There never was any human culture without technology. Prehistoric ages are defined by the more or less advanced ways of manufacturing stone tools – and later the use of metals. Not only because the items found in digging sites (made of stone, metal, and a variety of other materials) are the basis of archeological research. But also because technical developments are closely related to the evolution of human cultures.
The
cause-and-effect relationship of technology and culture is complex.
And it works both ways. Changes are not always originated by
technology. Many times, in history, it worked the other way round: a
cultural or social situation developed a need that caused the
discovery or invention of a tool (or a different application of
existing resources.)
There
are countless examples of techniques that had been developed but were
forgotten, and left unused, for years, centuries or millennia. Or
they were applied for some limited purpose, but they didn’t develop
their most interesting potential, because “their time hadn’t
come.”
This
isn’t only a matter of history. We can learn important lessons by
understanding how culture interacts with technical solutions.
Technology
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