Editing Timeline of historic inventions (section)

==Agricultural and proto-agricultural eras==
The end of the [[Last Glacial Period]] ("ice age") and the beginning of the [[Holocene]] around 11.7 ka coincide with the [[Neolithic Revolution|Agricultural Revolution]], marking the beginning of the agricultural era, which persisted there until the industrial revolution.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Rasmussen |first1=S. O. |last2=Andersen |first2=K. K. |last3=Svensson |first3=A. M. |last4=Steffensen |first4=J. P. |last5=Vinther |first5=B. M. |last6=Clausen |first6=H. B. |last7=Siggaard-Andersen |first7=M.-L. |last8=Johnsen |first8=S. J. |last9=Larsen |first9=L. B. |last10=Dahl-Jensen |first10=D. |last11=Bigler |first11=M. |date=2006 |title=A new Greenland ice core chronology for the last glacial termination |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research |language=en |volume=111 |issue=D6 |pages=D06102 |doi=10.1029/2005JD006079 |bibcode=2006JGRD..111.6102R |issn=0148-0227 |url=https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/12532/1/Ras2005a.pdf }}</ref>

===Neolithic and Late Mesolithic===
{{further|Outline of prehistoric technology}}
During the Neolithic period, lasting 8400 years, stone began to be used for construction, and remained a predominant hard material for toolmaking. Copper and arsenic bronze were developed towards the end of this period, and of course the use of many softer materials such as wood, bone, and fibers continued. Domestication spread both in the sense of how many species were domesticated, and how widespread the practice became.
* '''10,000 BC – 9000 BC:''' [[Agriculture]] in the [[Fertile Crescent]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.science.org/content/article/farming-was-so-nice-it-was-invented-least-twice|title=Farming Was So Nice, It Was Invented at Least Twice|date=4 July 2013|website=sciencemag.org|access-date=26 March 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/development-of-agriculture/|title=The Development of Agriculture|website=nationalgeographic.com|access-date=26 March 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414142437/https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/development-of-agriculture/|archive-date=14 April 2016}}</ref>
* '''10,000 BC – 9000 BC:''' [[Domestication of the sheep|Domestication of sheep]] in [[Southwest Asia]]<ref>{{cite book |author1=Krebs, Robert E. |author2=Carolyn A. |name-list-style=amp | title=Groundbreaking Scientific Experiments, Inventions & Discoveries of the Ancient World | location=Westport, CT |publisher=Greenwood Press | year=2003 | isbn=0-313-31342-3}}</ref><ref name="storey">{{cite book |title=Storey's Guide to Raising Sheep |last=Simmons |first=Paula |author2=Carol Ekarius |year=2001 |publisher=Storey Publishing LLC |location=North Adams, MA |isbn=978-1-58017-262-2}}</ref> (followed shortly by pigs, goats and cattle)
* '''9500 BC – 9000 BC:''' [[List of oldest extant buildings|Oldest known surviving building]] – [[Göbekli Tepe]], in [[Turkey]]<ref>{{cite web |last=Curry |first=Andrew |title=Gobekli Tepe: The World's First Temple? |url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/gobekli-tepe-the-worlds-first-temple-83613665/ |access-date=26 March 2018 |website=smithsonianmag.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Clare |first=Lee |date=2020 |title=Göbekli Tepe, Turkey. A brief summary of research at a new World Heritage Site (2015–2019) |url=https://publications.dainst.org/journals/index.php/efb/article/view/2596 |journal=E-Forschungsberichte |language=en |pages=§ 1–13 |doi=10.34780/EFB.V0I2.1012 |issn=2198-7734}}</ref>
* '''9000 BC – 6000 BC:''' [[Domestication of rice]] in [[China]]<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Zhijun|first=Zhao|title=The Middle Yangtze region in China is one place where rice was domesticated: phytolith evidence from the Diaotonghuan Cave, Northern Jiangxi|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/the-middle-yangtze-region-in-china-is-one-place-where-rice-was-domesticated-phytolith-evidence-from-the-diaotonghuan-cave-northern-jiangxi/4C67F92E1BC56E14C93DAFE0B7F81FD9|journal=Antiquity|volume=72|issue=278|pages=885–897|doi=10.1017/s0003598x00087524|year=1998|s2cid=161495218|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
* '''9000 BC:''' [[Mudbrick]]s (unfired bricks), and clay [[Mortar (masonry)|mortar]] in [[Jericho]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Tellier|first=Luc-Normand|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cXuCjDbxC1YC&q=jericho+9000+bc+bricks&pg=PA37|title=Urban World History: An Economic and Geographical Perspective|date=2009|publisher=PUQ|isbn=978-2-7605-2209-1|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Artioli|first=G.|date=2019|title=The Vitruvian legacy: mortars and binders before and after the Roman world|url=https://www.minersoc.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/emu-20-04_Art.pdf|publisher=European Mineralogical Union|isbn=978-0903056-61-8|volume=20|pages=151–202}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.academia.edu/1285495 |title=Bricks and urbanism in the Indus Valley rise and decline |author=Aurangzeb Khan |author2=Carsten Lemmen |access-date=16 February 2013 |website=Academia|year=2013 |arxiv=1303.1426 }}</ref>
* '''8400 BC:''' Oldest known water [[well]] in [[Cyprus]].<ref name="autogenerated2">{{cite news |date=25 June 2009 |title=Stone Age wells found in Cyprus |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8118318.stm |url-status=live |access-date=31 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005060232/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8118318.stm |archive-date=5 October 2013}}</ref>
* '''8040–7510 BC:''' The [[Pesse canoe]] is the oldest boat we have found,<ref>{{cite news |agency=ANP |date=12 April 2001 |title=Oudste bootje ter wereld kon werkelijk varen |language=nl |work=Leeuwarder Courant |url=http://www.archeoforum.nl/Pesse10.html |access-date=10 April 2025}}</ref> while early human habitation of Crete and Australia make clear human seafaring goes back tens or hundreds of thousands of years. (see above)
* '''8000–7500 BC:''' [[Proto-city]] – large permanent settlements, such as [[Tell es-Sultan|Tell es-Sultan (Jericho)]] and [[Çatalhöyük]], Turkey.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://citiesnow.in/blog/2015/07/09/worlds-ever-first-know-town-catalhuyuk/ |title=World's ever first known town – Catalhuyuk &#124; Cities Now |access-date=1 November 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151118111308/http://citiesnow.in/blog/2015/07/09/worlds-ever-first-know-town-catalhuyuk/ |archive-date=18 November 2015}}</ref>
