History of Technology up to the Medieval Era

By asogrshmn
  • 271,821 BCE

    Fire

    Note: It shows 271,821 BCE on here because it was the earliest year I could input
    There is some disagreement on when fire was exactly discovered, but it is commonly accepted that it was roughly 500,000 years ago. Its discovery allowed for early humans to cook food, which allowed them to evolve to have larger brains and smaller jaws.
  • 60,000 BCE

    Spears

    The earliest spears are found to have originated roughly 400,000 years ago and is so far the earliest weapon to be discovered, with more sophisticated sharpened stone spears being dated to around 60,000 years ago.
  • 30,000 BCE

    Bow and Arrow

    Similarly to spears, bows were also an early hunting tool, with examples found around 30,000 years ago
  • 10,000 BCE

    Pottery

    Due to the increased free time caused by specialization and agriculture, some civilizations created examples of pottery.
  • Period: 10,000 BCE to 8000 BCE

    Neolithic Period

    The Neolithic Revolution is used to describe the transition made from being hunter gatherers to agriculture and domesticating animals, with one of the earliest crops discovered being grains such as wheat and barley.
  • 8500 BCE

    Domestication of Cows

    Cattle were some of the earliest animals to be domesticated, primarily being used for food.
  • 6000 BCE

    Textiles

    Textiles were made typically from plants such as hemp, flax, or cotton, and replaced clothing made from animal skins, as used in the Paleolithic era.
  • 5000 BCE

    Irrigation Canals

    Due to the volatile nature of the rivers that early civilizations were based upon, humans sought to bring water further inland from rivers for a variety of reasons, mainly to increase agricultural output.
  • 4000 BCE

    Domestication of Horses

    Horses would be one of the most important animals to be domesticated by humans, as they were commonly used for labor (primarily pulling carts). as well as warfare.
  • 3000 BCE

    Bronze

    Previously, humans primarily had used copper, or even stone for tools. However, both these materials had major issues, such as copper being too brittle. Bronze was far stronger and lasted longer than copper.
  • Period: 2000 BCE to 500

    The Ancient Era

    This time period generally covers when the majority of the world was ruled by large land empires across Eurasia, where the advancement of iron allowed for large-scale construction and infrastructure projects.
  • 1500 BCE

    Iron

    Iron began to be used and even replaced bronze due to advancements in metalworking, as well as being stronger than bronze.
  • Period: 500 to 1500

    Medieval Era

    Generally covers the span of time after the end of the Roman empire and includes increased international trade as well as the spread of Christianity in Europe.
  • 800

    Water Wheel

    Around this time, the water wheel became more widespread and began to be used for a variety of tasks such as grinding grain, hammering iron, and crushing ore
  • 900

    Windmills

    The first windmills first start appearing in Persia around the 10th century and spread to Europe, where there was generally less manpower to perform manual labor.
  • 1200

    Clocks

    Around the 13th century, humans made the first mechanical clock that was reliable and not reliant on certain factors such as clear weather (i.e. sundials).