History of technology
- This article is about the topic of technology in history. For the publication, see History of Technology (magazine).
The history of technology is the history of useful tool and techniques for doing practical things. It is intimately related with the history of science, which includes how humans have acquired the background knowledge necessary to build useful things. Scientific endeavors have, especially in modern times, usually depended on specific technologies which allow humans to probe the nature of the universe in more detail than our natural senses allow.
Technological artifacts are products of an economy, and a force for economic growth, and a large part of everyday life. Technological innovations affect and are affected by a society's cultural traditions. They also are a means to develop and project military power.
By period and geography
Early technology
- Fire used since the paleolithic, possibly by homo erectus as early as 800.000 years ago
- Stone tools, used by homo floresiensis, possibly 100.000 years ago.
- Pottery ca. 11th millennium BC
- Bow, sling ca. 9th millennium BC
- Microliths ca. 9th millennium BC
- Copper ca. 8000 BC
- Agriculture and Plough ca. 8000 BC
- Wheel ca. 4000 BC
- Gnomon ca. 4000 BC
- Writing systems ca. 3500 BC
- Bronze ca. 3300 BC
- Chariot ca. 2000 BC
- Iron ca. 1500 BC
- Sundial ca. 800 BC
- Catapult ca. 400 BC
- Horseshoe ca. 300 BC
- The Antikythera mechanism ca. 87 BC
- Stirrup first few centuries AD
Prehistoric times
Although, by definition, no writing records were made in prehistoric time, we can get some insight as to how the world, and its mechanisms, was understood or interpreted by prehistoric man by direct and indirect evidence. Direct evidence includes cave paintings that were found in Spain and France, and some other artistic works, for example the Venus of Willendorf. Other direct evidence are bones (for example trepanation), mummies and ancient tools[1]. Despite the relative lack of direct evidence of knowledge owned by prehistoric man, the surviving technologies of prehistory may also be used to conject as to the understanding of the world in that era.
Survival was the first order of business; even today, with the great tsunami of 2004, Andaman Islanders remembered the advice of their forebears, took to the high ground, and survived the tsunami, as their ancestors have since time immemorial. These peoples recounted this knowledge to the crews of the rescue aircraft who were hovering over the Andaman Islands, after the aircraft were attacked by their arrows.
Although there is no written record of technological innovation for some peoples or cultures, there is some evidence for their achievements in exploration: for example, the Malay people spread across the Malay archipelago, across the Indian ocean to Madagascar and also across the Pacific ocean, which required knowledge of the ocean currents, the winds, sailing, the movement of the stars, celestial navigation, and star maps. The star maps were not made of paper, but were lashed together with strings, sticks and shells. Their outrigger ships were ocean-worthy, thousands of years ago, well before the maritime technology of the West was capable of the age of exploration.
Before them, likely by hunting and gathering, the Australian aborigines and the Native Americans followed the contours of the continents to populate their parts of the world - a journey of tens of thousands of kilometers, and which may have taken thousands of years.
Ancient Egypt
The Egyptians invented and used many simple machines, such as the ramp and the lever, to aid their construction processes. Egyptian paper made from papyrus and pottery was mass produced and exported to the entire Mediterranean basin. The wheel, however, did not arrive until foreign invaders introduced the chariot.
Tribal Europe
By 1000 BC - 500 BC the Germanic tribes had a bronze age civilization, while the Celts were in the iron age by the time of the Hallstatt culture. Their cultures next collided with the military and agricultural practices of the Romans, two millennia ago. But the time and resources which are needed to conduct science had to build up gradually.
Ancient Rome
- Main article: Ancient Roman technology
The civilization of Rome included technology for:
- intensive agriculture
- ironworking
- laws providing for individual ownership of land
- stonemasonry
- road-building
- military engineering
- civil engineering
- spinning and weaving
Because Rome was located on a volcanic peninsula, with sand which contained suitable crystalline grains, the concrete which the Romans formulated and invented was especially durable. Some of their buildings have lasted 2000 years, to the present day.
The Romans understood hydraulics and constructed fountains and waterworks which were the hallmark of their civilization. The failure of the Roman baths in the city marked the end of Roman civilization. But some Roman baths, for example, in England, for example, have lasted to this day.
