CHAPTER 2:

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY: WORLD HISTORY

Human ancestors showing their first inventions. Photo taken by: Denzyl Hubert Bautista

CHAPTER OUTLINE

Science and Technology in Different Periods

Ancient Period (ca. 3,000 B.C. - 500A.D.)
Medieval Period (ca. 500 - 1,500)
Renaissance Period (14th - 17th Century)
Industrial Revolution (18th Century)
In 19th Century
In 20th Century

LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this chapter, the students should be able to:

1. Explain the historical timeline of science and technology;

2. Analyze the difference between the different periods involved in the development of Science and
Technology; and

3. Synthesize and create their own definition of science and technology based on the discussion on this unit.

To know that we know what we know, and to know that we do not know what we do not know, that is
true knowledge.

Nicolaus Copernicus)

Science and technology is evident since the beginning of time. New knowledge made it possible to create new
things that would help people improve their everyday living. Development in the field of science has helped
humans to have a better life while advancement in technology made the lives of the people much easier by
developing new machines that helped their way of living effortless.

In combination, science and technology transforms the lives of humans. It helps provide growth in the field of
medicine, transportation, engineering and even entertainment that until, today people are benefiting from.

The development of science and technology has gone so far, tracing how it all began would give us a better idea
on how it has developed since then and what are the significant changes that has happened throughout time. By
looking back at the history of science and technology, we will be able to determine its progression.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN DIFFERENT PERIODS

The next discussions will reveal the different evidences on how the development of science and technology has
been part of the early days of humankind.

Ancient Period (ca. 3,500 B.C. - 500 A.D.)

Accumulation of knowledge and passing it from generation to generation has begun when the modern humans
evolved from their hominid ancestors. They used stones as tools, and then learned how. to shape stones to make
more efficient tools. As the tools improved, so people were able to use them to fashion weapons and other
artifacts from bone, antler, and wood. They also learned how to capture fire from natural sources such as wild
fires, and later to make fire for themselves by using the heat generated by friction or sparks from stones, or by
concentrating the sun's heat.

Here are some of the development in science and technology during the ancient period (Goddard, 2010):

EUROPE

• ca 750,000 is used by homo erectus.

• ca 45,000 Stone- headed spears are used in Europe.
• ca 20,000 the wooden bow and arrow are used in spain and Saharan Africa. People in southern Europe use
sewing needles made from bone.
• ca 2000 The Minoans build palaces in Crete.
• ca 1000 Iron working is introduced in Greece.
• ca 1000 Etruscan craftsmen make false teeth from gold.

THE AMERICAS
• ca 8,500 North American s make stone arrowheads.
• ca 8000 the folsom people living on eastern side of the Rocky Mountain develop sophisticated tools.
• ca 6000 Pottery is made in South America.
• ca 2500 People in the Arctic makes flint tools.
• ca 1750 Peruvians build a long canal to irrigate their crops.
• ca 1200 Fishermen in Peru makes rafts and boats from reeds.
• ca 1200 Olmec sculptors carve figurines and giant human heads.

ASIA AND OCEANIA

ca 11,000 The earliest-known clay pots are made in Japan.

ca 5200 people in Iran make wine
.ca 4000 Bronze is first made in Thailand.
ca 3500 The plow is invented in both China and Mesopotamia.
 ca 3000 Boats in China are equipped with anchors.
ca 2950 A lunar calendar is developed in China.
ca 2500 Clay pipes are used as drains in Pakistan.
ca 2500 Chinese doctors begin using acupuncture.
ca 2296 Chinese astronomers record the sighting of a comet.
ca 1361 Chinese astronomers record a solar eclipse.
ca 1000 The Chinese begin writing on bamboo or paper made from bark.
ca 1000 The Hindu calendar of 360 days is introduced in India.
ca 850 The Chinese use natural gas for lighting.

AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST

• ca 1,000,000 Homo erectus uses stone tools.

