History of Technology and

Inventions
Week 1: Introduction
 Why do we need to study the History of
Technology and Inventions?
 The main object of this work is to provide students of
technology and applied science with some humane and
historical background for their studies.
 This in turn will helped them to realize that the subjects of
their special training are parts of a very ancient process and
are rooted in many civilizations.

During this course will not treat recent history of applied science
and technology that are presently being studied, rather we will
provide a longer perspective of the ways in which complex
technical knowledge of our civilization came into being.
This subject tells the story how man started making
tools from stone axe to spacecraft, from cave
dwelling to computer.

This subject is important because by studying the

past, one should, with wisdom, be able to observe
its successes while perceiving its mistakes.

‘Study the past, if you would divine the future,’

The inventor seeks a method of improving on past

and present practice, and this is the first step in the
process of moving forward to a new solution
Political and constitutional history, economic history,
naval and military history, social history are well
represented and adequately stressed. The history of
technology is neglected in comparison.

We know what monarchs and statesmen did in the

past, how they fought their wars and which side won.
What we must understand is that, the side that won
such war, was largely dependent on the state of their
technology and that of their enemy.
In the process of invention, the inventor starts his
quest with a good look at the present and the past.
Inventors, tend to be dissatisfied with things around
them.

Thus the endeavour to invent arises when their

dissatisfaction becomes focused on a single aspect of
existing technology.
Age of Earth Geological Time

Earth is estimated to be 4.54 billion years old, plus

or minus about 50 million years.

Geological time scale is broken into component

parts :
1. eons,
2. eras,
3. periods, and
4. epochs.
Eons: A eon is about One billion years. Since the
earth is estimated to be about 4.5 billion years
old. Earth's history is characterized by four eons;
in order from oldest to youngest, these are the
Hadeon, Archean, Proterozoic, and Phanerozoic.

Collectively, the Hadean,

Archean, and Proterozoic
are informally referred to as
the "Precambrian."
We live during the
Phanerozoic, which means
"visible life."
Eras: Eons of geological time are subdivided
into eras, which are the second-longest units of
geological time.

It is important to know that Eras are not divided

by the numbers of years but by mass extinction.
For example, many fossils that are commonly
found one era are not found in another era.

The 'New Elizabethan era' is the period during

which Queen Elizabeth II reigned. It started with
the death of her father, King George VI, in 1952
which saw the Queen crowned at age 27 and it
ended after her death on 8 September 2022.
The Phanerozoic eon is divided into three eras: the
Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic.

Dinosaur fossils found in the youngest Mesozoic rocks

are never again found in the overlying Cenozoic rocks.
The Hadean eons are difficult to study, because it is
exposed in very limited places on Earth's surface.
(Since it is the oldest eons, rocks that are Hadean in
age are often buried far below younger rocks at
Earth's surface.) We will not discuss it.

The older Archean and Proterozoic eons are similarly

divided into several eras. For example, the youngest
era of the Proterozoic eon is called the
Neoproterozoic. We will not discuss them.
The Phanerozoic eon is divided into three eras: the
Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic.

Paleozoic: Paleozoic animals were lived in the sea.

Presumably simple fungi and related forms already
existed in freshwater environments, but the fossil
record provides no evidence of these modes of life.
The terrestrial environment of the early Paleozoic
was barren of the simplest of life-forms.

Mesozoic
is best known for the dinosaurs. This era also saw
the evolution of birds and the first mammals.
Cenozoic. extinction of giant reptiles
A large meteorite crashed
into the Gulf of Mexico 66
million years ago,
causing a massive
tsunami and a climate
disruption that killed up to
80% of the world's animal
and plant species, the
last of the dinosaurs
being the most
noticeable victims.

This mass extinction event separates the Mesozoic from

the Cenozoic Era.
Periods
Eras are subdivided into units of time called
periods.

A period is the unit of geological time during

which a system of rocks formed

The most well known of all geological periods is

the Jurassic period of the Mesozoic era (the movie
Jurassic Park, of course, has something to do with
that).
The Phanerozoic eon is
divided into three eras: the
Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and
Cenozoic.

The Paleozoic era is

divided into six periods.
From oldest to youngest,
these are the Cambrian,
Ordovician, Silurian,
Devonian, Carboniferous,
and Permian.
The Mesozoic era is divided into the Triassic,
Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods

Finally, the Cenozoic era is divided into three

periods: the Paleogene, Neogene, and Quaternary.
Epochs
Periods of geological time are subdivided into epochs.
In turn, epochs are divided into even narrower units of
time called ages

The Paleogene period is divided into- from oldest to

youngest--the Paleocene, Eocene, and Oligocene
epochs.
Neogene is divided into the Miocene and Pliocene
epochs.
the Quaternary is divided into the Pleistocene and
Holocene epochs.
Ages
A geologic age is the lowest rank unit of time for the
geologic time scale.

The Prehistoric Period is period when there was human life

before records documented human activity—this period
is roughly dates from 2.5 million years ago to 1,200 B.C.

