Editing History of technology (section)

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{{For-multi|the book series|History of Technology (book series){{!}}''History of Technology'' (book series)|the academic discipline|History of science and technology}}
[[File:Ur_chariot.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|The wheel, invented sometime before the 4th millennium BC, is one of the most ubiquitous and important technologies. This detail of the "[[Standard of Ur]]", c. 2500 BCE., displays a Sumerian [[chariot]].]]
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The '''history of technology''' is the history of the invention of tools and techniques by humans. Technology includes methods ranging from simple [[stone tools]] to the complex [[genetic engineering]] and information technology that has emerged since the 1980s. The term ''technology'' comes from the Greek word ''techne'', meaning art and craft, and the word ''logos'', meaning word and speech. It was first used to describe [[applied arts]], but it is now used to describe advancements and changes that affect the environment around us.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/technology/history-of-technology |title=history of technology – Summary & Facts|access-date=22 January 2018}}</ref>

New knowledge has enabled people to create new tools, and conversely, many scientific endeavors are made possible by new [[technologies]], for example [[scientific instrument]]s which allow us to study nature in more detail than our natural senses.

Since much of technology is [[applied science]], technical history is connected to the [[history of science]]. Since technology uses resources, technical history is tightly connected to [[economic history]]. From those resources, technology produces other resources, including ''technological artifacts'' used in everyday life. [[Technological change]] affects, and is affected by, a society's cultural traditions. It is a force for economic growth and a means to develop and project economic, political, military power and wealth.

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