• ca 1,000,000 Homo erectus begins chipping flakes off stones to sharpen for tools.
• ca 1,000,000 Homo erectus uses antlers to create tools for cutting and drilling.
• ca 15,000 In Africa, bone harpoons (barbed spears) are used for fishing
• ca 10,000 People in Palestine build houses from sun-dried bricks.
• ca 7500 Clay tokens are used for record keeping in Mesopotamia.
• ca 6000 The world's first known city is built by the people of Cati Huyuk in Anatolia (modern Turkey).
• ca 4236 Ancient Egyptians devise a 365-day calendar.
• ca 3500 The wheel is invented in Mesopotamia.
• ca 3100 Egyptians begin using hieroglyphics.
• ca 3000 The Sumerians introduce a 360-day calendar.
• ca 3000 Egyptians dam the Garawi River.
• ca 2630 Egyptians begin building pyramids.
• ca 2600 Mesopotamians make glass.
• ca 2300 Babylonian astronomers study comets.
• ca 2300 The earliest known maps are produced in Mesopotamia.
• ca 2000 Babylonian mathematicians introduce a positional number system.
• ca 2000 Medicine becomes an important science in Syria and Babylon.
• ca 1800 Mesopotamian mathematicians discover the "Pythagorean Theorem"
• ca 1750 Babylonian astronomers compile lists of planets and stars.
• ca 1550 Egyptians are using about 700 drugs and medications.
• ca 1350 The symptoms of leprosy are described in Egyptian text.
• ca 1200 The Egyptians dig a canal to join the Nile River to the Red Sea.
• ca 1000 The Phoenicians develops an alphabet.
• ca 900 Farmers in Mesopotamia use an irrigation system to water crops.

Medieval Period (ca. 500-1500)

• The Medieval Period also known as "Dark Ages" is considered to be one of the creative periods in the
history of humans and said to be the start of the first industrial revolution. The term "Dark Ages" came
up because there are few written records remained from the said era. There is very little evidence that
will support that there was progress in the society during the periods 500 to 1500.

In the years immediately after the fall of Rome, there was a period of readjustment, where medieval
society was more concerned with keeping peace and empire building than nurturing centers of learning.
Despite this, Charlemagne (742-814) a medieval emperor who ruled Western Europe in 800-814, tried to
establish a scholastic tradition. The later Middle Ages (around 1250-1500 A.D.) saw advancements in
the philosophy of science and the refinement of the scientific method. Far from being a backwards-
medieval society, overshadowed by Islam and Byzantium, scholasticism acted as a nucleus for the
Renaissance and the Enlightenment.

This was the time for discovering great new inventions in science and technology. There are were
greater advancement in technology and adaptation of Eastern technologies in the West, including the
invention of vertical windmills, spectacles, mechanical clocks greatly improved water mills, building
techniques like the Gothic style, and three field rotation.
One of the greatest inventions during the Middle Ages was the printing press of Jonnes Gutenberg (ca.
1395- 1468) in the 15th century. It was Gutenberg who made printing mechanized. The invention of the
printing press itself obviously owed much to the medieval paper press, in turn modeled after the ancient
wine and olive press of the Mediterranean area. A long handle was used to turn a heavy wooden screw,
exerting downward pressure against the paper, which was laid over the type mounted on a wooden
platen. In its essentials, the wooden press reigned supreme for more than 300 years, with a hardly
varying rate of 250 sheets per hour printed on one side.

Renaissance Period (14t"-'17th Century)

The term Renaissance is used to refer to the period of rebirth as age of preparation for the 17th century
scientific development and achievements. One of the greatest achievements in Western Europe during
this period was the technology of printing books and other documents which helped the rapid s read of
knowledge and information as well as the preservation of culture. The technology of the Chinese in
preparing printed materials was followed and used by the Muslims and later introduced in Europe.

Renaissance connects the period of Middle Ages to modern history. It is closely connected with Italy,
where it began in the 14th century, although some European countries also went into same cultural
changes and phenomena.

Many historians prefer to think of the Renaissance as primarily an intellectual and cultural movement
rather than a historical period. Robert Wilde, U.K. based historian born April 30, 1977 said that
interpreting the Renaissance as a t though convenient for historians, "masks the long roots of the
Renaissance (para.2).”