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Ancient India
The Indus Valley Civilization situated suitably, with a lot of resources, was a lesson in city planning and sanitation. One of the first examples of closed 'gutters', public baths, granaries etc. are seen here.
A panel found at Mohenjodaro, depicting a sailing craft. Vessels were of many types. Their construction is vividly described in the Yukti Kalpa Taru, an ancient Indian text on Ship-building.
The Nalanda University was an important seat of learning in the ancient world. It was the center of education for scholars from all over Asia. Many Greek, Persian and Chinese students studied here under great scholars - Kautilya, Panini, Jivaka, Vishnu Sharma.
Indian construction and architecture called as 'Vaastu Shastra' offered details and plans based on scientific principles like Strength of Materials, ideal height of construction, presence of adequate sources of water, light hence preserving hygiene. It is one of the first building science to be so all-inclusive.
The Yukti Kalpa Taru, compiled by Bhoja Narapati is concerned with ship-building. (The Yukti Kalpa Taru (YKT) had been translated and published by Prof. Aufrecht in his 'Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts').
Ancient Indian culture has always been diverse in its choice of spices, condiments and ornamental items, hence India was the origin of palm and coconut oil, indigo and other vegetable dyes and pigments like cinnabar. Many of the dyes were used in art and sculpture. The use of perfumes demonstrates some knowledge of the application of technologies used in chemistry, particularly in distillation and purification processes.
Ancient China
According to the Scottish researcher Joseph Needham, the Chinese made a great many first-known discoversies and developments. Major technological contributions from China include early seismological detectors, matches, paper, sliding calipers, the double-action piston pump, cast iron, the iron plough, the multi-tube seed drill, the wheelbarrow, the suspension bridge, the parachute, natural gas as fuel, the magnetic compass, the relief map, the propeller, the crossbow, and gun powder.
Medieval China
The solid-fuel rocket was invented in China about 1150, about 200 years after the invention of black powder (which was its main fuel) and 500 years after the invention of the match. At the same time that the age of exploration was occurring in the West, the Chinese emperors of the Ming Dynasty also sent ships, some reaching Africa. But the enterprises were not further funded, halting further exploration and development. When Magellan's ships reached Brunei in 1521, they found a wealthy city that had been fortified by Chinese engineers, protected by a breakwater. Antonio Pigafetta noted that much of the technology of Brunei was equal to Western technology of the time. Also, there were more cannons in Brunei than on Magellan's ships, and the Chinese merchants to the Brunei court had sold them spectacles and porcelain, which were rarities in Europe. The scientific base for these technological developments appears to be quite thin, however. For example, the concept of force was not clearly formulated in Chinese texts of the period.
Other Chinese discoveries and inventions from the Medieval period, according to Joseph Needham's research, include: the paddle wheel boat, block printing and movable type, phosphorescent paint, chain drive, and the spinning wheel.
Inca
The engineering skills of the Inca were great, even by today's standards. An example is the use of pieces weighing in upwards of one ton in their stonework (e.g., Machu Picchu in Peru), placed together so that not even a blade can fit in-between the cracks. The villages used irrigation canals and drainage systems, making agriculture very efficient.
Maya
The Maya civilization did not smelt metals or use the wheel; they possessed a system of writing and amazing fluency with flint-knapping including portraiture in flint.
European
The fall of the Roman Empire slowed, but did not stop innovation; the Romans used oils for bathing, but soap was brought by the tribes seeking to enter the protections of the Empire. By the fall of Rome, the armor which we associate with the Medieval Knight was in use by the heavy cavalry of Rome, and for over a thousand years afterward.
Medieval
- See: Medieval technology
Timekeeping
At first, timekeeping was done by hand, by priests, and then for commerce, with watchmen to note time, as part of their duties. The tabulation of the equinoxes, the sandglass, and the water clock became more and more accurate, and finally reliable.
For ships at sea, boys were used to turn the sandglasses, and to call the hours.
