What is History of technology?
[[File:Boxgrove handaxe.jpg|thumb|180px|Man's longest-lasting tool, the [[handaxe]]. This example is from [[Boxgrove quarry]]]] [[File:Letter Luenna Louvre AO4238.jpg|thumb|right|230px|Letter on a [[clay]] tablet sent by the high-priest Lu’enna to the king of Lagash It tells the king of his son's death in combat. The script is [[cuneiform]], the date ~2400 BC]] The '''history of technology''' is the history of the invention of [[tools]] and [[technique]]s, and is similar in many ways to the history of humanity. People make new things and, conversely, many scientific endeavors are possible through technologies. Technology lets us travel to places we could not otherwise go, and probe the nature of the [[universe]] in more detail than our natural [[senses]] allow. Technological [[artifact]]s are products of an [[economy]], a force for economic growth, and a large part of everyday life. Technological [[innovation]]s affect, and are affected by, a society's [[Cultural heritage|cultural traditions]]. They also are a means to develop and project [[military]] power. What are the great technologies? *The [[hand axe]]: used for about 1.5 million years, from ''[[Homo erectus]]'' to [[neolithic]] man. Basically a tool for butchering large animals which were probably killed by wooden [[spear]]s. Not for nothing did a curator at the British Museum use the phrase ''Man the Toolmaker''.<ref>Oakley, Kenneth 1949. ''Man the tool-maker'', British Museum (Natural History), 6th edition 1972.</ref> *[[Fire]], which would have occurred naturally in the drier [[environments]] of the [[savannah]]. The date of the first deliberate use of fire for warmth, protection and [[cooking]] is not known. *The [[city]]: we can date this to about 8,000 years ago in the [[fertile crescent]]. *[[Writing]]: the means of trade, education and cultural transmission from one [[generation]] to another. About 3300 [[BC]].<ref>Robinson. Andrew 1995. ''The story of writing''. Thames & Hudson, London.</ref> == References == {{reflist}} [[Category:Histo