them by swimming in the river (rainy autumn) or lying in the snow (winter). The Sun and Moon are also giant animals grazing next to the Earth deer.
Ancient Egyptians and Greeks
Peoples whose level of development was higher received the opportunity to travel to distant countries and saw that there are not only mountains, or steppes, or forests in the world. They imagined the Earth as a flat disk or a high mountain, surrounded on all sides by an endless sea. The vault of heaven in the form of a huge overturned bowl sank with its edges into this sea, closing the small Universe of the ancient world. 
Such ideas existed among the ancient Egyptians and Greeks. According to their cosmogonic version, the Sun deity rolled across the firmament in a fiery chariot every day, illuminating the plane of the Earth.
Wisdom of Ancient India
The ancient Indians had a legend that the plane of the Earth does not just float in the sky or float in the oceans, but rests on the backs of three giant elephants, which, in turn, stand on the shell of a turtle. Considering that the turtle, in turn, rested on a coiled snake, which personified the vault of heaven, we can assume that the animals described are nothing more than symbols of powerful natural phenomena.
Ancient China and world harmony
In ancient China, they believed that the Universe was like an egg split in half. The upper part of the egg forms the vault of heaven and is the focus of everything pure, light and bright. The lower part of the egg is the Earth, floating in the world's oceans and having a square shape. 
Earthly manifestations are accompanied by darkness, heaviness and dirt. The combination of two opposite principles forms our entire world in its richness and diversity.
Aztecs, Incas, Mayans
In the ideas of the ancient inhabitants of the American continent, time and space were a single whole and were designated by the same word “pacha”. For them, time was a ring, on one side of which there was the present and the visible past, i.e. what was stored in memory. The future was in the invisible part of the ring and at some point merged with the deep past.
Scientific thought of Ancient Greece
More than two thousand years ago, the ancient Greek mathematicians Pythagoras, followed by Aristotle, developed the theory of a spherical Earth, which, in their opinion, was the center of the Universe. The Sun, Moon and numerous stars revolved around, mounted on several crystal celestial spheres nested within one another.
Aristotle's universe, developed and supplemented by another ancient scientist - Ptolemy - lasted for one and a half millennia, satisfying the intellectual needs of the majority of the learned minds of antiquity. 
These ideas formed the basis for the research of the great mathematician Nicolaus Copernicus, who, based on his observations and calculations, compiled his own heliocentric picture of the world. Its center was occupied by the Sun, around which were seven planets, surrounded by a fixed celestial sphere with stars placed on it. The teachings of Copernicus gave impetus to modern astronomy, the emergence of such scientists as Galileo Galilei, Johannes Kepler and others.
For a long time, the Earth was considered the center of the Universe. 4) The system of the world according to Aristotle (philosopher). The center is the stationary Earth, around there are 8 rotating spheres (they are solid and transparent). Celestial bodies are fixedly fixed on the spheres. The 9th sphere ensures the movement of the remaining spheres - the engine of the Universe. The Universe is limited by the fixed sphere of stars.
For many centuries, the teachings of Ptolemy dominated, but in the Middle Ages science and trade began to actively develop... In the 14th - 16th centuries. Portugal and Spain were discovered - this changed the geographical map of the world. F. Magellan's trip around the world finally proved the sphericity of our planet.
System of the world according to Copernicus 7) System of the world according to N. Copernicus. Nicolaus Copernicus created a new model of the Universe. He observed celestial bodies, studied works, and performed mathematical calculations. 1) The Earth revolves around the Sun 2) The center of the world is the Sun 3) The planets rotate around the Sun and around their axis 4) The stars are motionless, they are at great distances from the Earth and form a sphere that limits the Universe.
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Once upon a time, at a tender age, hearing the expression “at the end of the world” in fairy tales, I thought – where is this edge and what does it look like? If it's just the end of the Earth and the void begins, then did they put a fence there so that no one would fall? Childhood is over, I learned about planets And solar system, galaxies and Universe. Even now it is difficult to imagine the immensity and imagine where is the edge of the universe. Probably, in this matter we are all like ancient people, imagining the Earth and universe.
How our ancestors imagined the world
Scientific attempts to describe the Universe
Some peoples have advanced knowledge of the world deeper than a convenient legend from old wives' tales. The most advanced in this area were:
- Greeks. Officially, they were the first to suggest that The earth is round. But their theory was geocentric– it was believed that the Sun and planets revolve around the Earth. Atomists assumed that our system was not the only one, and imagined the Universe as a cluster of systems, which they were not far from the truth.
