Prehistory
• Stone Age
The first major technologies were tied to survival, hunting, and food preparation. Stone tools and weapons, fire, and clothing Human ancestors have been using stone and other tools since long before the emergence of Homo sapiens approximately 200,000 years ago.The earliest methods of stone tool making, known as the Oldowan "industry", This era of stone tool use is called the Paleolithic, or "Old stone age" a "core" is a hard stone with specific flaking properties was struck with a hammerstone.
The earliest stone tools were crude,
The Middle Paleolithic, approximately 300,000 years ago, saw the introduction of the prepared-core technique, being little more than a fractured rock.
The Upper Paleolithic, beginning approximately 40,000 years ago, saw the introduction of pressure flaking, where a wood, bone, or antler punch could be used to shape a stone very finely.
The later Stone Age, during which the rudiments of agricultural technology were developed, is called the Neolithic period. During this period, polished stone tools were made from a variety of hard rocks such as flint, jade, jadeite and greenstone,
• Copper and bronze Ages
This age changes in agricultural technology which included development of agriculture, animal domestication, and the adoption of permanent settlements. These combined factors made possible the development of metal smelting, with copper and later bronze, an alloy of tin and copper, being the materials of choice.
• Iron Age
The Iron age involved the adoption of iron smelting technology. It generally replaced bronze, and made it possible to produce tools which were stronger, lighter and cheaper to make than bronze equivalents.