* '''8000–5000 BC:''' Domestication of [[potatoes]], in southern [[Peru]] and northwestern [[Bolivia]] by pre-Columbian farmers, around [[Lake Titicaca]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Spooner |first1=David M. |last2=McLean |first2=Karen |last3=Ramsay |first3=Gavin |last4=Waugh |first4=Robbie |last5=Bryan |first5=Glenn J. |date=29 September 2005 |title=A single domestication for potato based on multilocus amplified fragment length polymorphism genotyping |journal=[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences]] |pmid=16203994 |volume=102 |issue=41 |pmc=1253605 |pages=14694–14699 |doi=10.1073/pnas.0507400102 |bibcode=2005PNAS..10214694S |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Office of International Affairs |title=Lost Crops of the Incas: Little-Known Plants of the Andes with Promise for Worldwide Cultivation |date=1989 |url=http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=030904264X&page=92 |isbn=978-0-309-04264-2 |page=92 |doi=10.17226/1398}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=John Michael Francis |title=Iberia and the Americas: Culture, Politics, and History : a Multidisciplinary Encyclopedia |publisher =ABC-CLIO |year=2005 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OMNoS-g1h8cC&pg=PA867 |isbn=978-1-85109-421-9 |page=867}}</ref> 
* '''7000 BC:''' [[Ethanol fermentation#Alcoholic beverages|Alcohol fermentation]] – specifically [[mead]], in China<ref>{{cite journal|title=Fermented beverages of pre- and proto-historic China|first1=Patrick E.|last1=McGovern|first2=Juzhong|last2=Zhang|first3=Jigen|last3=Tang|first4=Zhiqing|last4=Zhang|first5=Gretchen R.|last5=Hall|first6=Robert A.|last6=Moreau|first7=Alberto|last7=Nuñez|first8=Eric D.|last8=Butrym|first9=Michael P.|last9=Richards|first10=Chen-shan|last10=Wang|first11=Guangsheng|last11=Cheng|first12=Zhijun|last12=Zhao|first13=Changsui|last13=Wang|date=21 December 2004|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=101|issue=51|pages=17593–17598|doi=10.1073/pnas.0407921102|pmid=15590771|pmc=539767|bibcode=2004PNAS..10117593M|doi-access=free}}</ref>
* '''7000 BC:''' [[Sled dog]] and [[Dog sled]], in Siberia.<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=Earliest evidence for dog breeding found on remote Siberian island|url=https://www.science.org/content/article/earliest-evidence-dog-breeding-found-remote-siberian-island|last1=Grimm |first1=David |date=26 May 2017|magazine=Science |language=en|access-date=28 May 2020}}</ref>
* '''7000 BC – 3300 BC:''' [[Tanning (leather)|Tanned leather]] in [[Mehrgarh]], Pakistan.<ref>Possehl, Gregory L. (1996). ''Mehrgarh'' in ''Oxford Companion to Archaeology'', edited by Brian Fagan. Oxford University Press.</ref>
* '''6500 BC:''' Evidence of [[lead smelting]] in [[Çatalhöyük]], [[Turkey]]<ref>{{cite journal|title = A Model for the Adoption of Metallurgy in the Ancient Middle East|last = Heskel|first= Dennis L.|journal = Current Anthropology|volume = 24|issue = 3|date = 1983|pages = 362–366|doi = 10.1086/203007|s2cid = 144332393}}</ref>
* '''6000 BC:''' [[Kiln]] in [[Mesopotamia]] (Iraq)<ref name="Bienkowski">{{cite book|author1=Piotr Bienkowski|author2=Alan Millard|title=Dictionary of the Ancient Near East|date=15 April 2010|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|isbn=978-0-8122-2115-2|page=233}}</ref>
* '''6th millennium BC:''' [[Irrigation]] in [[Khuzestan Province|Khuzistan]], [[Iran]]<ref>
{{cite book
 | last1 = Flannery
 | first1 = Kent V.
 | author-link1 = Kent V. Flannery
 | year = 1969
 | chapter = Origins and ecological effects of early domestication in Iran and the Near East
 | editor1-last = Ucko
 | editor1-first = Peter John
 | editor1-link = Peter John Ucko
 | editor2-last = Dimbleby
 | editor2-first = G. W.
 | title = The Domestication and Exploitation of Plants and Animals
 | chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=6lY9Q4vnrCEC
 | location = New Brunswick, New Jersey
 | publisher = Transaction Publishers
 | publication-date = 2007
 | page = 89
 | isbn = 9780202365572
 | access-date = 12 January 2019
}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite book
 | last1 = Lawton
 | first1 = H. W.
 | last2 = Wilke
 | first2 = P. J.
 | year = 1979
 | chapter = Ancient Agricultural Systems in Dry Regions of the Old World
 | editor1-last = Hall
 | editor1-first = A. E.
 | editor2-last = Cannell
 | editor2-first = G. H.
 | editor3-last = Lawton
 | editor3-first = H.W.
 | title = Agriculture in Semi-Arid Environments
 | chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=e67tCAAAQBAJ
 | series = Ecological Studies
 | volume = 34
 | edition = reprint
 | location = Berlin
 | publisher = Springer Science & Business Media
 | publication-date = 2012
 | page = 13
 | isbn = 9783642673283
 | access-date = 12 January 2019
}}
</ref>
* '''6000 BC – 3200 BC:''' [[Proto-writing]] in present-day Egypt, Iraq, Romania, China, India and Pakistan.<ref>{{Cite journal|jstor=40698264|language=en|title=The Oldest Writings, and Inventory Tags of Egypt|last1=Mattessich|first1=Richard|journal=The Accounting Historians Journal|year=2002|volume=29|issue=1|pages=195–208|doi=10.2308/0148-4184.29.1.195|s2cid=160704269 |url=http://aprendeenlinea.udea.edu.co/revistas/index.php/cont/article/view/25609|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
* '''5900 – 5600 BC:''' Oldest evidence of [[salt production]] found in Southeastern Europe, in the countries of [[Moldova]] and [[Romania]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Harding |first=Anthony |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W_4TAgAAQBAJ&dq=world%27s+oldest+salt+cucuteni&pg=PA44 |title=Salt in Prehistoric Europe |date=2013 |publisher=Sidestone press |isbn=978-90-8890-201-7 |location=Leiden |pages=44 |language=en}}</ref>
