Unit 2: Technological
Revolutions
Introduction
Technology is about humans learning to control the
environment,
but it took a long time to get a sense of conscious control.
The major technological revolutions (see also
Five Industrial Revolutions )
- about 7000 BCE
- the development of cities about 3000 BCE
- the medieval technological revolution
approx. 800-1300 AD
- the age of exploration and the scientific
revolution
approx. 1400-1700
- the British Industrial Revolution approx.
1750-1830
- Mass production of metal goods (American
system,
assembly line) approx. 1840-1920
- The computer 1946-
Or another approach that is more useful for the
modern period:
this is taken from the work of the economist Joseph Schumpeter
Reminder about dates. There is no zeroth
century, so the first century AD is from 1 to 100 and the 19th century
from 1801 to
1900. There is also no year zero, which is why the 21st century
technically
starts in 2001. Historians are beginning to use BCE (before the
common
era) instead of BC, and, less often, CE (common era) instead of AD
(anno
domini--year of our Lord). For more on the history of calendars
see: Centuries,
Millenia,
and Calendars
stone tools, Detroit Institute of Arts, PEM photo
Agriculture, Irrigation, and Civilization
- Jane Goodall has shown that
chimpanzees
use tools in the same sense humans do
- paleontologists find that early species of
humans, homo
erectus, 1.5 million years ago, used fire and produced simple
tools. But in primitive societies there is little division of
labor so the work process
tends to stay very simple.
- hunting and gathering seems to be an easy
life--12
to 19 hours of work a week--so why develop agiculture?
- less than 10 thousand years ago
agriculture was invented in northern Iraq, and within a few
thousand years independently in other
parts of the world--China, India, central America.
- slash and burn agriculture did not make much
difference, because it cannot support large populations.
- Irrigation
is the key to the development of
cities
because it supports 14 times the population on the same area of
land.
It takes twice the labor as dry farming.
- labor demands increased as a result of
technological
advance, but it also allowed specialization--the invention of
government,
writing, and in general of civilization. This seond revolution
happened
in Egypt and Mesopotamia about 3000 BCE.
- This meant the opportunities of a market,
but at
first opportunities to do new things were very limited by people's
beliefs
Mesopotamian
writing
Key ancient civilizations:
natural resources of the eastern Mediterranean
- River valley civilizations arise about 3000
BC: Mesopotamia, Egypt (
pyramids )--based on irrigation
- Beginning of the Iron Age: Hittites (1500-1200
BCE), Assyrians
(1000-612 BCE), Phoenicians
(1150-850 BCE)--increasing warfare and trade
- Birth of
Philosophy: Greece 5th
century BCE--focus on trade, beginnings of scientific
knowledge
- Roman Republic
(509-31 BCE) and Empire (31
BCE-410
AD)--effective large-scale bureaucracy
Urbanization in the Roman Empire
What held back technology before the Middle Ages?
(see Florman ch. 3)
- belief that the physical world was
controlled by
Gods who behaved irrationally (example: Mesopotamia)
- slavery--you don't need labor-saving devices
if
you have slaves to do the hard work
- the attitude that practical life was beneath
the
dignity of educated men (example: Hellenistic Alexandria)
- Plutarch said of
Archimedes: "Although his
inventions had won for him a name and fame for superhuman sagacity, he
would not consent to leave behind him any treatise on this subject, but
regarding the work of
an engineer and every art that ministers to the needs of life as
ignoble and
vulgar, he devoted his earnest efforts only to those studies the
subtlety and charm of which are not affected by the claims of
necessity." (quoted in
Florman p. 36)
Archimedes
This page written and copyright
Pamela E. Mack
History
122
last updated 9/19/05