- Hindus. In the Vedas and Puranas it was described in an allegorical form solar system model like planets moving around the sun, and the Sun itself - around the Earth. As the priestly level degraded, the servants themselves began to perceive projection drawings as flat objects, from which the version of flat earth.
- Romans. Like the Greeks, they claimed geocentric Universe, while quite accurately calculating time length of orbits planets and their distance from Earth.
Today
The fact that today much is known about our solar system, our and nearby galaxies, does not give confidence in the correctness of our ideas about the universe. Most of them are just guesses. It is quite possible that our ideas will also find their way into someone’s discussions in 300 years.
The ideas of the ancients about the Earth were based primarily on mythological ideas.
Some peoples believed that the Earth was flat and supported by three whales that floated across the vast ocean. Consequently, these whales were in their eyes the main foundations, the foundation of the whole world.
The increase in geographical information is associated primarily with travel and navigation, as well as with the development of simple astronomical observations.
Ancient Greeks imagined the Earth to be flat. This opinion was held, for example, by the ancient Greek philosopher Thales of Miletus, who lived in the 6th century BC. He considered the Earth to be a flat disk surrounded by a sea inaccessible to humans, from which the stars emerge every evening and into which they set every morning. Every morning, the sun god Helios (later identified with Apollo) rose from the eastern sea in a golden chariot and made his way across the sky.
The world in the minds of the ancient Egyptians: below is the Earth, above it is the goddess of the sky; to the left and to the right is the ship of the Sun god, showing the path of the Sun across the sky from sunrise to sunset.
The ancient Indians imagined the Earth as a hemisphere held by four elephant . The elephants are standing on a huge turtle, and the turtle is on a snake, which, curled up in a ring, closes the near-earth space.
Residents of Babylon imagined the Earth in the form of a mountain, on the western slope of which Babylonia is located. They knew that to the south of Babylon there was a sea, and to the east there were mountains that they did not dare cross. That’s why it seemed to them that Babylonia was located on the western slope of the “world” mountain. This mountain is surrounded by the sea, and on the sea, like an overturned bowl, rests the solid sky - the heavenly world, where, like on Earth, there is land, water and air. The celestial land is the belt of the 12 constellations of the Zodiac: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces. The Sun appears in each constellation for about a month each year. The Sun, Moon and five planets move along this belt of land. Under the Earth there is an abyss - hell, where the souls of the dead descend. At night, the Sun passes through this underground from the western edge of the Earth to the eastern, so that in the morning it will again begin its daily journey across the sky. Watching the Sun set over the sea horizon, people thought that it went into the sea and also rose from the sea. Thus, the ancient Babylonians’ ideas about the Earth were based on observations of natural phenomena, but limited knowledge did not allow them to be correctly explained.
Earth according to the ancient Babylonians.
When people began to travel far, evidence gradually began to accumulate that the Earth was not flat, but convex.
Great ancient Greek scientist Pythagoras Samos(in the 6th century BC) first suggested that the Earth was spherical. Pythagoras was right. But it was possible to prove the Pythagorean hypothesis, and even more so to determine the radius of the globe much later. It is believed that this idea Pythagoras borrowed from the Egyptian priests. When the Egyptian priests knew about this, one can only guess, since, unlike the Greeks, they hid their knowledge from the general public.Pythagoras himself may have also relied on the testimony of a simple sailor Skilacus of Karian, who in 515 BC. made a description of his voyages in the Mediterranean.
Famous ancient Greek scientist Aristotle(IV century BC)e.)
was the first to use observations of lunar eclipses to prove the sphericity of the Earth. Here are three facts:
- The shadow of the Earth falling on the full Moon is always round. During eclipses, the Earth is turned to the Moon in different directions. But only the ball always casts a round shadow.
- Ships, moving away from the observer into the sea, are not gradually lost from sight due to the long distance, but almost instantly seem to “sink”, disappearing beyond the horizon.
- Some stars can only be seen from certain parts of the Earth, while to other observers they are never visible.
Claudius Ptolemy(2nd century AD) - ancient Greek astronomer, mathematician, optician, music theorist and geographer. In the period from 127 to 151 he lived in Alexandria, where he conducted astronomical observations. He continued Aristotle's teaching regarding the sphericity of the Earth.
He created his geocentric system of the universe and taught that all celestial bodies move around the Earth in empty cosmic space.
Subsequently, the Ptolemaic system was recognized by the Christian Church.
The universe according to Ptolemy: the planets rotate in empty space.
Finally, the outstanding astronomer of the ancient world Aristarchus of Samos(end of the 4th - first half of the 3rd century BC) expressed the idea that it is not the Sun together with the planets that moves around the Earth, but the Earth and all the planets revolve around the Sun. However, he had very little evidence at his disposal.
