Google Doodle honors Antikythera Mechanism, a 2,000-year-old computer

It's hard to imagine, but there was a time when computers didn't feature monitors, keyboards, or mice.

Google is using its logo Wednesday to pay homage to the Antikythera Mechanism, believed to be the world's first computer.

It was discovered 115 years ago by Greek archaeologist Valerios Stais, who found a portion of the Mechanism among artifacts in a wrecked Roman cargo ship discovered two years earlier. The device could date as far back as 150 BC, reads a description of the Mechanism by Google. 

So, what did the Antikythera Mechanism do? It could track the positions of planets, as well as the movements of the sun and moon, and signaled the start of the next Olympic Games.

"Computer models based on 3-D tomography have revealed more than 30 sophisticated gears, housed in a wooden and bronze case the size of a shoebox," reads a description from Google.

In a study last year, researchers learned the device may have been used to predict the timing and color of an eclipse.

Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @brettmolina23.