History of Technology (Meaning and Explanation)

We explain how the history of technology, its causes and its evolution was. In addition, what were the technological revolutions and more.

What is the history of technology?

The history of technology includes The historical count of the development of the human being, through the creation and use of tools and techniques that have allowed him to attend practical purposes. Thanks to them he has been able to transform the world around him to become a simpler life.

To a large extent it is an important segment of the history of humanity itself, since the application of scientific knowledge and their impact on society The ability to radically alter human life.

Technological advances are the consequence of the application of human intellectual capacity and its creative skills. Therefore, the history of technology can also be understood as the historical count of the development of the abilities of the human being.

See also: History of human communication

What is technology?

The technology is The application of scientific knowledge and the understanding of the universeto the concrete and punctual resolution of the problems of the human being. This means creating, designing and improving goods or services available to facilitate the adaptation of the species to the environment and the satisfaction of their desires or needs (physical, social, cultural).

Origin of technology

History of technology - hieroglyphs — The creation of articulated and symbolic language is exclusive to humanity.

Technology does not have a date of birth as such, that is, we cannot say that since a specific year it has been created or invented. It seems to be something that exists since the beginning of our species. In fact, it serves to distinguish humanity from other hominid species.

The conquest of fire, the use of lithic (stone) tools and The creation of articulated and symbolic language They are forms of technology that denote closeness with our species and that, today, are exclusive to humanity among all the animals in the world.

How is technological progress measured?

There are many social and anthropological theories that try to measure technological progress or at least allow to establish comparisons and measurements of social, cultural and scientific evolution. Some of them agree that the available information is the element that allows that measurement.

Stages of the evolution of technology

HISTORY OF TECHNOLOGY TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION — The industrial revolution brought the first massive machines and factories.

The evolution of technology is divided into “ages”, among which they stand out:

Stone age It was a period of prehistory that arose with the beginnings of humanity in which the human species was nomads, is dedicated to hunting and collection, and that learned to use stone and bone instruments to hunt, to crush food or to defend against rival tribes. Then, he learned to dominate fire to cook his food and scare away the predators.
Metal age. It was a period of prehistory in which the human changed to a sedentary lifestyle, with permanent settlements, the domestication of animals and the discovery of the forge, that is, of the metallurgical work that allowed the human being to forge more simple, versatile and resistant tools. These advances generated a radical life change for the human species, so the period is subdivided into three parts:
- Copper age. It was the stage in which the first steps were taken in the foundry and extraction of this mineral, which served to manufacture instruments, weapons of war and ritual vessels, among other things, despite being a soft metal.
- Bronze age It was a stage of great knowledge development of metals by humanity, with sophisticated alloy techniques, especially copper with tin and bronze production, with more resistant and less oxidable properties.
- Iron Age It was a stage in which iron was discovered, one of the most abundant elements on the surface of the earth. It became one of the most valuable metals due to its resistant status and, at the same time, moldable.
Middle Ages. It was a period of history that represented a slowdown in human technological development, especially of the West, since religion and mystical thinking replaced reason and satanized ancient knowledge for almost fifteen centuries. Meanwhile, other peoples such as Muslim or Chinese flourished and took important steps in chemistry, physics and mathematics.
Modern Age It was a period of history that was characterized by the commitment to scientific and technological progress, especially after the Renaissance and the scientific revolution that it led in the fifteenth and sixteenth century. The Industrial Revolution, between the 18th and 19th century, allowed the human being to develop the first machines, mechanical artifacts and deep transformations of materials, generating a very high ecological impact but advancing by leaps and bounds in the understanding of the universe.
Contemporary age. It is a period that continues currently in force and refers to the last two centuries of history of humanity, in which the technological scopes were unprecedented. He changed the way of understanding the world and knowledge about the human being itself, even, has allowed space exploration, extending the life expectancy of the human being and eradicating diseases, although to a high cost in environmental, moral and ethical matters.

You may be interested: Stages of World War II

Causes of technological evolution

Technological evolution is driven by various economic, social and cultural reasons, which can be summarized in:

The desire for a more pleasant life. The fight against death is a fundamental thrust in human inventiveness, as is also the desire to have more time to invest in pleasures, or work less and lead a fuller life.
Human curiosity. We are a curious species, which likes to learn, discover new things and understand the world around it. That is, in many cases, the strongest motivation towards technological change.

Consequences of technological evolution

Technological evolution has many consequences in day to day, which can go to the improvement of our daily lives (less effort, less suffering, satisfaction of certain desires) or also to its detriment (new forms of oppression, new forms of war, new diseases).

Technology is completely amoral and depending on how we use it, We can generate positive and balanced changesor we can launch the world to ruin.

Technological revolutions

History of Technology — The emergence of computers opened the way to globalization.

Throughout the history of humanity there were various technological revolutions, that is, times when the emergence of knowledge and technology radically altered the human lifestyle and their way of seeing the world. Among the main technological revolutions, the following stand out:

The Neolithic Revolution (10,000 BC. Approximately). Period in which the first agriculture practices were discovered and the nomadic lifestyle was abandoned to settle in small villages.
The Industrial Revolution (1780-1840). Period characterized by the diversity of innovations and the great impact they produced on the life of the human being, for example: a traditional rural economy was passed to the industrialized urban economy, with the factory as the main axis.
The second industrial revolution (1870-1914). Period in which scientific knowledge, innovation applied to industry and machinery, such as the development of the railroad and the worldwide market economy was globalized.
The digital revolution (1985-2000). Period that represents the technological changes that are developed in an accelerated way, at an exponential level and with a massive range, such as computers and computer networks. The innovations of this period directly impacted societies around the world, generating a new lifestyle for the human being from globalization.

The future of technology

History of surgeon future technology — The possibilities for the future of technology are infinite but dangerous.

The question about the technological future is difficult to answer, but it is full of dreams. Science fiction narratives dreamed with a complex post -industrial worldin which the ideas of the human body, of the natural and the artificial can be erased.

They also imagined huge space empires, in which humanity abandons its planet and expands throughout the galaxy. The possibilities are endless, but dangerous: Others have planned a humanity defeated and subjected by their own intelligent artifacts, or simply extinct in the midst of a nuclear war.

Timeline of the history of technology

2000 a. C. Neolithic revolution
4500 a. C. Foundation of the first city called Uruk, in Sumeria, Antigua Mesopotamia.
3000 a. C. Invention of writing and end of prehistory.
387 a. C. Plato founds the Athens Academy.
47 a. C. Burning of the Alexandria Library.
476 d. C. Start of the Middle Ages and Darkness.
900. Invention of the compass, in China.
1492. Columbus arrives in America. Start of the Modern Age.
1543. Nicolás Copernico publishes his heliocentric theory.
1774. The first steam machine is built and the industrial revolution begins.
1850. The second industrial revolution begins.
1957. The USSR puts the first artificial satellite in orbit: Sputnik 1.
1981. The first personal computer under the brand is marketed IBM.
2001. Sequences are achieved 90% of the human genome.