Editing Tool (section)

== History ==
{{main | History of technology}}
[[File:Prehistoric Tools - Les Combarelles - Les Eyzies de Tayac - MNP.jpg|thumb|Prehistoric [[stone tool]]s over 10,000 years old, found in [[Les Combarelles]] cave, France]]
[[File:UpholsteryRegulator.jpg|thumb|An [[upholstery regulator]]]]

[[Anthropology|Anthropologists]] believe that the use of tools was an important step in the [[human evolution|evolution of mankind]].<ref name="lilley">{{Cite book |last=Miller |first=Terry E. |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.49387 |title=Sam, Sam-Ang |date=2001 |publisher=Oxford University Press |series=Oxford Music Online |doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.49387 |access-date=2021-01-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220730093814/https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000049387 |archive-date=2022-07-30 |url-status=live}}</ref> Because tools are used extensively by both humans (Homo sapiens) and wild [[Common chimpanzee|chimpanzee]]s, it is widely assumed that the first routine use of tools took place prior to the divergence between the two [[ape]] species.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Whiten |first1=David J. |last2=Whiten |first2=Phyllis |date=April 2009 |title=Why Are Things Shaped the Way They Are? |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.5951/tcm.15.8.0464 |url-status=live |journal=Teaching Children Mathematics |volume=15 |issue=8 |pages=464–472 |doi=10.5951/tcm.15.8.0464 |issn=1073-5836 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220730093811/https://pubs.nctm.org/view/journals/tcm/15/8/article-p464.xml |archive-date=2022-07-30 |access-date=2021-01-27|url-access=subscription }}</ref> These early tools, however, were likely made of perishable materials such as sticks, or consisted of unmodified stones that cannot be distinguished from other stones as tools.

Stone artifacts date back to about 2.5 million years ago.<ref name="encylopediahumanevolution">{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgeencyclo00step |title=The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human Evolution |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-521-32370-3 |editor-last=Jones, S. |location=Cambridge |editor-last2=Martin, R. |editor-last3=Pilbeam, D. |url-access=registration}} Also {{ISBN|0-521-46786-1}} (paperback)</ref> However, a 2010 study suggests the [[hominin]] species ''[[Australopithecus afarensis]]'' ate meat by carving animal [[Carcasses of animals|carcasses]] with stone implements. This finding pushes back the earliest known use of stone tools among hominins to about 3.4 million years ago.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=McPherron |first1=Shannon P. |last2=Zeresenay Alemseged |last3=Curtis W. Marean |last4=Jonathan G. Wynn |last5=Denne Reed |last6=Denis Geraads |last7=Rene Bobe |last8=Hamdallah A. Bearat |year=2010 |title=Evidence for stone-tool-assisted consumption of animal tissues before 3.39 million years ago at Dikika, Ethiopia |journal=Nature |volume=466 |issue=7308 |pages=857–60 |bibcode=2010Natur.466..857M |doi=10.1038/nature09248 |pmid=20703305 |s2cid=4356816}}</ref> Finds of actual tools date back at least 2.6 million years in [[Ethiopia]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sahnouni |first1=Mohamed |last2=Semaw |first2=Sileshi |last3=Rogers |first3=Michael |date=2013-07-04 |title=The African Acheulean |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199569885.013.0022 |url-status=live |journal=Oxford Handbooks Online |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199569885.013.0022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220730093812/https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/28041/chapter-abstract/211941833?redirectedFrom=fulltext |archive-date=2022-07-30 |access-date=2021-01-27|url-access=subscription }}</ref> One of the earliest distinguishable stone tool forms is the [[hand axe]].

Up until recently, weapons found in digs were the only tools of "early man" that were studied and given importance. Now, more tools are recognized as culturally and historically relevant. As well as hunting, other activities required tools such as preparing food, "...nutting, [[Leather crafting|leatherworking]], grain harvesting and woodworking..."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://genderedinnovations.stanford.edu/methods/concepts.html|title=Rethinking Concepts and Theories |website=Gendered Innovations |access-date=19 January 2023}}</ref> Included in this group are "flake stone tools".

