I guess you could say I'm looking for... a brief history of time. rimshot
Joking aside, how old is our current system of measuring time? Were there ancient timekeeping devices with the level of precision needed to continuously track at the level of minutes or seconds, and if so, what system did the societies who engineered those devices use to define and describe units of time? Where there ever conflicting systems of measurement in competition for widespread acceptance? I've heard about the metric clock of the French revolution, but my understanding is that basically no one ever took that seriously. Were there ever any real alternative contenders? What are some (if any), other ways that humans have conceptualized time over our history?
More can be written, but you might start with these two discussions from the FAQ. Do they answer your questions?
"What systems did civilizations use before they were introduced to the hour/minute/second idea? Are any such systems still in use?" by /u/jeanlucpeckinpah
"How were our current units of time agreed upon?" by /u/kookingpot
This is not to discourage discussion. Further questions, data, and debate are welcome. The rules state, "you are still welcome to ask your question if it has been asked before: you may get new answers from different people".
A follow-up question is why we landed on a base 12 system for measuring time instead of base 10.