16th-century inventions

thumb|A Rajput man smoking through a hookah, [[Rajasthan, India.]]

thumb|right|Muskets and bayonets aboard the [[frigate Grand Turk]]

cylindrical map projection invented by Gerardus Mercator in 1569

toilet that disposes of human excreta by using water to flush it

system of symbolic representations of mathematical objects and ideas

300px|thumb|upright=1.6|Flintlock of an 18th-century hunting rifle, with flint missing.

thumb|Chintz jacket and neckerchief with glazed printed cotton petticoat. 1770–1800. MoMu, Antwerp. Chintz () is a woodblock printed, painted, stained or glazed calico textile that originated in Golconda (present day Hyderabad, India) in the 16th century. The cloth is printed with designs featuring flowers and other patterns in different colours, typically on a light, plain background.

thumb|right|Bookwheel, from Agostino Ramelli's Le diverse et artificiose machine, 1588 The bookwheel (also written book wheel and sometimes called a reading wheel) is a type of rotating bookcase that allows one person to read multiple books in one location with ease. The books are rotated vertically similar to the motion of a water wheel, as opposed to rotating on a flat table surface. The design for the bookwheel originally appeared in a 16th-century illustration by Agostino Ramelli at a time when large books posed practical problems for readers. Ramelli's design influenced other engineers an

The backstaff is a navigational instrument that was used to measure the altitude of a celestial body, in particular the Sun or Moon. When observing the Sun, users kept the Sun to their back (hence the name) and observed the shadow cast by the upper vane on a horizon vane. It was invented by the English navigator John Davis, who described it in his book ''Seaman's Secrets'' in 1594.

mechanical knitting machine