Tools are the most important items that the ancient humans used to climb to the top of the [[food chain]]; by inventing tools, they were able to accomplish tasks that human bodies could not, such as using a [[spear]] or [[bow and arrow|bow]] to kill [[Predation|prey]], since their teeth were not sharp enough to pierce many animals' skins. "Man the hunter" as the catalyst for Hominin change has been questioned. Based on marks on the bones at archaeological sites, it is now more evident that pre-humans were scavenging off of other predators' carcasses rather than killing their own food.<ref name="Holmes">{{Cite web |last=Holmes |first=Bob |title=Man's early hunting role in doubt |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn3222-mans-early-hunting-role-in-doubt.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150612111518/http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn3222-mans-early-hunting-role-in-doubt.html |archive-date=12 June 2015 |access-date=12 November 2012 |publisher=Newscientist.com}}</ref>

=== Timeline of ancient tool development ===
Many tools were made in [[prehistory]] or in the early centuries of recorded history, but archaeological evidence can provide dates of development and use.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Hollister-Short |first1=Graham |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/957126707 |title=History of Technology Volume 12. |last2=James |first2=Frank |date=2016 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-350-01858-7 |location=London |oclc=957126707 |access-date=2022-08-29 |archive-date=2022-08-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220829130910/https://www.worldcat.org/title/957126707 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/261324840 |title=Encyclopaedia of the history of science, technology, and medicine in non-western cultures |date=2008 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-4020-4425-0 |editor-last=Selin |editor-first=Helaine |edition=2nd |location=Berlin |oclc=261324840 |access-date=2022-08-29 |archive-date=2022-08-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220829130911/https://www.worldcat.org/title/261324840 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Headrick |first=Daniel R. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/320625444 |title=Technology: a world history |date=2009 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-971366-0 |location=Oxford |oclc=320625444 |access-date=2022-08-29 |archive-date=2022-08-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220829130911/https://www.worldcat.org/title/320625444 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Div col|colwidth=27em}}
* [[Olduvai Gorge|Olduvai]] [[stone technology]] ([[Oldowan]]) 2.5&nbsp;million years ago (scrapers; to butcher dead animals)
* [[Hut]]s, 2 million years ago.
* [[Acheulean]] stone technology 1.6&nbsp;million years ago (hand axe)
* [[Fire]] creation and manipulation, used since the [[Paleolithic]], possibly by [[Homo erectus]] as early as [[1 E13 s|1.5 Million years ago]]
* [[Boat]]s, 900,000 years ago.
* [[Cooking]], 500,000 years ago.
* [[Javelin]]s, 400,000 years ago.
* [[adhesive|Glue]], 200,000 years ago.
* [[Clothing]] possibly 170,000 years ago.
* [[Stone tool]]s, used by [[Homo floresiensis]], possibly [[1 E12 s|100,000&nbsp;years ago]].
* [[Harpoon]]s, 90,000 years ago.
* [[Bow and arrow]]s, 70,000–60,000 years ago.
* [[Sewing needle]]s, 60,000 – 50,000 BC
* [[Flute]]s, 43,000 years ago.
* [[Fishing net]]s, 43,000 years ago.
* [[Rope]]s, 40,000 years ago.
* [[Ceramic]]s {{circa|25,000&nbsp;BC}}
* [[Fish hook|Fishing hook]]s, {{circa|23,000 years ago}}.
* [[Domestication]] of animals, {{circa|15,000&nbsp;BC}}
* [[Sling (weapon)]] {{circa|9th millennium&nbsp;BC}}
* [[Microlith]]s {{circa|9th millennium&nbsp;BC}}
* [[Brick]] used for construction in the Middle East {{circa|6000&nbsp;BC}}
* [[Agriculture]] and [[Plough]] {{circa|4000&nbsp;BC}}
* [[Wheel]] {{circa|4000&nbsp;BC}}
* [[Gnomon]] {{circa|4000&nbsp;BC}}
* [[Writing system]]s {{circa|3500&nbsp;BC}}
* [[Copper]] {{circa|3200 BC}}
* [[Bronze]] {{circa|2500&nbsp;BC}}
* [[Salt]] {{circa|2500&nbsp;BC}}
* [[Chariot]] {{circa|2000&nbsp;BC}}
* [[Iron]] {{circa|1500&nbsp;BC}}
* [[Sundial]] {{circa|800&nbsp;BC}}
* [[Glass]] {{circa|500&nbsp;BC}}
* [[Catapult]] {{circa|400&nbsp;BC}}
* [[Cast iron]] {{circa|400&nbsp;BC}}
* [[Horseshoe]] {{circa|300&nbsp;BC}}
* [[Stirrup]] first few centuries&nbsp;AD

