To tell time they were used thousands of years ago. It was used to see the time by the sun's ray's shadow. The Romans were the first to create the very first sundial called the gnomon. It was basically a stick in the ground with markings around it so as the shadows hit the markings whatever number that marking was is what time it is.
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The sundial
Clocks have been around since ancient times. The origins are not exact but it is widely known that the sundial was the first instrument used to measure time. Using the exact point of midday the sundial morphed into the obelisk that the Egyptians used to pinpoint midday.
Scientists believe it was in about 3500 BC (about 5500 years ago).
using a sundial
They refer to the time - in hours. The slanted edge of the gnomon casts a shadow on the sundial at the position which represents the time.