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Homo Habilis (2.4–1.4 million years ago) learned to make stone tools.

Homo Erectus used and made fire at least 400,000 years ago. Earlier fire use is uncertain—early humans likely first maintained natural fires before learning to create fire, but archaeologists struggle to distinguish between the two.

People continued living in small hunter-gatherer groups.

This period is called the "Stone Age" because stone tools are the most common remains.

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The Neolithic Revolution was an Agricultural Revolution. Thanks to agriculture, the population settled and grew significantly, leading to major cultural changes.

Irrigation and food storage technologies developed, cities emerged, and labor became more diverse and specialized.

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Agricultural Societies

The invention of agriculture led to rapid population growth in fertile valleys.

This growth required new construction techniques for homes, leading to the development of villages near farmland.

The village became the center of social life.

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AGRICULTURE: Archaeological data indicates that the start of agriculture happened in separate locations worldwide:

The first seeds used were wild seeds gathered from nature, then, harvest after harvest, farmers selected the plants with the best crops.

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DOMESTICATION OF ANIMALS: Dogs were domesticated at least 12,000 years ago.

Sheep and goats: 9000 BC were the first animals domesticated as a source of food. Cattle and pigs were domesticated around 7000 BC.

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HOUSES: The first cities were the Sumerian cities, around 5,500 years ago in northern Mesopotamia. Various building techniques used mud, wood, stone, thatch, or a combination of these materials.

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CERAMICS: There are ceramic figures from 24,000 BC, but functional ceramics—bricks, tiles, and pottery—were not made until 10,000 BC in Mesopotamia and India.

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The Hunter-Gatherers

From the beginning of humanity until the invention of agriculture, people lived in small groups, surviving by hunting animals, gathering wild plants, and sometimes fishing.

Some groups had territories, while others were nomadic.

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STONE TOOLS: They start using stone tools to work with animal skins.

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FIRE: Early humans used fire for warmth, protection, and cooking food. It also helped in hunting and tool-making.

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METALS: Copper was the first metal to be used. At the beginning it was a material to make little ornaments

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History begins with written records, varying by region. In Egypt, it started around 3200 BC, while in New Guinea, it began in the 16th century AD.

In the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean, where history first emerged, this marks the era of the first civilizations—the "Ancient Empires" like the Assyrians, Egyptians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans.

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The Artisans

With agriculture, not everyone needed to produce food. This allowed some people to specialize in other jobs, such as construction or making clothes.

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NAVIGATION: We don’t know exactly when sailing began, but it may have started in India.

During the ancient empires, there were rowing boats with sails, useful when the wind matched the desired route.

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BRONZE AND IRON: An alloy of copper and lead, harder and more resilient than copper. It was strong enough for swords, giving societies with bronze metallurgy an advantage over their rivals.

Actually steel (iron with 2% carbon). Its metallurgy required higher temperatures, but the resulting metal was superior to bronze for swords and lance heads.

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THE WHEEL: The wheel, an ingenious invention, emerged around 3500 BC. Its challenge was connecting a stationary platform to a rotating cylinder, solved by the wheel-and-axle concept. Early wheels were solid wood disks, later improved with spokes and eventually tires for better grip and suspension.

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ARCHITECTURE: It was the Romans that mastered construction techniques: the ceramic brick, mortar, the Roman arch, the paved road...

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PAPER: Paper was invented in China in the 2nd century BC. Unlike papyrus, which was just dried plant paste, paper was made from processed cellulose, making it more durable. It didn’t reach Europe until the Middle Ages.

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The Middle Ages lasted from around 500 AD to 1500 AD, between the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the beginning of the Renaissance.

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The Traders

Farmers and artisans began trading their products. Over time, trading became a specialized profession.

Traders worked locally and over long distances. The Phoenicians were the most famous trading society.

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METALLURGY: During the Middle Ages in Europe, a series of inventions improved steel quality and reduced its cost. Steel tools became common in agriculture, crafts, warfare, and transport.

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THE PLOUGH: A series of inventions improved the plough, creating different types for various purposes. This increased productivity, leading to population growth and more people specializing in other activities.

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THE PRINTING PRESS: A series of plough innovations boosted productivity, leading to population growth and more job specialization.

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KILL AND LATIN SAIL: Allowed ships to use wind from any direction to move in the desired direction.

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COMPASS: Invented in ancient China, it became crucial when European navigators adopted it at the end of the Middle Ages.

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MARINE ASTROLABE: Invented around 1480, it was a graduated circle for measuring vertical angles. By measuring the sun’s midday angle or a star’s Meridian Altitude, navigators could determine a ship’s latitude at sea.

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The Middle Ages saw rapid technological progress in Europe. By the 16th century, Europeans could sail across oceans.

In the Modern Age, scientific research fueled technological advances, leading to global trade and colonialism. Europe imported raw materials and exported manufactured goods. The Industrial Revolution in England later intensified this trend.

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The Industrial Society

Machines replaced artisans by mass-producing standardized products in factories.