{{Div col end}}Several of the six classic [[simple machines]] ([[wheel and axle]], [[lever]], [[pulley]], [[inclined plane]], [[Wedge (mechanical device)|wedge]], and [[Screw (simple machine)|screw]]) were invented in [[Mesopotamia]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Moorey |first1=Peter Roger Stuart |title=Ancient Mesopotamian Materials and Industries: The Archaeological Evidence |date=1999 |publisher=[[Eisenbrauns]] |isbn=9781575060422}}</ref> The wheel and axle mechanism first appeared with the [[potter's wheel]], invented in what is now Iraq during the 5th millennium BC.<ref>{{cite book |author=D.T. Potts |title=A Companion to the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East |year=2012 |page=285}}</ref> This led to the invention of the [[wheeled vehicle]] in Mesopotamia during the early 4th millennium BC.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Attema |first1=P. A. J. |last2=Los-Weijns |first2=Ma |last3=Pers |first3=N. D. Maring-Van der |date=December 2006 |title=Bronocice, Flintbek, Uruk, JEbel Aruda and Arslantepe: The Earliest Evidence Of Wheeled Vehicles In Europe And The Near East |journal=Palaeohistoria |publisher=[[University of Groningen]] |volume=47/48 |pages=10–28 (11)}}</ref> The [[lever]] was used in the [[shadoof]] water-lifting device, the first [[Crane (machine)|crane]] machine, which appeared in Mesopotamia {{circa|3000 BC}},<ref>{{cite book |last1=Paipetis |first1=S. A. |title=The Genius of Archimedes – 23 Centuries of Influence on Mathematics, Science and Engineering: Proceedings of an International Conference held at Syracuse, Italy, June 8–10, 2010 |last2=Ceccarelli |first2=Marco |date=2010 |publisher=[[Springer Science & Business Media]] |isbn=9789048190911 |page=416}}</ref> and then in [[ancient Egyptian technology]] {{circa|2000 BC}}.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Faiella |first1=Graham |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bGMyBTS0-v0C&pg=PA27 |title=The Technology of Mesopotamia |date=2006 |publisher=[[The Rosen Publishing Group]] |isbn=9781404205604 |page=27 |access-date=2022-08-29 |archive-date=2020-01-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200103045623/https://books.google.com/books?id=bGMyBTS0-v0C&pg=PA27 |url-status=live }}</ref> The earliest evidence of [[pulley]]s date back to Mesopotamia in the early 2nd millennium BC.<ref name="Eisenbrauns">{{cite book |last1=Moorey |first1=Peter Roger Stuart |url=https://archive.org/details/ancientmesopotam00moor |title=Ancient Mesopotamian Materials and Industries: The Archaeological Evidence |date=1999 |publisher=[[Eisenbrauns]] |isbn=9781575060422 |page=[https://archive.org/details/ancientmesopotam00moor/page/n12 4] |url-access=limited}}</ref>

The [[Screw (simple machine)|screw]], the last of the simple machines to be invented,<ref name="Woods">{{cite book |last=Woods |first=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E1tzW_aDnxsC&pg=PA58 |title=Ancient Machines: From Wedges to Waterwheels |author2=Mary B. Woods |publisher=Twenty-First Century Books |year=2000 |isbn=0-8225-2994-7 |location=USA |pages=58 |access-date=2022-08-29 |archive-date=2020-01-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200104003216/https://books.google.com/books?id=E1tzW_aDnxsC&pg=PA58 |url-status=live }}</ref> first appeared in Mesopotamia during the [[Neo-Assyrian]] period (911–609 BC).<ref name="Eisenbrauns" /> The Assyrian King [[Sennacherib]] (704–681&nbsp;BC) claims to have invented automatic sluices and to have been the first to use water [[screw pump]]s, of up to 30 tons weight, which were cast using two-part clay molds rather than by the '[[Lost-wax casting|lost wax]]' process.<ref name="Dalley2013">S Dalley, ''The Mystery of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon'', Oxford University Press(2013)</ref> The Jerwan Aqueduct ({{circa|688&nbsp;BC)}} is made with stone arches and lined with waterproof concrete.<ref>T Jacobsen and S Lloyd, ''Sennacherib's Aqueduct at Jerwan'', Chicago University Press, (1935)</ref> The earliest evidence of [[water wheel]]s and [[watermill]]s date back to the [[ancient Near East]] in the 4th century BC,<ref>Terry S. Reynolds, ''Stronger than a Hundred Men: A History of the Vertical Water Wheel'', JHU Press, 2002 {{ISBN|0-8018-7248-0}}, p. 14</ref> specifically in the [[Persian Empire]] before 350&nbsp;BC, in the regions of Mesopotamia (Iraq) and [[Persia]] (Iran).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Selin |first1=Helaine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GzjpCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA282 |title=Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Westen Cultures |date=2013 |publisher=[[Springer Science & Business Media]] |isbn=9789401714167 |page=282 |access-date=2022-08-29 |archive-date=2022-04-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220409225100/https://books.google.com/books?id=GzjpCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA282 |url-status=live }}</ref> This pioneering use of [[water power]] constituted perhaps the first use of [[mechanical energy]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/technology/waterwheel-engineering|title=Waterwheel &#124; History, Types & Uses|website=Britannica}}</ref>

[[Mechanics|Mechanical]] devices experienced a major expansion in their use in [[Ancient Greece]] and [[Ancient Rome]] with the systematic employment of new energy sources, especially [[waterwheel]]s. Their use expanded through the [[Dark Ages (historiography)|Dark Ages]] with the addition of [[windmill]]s.

