Advisory Board: Ho Peng Yoke, Needham Research Institute, University of Cambridge, UK; David Turnbull, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia; Jan P. Hogendijk, Mathematics Institute, University of Utrecht, the Netherlands; Gloria T. Emeagwali, Central Connecticut State University, New Britain, CT, USA; Seyyed Hossein Nasr, George Washington University, Washington DC, USA; Susantha Goonatilake, United Nations, New York, USA The Encyclopaedia fills a gap in both the history of science and in cultural studies. Reference works on other cultures tend either to omit science completely or pay little attention to it and those on the history of science almost always start with the Greeks, with perhaps a mention of the Islamic world as a translator of Greek scientific works. The purpose of the Encyclopaedia was to bring together knowledge of many disparate fields in one place and to legitimize the study of other cultures' science. The aim was not to claim the superiority of other cultures, but to engage in a mutual exchange of ideas. The western academic divisions of science, technology, and medicine have been united in the Encyclopaedia because in ancient cultures these disciplines were connected. This Work contributes to redressing the balance in the number of reference works devoted to the study of Western science, and encourages awareness of cultural diversity. The Encyclopaedia is the first compilation of this sort, and it is testimony both to the earlier eurocentric view of academia as well as to the widened vision we tend to nowadays. There is nothing that crosses disciplinary and geographic boundaries, dealing with both scientific and philosophical issues to the extent that this work does. The Encyclopaedia contains almost 600 entries dealing in depth with the history of the scientific, technological accomplishments of cultures outside of the United States and Europe. The geographic range is global, including native Americans. This unique reference work includes: Intercultural articles on broad topics such as mathematics and astronomy Philosophical articles on concepts and ideas related to the study of non-Western science, such as Rationality, Objectivity, and Method, Religion and Science, East and West, and Magic and Science Actual articles on topics such as Native American mathematics, Polynesian navigation, Korean maps, and African metallurgy Biographical articles for those cultures where individual scientists are known to us, such as China and the Islamic world. SPECIAL FEATURES: Multidisciplinary The Encyclopaedia covers the life and physical sciences, medicine, technology, and related fields such as sociology and philosophy of science. Multicultural The Encyclopaedia covers Africa, Asia, the Islamic world, Native America (North, Central, and South), and the Pacific. It includes articles about Malaysian medicine, Australian Aboriginal mathematics, Marshall Island stick charts (maps), and Sona (Africa) geometry. Many of these cultures are completely absent from other works about science. Comparative The Encyclopaedia makes it easy to compare disciplines across cultures (Chinese mathematics, trigonometry, maps, medicine, geography, navigation, astronomy, and acoustics) and cultures across disciplines (Islamic, Chinese, Indo-Malay, African, and Native American astronomy). Easy to use The arrangement is alphabetical, with many cross-references and many index entries. Extensive bibliographies Researchers will be able to go on from the encyclopedic entry to other scholarly literature with ease. Audience: Researchers in the history or philosophy of science will find the Encyclopaedia a valuable reference work which will of great help in their research. Historians, scientists, anthropologists, sociologists, and students will also benefit from the research which has been incorporated in the Encyclopaedia.