This volume provides a comprehensive introduction to the historical development of science since ancient times. Humans are historical beings, meaning that their thinking and actions are shaped by their historical context. This is particularly true for science, which is always in a state of continuous development, as the human capacity for scientific thinking has only emerged over several thousand years of cultural evolution. Beginning with mythical forms of consciousness and thought, the evolution of conceptual and cognitive thinking is traced, along with the development of modern science in its dependence on meaning-giving beliefs, all the way to quantum and relativity physics. Desirable further developments are briefly addressed.