=== Machine tools ===
[[Machine tool]]s occasioned a surge in producing new tools in the [[Industrial Revolution]]. Pre-industrial machinery was built by various craftsmen{{mdash}}[[millwright]]s built water and windmills, [[carpenter]]s made wooden framing, and smiths and turners made metal parts. Wooden components had the disadvantage of changing dimensions with temperature and humidity, and the various joints tended to rack (work loose) over time.  As the Industrial Revolution progressed, machines with metal parts and frames became more common.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Rolt |first=L.T.C. |title=A Short History of Machine Tools |publisher=MIT Press |year=1965 |isbn=9780262180139}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=Allen |first=Robert C. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/981387269 |title=The Industrial Revolution: a very short introduction |date=2017 |isbn=978-0-19-178545-0 |location=[Oxford] |oclc=981387269}}</ref>

Other important uses of metal parts were in firearms and threaded fasteners, such as machine screws, bolts, and nuts. There was also the need for precision in making parts.  Precision would allow better working machinery, interchangeability of parts, and standardization of threaded fasteners. The demand for metal parts led to the development of several [[machine tool]]s. They have their origins in the tools developed in the 18th century by makers of clocks and watches and scientific instrument makers to enable them to batch-produce small mechanisms. Before the advent of machine tools, metal was worked manually using the basic hand tools of hammers, files, scrapers, saws, and chisels. Consequently, the use of metal machine parts was kept to a minimum.  Hand methods of production were very laborious and costly and precision was difficult to achieve.<ref name="Hounshell-1984">{{Hounshell1984}}</ref><ref name="Roe1916">{{citation |last=Roe |first=Joseph Wickham |title=English and American Tool Builders |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X-EJAAAAIAAJ |year=1916 |location=New Haven, Connecticut |publisher=Yale University Press |lccn=16011753}} Reprinted by McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 1926 ({{LCCN|27024075}}); and by Lindsay Publications, Inc., Bradley, Illinois, ({{ISBN|978-0-917914-73-7}}).</ref> With their inherent precision, machine tools enabled the economical production of [[interchangeable parts]].<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" /><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kohlmaier |first1=Georg |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/27334646 |title=Houses of glass: a nineteenth-century building type |last2=von Santory |first2=Barna |date=1990 |publisher=MIT Press |isbn=0-262-61070-1 |edition=1st |location=Cambridge, Mass. |oclc=27334646}}</ref>

Examples of machine tools include:<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" />

{{Div col|colwidth=27em}}
* [[Broach (metalwork)|Broaching machine]]
* [[Drill press]]
* [[Gear shaper]]
* [[Hobbing machine]]
* [[Honing (metalworking)|Hone]]
* [[Lathe (tool)|Lathe]]
* [[Screw machine (automatic lathe)|Screw machines]]
* [[Milling machine]]
* [[Shear (sheet metal)]]
* [[Shaper]]
* [[Bandsaw]]
* [[Planer (metalworking)|Planer]]
* [[Stewart platform]] mills
* [[Grinding machine]]s
{{Div col end}}Advocates of [[nanotechnology]] expect a similar surge as tools become microscopic in size.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Whelan |first=David |date=2012-10-25 |title=Nanotechnology: Big Potential In Tiny Particles - Forbes.com |url=http://www.forbes.com/2004/01/28/cx_dw_0129pollnanotechmidas04_xyz.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025003855/http://www.forbes.com/2004/01/28/cx_dw_0129pollnanotechmidas04_xyz.html |archive-date=2012-10-25 |access-date=2021-01-27 |website=[[Forbes]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Arabe |first=Katrina C. |title=Will this Tiny Science Usher in the Next Industrial Revolution? |url=https://www.thomasnet.com/insights/imt/2004/03/16/will_this_tiny/?t=archive |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224030754/https://www.thomasnet.com/insights/imt/2004/03/16/will_this_tiny/?t=archive |archive-date=2021-02-24 |access-date=2021-01-27 |website=www.thomasnet.com}}</ref>