Prehistoric Period is categorized three ages: the Stone Age,

Bronze Age and Iron Age.

Technology of man started with the use of tools, since the

earliest human tools date back to at least 2.6 million years ago.
We assume that technology started around this time (stone
Age).
Ages of Technology
• Stone age
• Bronze age
• Iron age (hoe and cutlass)
• Industrial ages( machine)
• Electronic age
• Computer and Information Age
What does BC and AD stand for?
BC stands for Before Christ. AD stands for "anno
domini", which translates to "Year of our Lord."
In the middle ages, people decided that the birth of Christ
would be a reference point to track time, and came up
with these abbreviations.
The Julian calendar is a solar calendar of 365 days in every year
with an additional leap day every fourth year (without exception).

Apollo 11 (July 16–24,

1969) was the
American spaceflight
that first landed
humans on the Moon.
Stone Age :
this is a broad pre-historic time period
(Approximately 500,000 BC to 10,000
BC) when humans widely used stones
for tool making.

During this period, man’s basic task was gathering food and
hunting animals using tools made from natural rocks and stones,
which were used for making fire, killing animals and enemies.
Examples of stone age tools are flints which were used for cutting,
basalt and sandstone which were used for grinding.
Iron Age:
The Iron Age is a pre –history period
(Approximately 3500years ago 1. E. 1500 BC)
during which cutting tools and weapons were
mainly made of Iron or steel.
For the first time, humans were able to exploit
efficiently the temperature forests, villages
were fortified, warfare was conducted on
horseback and in horse-drawn chariots, and
alphabetic writing based on the Phoenician
script became widespread.

Artwork in the Iron Age communicated the

cultural and societal influences of that time.
Middle Age:
This is a period in history which lasted for
roughly a millennium, commonly dated
from the 5th century to the beginning of the
16th Century. One of the most important
developments in the “Middle Age” was the
experimentation and developments in iron
production.

In the medieval history, development were

made in the areas of agriculture tools,
harnessing of time, use of iron, building
construction, weaving and textiles industry.
The plow is considered to be one of the
most important but the oldest technology
developed but was radically improved and
was used with multiple- oxen teams.
Industrial Age:
This is the period of evolution of machines
used in our societies today. During the
period of industrial revolution which started
in Britain and later spread to the other parts
of the world, an economy based on manual
labour was replaced by one dominated by
industry and manufacture of machinery. It
began with the mechanization of textiles
industries, the development of iron- making
techniques and the increased use of refined
coal.
There was trade explosion, introduction of
canals, improved roads and railways. The
introduction of steam power and powered
machinery underpinned the increase in
production capacity and the development of
all metal- machine tools which facilitated
production of machines in other industries.
Electronic Age:
This is the development of mechanical
calculators, slide rules, paper and
pencils which formed the world’s main
tools for calculation in early 60’s. The
first large electronic desktop calculators
began to replace electronic mechanical
machines.

Those models based on the newest

electronic technology used thousands
of transistors. The first electronic
desktop calculators were noted for the
abundant publication, consumption and
manipulation of information especially
by computers and computer networks.
Examples of electronic age tools are
electronic typewriters and electronic
calculators.
Computer and Information Age:
This is also known as the computer age or digital age. It is
characterized by the ability of individuals to transfer information
freely, and to have instant access to knowledge. This age has
allowed rapid global communications and networking to shape
modern society.
Timeline of historic inventions

Lower Paleolithic

3.3-2.6 Mya: Stone tools – found in present-day Kenya, they are

so old that only a pre-human species could have invented them.[1]
 The otherwise earliest known stone tools (Oldowan) were found
in Ethiopia[2] developed perhaps by Australopithecus garhi or 
Homo habilis[3][4]
2.3 Mya: Earliest likely control of fire and cooking, by Homo
habilis
1.76 Mya: Advanced (Acheulean) stone tools in Kenya by Homo
erectus
1.5 Mya: Bone tools in Africa.
900-40 kya: Boats.
500 kya: Hafting in South Africa.[13]
400 kya: Pigments in Zambia[14]
400-300 kya: Spears in Germany[15][16] likely by Homo
heidelbergensis
350-150 kya: Estimated origin of language[17]
Middle Paleolithic

c. 320 kya: The trade and long-distance transportation of resources (e.g.

