Always base 60? What did non-western societies use? I heard base 60 is a Babylonian thing, when did Europe start adopting it?
Stereotypical sundial? Is the sundial universal? Have there been other methods?
Or perhaps a deeper question...is the need to accurately tell time only a relatively recent construct, brought about by industrialization and the likes? (Did past societies not care all that much and instead just made basic judgements based on the sun's position?)
Anything with a constant (or seemingly constant) rate of change can be used for time measurement. Sand falling in a glass, an uncoiling spring, the sun's movement, etc.
I always found this bit interesting from the Srimad-Bhagavatam:
SB 3.11.9: The measuring pot for one nāḍikā, or daṇḍa, can be prepared with a six-pala-weight [fourteen ounce] pot of copper, in which a hole is bored with a gold probe weighing four māṣa and measuring four fingers long. When the pot is placed on water, the time before the water overflows in the pot is called one daṇḍa.
The passages go into more detail about the divisions of time, among other semi-scientific details, but they have less to do with your question. Link here if you're interested. Translations and purports by A.C. Bhaktivendanta Swami
hi! not discouraging more contributions, especially since there could be infinite answers to cover every culture, but until those roll in, you can get started with these sections of the FAQ*
Waking up without alarm clocks
Time zones and time differences
*see the link on the sidebar or the wiki tab