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Water Circulation
http://www.history.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/water-circulation.jpgWealthy residents of ancient Roman cities pumped cool water from aqueducts into their villas and apartments. The water circulated through pipes installed in the walls, lowering room temperatures on hot summer days.
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Evaporative Cooling
http://www.history.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/evaporative-cooling.jpgEvaporative cooling reduces air temperature and adds moisture through the evaporation of water. This technique dates back at least to ancient Egypt, where people would hang wet mats over their doorways and slaves would fan clay jars filled with water. Similarly, Native Americans dug water trenches beneath their huts, while settlers in the American West kept cool during hot nights by hanging wet sheets on their sleeping porches. In 19th-century New England, evaporative cooling was used to temper the blazing heat inside textile mills. Some modern air conditioning systems, often known as swamp coolers, still rely on this ancient method.
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Snow and Ice
http://www.history.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/snow-and-ice.jpgAccording to legend, several heat-averse Roman emperors, including the notoriously lavish Elagabulus, had snow hauled down from mountaintops to cool their summer villas and chill their drinks. It is also said that the eighth-century Persian caliph Al-Mahdi packed the double walls of his Baghdad palace with imported snow and ice.
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Wind Towers
http://www.history.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/wind-towers.jpgFirst developed in medieval Persia, wind towers are still used to cool off buildings and cisterns in some parts of the Middle East. They feature small windows that capture gusts of wind and funnel them downwards, providing a welcome flow of fresh air in scorching desert climates. (Credit: Getty Images)
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Hand Fans
http://www.history.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/hand-fans.jpgMade of paper, bamboo, feathers or plant fronds, hand fans came into use thousands of years ago in China, Egypt, Greece and elsewhere. In the 16th century they became extremely popular as fashion accessories among European women, including Queen Elizabeth I, who appears with a hand fan in many portraits. During their heyday, fans were imported by the boatloads from China and churned out by specialized artisans in France.
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Passive Solar Design
http://www.history.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/passive-solar-design.jpgIn many early civilizations, architects developed techniques for retaining heat from sunlight during the winter and maximizing shade during the summer. Today, this is known as passive solar design. Cliff dwellings built by the Anasazi people, located in southwestern Colorado’s Mesa Verde National Park, offer a particularly striking example. Tucked under south-facing rock overhangs, their homes soaked up the sun in cold months and were cloaked in shade when summer arrived. (Credit: Getty Images)
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Dugouts and Sod Houses
http://www.history.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/sod-houses-and-dugouts.jpgWhen American settlers began arriving in droves on the Great Plains during the late 19th century, they found scarcely any trees for constructing log cabins. Instead, they built dugouts, which were completely underground or carved into hillsides, and sod houses, which were made from blocks of plowed grass. Though many were later replaced by more permanent homes, these shelters had the advantage of being easy to heat during harsh winters and staying cool during sizzling summers.
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