The use of the pendulum, ratchets and gears allowed the towns of Europe to create mechanisms to display the time on their respective town clocks; by the time of the scientific revolution, the clocks became miniaturized enough for families to share a personal clock, or perhaps a pocket watch. At first, only kings could afford them.
Age of Exploration
The sailing ship (Nau or Carrack) enabled the Age of Exploration with the European colonization of the Americas, epitomized by Francis Bacon's New Atlantis.
Agricultural Revolution
Industrial Revolution
- Main article: Industrial Revolution
The British Industrial Revolution is characterised by developments in the areas of textile manufacturing, metallurgy and transport driven by the development of the steam engine.
19th century
Steam-powered transportation by railway, pioneered notably by Richard Trevithick. The Portsmouth Block Mills was where manufacture of ships' pulley blocks by all-metal machines first took place and instigated the age of mass production. Machine tools used by enginers to manufature other machines began in the first decade of the century, notably by Richard Roberts and Joseph Whitworth. Steamships were eventually completely iron-clad, and played a role in the opening of Japan and China to trade with the West. Mechanical computing was envisioned by Charles Babbage but did not come to fruition.
20th century
The kingdom retained its eminence in radio, and discovered the possibilities in radar. It is possible that electronic computing would have developed as rapidly without the wars of the twentieth century, but nuclear power, developed after the Manhattan project, has fallen into disrepute.
There was some work in transport by rocketry, but most work occurred in the US (Goddard), Russia (Tsiolkovsky) and Germany (Oberth).
Some work in recombinant DNA.
Impact of technology on evolution of society
Many sociologists and anthropologists have created social theories dealing with social and cultural evolution. Some, like Lewis H. Morgan, Leslie White, and Gerhard Lenski, declare technological progress to be the primary factor driving the development of human civilisation.
Morgan's concept of three major stages of social evoluton (savagery, barbarism, and civilization) can be divided by technological milestones, like fire, the bow, and pottery in the savage era, domestication of animals, agriculture, and metalworking in the barbarian era and the alphabet and writing in the civilisation era.
Instead of specific inventions, White decided that the measure by which to judge the evolution of culture was energy. For White "the primary function of culture" is to "harness and control energy." White differentiates between five stages of human development: In the first, people use energy of their own muscles. In the second, they use energy of domesticated animals. In the third, they use the energy of plants (agricultural revolution). In the fourth, they learn to use the energy of natural resources: coal, oil, gas. In the fifth, they harness nuclear energy.
White introduced a forumula P=E*T, where E is a measure of energy consumed, and T is the measure of efficiency of technical factors utilising the energy. In his own words, "culture evolves as the amount of energy harnessed per capita per year is increased, or as the efficiency of the instrumental means of putting the energy to work is increased". Russian astronomer, Nikolai Kardashev, extrapolated his theory creating the Kardashev scale, which categorizes the energy use of advanced civilisations.
Lenski takes a more modern approach and focuses on information. The more information and knowledge (especially allowing the shaping of natural environment) a given society has, the more advanced it is. He identifies four stages of human development, based on advances in the history of communication. In the first stage, information is passed by genes. In the second, when humans gain sentience, they can learn and pass information through by experience. In the third, the humans start using signs and develop logic. In the fourth, they can create symbols, develop language and writing. Advancements in the technology of communication translates into advancements in the economic system and political system, distribution of goods, social inequality and other spheres of social life. He also differentiates societies based on their level of technology, communication and economy: 1) hunters and gatherers, 2) simple agricultural, 3) advanced agricultural, 4) industrial 5) special (like fishing societies).
Finally, from the late 1970s sociologist and anthropologists like Alvin Toffler (author of Future Shock), Daniel Bell and John Naisbitt have approached the theories of post-industrial societies, arguing that the current era of industrial society is coming to an end, and services and information are becaming more important then industry and goods. Some of the more extreme visions of the post-industrial society, especially in fiction, are strikingly similar to the visions of near and post-Singularity societies.
By type of technology
History of biotechnology
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Main article: History of biotechnology
To be incorporated into main article:
- Timeline of agriculture and food technology
- Hunter-gatherer
- Agriculture
- Food science
- Genetically modified food
- History of agricultural science
- History of gardening
- Biotechnology (timeline, etc.)
