In the pursuit of better living and overcoming challenges, our ancestors embraced constant change and adapted to their environments, innovating their way through difficult situations—and this remains true today. While significant effort went into each improvement, innovation, or change, the most impactful ones have left a lasting mark on society and the world as a whole. This proves that situations and challenges are temporary and can be overcome through ingenuity and innovation.
The Stone Age
2.5 million B.C.
to
3000 B.C.
The Stone Age
Stone Tools by Homo habilis
Biface and Levallois Technologies
Cultural Evolution and Bladelet Technology
The Bronze Age
3000 B.C. to 1300 B.C.
The Bronze Age
Copper Phase:
Copper metallurgy
Tools
Weapons
Shiny ornaments
The Iron Age
1300 B.C. to 600 B.C.
The Iron Age
Iron and Steel:
Tools and weapons from iron and steel
Potter’s Wheel
Lathe
Rotary Quern
Classical Era
600 B.C. – A.D. 476
Classical Era
Agriculture
Urban Technology:
Water Supply and Sewage Systems
Monumental Structures
Building Materials
Semicircular Arch
Record Keeping
Cultural Foundations
The Middle Ages
A.D. 476 – A.D. 1450
The Middle Ages
Iron Plowshares and Agricultural Techniques
Arabic Translations and Knowledge Transfer
Inventions and Technological Advances:
Pinhole Camera
Soap
Windmills
Surgical Instruments
Early Flying Machine, Textile Mills
Clocks
Eyeglasses
Paper Mills
Early Modern Era
A.D. 1450 – A.D. 1750
Early Modern Era
Ship Designs
Navigational Tools
Understanding Wind Patterns movable-type printing press Gunpowder
Artillery Innovations the heliocentric model of the solar system
Groundbreaking observations using telescopes
Formulated the laws of motion and acceleration
Calculus
Optics
The laws of motion and
universal gravitation
Pendulum Clock
Joint-Stock Companies,
Mercantilism empirical observation and experimentation as the basis for scientific inquiry
Modern Era
A.D. 1750 – Present
Modern Era
The spinning jenny
Spinning Mule
Steam Engine
Electric Telegraph
Telephone
Light Bulb
Phonograph
Jacquard loom
Battery
Steam Locomotive
Photography
Automobile
Electromagnetic Induction
Laws of Electrolysis