And about 1,700 years passed before the Polish scientist managed to prove this Copernicus.
Lesson notes on geography in 5th grade (FSES)
1. Teacher's name: Telepenina Tatyana Fedorovna, geography teacher, MKOU "Bredinskaya Secondary School No. 1"
2. Class: 5
3. Lesson topic: How did ancient people imagine the universe?
4. The purpose of the lesson: study the first ideas about the structure of the Universe
5. Lesson objectives:
Educational- give an idea of what the Universe is; introduce the ideas of the Universe of ancient peoples and ancient Greek scientists.
Developmental- continue to develop the ability to highlight the main thing when working with a textbook and additional literature; improve self-control skills.
Educational- develop the ability to work in groups, listen and hear each other.
6. Planned results:
Subject- learn to explain ideas about the Universe; will have the opportunity to formulate the concept of “Universe”; get acquainted with the ideas of ancient people about the Universe and the shape of the Earth.
Metasubject
Cognitive: identify primary and secondary information,
Regulatory: evaluate the achieved result,
Communicative: establish working relationships, collaborate effectively, know how to listen and hear each other.
Personal- formation of communicative competence in collaboration with peers in the process of educational activities.
7. Teaching methods: partially search, problematic.
8. Type lesson: Lesson of studying and primary consolidation of new knowledge
9. Forms of work: Individual, group, frontal.
10. Lesson format: lesson using ICT
11. Resources used: Geography. Initial course, authors I.I. Barinova, A.A. Pleshakov, N.I. Sonin, slide presentation.
During the classes:
Start of the lesson
Organizing time (1-2 minutes).
Motivation for learning activities: prepare students for work in the classroom.
Get the kids ready to work. Creating a favorable environment for work in the classroom. Formulation of the purpose and objectives of the lesson.
Let's start the lesson with interesting riddles ( I post images of the answers on a magnetic board)
Wanders alone
Fiery eye.
Everywhere it happens
The look warms you. (Sun)
Not a month, not a moon, not a planet, not a star,
It flies across the sky, overtaking airplanes. (Satellite)
A fragment from the planet
Rushing somewhere among the stars.
He has been flying and flying for many years,
Space... (meteorite)
With a tail of bright light
Rushing across the sky... (Comet)
Peas are scattered across the dark sky
Colored caramel made from sugar crumbs,
And only when the morning comes,
All the caramel will suddenly melt. (Stars)
Sometimes he loses weight, sometimes he gets fatter,
It shines from the sky, but does not warm,
And to Earth only one
Always looking away. (Moon)
There are balls in the abysses of space,
They lead round dances,
And each of them
The color is just its own special! (Planets)
Determining the topic of the lesson, setting the educational task.
- What should we call these objects? (children's answers)
Of all the celestial bodies we have named no an object Not raised doubts? If you did, why? (a satellite is an artificial celestial body created by man)
In what space do all these celestial bodies move?
Guys, what do you think is the topic of our lesson? (What is the Universe, what is included in it)
We will also get acquainted with how people in ancient times imagined the Universe.
What tasks should we set for ourselves? (children's answers)
What is the Universe? (children's answers)
Refer to textbook p. 41 par. 8.
Oh open slave. notebooks us. 23 and complete task 1. Recording from dictation.
For thousands of years, people have admired the starry sky, watched the movement of the Sun, Moon, and planets. And we always asked ourselves the question: how does the Universe work?
Listen to the poem and use the textbook to determine p. 41 In what country in ancient times did they represent the land this way?
Across the expanses of deep waters
The turtle keeps swimming
On your wide back
Three elephants are lucky
On their ridge is the Earth,
A snake surrounded them. (Ancient Indians)
What other ideas about the Universe did people in ancient times have?
Fizminutka "Space" - separate presentation (internet source)
Slide 11-14
But these ideas were changed by the ancient Greek scientists Pythagoras, Aristotle and Ptolemy
What celestial bodies were known to the ancient Greeks, do you think?
Slave. notebook question No. 2, 3, 4
3. Primary consolidation.
Slide 15-16
Now, from the statements proposed below, we will determine which are true and which are not. Alone, then together.
Let's remember what tasks we set at the beginning of the lesson?
Did we manage to do everything?
4. Homework. 1. paragraph 8, answer questions to paragraph
2. RT page 23 complete unfinished tasks
3. Message (presentation) about the most interesting points in your opinion on the topic of our lesson
If you were interested and everything was clear during the lesson, draw a face in your notebook
Interesting, but completely understandable
