Technology—Growing Fast!

Technology is changing faster and faster all the time. As the popula­tion grows, more people are adding more new ideas and inventing more new tools. When these people combine their ideas, we have even more new machines and tools. Over 90 percent of all technologies we have today were invented in the last 25 or 30 years. That means that technology is causing lots of change very fast.

When did technology start? Many people think that technology started in the 1700s when factories began to make things. But technolo­gy really began many thousands of years ago. Prehistoric people used simple tools such as clubs and axes made of stone to work on different materials.

One way to organize history is to divide the past into time periods. These periods are based on the kinds of materials people used. This method is useful because people develop new technologies to meet their changing needs. But they don't throw away the old technology; they build on it. Let's take a brief look at technology through the ages.

- The Stone Age (2,000,000 b.c. to 3,000 b.c.)

During the Stone Age, prehistoric people used tools made mostly of stone, animal bones, and wood. The tools were important to them as weapons or for gather­ing food. Prehistoric people also discovered uses for fire.

- The Bronze Age (3000 b.c. to 1200 b.c.)

During the Bronze Age, people learned how to mix cop­per with tin to make a stronger metal called bronze. Bronze is an alloy. An alloy is made when two or more metals are mixed together. Bronze was stronger than either copper or tin, and it could be used to make better tools and weapons.

 

- The Iron Age (1200 b.c. to a.d. 500)

People started to make their tools from iron instead of bronze. They preferred iron because it was harder and held a cutting edge better than bronze. Iron ore was also easy to find and less expensive. With the use of iron, more tools developed faster. Iron is still used in industry today.

- The Pre-Industrial Revolution (a.d. 500 to 1750)

There were very few changes in science and technology during the first part of this time period. People around the world did not advance from one stage of technology to the next at the same pace. People in some parts of the world moved ahead, while others stayed the same. Some people remained hunters and gatherers while others became farmers and herders. For example, the Chinese were ahead of other people in technology because they had gunpowder, the compass, and movable type for printing. Today there are a few isolated places where people are still living in the Stone Age.

During the second part of the Pre-Industrial Revolution, technology and science became important. For example, steam was first put to use in 1712 by Thomas Newcomen. He made a steam engine to pump water out of coal mines. Products were made in homes rather than facto­ries during this period. Several important scientific instruments such as the microscope were invented. This is when scientists started using the scientific method to find answers.

- The Industrial Revolution (1750-1900)

Beginning about 1750 many inventions brought changes that affected all of society. Before this time products were made by craftspeople using their own tools in their workshops. With new inventions and machines, people set up factories that could produce things cheaper and faster.

 

- Recent History (1900-Today)

The early 1900s started a period of very rapid growth in technology. Recent history is divided into ages that describe the technology of each period just as prehistoric times are described by the materials people used. Some of the recent ages include the Air Age, the Atomic Age, the Jet Age, the Space Age, and the Information Age. The ages overlap and build on each other.

As technology has changed, so have the ways people live. In earlier times, people lived in an agricultural society where they needed tools to live off the land. Then, during the industrial period many machines were invented that changed the ways in which products were made. Many people moved away from farms and worked in factories. Today we are in an Information Age, where skills such as finding and using information are important.