* '''5500 – 5200 BC:''' Oldest evidence of [[cheese]] found, in [[Poland]] and on the [[Dalmatia|Dalmatian coast]] of [[Croatia]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Subbaraman |first=Nidhi |date=December 12, 2012 |title=Art of cheese-making is 7,500 years old |url=http://www.nature.com/news/art-of-cheese-making-is-7-500-years-old-1.12020 |url-status=live |journal=Nature News |doi=10.1038/nature.2012.12020 |s2cid=180646880 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130111103000/http://www.nature.com/news/art-of-cheese-making-is-7-500-years-old-1.12020 |archive-date=January 11, 2013 |access-date=December 12, 2012|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=McClure |first1=Sarah B. |last2=Magill |first2=Clayton |last3=Podrug |first3=Emil |last4=Moore |first4=Andrew M. T. |last5=Harper |first5=Thomas K. |last6=Culleton |first6=Brendan J. |last7=Kennett |first7=Douglas J. |last8=Freeman |first8=Katherine H. |date=2018-09-05 |title=Fatty acid specific δ13C values reveal earliest Mediterranean cheese production 7,200 years ago |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=13 |issue=9 |pages=e0202807 |bibcode=2018PLoSO..1302807M |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0202807 |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=6124750 |pmid=30183735 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
* '''5500 BC:''' [[Sailing]] - pottery depictions of sail boats, in [[Mesopotamia]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Carter |first=Robert |date=8 December 2012 |title=The Neolithic origins of seafaring in the Arabian Gulf |url=https://scienceopen.com/document?vid=478c51b0-5235-43f4-8d95-5385202b8bce |journal=Archaeology International |volume=6 |doi=10.5334/ai.0613 |issn=2048-4194|doi-access=free }}</ref> and later [[ancient Egypt]]<ref>{{cite web |author=[[John Coleman Darnell]] |year=2006 |title=The Wadi of the Horus Qa-a: A Tableau of Royal Ritual Power in the Theban Western Desert |url=http://www.yale.edu/egyptology/ae_alamat_wadi_horus.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110201053044/http://www.yale.edu/egyptology/ae_alamat_wadi_horus.htm |archive-date=1 February 2011 |access-date=24 August 2010 |publisher=[[Yale University]]}}</ref><ref name="johnstone">The sea-craft of prehistory, p76, by Paul Johnstone, Routledge, 1980</ref>
* '''5000 BC:''' [[Smelting#Copper and bronze|Copper smelting]] in [[Serbia]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Radivojević |first1=Miljana |last2=Rehren |first2=Thilo |last3=Pernicka |first3=Ernst |last4=Šljivar |first4=Dušan |last5=Brauns |first5=Michael |last6=Borić |first6=Dušan |date=2010 |title=On the origins of extractive metallurgy: new evidence from Europe |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0305440310001986 |journal=Journal of Archaeological Science |language=en |volume=37 |issue=11 |pages=2775–2787 |doi=10.1016/j.jas.2010.06.012|bibcode=2010JArSc..37.2775R |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Radivojević |first1=Miljana |last2=Roberts |first2=Benjamin W. |date=2021 |title=Early Balkan Metallurgy: Origins, Evolution and Society, 6200–3700 BC |journal=Journal of World Prehistory |language=en |volume=34 |issue=2 |pages=195–278 |doi=10.1007/s10963-021-09155-7 |issn=0892-7537|doi-access=free }}</ref>
* '''5000 BC:''' [[Seawall]] in [[Tel Hreiz]], near Haifa, Israel.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Galili |first1=Ehud |last2=Benjamin |first2=Jonathan |last3=Eshed |first3=Vered |last4=Rosen |first4=Baruch |last5=McCarthy |first5=John |last6=Horwitz |first6=Liora Kolska |date=2019-12-18 |title=A submerged 7000-year-old village and seawall demonstrate earliest known coastal defence against sea-level rise |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=14 |issue=12 |pages=e0222560 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0222560 |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=6919572 |pmid=31851675 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2019PLoSO..1422560G }}</ref>
* '''5th millennium BC:''' [[Lacquer]] in China<ref>{{cite book| last=Li| first=Li| title=China's Cultural Relics| year=2011| publisher=Cambridge University Press| location=Cambridge| isbn=9780521186568| pages=[https://archive.org/details/chinasculturalre0000lili_b4j8/page/139 139–140]| edition=3rd| url=https://archive.org/details/chinasculturalre0000lili_b4j8/page/139}}</ref><ref>Loewe (1968), 170–171</ref>
* '''5000 BC:''' [[Cotton]] thread, in [[Mehrgarh]], Pakistan, connecting the copper beads of a bracelet.<ref name="Mithen2006">{{citation|last=Mithen|first=Steven|title=After the Ice: A Global Human History, 20,000-5000 BC|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NVygmardAA4C&pg=PA411|year=2006|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-01999-7|pages=411–412}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1006/jasc.2001.0779| title = First Evidence of Cotton at Neolithic Mehrgarh, Pakistan: Analysis of Mineralized Fibres from a Copper Bead| journal = Journal of Archaeological Science| volume = 29| issue = 12| pages = 1393–1401| year = 2002| last1 = Moulherat | first1 = C. | last2 = Tengberg | first2 = M. | last3 = Haquet | first3 = J. R. M. F. | last4 = Mille | first4 = B. ̂T.| bibcode = 2002JArSc..29.1393M}}</ref><ref name="JIAPAN2018">{{cite journal|last1=JIA|first1=Yinhua|last2=PAN|first2=Zhaoe|last3=HE|first3=Shoupu|last4=GONG|first4=Wenfang|last5=GENG|first5=Xiaoli|last6=PANG|first6=Baoyin|last7=WANG|first7=Liru|last8=DU|first8=Xiongming|title=Genetic diversity and population structure of Gossypium arboreum L. collected in China|journal=Journal of Cotton Research|volume=1|issue=1|year=2018|page=11 |issn=2523-3254|doi=10.1186/s42397-018-0011-0|doi-access=free|bibcode=2018JCotR...1...11J }}</ref>
* '''5000 BC – 4500 BC:''' [[Oar|Rowing oars]] in China<ref>Deng, Gang. (1997). ''Chinese Maritime Activities and Socioeconomic Development, c. 2100 B.C.–1900 A.D.'' Westport: Greenwood Press. {{ISBN|0-313-29212-4}}, p. 22.</ref><ref name="Stark">{{cite book|author=Miriam T. Stark|title=Archaeology of Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z4_bT2SJ-HUC&pg=PA130|access-date=5 October 2012|date=15 April 2008|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-4051-5303-4|page=130}}</ref>
* '''4500 BC – 3500 BC:''' [[Lost-wax casting]] in [[Palestine]]<ref name="Muhly">{{citation |last=Muhly |first=J.D. |title=The Beginnings of Metallurgy in the Old World}}. In {{harvnb|Maddin|1988}}</ref> or the [[Indus Valley]]<ref>Thoury, M.; et al. (2016). "High spatial dynamics-photoluminescence imaging reveals the metallurgy of the earliest lost-wax cast object". Nature Communications. 7. doi:10.1038/ncomms13356.</ref>
* '''4400 BC:''' [[Brick#Fired brick|Fired bricks]] in China.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n00CnC84MIcC|title=Water Civilization: From Yangtze to Khmer Civilizations|author=Yoshinori Yasuda|pages=30–31|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|year=2012|isbn=9784431541103}}</ref>
* '''4000 BC:''' Probable time period of the first diamond-mines in the world, in Southern India.<ref name=hershey>
{{cite book
 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=35eij1e1al8C&pg=PA23
 |last=Hershey |first=W.
