Learn who invented technology, when was technology invented, and what is the purpose of technology. Explore how and why technology develops and evolves over time.
Updated: 11/21/2023
Technology | History, Definition & Purpose
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Frequently Asked Questions
When was technology first invented?
The purpose of technology is to satisfy a human need or want. Solving problems through technology is a definitive characteristic of human beings, and technology has been around since the beginning of humanity.
What was the first technology invented by man?
The first technology invented by man is thought to be stone tools developed about 2 million years ago. These stone tools were used for hammering and other purposes.
Table of Contents
ShowIn modern times, the term technology is sometimes used to describe relatively recently invented devices, such as computers, cellular phones, and cars. Historically, however, technology has been defined much more broadly and includes more primitive machines, devices, and tools, such as hunting spears, the wheel, and the printing press. Technology is the application of systematic knowledge toward the development of a device, machine, or method of making or doing things.
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The purpose of technology is to meet a human need or solve a human problem. Technology can help meet many types of human needs, like needs of shelter, food, clothing, and communication. Technology does not originate from the natural world and includes methods or activities that people use to alter their environments. Technology is man-made, and creating tools as technology has been a part of humanity for millions of years.
Early Technological Advances
Humans have been developing technology for a very long time. The ability to design and create tools and devices is considered a definitive aspect of human beings. Many other species behave out of instinct, as is the case of bees building hives and beavers constructing dams. Humans, alternatively, are able to use creative and organizational skills to develop new solutions to problems. Tools are objects generated by humans with the purpose of solving problems. Early humans who invented technology did so with the motivation to have the power to change their environments. When technology was invented, people were able to use technology to meet human needs, wants, and desires.
An example of early technology is fire. There is evidence that humans started using fire in stone hearths approximately 1.5 million years ago. It is thought that, although early humans were scared of the dangers of fire, they understood that fire could help improve their lives. Fire could provide warmth, scare predators away, and be used for cooking food.
One example of early technology is the plow as an agricultural tool. The purpose of the plow is to prepare soil for planting by breaking up soil, burying fragments of leftover crops, and impeding weed growth. The earliest plows were developed about 8000 B.C. in Mesopotamia. Over time, the plow was substantially altered and improved. Innovation of the plow later assisted with clearing of forests in Europe to greatly increase the output of agricultural products, allowing for the sustenance of a greater number of people.
Clocks, as a technology, were created about five thousand to six thousand years ago in order to allow people to organize their time in a more coordinated fashion. Initial clock design used shadows created by the sun to tell time. Mechanical clocks were developed later, in China. Writing is also an important early human technology and was created more than three thousand years ago. Initially, writing served to track commodities. Writing later became a way to share ideas, record history, and disseminate information, among other functions.
Examples of Early Technology Spreading
Once technologies are used successfully, there is a tendency to spread the new method, device, or tool. With some technologies, it is difficult to pinpoint the details of technology adaptation because there are often many iterations or versions of a technology. The spread is also dependent on the characteristics of the technology itself, like how expensive and accessible it is.
The technology of writing, for instance, started in ancient Mesopotamia when accountants used the method to track the flow of goods. As the practice was established, more and more people started using writing to communicate. Soon after this development, as an independent event, people in Egypt started writing in hieroglyphics. These writing methods spread throughout their geographical regions over time. In ancient times, however, not every citizen wrote. Writing was time-consuming and was generally reserved for the upper portion of society.
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The spread of more recent technologies can be tracked by data showing when 50 percent of the population owned or used the technology. In the United States in the 1940s, 50 percent of the population had a refrigerator and a telephone, and in the 1990s 50 percent of the population had a dishwasher and a computer. Some of these technologies spread more quickly than others. The time that it takes for a technology to spread can depend on the price of the item, the value it creates for the consumer, and how accessible the item is, among other factors.
The globalization of the earth has increased the speed of the spread of many modern technologies. Globalization generally links countries so that knowledge is more easily spread among various regions. Additionally, it is thought that globalization increases competition for technological developments among nations.
Examples of Revised Technology
Over time, many technologies are changed and revised. Additionally, new technologies are built on the foundation of older technologies. Humans use existing building blocks to assemble new technologies. One example is the printing press. Gutenberg, who created technology for printing with movable type in the 15th century, was not the first to use moveable pieces in the printing process. In 11th century China, separate porcelain pieces were used for printing. Additionally, in 13th century Korea, individual metal characters were part of the printing process. Gutenburg was able to use previously developed technologies, like the Roman alphabet, metal-smelting, the wooden press, ink, and paper to create a new technology. Following Gutenberg's printing press, paper printing became an important way of disseminating information. Eventually, technologies such as the mass printing of books, magazines, and newspapers followed.
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Technologies are developed and adopted over time. The motivation of technology revision is based on its purpose to fill a human need or want, and/or to solve a human problem. Cars, for instance, provide a means of transportation for humans, protect people while traveling, and are more efficient than traveling by horse. Weapons are a technology that provides a means of defense and protection for people. Technologies that provide methods for cooking food can provide not only needs but also wants, like the ability to bake desserts. Additionally, new technologies are built on the foundation of older technologies. Technology is therefore an evolutionary process.
Newer technologies can often be directly linked back to older technologies and again to even older, ancient technologies. The sequence in many cases is unbroken, starting with the development of the very first human technologies, like primitive tools. Stone tools, used for chopping and hammering, are thought to be the very first human tools at an estimated two million years old. There is a figurative thread connecting our modern technologies through time to ancient technologies, and possibly back to when technology was created. The alphabet was used in development of Morse code, which was then used to create the telegraph and later, the telephone. Landline phones were created in the 1900s, and then mobile phones were invented in the 1970s. Cellular phones have since been widely adopted and have made significant changes to the way people communicate.
