Introduction
Technology is the use of knowledge to invent new devices or tools. Throughout history, technology has made people’s lives easier.
Ancient technology
Early humans set themselves apart from other animals when they learned to control fire. About 2 million years ago, they also learned to use stones as weapons or tools. This began a period that is known as the Stone Age. Stone Age people also learned to make pottery from clay.
Later on, people learned to work with metal. The people of Anatolia (now in Turkey) made copper tools and weapons as early as 6500 bce. In about 3000 bce people discovered that mixing copper with tin formed a stronger metal—bronze. This discovery began the Bronze Age.
Two important developments took place in the Middle East at the beginning of the Bronze Age. One was the invention of the ox-drawn plow. The other was the invention of the wheel and axle.Many scientists date the beginning of civilization, or advanced culture, to this time.
In the 1000s bce the Hittite people of Anatolia learned to work with iron, which is stronger than bronze. This began the Iron Age. Eventually, people throughout Europe, Asia, and northern Africa made strong iron tools and weapons.
Technology in the middle ages.
A period called the Middle Ages began in Europe in about 500 ce and lasted until about 1500. Many advances during this time came from other places—for example, China, the Byzantine Empire, Persia, India, and the Islamic world.
By about the 1400s, Europeans learned the Chinese technique of casting iron. This involved heating iron in a special furnace and then pouring it into a mold to harden. Chinese inventors also developed black powder, the original form of gunpowder.
New sources of power were developed during this time. The horse became a major energy source with the invention of the padded horse collar. The collar meant that the horse could be used to pull plows and other objects. People also harnessed water and wind power to run new types of water mills and windmills.
Two kinds of technology helped to end the Middle Ages and to begin modern times. The rudder (a part for steering a ship), the triangular sail, and the astrolabe and compass made possible the sea voyages of European explorers. The astrolabe was a device that helped sailors determine their position. In about 1450 Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press. As a result books could be produced in great numbers. Many people learned to read, and learning became widespread.
Iron, Coal, and Steam
Early in the 1700s two English inventors set the stage for the Industrial Revolution. This was a period of great growth of industry. Abraham Darby discovered that a coke-burning furnace produced good iron. Coke is a form of coal. Thomas Newcomen invented a pump that kept coal mines from filling with water. A steam engine powered the pump.
With these developments, coal and iron production expanded rapidly. Iron remained the main metal for building and toolmaking until the late 1800s. At that time steel (a mixture of iron and carbon) began to replace regular iron.
Meanwhile, in the late 1700s steam began to replace wind and water as the major source of power. In a steam engine, burning coal heated water. The boiling water produced the steam that ran the engine.
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