 |title=The Book of Diamonds
 |publisher=Hearthside Press
 |location=New York
 |year=1940
 |pages=22–28
 |isbn=978-1-4179-7715-4
}}</ref>
* '''4000 BC:''' Paved [[roads]], in and around the Mesopotamian city of [[Ur]], Iraq.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Beazley|first1=Robert E.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MWgpDwAAQBAJ&q=paved+road+ur+mesopotamia+bce&pg=PA5|title=Himalayan Mobilities: An Exploration of the Impact of Expanding Rural Road Networks on Social and Ecological Systems in the Nepalese Himalaya|last2=Lassoie|first2=James P.|date=22 June 2017|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-3-319-55757-1|language=en}}</ref>
* '''4000 BC:''' [[Plumbing]]. The earliest pipes were made of clay, and are found at the Temple of Bel at Nippur in Babylonia.<ref>{{cite book |last = Eslamian |first = Saeid |title = Handbook of Engineering Hydrology: Environmental Hydrology and Water Management, Book 3 |year = 2014 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=USXcBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA168 |location = Boca Raton |publisher = CRC Press |page = 168 |isbn = 9781466552500}}.</ref>{{efn|Earthen pipes were later used in the Indus Valley c. 2700 BC for a city-scale urban drainage system,<ref>{{cite book| last1 = Teresi| first1 = Dick| author-link = Dick Teresi| title = Lost Discoveries: The Ancient Roots of Modern Science--from the Babylonians to the Maya| publisher = Simon & Schuster| year = 2002| location = New York| pages = [https://archive.org/details/lostdiscoveriesa00tere/page/351 351–352]| isbn = 0-684-83718-8| url-access = registration| url = https://archive.org/details/lostdiscoveriesa00tere/page/351}}</ref> and more durable copper drainage pipes appeared in Egypt, by the time of the construction of the [[Pyramid of Sahure#Drainage system|Pyramid of Sahure]] at [[Abusir]], c.2400 BCE.<ref name="Bunson 6">{{Cite book|last=Bunson|first=Margaret|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-6EJ0G-4jyoC&q=Abusir+copper+pipe+ancient+egypt&pg=PA6|title=Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt|date=14 May 2014|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-1-4381-0997-8|pages=6|language=en}}</ref>}}
* '''4000 BC:''' Oldest evidence of [[Lock and key|locks]], the earliest example discovered in the ruins of [[Nineveh]], the capital of ancient [[Assyria]].<ref>{{cite book|last=de Vries, N. Cross and D. P. Grant|first=M. J.|title=Design Methodology and Relationships with Science: Introduction|year=1992|publisher=Kluwer Academic Publishers|location=Eindhoven|page=32|isbn=9780792321910|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4T8U_J1h7noC|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161024091334/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=4T8U_J1h7noC|archive-date=2016-10-24}}</ref>
* '''4000 BC – 3400 BC:''' Oldest evidence of [[wheel]]s, found in the countries of [[Ukraine]], [[Poland]], and [[Germany]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chandler |first=Graham |date=2017 |title=Why Reinvent the Wheel? |url=https://www.aramcoworld.com/Articles/July-2017/Why-Reinvent-the-Wheel |access-date=2024-07-03 |website=[[Aramco World]]}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Standage |first=Tom |author-link=Tom Standage |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YoQWEAAAQBAJ&dq=wheel+originated+eastern+europe&pg=PA2 |title=A Brief History of Motion: From the Wheel, to the Car, to What Comes Next |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |year=2021 |isbn=978-1-63557-361-9 |location=New York |pages=2–5 |language=en |oclc=on1184237267}}</ref>
* '''3630 BC:''' Silk garments ([[sericulture]]) in China<ref name="Schoeser">{{cite book|author=Mary Schoeser|title=Silk|date=28 May 2007|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-11741-7|pages=[https://archive.org/details/silk00scho/page/18 18]|url=https://archive.org/details/silk00scho/page/18}}</ref>
* '''3500 BC:''' Probable first [[domestication of the horse]] in the Eurasian Steppes.<ref>Matossian ''Shaping World History'' p. 43</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.imh.org/exhibits/online/what-we-theorize-when-and-where-domestication-occurred |title=What We Theorize – When and Where Domestication Occurred |access-date=27 January 2015 |work=International Museum of the Horse |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160719000140/http://www.imh.org/exhibits/online/what-we-theorize-when-and-where-domestication-occurred |archive-date=19 July 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="cbc.ca">{{cite news |title=Horsey-aeology, Binary Black Holes, Tracking Red Tides, Fish Re-evolution, Walk Like a Man, Fact or Fiction |url=http://www.cbc.ca/quirks/episode/2009/03/07/horsey-aeology-binary-black-holes-tracking-red-tides-fish-re-evolution-walk-like-a-man-fact-or-ficti/|work=Quirks and Quarks Podcast with Bob Macdonald |publisher= [[CBC Radio]] |date=7 March 2009|access-date=18 September 2010}}</ref>
* '''3500 BC:''' Wine as [[general anaesthesia]] in Sumer.<ref name="Powell1996">{{cite book |title=The Origins and Ancient History of Wine |series=Food and Nutrition in History and Anthropology |edition=1 |volume=11 |chapter=9: Wine and the vine in ancient Mesopotamia: the cuneiform evidence |pages=96–124 |author=Powell MA |veditors=McGovern PE, Fleming SJ, Katz SH |publisher=Taylor & Francis |location=Amsterdam |year=2004 |isbn=9780203392836 |issn=0275-5769 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aXX2UcT_yw8C&q=Wine+and+the+vine+in+ancient+Mesopotamia:+the+cuneiform+evidence&pg=PA97 |access-date=15 September 2010}}</ref>
* '''3500 BC:''' [[Seal (emblem)]] invented around in the [[Near East]], at the contemporary sites of [[Uruk]] in southern [[Mesopotamia]] and slightly later at [[Susa]] in south-western [[Iran]] during the [[Proto-Elamite (period)|Proto-Elamite period]], and they follow the development of [[stamp seal]]s in the [[Halaf culture]] or slightly earlier.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Brown |first1=Brian A. |last2=Feldman |first2=Marian H. |title=Critical Approaches to Ancient Near Eastern Art |date=2013 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=9781614510352 |page=304 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F4DoBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA304 |language=en}}</ref>
* '''3500 BC:''' [[Ploughing]], on a site in [[Bubeneč]], Czech Republic.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Institute of Archeology of CAS report |url=http://www.arup.cas.cz/?p=12517 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180829000325/http://www.arup.cas.cz/?p=12517 |archive-date=29 August 2018 |access-date=28 August 2018}}</ref> Evidence, c. 2800 BC, has also been found at [[Kalibangan]], Indus Valley (modern-day India).<ref name="lal-ivc">B. B. Lal, ''India 1947–1997: New Light on the Indus Civilization''</ref>
* '''3400 BC – 3100 BC:''' [[Tattoo]]s in southern Europe<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Deter-Wolf|first1=Aaron|last2=Robitaille|first2=Benoît|last3=Krutak|first3=Lars|last4=Galliot|first4=Sébastien|title=The World's Oldest Tattoos|journal=Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports|volume=5|pages=19–24|date=February 2016|doi=10.1016/j.jasrep.2015.11.007|bibcode=2016JArSR...5...19D |s2cid=162580662 |url=https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-01227846/file/OldestTattoos.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last=Deter-Wolf|first=Aaron|title=It's official: Ötzi the Iceman has the oldest tattoos in the world|publisher=RedOrbit.com|date=11 November 2015|url=http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1113410697/its-official-otzi-the-iceman-has-the-oldest-tattoos-in-the-world-111115/|access-date=25 July 2019}}</ref>

===Bronze Age===
[[File:Nippur cubit.JPG|thumb|upright=1.5|The Nippur cubit-rod, {{c.|2650 BCE}}, in the [[Istanbul Archaeology Museums|Archeological Museum]] of [[Istanbul]], Turkey]]

The beginning of bronze-smelting coincides with the emergence of the first cities and of writing in the Ancient Near East and the Indus Valley. The [[Bronze Age]] starting in Eurasia in the 4th millennia BC and ended, in Eurasia, c.1200 BC.
