Technological development

Technology or the use of tools has developed along with civilization throughout the course of history. From the use of a sharpened stick to splitting the atom and the Internet, one technological advancement has built on preceding developments. Most technological advancements can be categorized as focused on one major area of civilization.

• Commerce
• Warfare
• Transportation
• Building & Construction
• Health
• Information

As even a cursory examination of the history of the development of different technologies for these categories would suggest, one particular invention is used for all of them. Probably the most basic example would be the wheel. No one would deny that this one invention made lasting improvements in every area of life.

Commerce

Agriculture

Most historians would probably list agriculture as the single greatest technological development of all time. Though some reference both positives (provided for the possibility of surplus food, a measure of predictability and structure, allowed for population increases) others point out negatives (most early farmers only had one type of crop which lead to some malnutrition, if they lost their crop the population would suffer tremendously). The other major influence of agriculture was the division of the population into classes, i.e. farm workers and everyone else. This allowed individuals to specialize in other areas of life, trade, warfare, health care, communication, building, etc. which subsequently allowed them to develop other technologies.

• Original Tools required: Axe, Hoe, Sickle, Quern
• Early Improvements: Plow
• Subsequent Developments: Archimedes Screw, Irrigation
• Modern Techniques: Pesticides, Tractor, Combine, Automated Processing, Bio-Engineered Plants

Money

• Currency

The development of an object with constant value which everyone is willing to trade for their goods or services.

• Banking
• Corporations

Materials

• Metal Working
• Plastics
• Fabrics
• Chemicals

Warfare

• Hand-to-hand Weapons - Club, Axe, Spear, Knife, Sword, Pike
• Missile Weapons - Javelin, Atlatl, Bow & Arrow
• Siege Engines - Catapult, Trebuchet
• Gunpowder Weapons - musket, rifle, revolver, cannon
• Explosives - TNT, Nuclear Weapons

Transportation

• The Wheel
• Automobiles
• Aircraft
• Watercraft

Buildings and Construction

• Rammed Earth
• Masonry
  • Fired Brick
  • Stone work
• Post & Lintel
• Concrete
• The Arch
• Steel Frame Construction
  • Rivet
  • Welding
  • Pre-Engineered Building
• Roads

Health

• Medicine
  • Penicillin
  • Antibiotics
  • Aspirin
• Procedures

Communication & Information

• Writing
• Paper
• Telegraph
• Telephone
• Computer