" According to Wilde in his interview with livescience.com, the demand for perfect reproduction of texts
and renewed focus on studying them helped trigger one of the biggest discoveries in the whole of
human history: printing with movable type. It allowed Bibles, secular books, printed music and more to
be made in Larger amounts and reach more people. On the other hand, people and a lot of steps were
involved. Wood printing first came to the west from china in 1250-1350, paper making originated from
china has reached 12th century Spain, and the new printers’ ink originated from Flemish oil painting. In
Mainz, Germany,

Gutenberg made final steps in wooden press by casting a metal type and locking into it. The invention
spread fast, reaching European countries from 1467-1483. By 1500, Europe had already produced six
million copies of books. Without the printing press, communications revolution would not happen and it
would not transform the condition of life. The communications revolution greatly made an impact in
human opportunities for enlightenment and pleasure and created unimaginable possibilities for
manipulation and control on the other. The consideration of these contradictory effects may shield us
against a ready acceptance of triumphalist conceptions of the Renaissance or historical change in
general.

Also, Polish mathematician and astronomer, Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) made one of science's
greatest achievements. He presented the theory of heliocentric where he said that the sun is the center of
the solar system instead of the earth. It was a major breakthrough in the history of science, though the
Catholic Church banned Copernicus' book.

Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) was also a major Renaissance scientist persecuted for his scientific
experiments. Galileo improved the telescope, discovered new celestial bodies, and found support for a
heliocentric solar system. He conducted motion experiments on pendulums and falling objects that
paved the way for Isaac Newton's (1643-1727) discoveries about gravity.

Industrial Revolution (18th Century)

 People rely on their hands in doing labor works even before the machines have emerged after a century
that significantly increases of production output. The phenomenal process in the transfer of doing work
by human hands and feet to the use of machines was called The Industrial Revolution.
It began in Great Britain and spread across Europe, America, and even Asia from 1760 to 1840. It was a
fundamental change in the way goods were produced and altered the way people lived. The Industrial
Revolution was a time of scientific and technological advancement which spanned the period during late
18th century to early 19th century. Partly through good fortune and partly through conscious effort,
Britain by the early 18th century came to possess the combination of social needs and social resources
that provided the necessary preconditions for a commercially successful innovation and a social system
capable of sustaining and institutionalizing the processes of rapid technological change.

One of the major setbacks of the Industrial Revolution was skilled workers were set aside because
operation of new machines were used. The companies also hired women and children increasingly
which cost lower than of the skilled workers. Manual/physical labor was changed into machine-operated
devices, even tradesperson replaced the craftsmen and the applied scientists replaced the amateur
inventors.

Aside from these, three important technologies formed the foundations of the first Industrial Revolution
namely, iron production, steam engine, and textiles.

The steam engine has been around but later on improved by Scottish James Watt (1736 -1819). And
other investor after 1778. It was use to run machines and made major contribution to the first Industrial
Revolution. The stearn-powered machine was improved gradually and was adapted for many uses of
more complex machinery was made possible. The development and refinement of machine tools by
British engineers Henry Maudslay (1771-1831) and Joseph Whitworth (1803 -1887) played a key and
crucial part in the later phase of the first Industrial Revolution as machine tool technology enabled
standardized manufacturing machines to be fabricated.

Some of the greatest inventions were introduced by American scientist, such as during this period was
Robert Fulton's (17654815) steamboat that used one of Watt's fabricated. engines. Thomas Edison
(18474931) who invented the light bulb. Alexander Graham Bell 0847-1922) who invented the
telephone. English engineer George Stephenson (1781-1848) developed the first steam-powered
locomotive.

In the 19th Century

In the 19th century, witnessed the rise of modern industry, from agriculture to In the 19th Century
industrial manufacturing and technology-intensive services. An unending stream of new products turned
out by factories employing radically skills, and organization drove this emerging modern world.

Based on the Gregorian calendar 19th century lasted from 1801 to 1900. The invention of useable
electricity, steel, and etroleum products led into a second p considered to be the Industrial Revolution
during the 19th century. This century was age of machine tools. Tools were made for tools; machines
were made for other parts of another machine.

During the 19th century, science also made great progress.

• John Dalton (1766-1844) published his atomic theory in 1803. Dalton also studied color blindness.
• Dmitri Mendeleev (1834-1907) formulated the Periodic Table.
• Hermann von Helmholtz (1821-1894) formulated the law of the Conservation of Energy in 1847. In
1851, he invented the ophthalmoscope.

In the late 19th century, physics made great strides.