* '''Late 4th millennium BC:''' [[Writing]] – in [[Sumer]] and [[Egypt]].<ref name="Radner">{{cite book |author1=Karen Radner |url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordhandbookcu00radn |title=The Oxford Handbook of Cuneiform Culture |author2=Eleanor Robson |date=22 September 2011 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-955730-1 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/oxfordhandbookcu00radn/page/n117 86] |url-access=limited}}</ref><ref>"The world's earliest known writing systems emerged at more or less the same time, around 3300 bc, in Egypt and Mesopotamia (today's Iraq)."{{Cite book |title= Before the Pyramids: The Origins of Egyptian Civilization |last= Teeter |first= Emily|publisher= Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago|year= 2011 |page=99}}</ref><ref>"Although it was once thought that the idea of writing came to Egypt from Mesopotamia, recent discoveries indicate that writing arose first in Egypt."{{Cite book |title= Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=lF78Max-h8MC&q=recent+discoveries+indicate+writing |last= Allen |first= James P. |publisher= Cambridge University Press |year= 2010 |page=2| isbn=9781139486354 }}</ref><ref>"and examples of writing in Egypt have been found that very well may pre-date the earliest writing from Mesopotamia."{{cite book |last1=Boudreau |first1=Vincent |title=The First Writing: Script Invention as History and Process |date=2004 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521838610 |page=71 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jsWL_XJt-dMC&pg=PA71 |language=en}}</ref>
* '''3300 BC:''' The first documented [[sword]]s. They have been found in [[Arslantepe]], Turkey, are made from [[arsenical bronze]], and are about {{convert|60|cm|in|abbr=on}} long.<ref>Frangipane, M. et al. (2010). "The collapse of the 4th millennium centralised system at Arslantepe and the far-reaching changes in 3rd millennium societies". ''ORIGINI XXXIV'', 2012: 237–60.</ref><ref name=KAY>{{cite book |author=[[K. Aslihan Yener|Yener, K. Aslihan]] |title= The Domestication of Metals: The Rise of Complex Metal Industries in Anatolia |pages= 52–53 |year= 2021 |publisher= BRILL |series= Culture and History of the Ancient Near East (Vol. 4) |isbn= 978-9004496934 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=_s1GEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA52 |access-date= 15 January 2024}}</ref> Some of them are inlaid with [[silver]].<ref name=KAY/>
* '''3300 BC:''' [[City]] in [[Uruk]], [[Sumer]], [[Mesopotamia]] (modern-day Iraq).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2003 |title=Uruk: The First City |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/uruk/hd_uruk.htm |access-date=28 February 2022 |website=www.metmuseum.org}}</ref>
* '''3250 BC: '''One of the earliest documented [[hat]]s was worn by a man (nicknamed [[Ötzi]]) whose body and hat  found frozen in a mountain between Austria and Italy. He was found wearing a bearskin cap with a chin strap, made of several hides stitched together, resembling a Russian fur hat without the flaps.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/aug/18/it-becometh-the-iceman-otzi-clothing-study-reveals-stylish-secrets-of-leather-loving-ancient|title=It becometh the iceman: clothing study reveals stylish secrets of leather-loving ancient|first=Nicola|last=Davis|archive-date=30 August 2016|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=30 August 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160830164637/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/aug/18/it-becometh-the-iceman-otzi-clothing-study-reveals-stylish-secrets-of-leather-loving-ancient|date=30 August 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/08/otzi-iceman-european-alps-mummy-clothing-dna-leather-fur-archaeology|title=Here's What the Iceman Was Wearing When He Died 5,300 Years Ago|first=Kristin|last=Romey|date=18 August 2016|publisher=[[National Geographic]]|access-date=18 August 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819105927/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/08/otzi-iceman-european-alps-mummy-clothing-dna-leather-fur-archaeology/|archive-date=19 August 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=O’Sullivan|first1=Niall J.|last2=Teasdale|first2=Matthew D.|last3=Mattiangeli|first3=Valeria|last4=Maixner|first4=Frank|last5=Pinhasi|first5=Ron|last6=Bradley|first6=Daniel G.|last7=Zink|first7=Albert|date=18 August 2016|title=A whole mitochondria analysis of the Tyrolean Iceman's leather provides insights into the animal sources of Copper Age clothing|journal=[[Scientific Reports]]|language=en|volume=6|pages=31279|doi=10.1038/srep31279|pmid=27537861|issn=2045-2322|df=dmy-all|pmc=4989873|bibcode=2016NatSR...631279O }}</ref>
* '''3200 BC:''' Dry [[Latrine]]s in the city of [[Uruk]], Iraq, with later dry squat [[Toilet]]s, that added raised fired brick foot platforms, and pedestal toilets, all over clay pipe constructed drains.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Mitchell|first=Piers D.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HU6rCwAAQBAJ&q=McMahon,+A.+in+Sanitation,+Latrines+and+Intestinal+Parasites+in+Past+Populations&pg=PA263|title=Sanitation, Latrines and Intestinal Parasites in Past Populations|date=3 March 2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-05953-0|pages=22|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Smith|first=Monica L.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=moeLDwAAQBAJ&q=uruk+latrines+3200+bce|title=Cities: The First 6,000 Years|date=18 April 2019|publisher=Simon & Schuster UK|isbn=978-1-4711-6367-8|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=George|first=A.R.|title=On Babylonian Lavatories and Sewers|date=December 2015|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0021088915000091/type/journal_article|journal=Iraq|language=en|volume=77|pages=75–106|doi=10.1017/irq.2015.9|s2cid=162653122|issn=0021-0889|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
* '''3200 BC:''' Earliest actual wheel ever found, the [[Ljubljana Marshes Wheel]], made of wood, in [[Slovenia]].<ref name=":4" />
