Chinese philosopher Mozi described the pinhole-camera principle in the 5th century BCE, noting that light passing through a pinhole into a dark room projects an inverted image on the opposite wall.
Notes on verification
Confirmed by multiple independent reputable sources including Wikipedia, EBSCO, and history-of-science pages; minor variation in exact century attribution but core claim well-supported. [cascade flags: wikipedia_dropped_other_sources_exist | tier=unverified indep_score=0.3 clusters=2 claim_tier=notable] [rescored 2026-09-15: curated origin-host map (PR #65); unclassified hosts no longer scored as aggregators]
Sources
- History of photography | History, Inventions, Artists, & Facts - Britannica (seed:geography_and_travel)
- https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/arts-and-entertainment/camera-obscura (corroboration)
- https://www.kirriemuircameraobscura.com/history-camera-obscuras (corroboration)