Historical Development of Science and Technology in Agriculture, Communication, and Community Development

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts from the lecture notes on the historical development of science and technology.

Technology

The means or activity by which humans change or manipulate their environment; broader than tools, encompassing methods, processes, and ideas.

Hominid (toolmaker)

The first human-like species; humans have been technologists from the start through deliberate toolmaking and innovation.

Prehistoric period (Beginnings to c. 3000 BCE) characterized by basic stone tools and tool use.

Stone Age

Early tools made by chipping flakes from stone; includes hand axes.

Paleolithic tools

c. 6000 BCE era with standardized tools, pottery wheels, weaving, and beginnings of mechanical principles in agriculture.

Neolithic era

c. 3000-500 BCE Mesopotamian cities featuring irrigation, wheel, metallurgy, writing (cuneiform), mathematics, astronomy, simple machines, and water power.

Urban Revolution

Writing system of Mesopotamia enabling recordkeeping, administration, law, and literature.

Cuneiform

Ancient Greek complex device tracking planetary movements/calendars; an early analog computer.

Antikythera mechanism

Paper, compass, printing, and gunpowder; foundational Chinese innovations shaping later civilizations.

Four Great Inventions

Printing technology enabling mass production of books; contributed to literacy and idea dissemination.

Movable-type printing press

Early steam engine (Newcomen, 1712) powering mines; James Watt improved efficiency and rotary motion (1769–81).

Steam engine

Coke-fueled blast furnaces enabling iron production; Bessemer process (1856) allowed mass steel production.

Iron production / Bessemer

Infrastructure like the Bridgewater Canal and Liverpool-Manchester Railway transforming goods transport.

Canals and railways

1837: Enabled near-instant long-distance communication via electrical signals.

Telegraph

1876: Device for voice communication over distance; accelerated business and personal contact.

Telephone

1879: Widespread electric illumination enabling longer productive hours and urban growth.

Electric lighting

1947: Solid-state switch enabling smaller, more powerful electronics and computers.

Transistor

Microprocessors (1971) enabling computers for homes and businesses.

Personal computer

1989: Tim Berners-Lee’s web; popularized by Mosaic; transformed information sharing.

World Wide Web

Gene-editing technology that enables precise modification of DNA for medical and agricultural uses.

CRISPR-Cas9

Rapid vaccine development using messenger RNA; highlighted by COVID-19 vaccines (2020).

mRNA vaccines

Advances in machine learning and neural networks; ongoing development with potential for automation and data analysis.

Artificial intelligence

Perceived demand or problem driving innovation; must be widely felt to generate a market.

Social need

Capital, materials, and skilled personnel needed to realize innovations.

Social resources

Environment receptive to new ideas; groups that encourage inventors and innovation.

Sympathetic social ethos