* '''3000 BC:''' Devices functionally equivalent to [[dice]], in the form of flat two-sided throwsticks, are seen in the Egyptian game of [[Senet]].<ref name="Aruz">{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gr5BgOwEJicC&pg=PA151|title=Beyond Babylon: Art, Trade, and Diplomacy in the Second Millennium B.C.|last=Finkel|first=Irving|publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art|year=2008|isbn=978-1-58839-295-4|page=151|chapter=Board Games}}</ref> Perhaps the oldest known dice, resembling modern ones, were excavated as part of a [[backgammon]]-like game set at the [[Burnt City]], an archeological site in south-eastern [[Iran]], estimated to be from between 2800 and 2500 BC.<ref>{{Cite web |date=29 November 2017 |title=8 Oldest Board Games in the World |url=https://www.oldest.org/entertainment/board-games/ |access-date=12 March 2022 |website=Oldest.org |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=NASER MOGHADASI |first=Abdorreza |date=September 2015 |title=The Burnt City and the Evolution of the Concept of "Probability" In the Human Brain |journal=Iranian Journal of Public Health |volume=44 |issue=9 |pages=1306–1307 |issn=2251-6085 |pmc=4645795 |pmid=26587512}}</ref> Later, terracotta dice were used at the Indus Valley site of [[Mohenjo-daro]] (modern-day Pakistan).<ref>Possehl, Gregory. "Meluhha". In: J. Reade (ed.) ''The Indian Ocean in Antiquity''. London: Kegan Paul Intl. 1996a, 133–208</ref>
* '''3000 BC:''' [[Tin]] extraction in [[Central Asia]]<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Cierny|given1=J.|surname2=Weisgerber|given2=G.|date=2003|chapter=The "Bronze Age tin mines in Central Asia|editor1-last=Giumlia-Mair|editor1-first=A.|editor2-last=Lo Schiavo|editor2-first=F.|title=The Problem of Early Tin|pages= 23–31|location=Oxford|publisher=Archaeopress|isbn=1-84171-564-6}}</ref>
* '''3000 BC – 2560 BC:''' [[Papyrus]] in Egypt<ref name="Fischer">{{cite book|author=Steven Roger Fischer|title=History of Writing|date=4 April 2004|publisher=Reaktion Books|isbn=978-1-86189-167-9|page=47}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Papyrus: A Brief History – Dartmouth Ancient Books Lab |url=https://sites.dartmouth.edu/ancientbooks/2016/05/23/67/ |access-date=28 February 2022 |website=sites.dartmouth.edu}}</ref><ref name="Johnson">{{cite book|author=Paul Johnson|title=The Civilization Of Ancient Egypt|date=3 November 1999|publisher=HarperCollins|isbn=978-0-06-019434-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/civilizationofan00john/page/163 163]|url=https://archive.org/details/civilizationofan00john/page/163}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=4,500-year-old harbor structures and papyrus texts unearthed in Egypt|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/science/cosmic-log/4-500-year-old-harbor-structures-papyrus-texts-unearthed-egypt-flna1C9356840|website=NBC News|date=16 April 2013 |language=en|access-date=12 May 2020}}</ref>
* '''3000 BC:''' [[Reservoir]] in [[Girnar]], Indus Valley (modern-day [[India]]).<ref name="Rodda">{{Cite book
|editor-first=John
|editor-last=Rodda
|editor2-first=Lucio
|editor2-last=Ubertini
|year=2004
|title=The Basis of Civilization – Water Science?
|publisher=International Association of Hydrological Science
|isbn=978-1-901502-57-2
|oclc=224463869
|page=161
|url ={{Google books|JI65-MygMm0C|page=161|plainurl=yes}}
}}</ref>
* '''3000 BC:''' [[Receipt]] in Ancient [[Mesopotamia]] ([[Iraq]])<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/worlds-oldest-writing-not-poetry-but-a-shopping-receipt |title = World's oldest writing not poetry but a shopping receipt|date = 13 April 2011}}</ref>
* '''3000 BC – 2800 BC:''' [[Prosthesis]] first documented in the [[Ancient Near East]], in ancient Egypt and Iran, specifically for an eye prosthetics, the eye found in Iran was likely made of bitumen paste that was covered with a thin layer of gold.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pine |first1=Keith R. |last2=Sloan |first2=Brian H. |last3=Jacobs |first3=Robert J. |title=Clinical Ocular Prosthetics |date=2015 |publisher=Springer |isbn=9783319190570 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=920nCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA283}}</ref>
* '''3000 BC – 2500 BC:''' [[Rhinoplasty]] in Egypt.<ref name="cossurg">{{cite book |last=Shiffman |first=Melvin |title=Cosmetic Surgery: Art and Techniques |date=5 September 2012 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-642-21837-8 |page=20}}</ref><ref name="plsurgery">{{cite book |last1=Mazzola |first1=Ricardo F. |title=Plastic Surgery: Principles |last2=Mazzola |first2=Isabella C. |date=5 September 2012 |publisher=Elsevier Health Sciences |isbn=978-1-4557-1052-2 |editor1-last=Neligan |editor1-first=Peter C. |pages=11–12 |chapter=History of reconstructive and aesthetic surgery |editor2-last=Gurtner |editor2-first=Geoffrey C.}}</ref>
* '''2650 BC:''' The [[Ruler]], or [[Measuring rod]], in the subdivided [[Nippur]], copper rod, of the [[Sumer|Sumerian Civilisation]] (modern-day Iraq). {{efn|Shell, Terracotta, Copper, and Ivory rulers were in use by the [[Indus Valley civilisation]] in what today is Pakistan, and North West India, prior to 1500 BCE.<ref>{{Cite book|last=McIntosh|first=Jane|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1AJO2A-CbccC&q=ivory+ruler+lothal+indus+valley&pg=PA345|title=The Ancient Indus Valley: New Perspectives|date=2008|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-57607-907-2|language=en}}</ref>}}
* '''2600 BC:''' [[Planned city]] in Indus Valley (modern-day: India, Pakistan).<ref name="Davreu1">Davreu, Robert (1978). "Cities of Mystery: The Lost Empire of the Indus Valley". ''The World's Last Mysteries''. (second edition). Sydney: Reader's Digest. pp. 121-129. {{ISBN|978-0-909486-61-7}}.</ref><ref name="Kipfer229">Kipfer, Barbara Ann (2000). ''Encyclopedic Dictionary of Archaeology''. (Illustrated edition). New York: Springer. p. 229. {{ISBN|978-0-3064-6158-3}}.</ref>