- History of sushi
- History of tea in China
History of civil engineering
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Main article: History of civil engineering
To be incorporated:
- Civil engineering
- Architecture and building construction
- Bridges, harbors, tunnels, dams
- Surveying, instruments and maps, cartography, urban engineering, water supply and sewerage
History of communication
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Main article: History of communication
To be incorporated:
- Communications
- Writing systems
- Telecommunications
- History of mobile phones
- History of animation
- History of broadcasting
- History of radar
- History of radio
- Printing
- Cinema
- Radio
- Television
- Internet
History of computing
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Main article: History of computing
History of consumer technology
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Main article: History of consumer technology
To be incorporated:
- Timeline of lighting technology
- Timeline of clothing and textiles technology
- History of materials science
- Family and consumer science
- History of knitting
- History of lensmaking
- History of the chair
- History of the umbrella
- Manufacturing
History of electrical engineering
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Main article: Electrical_Engineering#History
To be incorporated:
History of energy technology
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Main article: History of energy technology
To be incorporated:
- Energy (History, Use by humans, See also)
- History of coal mining
- History of perpetual motion machines
- Timeline of steam power
- Timeline of alcohol fuel
- Timeline of nuclear fusion
History of materials science
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Main article: History of materials science
To be incorporated:
- Timeline of materials technology
- Metallurgy
- Materials and processing
History of medicine
Main article: History of medicine
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History of military technology
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Main article: History of warfare
To be incorporated into main article:
- Military_history#Technological_Evolution
- Category:Military history - articles on history of specific technologies
History of nuclear technology
Main article: Nuclear technology#History
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History of scientific technology
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Main article: History of scientific technology
- History of telescopes
- Timeline of telescopes, observatories, and observing technology
- Timeline of microscope technology
- Timeline of particle physics technology
- Timeline of low-temperature technology
- Timeline of temperature and pressure measurement technology
History of timekeeping
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Main article: Timeline of time measurement technology
To be incorporated:
History of transport technology
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Main article: Historic transport
To be incorpoated into main article:
- Timeline of motor and engine technology
- Timeline of photography technology
- Timeline of rocket and missile technology
- Timeline of communication technology
See also
Related history
Related disciplines
- Technical education
- Philosophy of technology
- History of science and technology (field of study)
- History of ideas (field of study)
- Technology
- Engineering
Related subjects
Future of science and technology (speculative)
People
Historiography of Science and Technology
Historians of science and technology
- Johann Beckmann
- I. Bernard Cohen
- Ruth Schwartz Cowan
- John L. Heilbron
- Thomas P. Hughes
- Daniel Kevles
- Thomas Kuhn
- Lewis Mumford
- Abraham Pais
- Richard Bissell Prosser
- George Sarton
- Charles Singer
Journals and periodicals in the history of science and technology
Research institutes
References
- Singer, C., Holmyard, E.J., Hall, A. R and Williams, T. I. (eds.), (1954-59 and 1978) A History of Technology,, 7 vols., Oxford, Clarendon Press,. (Vols 6 and 7, 1978, ed. T. I. Williams)
- Kranzberg, Melvin and Pursell, Carroll W. Jr., eds. (1967)Technology in Western Civilization: Technology in the Twentieth Century New York: Oxford University Press.
- Pacey, Arnold, (1974, 2ed 1994),The Maze of Ingenuity The MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass, 1974, [2ed 1994, cited here]
- Derry, Thomas Kingston and Williams, Trevor I., (1993) A Short History of Technology : From the Earliest Times to A.D. 1900. New York: Dover Publications.
- Brush, S. G. (1988). The History of Modern Science: A Guide to the Second Scientific Revolution 1800-1950. Ames: Iowa State University Press.
- Bunch, Bryan and Hellemans,Alexander, (1993) The Timetables of Technology, New York, Simon and Schuster.
- Olby, R. C. et. al., eds. (1996). Companion to the History of Modern Science,. New York, Routledge.
External links
- MIT 6.933J - The Structure of Engineering Revolutions. From MIT OpenCourseWare, course materials (graduate level) for a course on the history of technology through a Thomas Kuhn-ian lens.