Industry grew rapidly, leading many farmers to switch to factory work. Jobs became repetitive, especially on assembly lines.

A society is considered industrial when more people work in industry than in farming.

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In 1590 Dutchman Zacharias Janssen invents the compound microscope (a microscope with more than one lense).

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In 1593 Galileo Galilei invents the thermometer. It was a glass bulb with water inside, the water moved up and down as the temperature changed.

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In 1636 W. Gascoigne invents the micrometer.

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In 1642 Frenchmen Blaise Pascal invents an

adding machine.

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In 1643 Evangelista Torricelli invents the barometer.

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In 1650 Otto von Guericke invents the air pump.

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In 1709 Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit invents the alcohol thermometer.

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In 1712 Thomas Newcomen builds a steam pump to pump water out of mines, it is a step in a series of inventions that will later lead to the invention of the steam engine.

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In 1733 Stephen Hales takes measurements of blood pressure.

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The Industrial Revolution began in the late 18th century (around 1760) and lasted through the 19th century, with the second phase extending into the early 20th century (up to around 1914).

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The Society of Services (Post-Industrial Society)

With automation and technological advances, industry needed fewer workers.

Since food and industrial goods were produced efficiently, more people shifted to services (e.g., shops, restaurants, banking, tourism).

A society is considered post-industrial when more people work in services than in industry.

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A series of steam engine inventions emerged in the 17th and 18th centuries, but James Watt's 1781 improvement revolutionized transport and industry, powering factories, trains, and ships.

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In 1800, Alessandro Volta invented the voltaic pile, the first battery and practical method of generating electricity. Made of zinc and copper discs with brine-soaked cardboard, it produced a steady electrical current.

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The electric motor: In 1821 Michael Faraday

invented the electric motor.

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The internal combustion engine: Étienne Lenoir built the first petrol engine, and after improvements, Karl Benz built the first petrol-powered car in 1885.

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In 1858, Hamilton Smith patented the washing machine with a rotary drum, which was hand-powered.

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The light bulb: In 1879 Thomas Edison invented the incandescent light bulb.

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At the start of the 20th century, inventions like aeroplanes, automobiles, and radio fascinated people.

By the century’s end, there were spaceships, computers, the internet, and mobile phones. Most 19th- and 20th-century inventions resulted from the work of many individuals, shaping a history of patents and lawsuits.

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The Information Society

20th-century information technology (telephone, internet, television) enabled mass media communication.

People can now access global news, communicate instantly, and read blogs.

The internet and search engines have revolutionized how we find and share information.

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The telephone: The idea of an electric voice-transmission device emerged in 1844, but commercially successful telephones didn’t appear until the late 19th century.

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The radio: Intense research on a "wireless telegraph" took place in the late 19th century, and in 1895, Guglielmo Marconi conducted the first successful experiment. It is considered a post-Industrial Revolution invention.

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Aeroplane: In 1903, the Wright brothers made the first flight. Planes rely on Newton’s third law: engines push air back, generating forward thrust, while wings push air down, creating lift.

The tail controls direction with a horizontal and vertical stabilizer.

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Plastics: Scientific research on polymers advanced in the first half of the 20th century. By the 1960s, plastics became a common material.

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Television: Developed through 19th-century physics discoveries and early 20th-century electronics, it became popular in the second half of the 20th century.

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The transistor: In 1947 the invention of the transistor transformed electronic circuits.

Transistors are much smaller, cheaper and robust than the vacuum tubes used

previously. Now it is also the base for all computer processors.

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Radar: Invented as a military tool during World War II, it uses a radio emitter and receiver. Waves bounce off objects, and the time delay determines distance, while signal strength indicates size.

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The microwave oven was invented accidentally when scientists noticed that radar antennas heated nearby food.

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The Internet: Research on computer communication began in the 1950s, and by the 1990s, it became widespread in society.

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To make life more sustainable, we are developing technologies that reduce energy and raw material consumption, minimize waste, and use fewer harmful chemicals.

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What Society Do We Live In?

Our society is mainly post-industrial, information-based, and global, but farming, fishing, and industry still play important roles.

In the modern world, elements of all types of societies coexist.

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Sustainable Technologies:

Reducing non-renewable energy consumption

Improving efficiency (e.g., better engines, boilers, home insulation)

Using renewable energy (e.g., solar, wind, hydroelectric power)

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Technologies to Reduce Waste & Raw Material Consumption:

Better design reduces material use and replaces non-sustainable materials with sustainable ones.

Recycling technologies recover materials from waste for new products.

Most effective recycling includes metals, glass, cardboard, and wood.

Both approaches reduce waste and limit resource extraction from nature.

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Technologies to Reduce Harmful Chemicals:

Health Protection: Lead removed from gasoline and paint; mercury eliminated from thermometers.

Environmental Protection: CFC gases eliminated from refrigerators (to protect the ozone layer); efforts to reduce CO₂ emissions to combat global warming.

Industrial Impact: The problem worsened during the Industrial Revolution, but modern technologies now help minimize risks.