* '''2600 BC:''' [[Sanitation of the Indus Valley Civilisation|Public sewage and sanitation systems in Indus Valley]] sites such as [[Mohenjo-daro]] and [[Rakhigarhi]] (modern-day: India, Pakistan).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Khan |first=Dr Saifullah |title=Chapter 2 Sanitation and wastewater technologies in Harappa/Indus valley civilization (ca. 2600-1900 BC) |url=https://www.academia.edu/5937322}}</ref>
* '''2600 BC:''' [[Great Bath, Mohenjo-daro|Public bath]] in [[Mohenjo-daro]], Indus Valley (modern-day [[Pakistan]]).<ref name="Kenoyer">{{cite web|last=Harappa|first=com|title='Great Bath' Mohenjadaro|url=http://www.harappa.com/indus/8.html|department=Slide show with description by J. M. Kenoyer|publisher=Harappa.com|access-date=2 July 2012}}</ref>
* '''2600 BC:''' [[Levee]] in Indus Valley.<ref>{{cite web | title = Indus River Valley Civilizations|website=History-world.org | access-date = 12 September 2008 | url = http://history-world.org/indus_valley.htm| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050701234952/http://history-world.org/indus_valley.htm| url-status = dead| archive-date = 1 July 2005}}</ref>
* '''2600 BC:''' [[Weighing scale|Balance weights and scales]], from the [[Fourth Dynasty of Egypt]]; examples of [[Deben (unit)]] balance weights, from reign of [[Sneferu]] (c. 2600 BC) have been attributed.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rahmstorf |first=Lorenz |title=In Search of the Earliest Balance Weights, Scales and Weighing Systems from the East Mediterranean, the Near and Middle East |url=https://www.academia.edu/1864503}}</ref>
* '''2556 BC:''' [[Dock (maritime)|Docks]] structure in [[Wadi al-Jarf]], Egypt, which was developed by the reign of the Pharaoh [[Khufu]].<ref name="Global">{{cite news|title=Archeologists discover oldest Egyptian harbor ever found|first=Samantha|last=Stainburn|work=Global Post|date=18 April 2013|url=http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/egypt/130418/archeologists-discover-oldest-egyptian-harbor-ever-fo|access-date=21 April 2013}}</ref><ref name=":1" />{{efn|A competing claim is from [[Lothal]] dockyard in India,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/27667625 |title=Foraminifera as an additional tool for archaeologists - Examples from the Arabian Sea |date=25 September 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=ARCHAEOASTRONOMICAL SURVEYS IN LOTHAL (INDIA)|url=http://www.archaeoastronomy.it/Lothal.htm|last=Codebò|first=Mario|date=2013|website=www.archaeoastronomy.it|access-date=10 May 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Frenez|first=D.|title=Lothal re-visitation Project, a fine thread connecting Intis to contemporary Raveena (Via Oman)|publisher=BAR|year=2014|isbn=9781407313269|location=UK|pages=263–267}}</ref><ref name="RaoQ">Rao, pages 27–28</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Archaeological remains of a Harappa Port-Town, Lothal |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5918/ |website=UNESCO |publisher=UN |access-date=10 May 2020}}</ref> constructed at some point between 2400-2000 BC;<ref name="RaoY">{{cite book | title = Lothal | publisher = [[Archaeological Survey of India]] | author = [[S. R. Rao]] | pages = 11–17 | year = 1985}}</ref> however, more precise dating does not exist.}}
* '''2500 BC:''' [[Puppetry]] in the Indus Valley.<ref>Ghosh, S. and Banerjee, Utpal Kumar, ''Indian Puppets'', Abhinav Publications, 2006. {{ISBN|81-7017-435-X}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Pulling the strings to resuscitate a dying art|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/pulling-the-strings-to-resuscitate-a-dying-art/article3783718.ece|newspaper=The Hindu|date=17 August 2012|location=Thanjavur, India}}</ref>
* '''2400 BC:''' [[Fork]] in [[Bronze Age]] [[Qijia culture]] in [[China]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Needham |first1=Joseph |title=Science and Civilisation in China. Volume 6: Biology and biological technology. Part V: Fermentations and food science |date=22 January 2001 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0521652707}}</ref>
* '''2400 BC:''' [[History of water supply and sanitation#Ancient Egypt|Copper pipes]], the [[Pyramid of Sahure#Drainage system|Pyramid of Sahure]], an adjoining temple complex at [[Abusir]], was discovered to have a network of copper drainage pipes.<ref name="Bunson 6" />
* '''2400 BC:''' [[Touchstone (assaying tool)|Touchstone]] in the Indus Valley site of [[Banawali]] (modern-day India).<ref>{{Cite book|title=Gold : A Cultural Encyclopedia|url=https://archive.org/details/goldculturalency00vena|url-access=limited|last=Venable|first=Shannon L.|publisher=ABC-CLIO, LLC|year=2011|isbn=978-0313-384318|location=Santa Barbara, CA|pages=[https://archive.org/details/goldculturalency00vena/page/n286 264]}}</ref>
* '''2300 BC:''' [[Dictionary]] in [[Mesopotamia]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jackson |first=Howard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v7lgEAAAQBAJ&dq=dictionary+Sumerian%E2%80%93Akkadian+wordlists,+discovered+in+Ebla+(modern+Syria)&pg=PT347 |title=The Bloomsbury Handbook of Lexicography |date=24 February 2022 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-350-18172-4 |language=en}}</ref>
* '''2200 BC – 2000 BC:''' [[Iron smelting]] in [[Kaman-Kalehöyük]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Akanuma |first=Hideo |year=2008 |title=The significance of Early Bronze Age iron objects from Kaman-Kalehöyük, Turkey |url=http://www.jiaa-kaman.org/pdfs/aas_17/AAS_17_Akanuma_H_pp_313_320.pdf |journal=Anatolian Archaeological Studies |publisher=Japanese Institute of Anatolian Archaeology |volume=17 |pages=313–320 |place=Tokyo}}</ref>
* '''2200 BC:''' [[Protractor]], Phase IV, [[Lothal]], Indus Valley (modern-day India), a [[Turbinella pyrum|Xancus]] shell cylinder with sawn grooves, at right angles, in its top and bottom surfaces, has been proposed as an angle marking tool.<ref name="Rao401">{{cite book |author=S. R. Rao |title=Lothal |publisher=[[Archaeological Survey of India]] |year=1985 |pages=40–41 |author-link=S. R. Rao}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Rao |date=July 1992 |title=A Navigational Instrument of the Harappan Sailors |url=http://drs.nio.org/drs/bitstream/handle/2264/3082/J_Mar_Archaeol_3_61.pdf?sequence=2 |journal=Marine Archaeology |volume=3 |pages=61–66}} Notes: protractor described as "compass" in article.</ref>
