Historical Antecedents of STS: The Stone Age

Module III: Historical Antecedents of STS in the World

• Interactions between science, technology, and society are discussed throughout history.
• The ways in which scientific and technological advancements affect both society and the environment are explored.
• Paradigm shifts in history are identified.

Ancient Age: Three-Age System

• The Ancient Age is a period from 3000-5000 BC
• Three Age System includes the Stone, Bronze and Iron ages.

Stone Age

• The invention and use of stone tools led to a societal transformation from hunting and gathering to farming and food production.
• John Lublock subdivided the Stone Age into the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods.
• John Allen Brown introduced the Mesolithic Period in 1872.

Paleolithic (Old Stone) Period

• Nomadic people had no permanent shelters so gathered food and hunted.
• Tools were made of stones, flints, bones, and antlers.
• Lower Paleolithic: Human evolution saw the development of simple tools by Australopithecus.
• Middle Paleolithic: Cultural development of Neanderthal man occurred.
• Upper Paleolithic: Variety culture of Homo sapiens emerged.

Mesolithic (Middle Stone) Period

• Microliths were used, which are small stone tools.
• People lived nomadically in camps near rivers and bodies of water.
• Agriculture became important.

Neolithic (New Stone) Period

• Permanent shelters were built so crops could be grown in the surrounding area.
• Urban civilization began.

Stone Age Science and Technology

• Science included observation of patterns and cycles in the environments.
• Discovery of fire to cook food and shape tools
• Technology included the use of stone and bone tools like flake tools, bows and arrows to gather food thru hunting and fishing.

Bronze Age

• Advances in metallurgy led to bronze, a copper and tin alloy, being discovered.
• Metals are obtained through smelting.
• The ox-drawn bronze plow & wheel were invented.
• Irrigation employed man-made canals and ditches to divert water from natural sources.

Bronze Age Science and Technology

• One scieintific advancement was the discovery of metals to make better tools & weapons.
• Mining began, as well as as metallurgy.
• Smelting produced bronze, extracting metals from ores, created valuable materials.

Iron Age

• The capability to smelt iron occurred, a metal harder than copper and tin.
• Agricultural tools produced in this age became much more reliable and sturdy.
• Agriculture led to improved food gathering, plows, & new weapons.

Sumerian Civilization

• The Sumerians studied Astronomy, Sexagesimal, Logic, & Mathematics.
• They also utilized Engineering & Architecture and Agriculture.
• Technologies included cuneiform, potter’s wheels, chariots, & sailboats.

Middle Age - Europe

• "Black Death" (bubonic plague) killed 20 million.
• Referred to as the Medieval Period.
• It was an age of darkness, feudalism, & education.
• Technology included horse collars, watermills, & magnetic compasses.

Middle Age - China

• Agriculture and economy were solely based in farming.
• Science included convex & concave mirrors, calendars, decimal numbers and acupuncture.
• Technologies included the seismograph, paper making, magnetic compass, gunpowder, cannons, mechanical clocks, & wheelbarrows.

Middle Age - India

• Divide a year in 12 months.
• Development of Ayurveda, or Ayurvedic medicine
• Square roots & linear equations were developed.

Middle Age - Pre-Columbian America

• Three groups of people that lived in Pre-Columbian America: Mayans of Central America, Aztecs of Mexico, and Incas of Peru.

Scientific Revolution (1440-1690 AD)

• The 16th & 17th centuries transformed mathematics, physics, astronomy, biology, & chemistry.
• The Enlightenment emphasized rationalism & rejected traditional social, religious, & political ideas.
• Nicolaus Copernicus proposed heliocentrism: planets revolve around the sun.
• Johannes Kepler discovered three laws of planetary motion.
• Isaac Newton formulated laws of motion and law of universal gravitation.
• Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species.
• Sigmund Freud proposed theory of personality with id, ego, and superego.

Industrial Revolution (1750-1900 AD)

• New tools and machines were adopted; technology was integrated with industry.
• Energy was primarily sourced from wind and water.
• Waterwheels, windmills, & water turbines harnessed industrial power.
• Waterpower was commonly used for tasks like grinding grain.
• Introduction to steam power powered pumps drawing water from coal mines.
• The Watt steam engine was widely adopted.

Industrial Revolution Era Advancements

• Textile production utilized the fly shuttle, water frame, & power loom.
• Coal, iron, and steel were produced in blast furnaces & puddling furnaces.
• Transportation was revolutionized by canals, steamboats, and steam locomotives.
• Communication was improved with electric telegraphs, telephones, and radios.
• Agriculture included seed drills & animal husbandry.
• Gas lighting & electric bulbs/lights were developed.

Century Developmental Phase

• Science, technology, and industry merged together.
• Antoine Lavoisier is the "Father of Modern Chemistry".
• Charles Darwin created revolutionizing biology through natural selection.
• Marie Curie discovered polonium and radium.
• The heliocentric model and the theory of evolution faced resistance.
• Religious and societal norms clashed with scientific theories, hindering acceptance and progress.
• Steam-powered machinery led to labor exploitation, poor working conditions, and environmental impact.
• The use of anesthesia in surgery sparked medical ethics debates.

20th Century and Information Age

• Science and Technology has changed structurally and methodologically.
• Changed from traditional industry to an economy based.
• Also known as Digital Age/New Media Age.
• Johannes Gutenberg is noted for developing movable type printing.

Pre-Gutenberg World

• Books were written & made by hand.
• Books were restricted to elite groups.
• Information was relayed through word-of-mouth channels.

Gutenberg Revolution

• The principle is to allow access and pass on the information to everyone.
• Books were printed, including religious books from the medieval period.

Post-Gutenberg World

• Best described as the emergence of the internet & the World Wide Web.
• Paved the way for uploading & downloading of all kinds of media.
• Charles Babbage created Computers.
• Virton Cerf and Robert Khan created the Internet.
• Tim Berners-Lee created the WWW.
• Shiva Ayyadurai claimed email.
• Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook.
• Chad Hurley & Ateve created YT.
• Larry Page & Sergey Brin created Google.