I would leave the Ancients with SOLAR / THERMAL POWERED TRANSLUCENT GLASS OR PLASTIC (THE HIGH TECH UNBREAKABLE TYPE) A.I. TABLETS that CARRY ALL OF EARTHS HISTORY and EDUCATION. Hope it helps.

[edit on 9/21/09 by Ophiuchus 13]

A solar powered calculator.
A globe
A microscope
A telescope

A HUGE book of archive photos

Instructions to document EVERYTHING and keep it safe.


A pre-war Martin guitar 00-45, '52 Telecaster, '57 Stratocaster and '59 Les Paul,
Steinway grand piano, and a book on basic electronics :-)

unlimited supply of bleach...sanitation killed more people than all wars combined.
2nd line if needed

I would give them some Journals and pens and some colored pencils, then maybe they could draw pictures and we would be able to see what they did back then.

Oh and a book called 'Journaling Made Easy' or 'Journaling...so easy a cave man could do it...' Sorry couldn't help it...i thought this was funny....

Language morphs so much and as other posters have said - few could read. The item I would probably give them would be a BICYCLE.
Easily reproduced, an inferior chain could be made of rope or leather the frame could (in theory) be made of wood. You would be giving the ability to travel to people who before then would not go further than 10 miles from where they were born. Communication and trade would increase it would be the equivalent of the internet.

However if I could communicate at al I would give them a detailed explaination of the fractional lending and strong advice to nip it in the bud along with taxes, big government, the proogation of war for profit and those who fund both sides.

I'd give them free hugs..there's too much hatred in this world.

I would send back a science book written in anchient greek. The book would include chemistry, biology, physics, Astronomy, Earth Sciences, Botany, and Mathematics.

During this time period, 3000 years ago, 991bc, Ancient Greek culture was was in their "Geometric period". The 8th century BC was the time of homer and his Iliad and the Odyssey. It was also around the 9th century BC that they developed their alphabet. They were also in the bronze age of their culture, with most objects, statuettes, jewelry, and weapons, found by archaeologists being of the bronze variety.

It was also in the 7th century BC, only 200 years later, that they created the Olympic games.

Sokrates and Plato show up on the scene around 400BC, so about 500 years later. Hopefully my book survives long enough to fall into their hands at the Academy at Athens, which was founded by Plato circa 380BC.

I think a science book like this would advance human kind by centuries. Perhaps humankind would be actively exploring the universe by now.

Disclaimer: I'm a theist but not of the Abrahamic faiths. I have minor biblical scholar and scriptural skills. Also I am not a scientific/legal or medical expert in any field. Beware of my Contagious Memes! & watch out that you don't get cut on my Occams razor.All of this is my personal conjecture and should not be considered the absolute or most definitive state of things as they really are. Use this information at your own risk! I accept no liability if your ideology comes crashing down around you with accompanying consequences.

Explanation: S&F!

I got totally wrapped up in researching for this thread and I've even discussed it offline and the best single item I can come up with is a well trained human being who can adapt and even create new stuff unlike a book! I'd like to go but I'd need to brush up on a whole lotta stuff and learn a lingo and some culture.

Personal Disclosure: Dr Who, where are you?

I'd give them myself. Not that I would think of myself as any precious gem, but with my knowledge I'm sure I could give them more then just one physical item.

Second line I guess

A pack of lighters.

Second line.

I would leave them an old timey camera and the knowledge of how to use it. I would also tell them how to develop them. Hell, maybe I'd even give them an old timey movie camera and show them how to use it and show what they have recorded.

It really depends on where you would 'land'. If it's ancient Greece, then the item could be quite advanced (a model of the solar system?), but other parts of the world were still painting themselves blue and hitting each other with rocks. What could you give them? Anything too 'out there' would be either worshipped or feared. Maybe a really good cookbook.

I just glazed through most of the posts and there have been some great ideas. Not sure if my idea was mentioned, if it was, oh well. I would give a digital camera stocked with additional memory cards and batteries and an otter box to bury the camera in. With instructions to take as many pictures as possible then bury the camera in the otter box for future generations to discover.