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Revising technology can fulfill a desire to improve the previous technology and can also be motivated by necessity. Antibiotics, for instance, have been changed over time in response to bacteria learning how to evade previous antibiotics. Antibiotics are medications that fight bacterial infections. Changing antibiotics is a way to provide an effective treatment method. The smartphone is another technology that is a revised version of previous technologies, like the rotary phone.
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Technology is the application of systematic, organized thinking toward the invention of a new device, machine, or method of producing or doing things. The purpose of technology is to solve a human problem or meet a human need or desire. Technology can help provide human food, shelter, communication, entertainment, and much more. Technology is man-made. Cars, as a technology, provide a means of transportation, help keep people safe while traveling, and are more efficient than traveling by horse. Weapons are a technology that provide a means of defense and protection to humans. There are various cooking technologies that fill not only needs but also wants, such as the ability to bake chocolate cake. Technology has been part of human nature for millions of years, and the first human technology is thought to be stone tools invented around two million years ago.
The speed of the spread of technology is based on its accessibility, cost, and usefulness, among other factors. There is a tendency to revise technology over time and to build new technologies using the building blocks of older technologies. The printing press, for example, used the Roman alphabet, the wooden press, ink, and paper to create a new technology. Cellular phones are a modern technology that has roots in landline phones, the initial invention of the telephone, the telegraph, and Morse code. Antibiotics are medications that fight bacterial infections and are changed over time in response to changes in bacteria that make older antibiotics ineffective. The modern smartphone is an additional technology that is based on previous technology, like the rotary phone.
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Additional Info
Different Kinds of Phones
A long time ago, almost in ancient times, people used something called a rotary phone. My grandma still has one! It's that phone where something called a rotary dial is turned to dial the number. Meaning, there are no buttons to press, be they plastic or digital. Instead, you just use a finger and turn this plastic thing around in a circle to dial the phone number! Weird, huh?
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I kid about the rotary phone being part of ancient times, but it is kind of ancient when it comes to modern technology. This kind of phone later evolved into cordless touch-tone phones (the ones with buttons you press), and now into cellphones where the buttons are images on a screen.
Why did we invent the telephone? Why has it been revised? We'll address this and other reasons for the creation and revision of technology right now.
Why is Technology Created?
We create technology to fill a void, need, or want. That's the essential part of it. We needed a way to communicate faster and better between vast distances than sending mail, which could take months to get from one point to another. So, humans invented the telephone to talk to one another.
But the telephone wasn't really great for sharing large amounts of information between people. For that we used to have (and still have) books. But man, books took a long time to ship from one place to another. Could we improve on this with technology? Yep, we invented the computer, and then the internet, to write and send vast amounts of information in almost an instant without the need for traditional mail.
Not all technology has to do with communication, of course. Microorganisms, little bugs you can't see that may potentially kill you, have killed hundreds of millions of people in the recent past. So, some big brains decided to come up with new technologies that helped us develop drugs that kill the microorganisms, such as vaccines that protect us against them, and so on.
Some technologies are less about need and more about want. Those super-expensive massage chairs? They help us feel better. The TV? It keeps us informed about world events but also gives us a good laugh when watching a comedy. Those super-processed cookies? We created technology to make those so we could more easily satisfy our sweet tooth.
Humans invented the wheel to move things like goods around without having to carry them. We invented the horse or oxen-pulled plow to help us grow more food. We created cars to help us get from one point to another faster. The list goes on forever. But you just need to remember one thing: We create technology to fill a need, void, or a want.
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Why is Technology Revised?
So why bother revising old technology? Why not keep the wheel made of stone? Why not use the horse-pulled plow? Why not use my grandma's rotary phone in every household?
We revise technology because we find more efficient, faster, and more convenient ways of doing the same thing. A stone wheel is cumbersome, heavy, and dangerous if it falls on you. A rubber wheel is far lighter and can be moved around far more easily. A plow pulled by a horse is nowhere near as effective or quick as a modern plow pulled by a tractor. That means we can plant more stuff to feed more mouths! And my grandma's rotary phone, as I can attest, takes forever to dial a number compared with modern touch-tone phones and cellphones.
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We've also revised technology like medicines that kill microorganisms because we've had to do it. Some technologies are revised out of need. Microorganisms like bacteria have become resistant to older antibiotics, or drugs that kill bacteria. So we've come up with newer ways of creating newer antibiotics to kill those bacteria. It's either that, or they kill us!
The same goes for weapons technology. We constantly create new weapons like guns, bombs, and bullets because potential enemies are always trying to create better ones too. It's called the arms race, and it's a technology race based on technological revisions to ensure one nation's, or person's, safety over another's.
Lesson Summary
Of course, I can continue to go on with even more examples of why technology is created or revised, but you now have a very good idea of why this is the case.
We create technology because we need to:
- Fill a need, such as a need to communicate faster. So, we created the telephone.
- Fill a void. We used to have no way to kill bacteria. Thus, we harnessed the power of antibiotics.
- Fill a want. Our poor ancestors couldn't watch The Simpsons, so we created television.
We revise technology because:
- We are forced to, like the global arms race.
- We find a faster way of doing something, like dialing a number on a cellphone as opposed to a rotary phone.
- We find a more efficient way of doing something, like sharing ideas via text on the internet as opposed to sending out books to everyone.
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