history of technology

Introduction
General considerations
- Social involvement in technological advances
- Modes of technological transmission
Technology in the ancient world
- The beginnings—Stone Age technology (to c. 3000 bce)
  - Earliest communities
  - The Neolithic Revolution
    - Stone
    - Power
    - Tools and weapons
    - Building techniques
    - Manufacturing
- The urban revolution (c. 3000–500 bce)
  - Craftsmen and scientists
  - Copper and bronze
  - Irrigation
  - Urban manufacturing
  - Building
  - Transmitting knowledge
- Technological achievements of Greece and Rome (500 bce–500 ce)
  - The mastery of iron
  - Mechanical contrivances
  - Agriculture
  - Building
  - Other fields of technology
    - Transport
    - Military technology
From the Middle Ages to 1750
- Medieval advance (500–1500 ce)
  - Innovation
    - Byzantium
    - Islam
    - India
    - China
  - Power sources
  - Agriculture and crafts
  - Architecture
  - Military technology
  - Transport
  - Communications
- The emergence of Western technology (1500–1750)
  - The Renaissance
  - The steam engine
  - Metallurgy and mining
  - New commodities
  - Agriculture
  - Construction
    - Land reclamation
    - Military fortifications
  - Transport and communications
  - Chemistry
The Industrial Revolution (1750–1900)
- Power technology
  - Windmills
  - Steam engines
  - Electricity
  - Internal-combustion engine
  - Petroleum
- Development of industries
  - Metallurgy
    - Iron and steel
    - Low-grade ores
  - Mechanical engineering
  - Textiles
  - Chemicals
  - Agriculture
  - Civil engineering
  - Transport and communications
    - Steam locomotive
    - Road locomotive
    - Steamboats and ships
    - Printing and photography
    - Telegraphs and telephones
  - Military technology
The 20th and 21st centuries
- Technology from 1900 to 1945
  - Fuel and power
    - Gas-turbine engine
    - Petroleum
    - Electricity
    - Atomic power
  - Industry and innovation
    - Improvements in iron and steel
    - Building materials
    - Plastics
    - Synthetic fibres
    - Synthetic rubber
    - Pharmaceuticals and medical technology
  - Food and agriculture
  - Civil engineering
  - Transportation
  - Communications
  - Military technology
- Space-age technology
  - Power
    - Alternatives to fossil fuels
    - Gas turbine
  - Materials
  - Automation and the computer
  - Food production
  - Civil engineering
  - Transport and communications
  - Military technology
  - Space exploration
Perceptions of technology
- Science and technology
- Criticisms of technology
- The technological dilemma
  - Nuclear technology
  - Population explosion
  - Ecological balance
- Technological society
  - Interactions between society and technology
  - The putative autonomy of technology
  - Technology and education
  - The quality of life

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images & Videos

International Space Station

Leonardo da Vinci: Ornithopter

Wernher von Braun after surrendering to U.S. forces

A step-by-step illustration shows hands shaping a flint stone into a Paleolithic hand axe: starting with a large rock, striking it with a stone hammer, sharpening the edge with a wooden or antler hammer, trimming flakes with a pointed stick, and displaying the finished hand axe from front and side views.

Neolithic cutlery and foodstuffs

Aerial view of Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England, showing the circular arrangement of large standing stones on green grass with visitors walking along a nearby path.

The Great Ziggurat of Ur in Iraq, a massive ancient brick structure with broad staircases and terraced levels, stands alone in a barren landscape.

International Space Station — International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) photographed from the space shuttle Discovery, which docked with the ISS on July 28, 2005.

history of technology

Written by

Robert Angus Buchanan

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Oct. 30, 2026 •History

history of technology, the development over time of systematic techniques for making and doing things. The term technology, a combination of the Greek technē, “art, craft,” with logos, “word, speech,” meant in Greece a discourse on the arts, both fine and applied. When it first appeared in English in the 17th century, it was used to mean a discussion of the applied arts only, and gradually these “arts” themselves came to be the object of...

Discover the world with Britannica

Subscribe to Continue Reading

Free Trial | No Ads | Exclusive Content

Explore Subscriptions

DNA

Right

Mobile