Technological Advances in Evolution

Technological Advances in Evolution

“Damien, did your science book tell you there is no god?” – Challenger

My response, No, and science books do not say dragons or fairies don’t exist either, as they only focus on what does exist and strive to understand and find the natural explanations for the world.

The pretechnological period, in which all other animal species remain today aside from some avian and primate species was a non-rational period of the early prehistoric man. The emergence of technology, including art and sacred rituals made possible by the development of the rational faculty, paved the way for the first stage providing a mechanical advantage in accomplishing desired tasks. The process of technological evolution culminates with the ability to achieve all the material values technologically possible and desirable by mental effort.

Anthropologists and sociologists often assume that human beings have natural social tendencies and that particular human social behaviors have non-genetic causes and dynamics (i.e. they are learned in a social environment and through social interaction). Societies exist in complex social environments (i.e. with natural resources and constraints) and adapt themselves to these environments. It is thus inevitable that all societies change. Specific theories of social or cultural evolution often attempt to explain differences between coeval societies, by positing that different societies have reached different stages of development. Although such theories typically provide models for understanding the relationship between technologies, social structure or the values of a society, they vary as to the extent to which they describe specific mechanisms of variation and change.

Here are Some of the References Used: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14

“The following is a summary of the history of technology by time period and geography:

Olduvai stone technology (Oldowan) 2.5 million years ago (scrapers; to butcher dead animals)
Huts, 2 million years ago.
Acheulean stone technology 1.6 million years ago (hand ax)
Fire creation and manipulation, used since the Paleolithic, possibly by Homo erectus as early as 1.5 Million years ago
Boats, 900,000 years ago.
Cooking, 500,000 years ago.
Javelins, 400,000 years ago.
(Homo sapiens sapiens – modern human anatomy arises, around 200,000 years ago.)
Glue, 200,000 years ago.
Clothing possibly 170,000 years ago.
Stone tools, used by Homo floresiensis, possibly 100,000 years ago.
Harpoons, 90,000 years ago.
Bow and arrows, 70,000–60,000 years ago.
Sewing needles, 60,000 – 50,000 BCE
Flutes, 43,000 years ago.
Fishing nets, 43,000 years ago.
Ropes, 40,000 years ago.
Ceramics 27,000 years ago.
Fishing hooks, 23,000 years ago.
Domestication of animals, c. 17,000 years ago.
Sling (weapon) 11,000-10,000 years ago.
Microliths 11,000-10,000 years ago.
Brick used for construction in the Middle East 8,000 years ago.
Agriculture and Plough 6,000 years ago.
Wheel 6,000 years ago.
Gnomon 6,000 years ago.
Writing systems 5,500 years ago.
Copper 5,200 years ago.
Bronze 4,500 years ago.
Salt 4,500 years ago.
Chariot 4,000 years ago.
Iron 3,500 years ago.” ref

“Many sociologists and anthropologists have created social theories dealing with social and cultural evolution. Some, like Lewis H. Morgan, Leslie White, and Gerhard Lenski have declared technological progress to be the primary factor driving the development of human civilization. Morgan’s concept of three major stages of social evolution (savagery, barbarism, and civilization) can be divided by technological milestones, such as fire. White argued the measure by which to judge the evolution of culture was energy.” ref

“For White, “the primary function of culture” is to “harness and control energy.” White differentiates between five stages of human development: In the first, people use the energy of their own muscles. In the second, they use the energy of domesticated animals. In the third, they use the energy of plants (agricultural revolution). In the fourth, they learn to use the energy of natural resources: coal, oil, gas. In the fifth, they harness nuclear energy. White introduced a formula P=E/T, where E is a measure of energy consumed, and T is the measure of the efficiency of technical factors using the energy. In his own words, “culture evolves as the amount of energy harnessed per capita per year is increased, or as the efficiency of the instrumental means of putting the energy to work is increased”. Nikolai Kardashev extrapolated his theory, creating the Kardashev scale, which categorizes the energy use of advanced civilizations.” ref

“Lenski’s approach focuses on information. The more information and knowledge (especially allowing the shaping of natural environment) a given society has, the more advanced it is. He identifies four stages of human development, based on advances in the history of communication. In the first stage, information is passed by genes. In the second, when humans gain sentience, they can learn and pass information through experience. In the third, the humans start using signs and develop logic. In the fourth, they can create symbols, develop language and writing. Advancements in communications technology translate into advancements in the economic system and political system, distribution of wealth, social inequality, and other spheres of social life.” ref

