How did people tell time before clocks?

Before modern clocks, people told time by watching regular changes in nature. The sun’s height showed morning, noon, and evening; shadows marked smaller parts of the day; and dripping water, burning candles, stars, plants, and animals helped people measure time when sunlight was missing.

One wonderful detail is that some old timekeepers were also tiny machines. A candle could be marked into hours, and a pin placed in the wax could fall with a clink when enough candle had melted. It was a reminder you could hear.