Prehistoric |alt=refer to caption Tools were initially developed by
hominids through observation and
trial and error. Around 2
Mya (million years ago), they learned to make the first stone tools by hammering flakes off a pebble, forming a sharp
hand axe. This practice was refined 75 kya (thousand years ago) into
pressure flaking, enabling much finer work. The
discovery of fire was described by
Charles Darwin as "possibly the greatest ever made by man". Archaeological, dietary, and social evidence point to "continuous [human] fire-use" at least 1.5 Mya. Fire, fueled with wood and
charcoal, allowed early humans to cook their food to increase its digestibility, improving its nutrient value and broadening the number of foods that could be eaten. The
cooking hypothesis proposes that the ability to cook promoted an increase in hominid
brain size, though some researchers find the evidence inconclusive. Archaeological evidence of
hearths was dated to 790 kya; researchers believe this is likely to have intensified human
socialization and may have contributed to the emergence of
language. Other technological advances made during the Paleolithic era include clothing and shelter. No consensus exists on the approximate time of adoption of either technology, but archaeologists have found archaeological evidence of clothing 90-120 kya and shelter 450 kya. Clothing, adapted from the fur and hides of hunted animals, helped humanity expand into colder regions; humans began to
migrate out of Africa around 200 kya, initially moving to
Eurasia.
Neolithic The
Neolithic Revolution (or
First Agricultural Revolution) brought about an acceleration of technological innovation, and a consequent increase in social complexity. The invention of the polished
stone axe was a major advance that allowed large-scale
forest clearance and farming. This use of polished stone axes increased greatly in the Neolithic but was originally used in the preceding
Mesolithic in some areas such as Ireland. Agriculture fed larger populations, and the transition to
sedentism allowed for the simultaneous raising of more children, as infants no longer needed to be carried around by
nomads. Additionally, children could contribute labor to the raising of crops more readily than they could participate in
hunter-gatherer activities. With this increase in population and availability of labor came an increase in
labor specialization. What triggered the progression from early Neolithic villages to the first cities, such as
Uruk, and the first civilizations, such as
Sumer, is not specifically known; however, the emergence of increasingly
hierarchical social structures and specialized labor, of trade and war among adjacent cultures, and the need for collective action to overcome environmental challenges such as
irrigation, are all thought to have played a role. The invention of
writing led to the spread of cultural knowledge and became the basis for history,
libraries, schools, and
scientific research. Continuing improvements led to the
furnace and
bellows and provided, for the first time, the ability to
smelt and
forge gold, copper, silver, and leadnative metals found in relatively pure form in nature. The advantages of copper tools over stone, bone and wooden tools were quickly apparent to early humans, and native copper was probably used from near the beginning of
Neolithic times (about 10 kya). Native copper does not naturally occur in large amounts, but copper ores are quite common and some of them produce metal easily when burned in wood or charcoal fires. Eventually, the working of metals led to the discovery of
alloys such as
bronze and
brass (about 4,000 BCE). The first use of iron alloys such as steel dates to around 1,800 BCE.
Ancient After harnessing fire, humans discovered other forms of energy. The earliest known use of wind power is the
sailing ship; the earliest record of a ship under sail is that of a Nile boat dating to around 7,000 BCE. From prehistoric times, Egyptians likely used the power of the annual
flooding of the Nile to irrigate their lands, gradually learning to regulate much of it through purposely built irrigation channels and "catch" basins. The ancient
Sumerians in
Mesopotamia used a complex system of canals and levees to divert water from the
Tigris and
Euphrates rivers for irrigation. Archaeologists estimate that the wheel was invented independently and concurrently in Mesopotamia (in present-day
Iraq), the Northern Caucasus (
Maykop culture), and Central Europe. Time estimates range from 5,500 to 3,000 BCE with most experts putting it closer to 4,000 BCE. The oldest artifacts with drawings depicting wheeled carts date from about 3,500 BCE. More recently, the oldest-known wooden wheel in the world as of 2024 was found in the
Ljubljana Marsh of
Slovenia; Austrian experts have established that the wheel is between 5,100 and 5,350 years old. The invention of the wheel revolutionized trade and war. It did not take long to discover that wheeled wagons could be used to carry heavy loads. The ancient Sumerians used a
potter's wheel and may have invented it. A stone pottery wheel found in the city-state of
Ur dates to around 3,429 BCE, and even older fragments of wheel-thrown pottery have been found in the same area. and were first used in Mesopotamia and
Iran in around 3,000 BCE. and timber roads leading through the swamps of
Glastonbury, England, dating to around the same period. A bathtub virtually identical to modern ones was unearthed at the Palace of Knossos. Several Minoan private homes also had toilets, which could be flushed by pouring water down the drain. which were used to transport water across long distances. A system of universities developed and spread scientific ideas and practices, including
Oxford and
Cambridge. The
Renaissance era produced many innovations, including the introduction of the
movable type printing press to Europe, which facilitated the communication of knowledge. Technology became increasingly influenced by science, beginning a cycle of mutual advancement.
Modern , here the original
Benz Patent-Motorwagen, revolutionized personal transportation. Starting in the United Kingdom in the 18th century, the discovery of
steam power set off the
Industrial Revolution, which saw wide-ranging technological discoveries, particularly in the areas of
agriculture, manufacturing, mining,
metallurgy, and transport, and the widespread application of the
factory system. This was followed a century later by the
Second Industrial Revolution which led to rapid scientific discovery, standardization, and mass production. New technologies were developed, including
sewage systems, electricity,
light bulbs,
electric motors, railroads,
automobiles, and airplanes. These technological advances led to significant developments in medicine,
chemistry,
physics, and engineering. They were accompanied by consequential social change, with the introduction of skyscrapers accompanied by rapid urbanization. Communication improved with the invention of the
telegraph, the telephone, the radio, and television. The 20th century brought a host of innovations. In physics, the discovery of
nuclear fission in the
Atomic Age led to both
nuclear weapons and
nuclear power.
Analog computers were invented and asserted dominance in processing complex data. While the invention of
vacuum tubes allowed for digital computing with
computers like the
ENIAC, their sheer size precluded widespread use until innovations in
quantum physics allowed for the invention of the
transistor in 1947, which significantly compacted computers and led the digital transition. Information technology, particularly
optical fiber and
optical amplifiers, allowed for simple and fast long-distance communication, which ushered in the
Information Age and the birth of the
Internet. The
Space Age began with the launch of
Sputnik 1 in 1957, and later the launch of
crewed missions to the moon in the 1960s. Organized efforts to
search for extraterrestrial intelligence have used
radio telescopes to detect signs of technology use, or
technosignatures, given off by alien civilizations. In medicine, new technologies were developed for diagnosis (
CT,
PET, and
MRI scanning), treatment (like the
dialysis machine,
defibrillator,
pacemaker, and a wide array of new
pharmaceutical drugs), and research (like
interferon cloning and
DNA microarrays). Complex manufacturing and construction techniques and organizations are needed to make and maintain more modern technologies, and entire
industries have arisen to develop succeeding generations of increasingly more complex tools. Modern technology increasingly relies on training and education – their designers, builders, maintainers, and users often require sophisticated general and specific training. Moreover, these technologies have become so complex that entire fields have developed to support them, including engineering, medicine, and
computer science; and other fields have become more complex, such as construction, transportation, and architecture. ==Impact==