history of technology - smitha middle school€¦ · the renaissance / enlightenment examples of...

Foundations of Technology

History of TechnologyHistory of Technology

© 2013 International Technology and Engineering Educators Association STEMCenter for Teaching and Learning™ Foundations of Technology

Teacher Resource – Unit 1 Lesson 1

Link also in schoology.com


The BIG IdeaThe BIG Idea

Big Idea:

People are better able to understand the world around them when they explore how people of all times and places have used their unique skills to develop inventions and innovations.


Technological Technological DevelopmentDevelopment

Technology is evolutionary and is often the result of a series of refinements to an idea or basic invention.

The evolution of civilization has been directly attributed to the development of tools and materials.


Technological Technological DevelopmentDevelopment

The impact of technological development can be divided into four categories:

Social – the impact on people

Political – the impact on policy and laws

Cultural – the impact on human achievement

Economic – the impact on the economy


The History of TechnologyThe History of Technology

Early in the history of technology, the development of tools and materials was based on technological know-how.

Today, technological development is based on scientific knowledge and engineering design.


The History of TechnologyThe History of Technology

The History of Technology can be divided into nine distinct periods of time:


Paleolithic Age

Mesolithic Age

Neolithic Age

Bronze Age

Iron Age

The Middle Ages

The Renaissance

Industrial Age

The Information Age

The Paleolithic AgeThe Paleolithic Age

The Old Stone Age or in Greek (palaios – “old”) and (lithos – “stone”)

Time Period: 500,000 BC – 10,000 BC

Impacts on history:

Improved diet and enhanced security enabled early humans to increase the population.

Artifacts:

Stone axes, bone needles, hearth sites


The Mesolithic AgeThe Mesolithic Age

The Middle Stone Age or in Greek (mesos – “middle”) and (lithos – “stone”)


Impacts on history:

The gradual domestication of animalsand agriculture led to settled communities.

Artifacts:

Leatherwork, fishing tackle, stone circles


The Neolithic AgeThe Neolithic Age

The New Stone Age or in Greek (néos – “new”) and (líthos – “stone”)


Impacts on history:

Dependable year-round food supplyenables division of labor and specialization that spurs invention.

Artifacts:

Spinning/weaving tools, stone plows, sickles


The Neolithic AgeThe Neolithic Age

Examples of Engineering Design during the Neolithic Age:

Mesopotamian engineers used clay tablets to document irrigation systems.

Babylonian engineers used mathematical concepts such as algebra for land excavation calculations.

Egyptian engineers built the pyramids.


The Bronze AgeThe Bronze Age

The architectural period that included combining copper and tin to produce bronze

Time Period: 2,300 BC – 700 BC

Impacts on history:

The use of bronze replaced stone toolsand allowed humans to greatly altertheir environment.

Artifacts:

Bronze jewelry, tools/weapons


The Iron AgeThe Iron AgeThe architectural period marked by the prevalent use of iron or steel

Time Period: 700 BC – 450 AD

Impacts on history:

Military dominance for cultures thatcould produce iron weapons.

The iron-blade plow allowed humans to increase food production.

Artifacts:

Iron farming equipment/weapons, manuscripts


The Iron AgeThe Iron Age

Examples of Engineering Design during the Iron Age:

Greek engineers created the crossbow and catapult to conquer territories.

Roman engineers created aqueduct systems, sanitary systems, and an extensive road system.


The Middle AgesThe Middle Ages

The architectural period after the Roman Empire. Divided into Early Middle Ages, High Middle Ages, and Late Middle Ages.

Time Period: 450 AD – 1,400 AD

Impacts on history:

Early Middle Ages – increased pressure from invasion lead to depopulation and deurbanization.


The Middle AgesThe Middle AgesImpacts on history:

High Middle Ages – the beginning of feudalism, population increase, and agricultural innovation

Late Middle Ages – famine, plague and war, often marked by the Black Death, which killed approximately one-third of the population

Artifacts:

Improved harness for horses, cast iron, cannons, mechanical clocks, compass


The Middle AgesThe Middle Ages

Examples of Engineering Design during the Middle Ages:

Technology, like the windmill, produced mechanical labor.

The printing press was used to share information and knowledge.

The word “engineer” began to appear as “ingeniare” or to design or devise.


The Renaissance / The Renaissance / EnlightenmentEnlightenment

The architectural period marked by the revival of classical influence and the sharing of ideas, or in Italian (Rinascimento – “to be reborn”)

Time Period: 1,400 AD – 1,750 AD

Impacts on history:

Instrumentation enabled scientists to observe and quantify natural phenomena.

Artifacts:

Telescope, microscope, thermometer



Examples of Engineering Design during the Renaissance:

Leonardo da Vinci was born in Italy in 1452 and began his career as an artist, painting and sculpting. He also designed weapons, buildings, and machinery.

To learn more, please visit “Exploring Leonardo” at the Museum of Science:http://legacy.mos.org/sln/Leonardo/


http://legacy.mos.org/sln/Leonardo/


Examples of Engineering Design during the Renaissance:

Galileo Galilei was born in 1564 and was known as a physicist, astronomer, and philosopher. He is best known for his improvements to the telescope and astronomical observations.

To learn more, please visit “Galileo’s Place in Science” at NOVA PBS: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/galileo/science.html


http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/galileo/science.html

The Industrial AgeThe Industrial Age

The architectural period marked by the first use of complex machinery, factories, and urbanization.

Time Period: 1750 AD – 1950 AD

Impacts on history:

The industrial revolution gave rise to urban centers, requiring vast municipal services, creating a specialized and interdependenteconomic life.



Impacts on history:

Economic expansion created the rise of professionals, population expansion, and improved standard of living.

Artifacts:

Electricity, automobile, airplane, radio, television, telephone, rocket



Examples of Engineering Design during the Industrial Age:

James Watt refines the steam engine for practical use.

Alessandro Volta discovers the principles for a battery.

Pieter van Musschenbroek creates the forerunner of the capacitor.

Henry Ford creates the concept of the modern assembly line.


The Information AgeThe Information AgeThe architectural period marked by information sharing, gathering, manipulation, and retrieval.

Time Period: 1950 AD - Present

Impacts on history:

As information becomes more widely available, increasing numbers of people will be empowered.

Artifacts:

Integrated circuit, computer, nuclear power, digital camera


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