obsidian), use of pigments, and possible making of projectile points in
Kenya[18][19][20]
279 kya: Early stone-tipped projectile weapons in Ethiopia[21]
c. 200 kya: Glue in Central Italy by Neanderthals.[22] More complicated
compound adhesives developed by Homo sapiens have been found from c.
70 kya Sibudu, South Africa[23] and have been regarded as a sign of
cognitive advancement.[24]
170-83 kya: Clothing (among anatomically modern humans in Africa).[25]
Some other evidence suggests that humans may have begun wearing
clothing as far back as 100,000 to 500,000 years ago.[26]
164-47 kya: Heat treating of stone blades in South Africa.[27]
135-100 kya: Beads in Israel and Algeria[28]
100 kya: Compound paints made in South Africa[29][30][31]
100 kya: Funerals (in the form of burial) in Israel[32]
90 kya: Harpoons in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[33]
77 kya: Beds in South Africa[34]
70-60 kya: Oldest arrows (and evidence of bow-and-arrow technology), and
oldest needle, at Sibudu, South Africa
Upper Paleolithic to Early Mesolithic
49–30 ka: Ground stone tools – fragments of an axe in Australia date
to 49–45 ka, more appear in Japan closer to 30 ka, and elsewhere
closer to the Neolithic.[40][41]
47 ka: The oldest-known mines in the world are from Eswatini, and
extracted hematite for the production of the red pigment ochre.[42][43]
45 ka: Shoes, as evidenced by changes in foot bone morphology in
Eurasia.[44] Bark sandals dated to 10 to 9 ka were found in Fort Rock
Cave in the US state of Oregon in 1938.[45] Oldest leather shoe
(Areni-1 shoe), 5.5 ka.[46]
44–42 ka: Tally sticks (see Lebombo bone) in Eswatini[47]
43.7 ka: Cave painting in Indonesia[48][49]
37 ka: Mortar and pestle in Southwest Asia[50]
36 ka: Weaving – Indirect evidence from Moravia[51][52] and Georgia.
[53] The earliest actual piece of woven cloth was found in Çatalhöyük,
Turkey.[54][55]
35 ka: Flute in Germany[56]
33-10 ka: Star chart in France[57] and Spain[58]
28 ka: Rope[59]
26 ka: Ceramics in Europe[60]
23 ka: Domestication of the dog in Siberia.[61]
19 ka: Bullroarer in Ukraine[62]
 6000 BC: Kiln in Mesopotamia (Iraq)[79]
6th millennium BC: Irrigation in Khuzistan,
Iran[80][81]
6000-3200
Neolithic and Late BC: Proto-writing in present-day
Mesolithic
Egypt, Iraq, Serbia, China and Pakistan.
[82]
c. 5500 BC: Sailing - pottery depictions of
sail boats, in Mesopotamia,[83] and later
ancient Egypt[84][85]
5000 BC: Copper smelting in Serbia[86]
5000 BC: Seawall in Israel[87]
5th millennium BC: Lacquer in China[88]
[89]
5000 BC: Cotton thread, in Mehrgarh,
Pakistan, connecting the copper beads of a
bracelet.[90][91][92]
5000–4500 BC: Rowing oars in China[93]
[94]
4500–3500 BC: Lost-wax casting in
Israel[95] or the Indus Valley[96]
4400 BC: Fired bricks in China.[97]
4000 BC: Probable time period of the first
diamond-mines in the world, in Southern
India.[98]
Around 4000 BC: Paved roads, in and
 Sumerian Civilisation (modern-day Iraq).
[nb 3]
Bronze Age c. 2600 BC: Public sewage and sanitation
systems in Indus Valley sites such as
Mohenjo-daro and Rakhigarhi (modern-
day: India, Pakistan).[136]
c. 2600 BC: Public bath in Mohenjo-daro,
Indus Valley (modern-day Pakistan).[137]
c. 2600 BC: Levee in Indus Valley.[138]
by 2556 BC: Docks A harbor structure has
been excavated in Wadi al-Jarf, Egypt,
which was developed by the reign of the
Pharaoh Khufu (2589–2566 B.C).[139]
[130] [nb 4]
3000 - 2500 BC: Rhinoplasty in Egypt.[146]
[147]
c. 2600 BC: balance weights and scales,
from the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt;
examples of Deben (unit) balance weights,
from reign of Sneferu (c. 2600 BC) have
been attributed.[148]
2500 BC: Puppetry in the Indus Valley.
[149][150]
c. 2400 BC: Copper pipes, the Pyramid of
Sahure, an adjoining temple complex at
 used by Assyrian cavalry)[176]
650 BC: Crossbow in China.[177]
Iron Age 650 BC: Windmills in Persia
600 BC: Coins in Phoenicia (Modern
Lebanon) or Lydia[178]
Late 7th or early 6th century BC:
Wagonway called Diolkos across the
Isthmus of Corinth in Ancient Greece

With the Greco-Roman trispastos ("three-

pulley-crane"), the simplest ancient crane,
a single man tripled the weight he could lift
than with his muscular strength alone.[179]
6th century BC to 10th century AD: High
Carbon Steel, produced by the Closed
Crucible method, later known as Wootz
steel, of South India.[180][181][nb 6]
6th century BC: University in Taxila, of the
Indus Valley, then part of the kingdom of
Gandhara, of the Achaemenid Empire
(modern-day Pakistan).
6th century to 2nd centuries BC:
Systematization of medicine and surgery in
the Sushruta Samhita in Vedic Northern
India.[183][184][185] Documented