A Brief History of Technology

Foundations of Technology (A)

ARE YOU PREPAREDFOR CLASS?

You will need your• Folder• Composition Book• Pencil or Pen

OBJECTIVES1.Assess prior knowledge and possible

misconceptions related to the periods of human history associated with the evolution of technology

2.Understand how technological advances may have impacted the way people lived, worked, or produced things

3.Relate the use of the technological artifacts to a “turning point” in history

4.Research and report on a significant invention

Knowledge of the history of technology helps people understand the world around them by seeing how people of all times and places have increased their capability by using their unique skills to innovate, improvise and invent.

WHAT IS TECHNOLOGY? Technology is the application of

knowledge, tools and skills to solve problems and extend human capabilities• Human innovation in action• Generation of knowledge and processes to

develop systems that solve problems and extend human capabilities

How did the following items influence the lives of the people that first used it?

In small groups (teacher assigned):• Brainstorm how a technological advancement

influenced history

• The plow• Irrigation

systems• Cannons• Printing press• Steam engine• Radar

• Computer• Jet Engine• Laser• Locomotive• Pulley• Other?

Think and answer the following…• What did people do before the advancement?• Why is the advancement important?• How did it change history?• What were the benefits to people?• Did the advancement create any problems?

HISTORY LESSON… What is History?

• A chronological record of significant events often including an explanation of their causes

PALEOLITHIC AGE

500,000 BC – 10,000 BC Emergence of a complex set of behaviors and tool use,

believed by many archaeologists to be connected to the development of modern language

Earliest known stone tools• Axes, knives, scrapers, cleavers

Bone needles Impact of technology

• Improved health• Enhanced security• Enabled humans to increase population

PALEOLITHIC AGE

MESOLITHIC AGE

10,000 BC – 4000 BC Development of composite tools

• Leatherwork, basketry, fishing tackle Domestication of animals Impacts of Technology

• Farming, domestication of animals, beginning of settled communities

MESOLITHIC AGE

NEOLITHIC AGE

4000 BC – 2300 BC Development of agriculture, year round

settlements Pottery, polished stone tools, spinning and

weaving tools, wooden and stone plows, sickles

Impacts of Technology –• Dependable year round food, division of

labor that spurs invention and innovation

NEOLITHIC AGE

BRONZE AGE

2300 BC – 700 BC Earliest civilizations - the development of

metallurgy, mainly the combining of copper and tin to make bronze

Bronze jewelry, tools, and weapons Impact of Technology

• Stone tools were gradually replaced by metal ones. Enabled humans to alter their environment at a greater rate

BRONZE AGE

IRON AGE

700 BC – 450 AD The use of iron as the main metal. Iron dagger, iron chisels, small figurines,

ornamental jewelry, swords, axes, spearheads

Impact of technology • Military dominance for uses of iron

weapons and the use of iron bladed plows enabled humans to cultivate heavier soils and increase food production

IRON AGE

MIDDLE AGES

450 –1400 AD The period of European history between fall of

Rome and the Renaissance Wheeled plow, improved harness for horses,

horseshoes, stirrups, waterwheels, crank, windmill, cast iron, cannons, mechanical clock, compass, ocean-going ships

Impact of technology• The rise and decline of serfdom and feudalism, the rise

of the money economy and capitalism, the expansion and contraction of economic activity, and the beginnings of urbanization and industrialization

MIDDLE AGES

RENAISSANCE

1400-1750 AD The transitional movement in Europe

between the middle ages and modern times, marked by a humanistic revival of classical influence

Telescope, microscope, thermometer, clocks, barometer

Impact of technology• Instrumentation enabled early scientists to

observe and quantify natural phenomena

RENAISSANCE

INDUSTRIAL AGE

1750-1950 AD The cultural stage characterized by the first use

of complex machinery, factories, urbanization, and other economic and general social changes from strictly agricultural societies

Steam engine, electricity, automobile, airplane, radio, television, telephone, and rocket

Impact of technology• The Industrial Revolution gave rise to urban centers

requiring vast municipal services, created a specialized and interdependent economic life, and provided the economic base for the rise of the professions, population expansion, and improvement in living standards

INDUSTRIAL AGE

INFORMATION AGE

1950 AD–Present Starting in the 1950s and continuing today in

which the gathering, manipulation, classification, storage, and retrieval of information is central to the workings of society

Transistor, integrated circuit, computer, communication satellite, digital photography, artificial heart, nuclear power plant, space shuttle

Impact of technology• As information becomes more widely available,

increasing numbers of individuals and organizations will be in a better position to make decisions that “experts” now make, decentralizing decision making and empowering more people

INFORMATION AGE

THE NATURE OF WORK

Examine the following graph. How has the nature of work

changed over time?

THE NATURE OF WORK