• James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879) showed that light is an electromagnetic • wave in 1873 and was later
on proved by Heinrich Hertz (1857-1894) in 1888.
• Henri Becquerel (1852-1908) discovered radioactivity in 1896.
• Marie Curie (1867-1934) and Pierre Curie (1859-1906) discovered radium in 1898.
• Joseph Thomson discovered the electron in 1897.
In the 19" century, people mastered electricity.

• Hans Christian Oersted (1777-1851) discovered that electric current in a wire caused a nearby compass
needle to move in 1819.
• Michael Faraday (1791-1867) showed that a magnet can produce electricity and in 1831 he invented
the dynamo.
• Samuel F.B. Morse (1791-1872) invented the electric telegraph in 1837

. In the 19th century, machines in factories were usually operated by steam engines. At the end of the
19th century, they began to convert to electricity. In the mid-19' century, railways revolutionized
travelling and made travel much faster. Steam locomotives pulled the carriages.

• Karl Benz (1844-1929) and Gottlieb Daimler (1834-1900) made the first cars in 1885 and 1886.

Meanwhile, the steamship revolutionized travelling at sea. By 1815, steamships were crossing the
English Channel. Furthermore it took several weeks to cross the Atlantic. Then in 1838, a steamship
called the, Sirius made the journey across the Atlantic in 19 days. However steam did not completely
replace sail until the end of the 19th century when the steam turbine was used on ships.

In the 20th Century

It is not skeptical that the 20th century is one of the most noticeable in the history of humans for its
incomparable technological advances and scientific discoveries. There were a lot of new technologies
made and science discoveries.

Technology was rapidly developed in the 20th century. With the use of scientific methods and funding
for research, it helped achieve the advancement of modern science and technology. With the ascension
of new technology, it enhanced the communication and transportation system of humans and brought it
closer to people. Military research and development brought about the rise of electronic computing and
jet engines. Radio and telephony enriched greatly and reached a wider population of users, though near-
universal access was impossible until mobile phones became affordable for the people in the late 2000s
and early 2010s.

The relationship between science and technology has become more problematic on several levels in the
20th century. In the face of an ever-growing complexity, technology has become more scientific and the
natural sciences more technological, as the social scientific concept of “techno science” indicate. At the
same time, many technological innovations since the 1970s have only slowly resulted in job-creating
new products.

Some of the greatest technological advancement during this period was the creation of personal
computer. In 1971, Intel developed a microprocessor that made computer smaller, easier to use, and
cheaper which replaced the early computers that were bulky and had a tube- powered behemoths,
Computer has become a dominant tool in the global economy and as a necessity in many homes that
until today we greatly rely on them. Steve jobs ( 1955 -2011) and Steve Wozniak (1950) have redefined
the meaning of computer by introducing Apple in 1976. While in connection with the invention of
personal computers, the Internet was also created in 1969 for defense- related research projects Agency
Network. It helped us in terms of global communication, gathering information through searching,
conducting business matters and on our everyday affairs through the World Wide Web which was
created in 1989.

Another one is the automobiles or cars, which were considered to be one of the most revolutionary to
advancements in the century. Exploitation of the said technology was made possible because of Henry
Ford (18634947) by devising a system of mass production for the Model T in 1908. It made cars
affordable to people and also made a dramatic change in the society. Using automobiles as a form of
transportation has connected people together including those in the rural areas to urban centers.
 One of the breakthroughs during the century was the invention of Artificial Intelligence that has the
capacity for a computer to perform humanlike intellectual processes and it was later on developed
during the 1940's. Modern A.I. features specially designed computers that can-"think" similarly to
humans. A.I. is also being used to assist doctors in making medical diagnoses. While there are no any
program or computer existing today that can match the man's full intellectual capacity.

SUGGESTED READINGS/WEBSITE/VIDEOS/FILM CLIPS

Goddard, J. (2010). Concise history of science and inventions: An illustrated Timeline. Washington,
D.C., USA: National Geographic Society

123 Help me. (n.d.). History of science and technology. Retrieved from http://www.123helpme.
com/history- of-science-and-technology-view. asp?id=158842

Moistero, A.P. (2006). Science, technology and society. Quezon City: Educational Publishing House

The scientist-history of science. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= Cgp_Oh7eifA

Progress in science and technology. https://w-ww.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1wwZZeiz50

Science and technology: Moving the Philippines forward. https://www.youtube.corn/ watch?

v=91i8S3L5p2Q
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