“He also differentiates societies based on their level of technology, communication, and economy:

hunter-gatherer,
simple agricultural,
advanced agricultural,
industrial,
special (such as fishing societies).” ref

“In economics, productivity is a measure of technological progress. Productivity increases when fewer inputs (classically labor and capital but some measures include energy and materials) are used in the production of a unit of output. Another indicator of technological progress is the development of new products and services, which is necessary to offset unemployment that would otherwise result as labor inputs are reduced. In developed countries productivity growth has been slowing since the late 1970s; however, productivity growth was higher in some economic sectors, such as manufacturing. For example, employment in manufacturing in the United States declined from over 30% in the 1940s to just over 10% 70 years later. Similar changes occurred in other developed countries. This stage is referred to as post-industrial.” ref

“In the late 1970s sociologists and anthropologists like Alvin Toffler (author of Future Shock), Daniel Bell, and John Naisbitt have approached the theories of post-industrial societies, arguing that the current era of industrial society is coming to an end, and services and information are becoming more important than industry and goods. Some extreme visions of the post-industrial society, especially in fiction, are strikingly similar to the visions of near and post-Singularity societies.” ref

“During most of the Paleolithic – the bulk of the Stone Age – all humans had a lifestyle which involved limited tools and few permanent settlements. The first major technologies were tied to survival, hunting, and food preparation. Stone tools and weapons, fire, and clothing were technological developments of major importance during this period. Human ancestors have been using stone and other tools since long before the emergence of Homo sapiens approximately 200,000 years ago.” ref

“The earliest methods of stone tool making, known as the Oldowan “industry”, date back to at least 2.3 million years ago, with the earliest direct evidence of tool usage found in Ethiopia within the Great Rift Valley, dating back to 2.5 million years ago. This era of stone tool use is called the Paleolithic, or “Old stone age”, and spans all of human history up to the development of agriculture approximately 12,000 years ago.” ref

“To make a stone tool, a “core” of hard stone with specific flaking properties (such as flint) was struck with a hammerstone. This flaking produced sharp edges which could be used as tools, primarily in the form of choppers or scrapers. These tools greatly aided the early humans in their hunter-gatherer lifestyle to perform a variety of tasks including butchering carcasses (and breaking bones to get at the marrow); chopping wood; cracking open nuts; skinning an animal for its hide, and even forming other tools out of softer materials such as bone and wood. The earliest stone tools were irrelevant, being little more than a fractured rock. In the Acheulian era, beginning approximately 1.65 million years ago, methods of working these stones into specific shapes, such as hand axes emerged. This early Stone Age is described as the Lower Paleolithic.” ref

“The Middle Paleolithic, approximately 300,000 years ago, saw the introduction of the prepared-core technique, where multiple blades could be rapidly formed from a single core stone. 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 end of the last Ice Age about 10,000 years ago is taken as the end point of the Upper Paleolithic and the beginning of the Epipaleolithic / Mesolithic. The Mesolithic technology included the use of microliths as composite stone tools, along with wood, bone, and antler tools.” ref

“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, largely by working exposures as quarries, but later the valuable rocks were pursued by tunneling underground, the first steps in mining technology. The polished axes were used for forest clearance and the establishment of crop farming and were so effective as to remain in use when bronze and iron appeared. These stone axes were used alongside a continued use of stone tools such as a range of projectiles, knives, and scrapers, as well as tools, made organic materials such as wood, bone, and antler.” ref

“Stone Age cultures developed music and engaged in organized warfare. Stone Age humans developed ocean-worthy outrigger canoe technology, leading to migration across the Malay archipelago, across the Indian Ocean to Madagascar, and also across the Pacific Ocean, which required knowledge of the ocean currents, weather patterns, sailing, and celestial navigation.” ref

“Although Paleolithic cultures left no written records, the shift from nomadic life to settlement and agriculture can be inferred from a range of archaeological evidence. Such evidence includes ancient tools, cave paintings, and other prehistoric art, such as the Venus of Willendorf. Human remains also provide direct evidence, both through the examination of bones, and the study of mummies. Scientists and historians have been able to form significant inferences about the lifestyle and culture of various prehistoric peoples, and especially their technology.” ref

Technological Advances in Evolution

Technological Advances in Evolution

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