Why do you think the wave aspect of light was discovered earlier than its particle aspect?

2 answers

The wave theory of light was sufficient to explain phenomena such as refraction, reflection, scattering and polarization that were observed in the 19th century and earlier. The quantum behavior of light required more sophisticated observations that could not be made at that time with equipment then available. Planck's blackbody measurements, the photoelectric effect, and the Bohr's explanation of atomic spectroscopy came along later, and required a treatment of light as particles.
Yep