* '''2000 BC:''' [[Water clock]] by at least the old Babylonian period (c. 2000 – c. 1600 BC),<ref>{{cite book | last = Pingree | first = David | author-link = David Pingree | editor = Stephanie Dalley |editor-link=Stephanie Dalley| title = The Legacy of Mesopotamia | year = 1998 | publisher = Oxford University Press | location = Oxford | isbn = 0-19-814946-8 | pages = 125–126 | chapter = Legacies in Astronomy and Celestial Omens}}</ref> but possibly earlier from Mohenjo-Daro in the Indus Valley.<ref>{{cite journal | first = N. Kameswara | last = Rao |date=December 2005 | title = Aspects of prehistoric astronomy in India | journal = Bulletin of the Astronomical Society of India | volume = 33 | issue = 4 | pages = 499–511 | url = http://www.ncra.tifr.res.in/~basi/05December/3305499-511.pdf | access-date =11 May 2007 | quote =It appears that two artifacts from Mohenjadaro and Harappa might correspond to these two instruments. Joshi and Parpola (1987) lists a few pots tapered at the bottom and having a hole on the side from the excavations at Mohenjadaro (Figure 3). A pot with a small hole to drain the water is very similar to clepsydras described by Ohashi to measure the time (similar to the utensil used over the lingum in Shiva temple for abhishekam). |bibcode = 2005BASI...33..499R}}</ref>
* '''2000 BC:''' [[Chariot]] in [[Russia]] and [[Kazakhstan]]<ref>David S. Anthony, ''The Horse, The Wheel and Language: How bronze age riders from the Eurasian steppes shaped the modern world'' (2007), pp. 397-405.</ref>
* '''2000 BC:''' [[Fountain]] in [[Lagash]], [[Sumer]].
* '''2000 BC:''' [[Scissors]], in [[Mesopotamia]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=History 101: Scissors |url=https://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/11/3/1341085/-History-101-Scissors |access-date=28 February 2022 |website=Daily Kos}}</ref>
* '''1850 BC:''' Proto-alphabet ([[Proto-Sinaitic script]]) in Egypt.<ref>{{Cite web |title=British Library |url=https://www.bl.uk/history-of-writing/articles/the-evolution-of-the-alphabet |access-date=1 March 2022 |website=www.bl.uk |archive-date=1 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220301104323/https://www.bl.uk/history-of-writing/articles/the-evolution-of-the-alphabet |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* '''1600 BC:''' [[Edwin Smith Papyrus|Surgical treatise]] appeared in Egypt.<ref name="WilkinsRobert">{{cite book |last=Wilkins |first=Robert H. |title=Neurosurgical Classics |date=1992 |publisher=[[American Association of Neurological Surgeons]] |isbn=978-1-879284-09-8 |edition=2nd |location=[[Park Ridge, Illinois]] |lccn=2011293270 |orig-year=First published 1965}}</ref>
* '''1500 BC:''' [[Sundial]] in [[Ancient Egypt]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lienhard |first1=John H. |title=No. 993: SUNDIALS |url=https://www.uh.edu/engines/epi993.htm |website=The Engines of Our Ingenuity |publisher=Huston Public Media |access-date=1 March 2022}}</ref> or [[Babylonia]] (modern-day Iraq).
* '''1500 BC:''' [[Glass]] manufacture in either [[Mesopotamia]] or [[Ancient Egypt]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=22 November 2016 |title=Glassmaking may have begun in Egypt, not Mesopotamia |url=https://www.sciencenews.org/article/glassmaking-may-have-begun-egypt-not-mesopotamia |access-date=28 February 2022 |website=Science News |language=en-US}}</ref>
* '''1500 BC:''' [[Seed drill]] in [[Babylonia]].<ref name="ReferenceA">History Channel, ''Where Did It Come From?'' Episode: "Ancient China: Agriculture"</ref>
* '''1500 BC:''' [[Prosthetic]] limb in [[India]] mentioned in vedas (warrior queen vishpala).
* '''1400 BC:''' [[Mesoamerican rubber balls|Rubber]],<ref name=":3" /> [[Mesoamerican ballgame]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|title=Rubber balls used in Mesoamerican game 3,500 years ago|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/history/rubber-balls-used-in-mesoamerican-game-3500-years-ago-1988439.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/history/rubber-balls-used-in-mesoamerican-game-3500-years-ago-1988439.html |archive-date=7 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|date=1 June 2010|website=The Independent|language=en|access-date=14 May 2020}}</ref><ref>[[#Shelton|Shelton]], pp. 109–110. There is wide agreement on game originating in the tropical lowlands, likely the Gulf Coast or Pacific Coast.</ref>
* '''1400 BC – 1200 BC:''' [[Concrete]] in [[Tiryns]] (Mycenaean Greece),<ref>{{cite book |author1=Heinrich Schliemann |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_pw4BAAAAMAAJ |title=Tiryns: The Prehistoric Palace of the Kings of Tiryns, the Results of the Latest Excavations |author2=Wilhelm Dörpfeld |author3=Felix Adler |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons |year=1885 |location=New York |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_pw4BAAAAMAAJ/page/n266 190], 203–04, 215}}</ref><ref>{{cite arXiv |eprint=1110.5230 |class=physics.pop-ph |first=Amelia Carolina |last=Sparavigna |title=Ancient concrete works |year=2011}}</ref> though it was not yet waterproof. 
* '''1300 BC:''' [[Lathe]] in Ancient Egypt.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.brighthubengineering.com/manufacturing-technology/59033-what-is-a-lathe-machine-history-parts-and-operation/|title=What is a Lathe Machine? History, Parts, and Operation|date=12 December 2009|website=Brighthub Engineering|access-date=26 March 2018}}</ref>
* '''1200 BC:''' [[Distillation]] is described on [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] tablets documenting perfumery operations.<ref>{{cite book |last=Levey |first=Martin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=76ILAQAAIAAJ |title=Chemistry and Chemical Technology in Ancient Mesopotamia |date=1959 |publisher=[[Elsevier]] |page=36 |quote=As already mentioned, the textual evidence for Sumero-Babylonian distillation is disclosed in a group of Akkadian tablets describing perfumery operations, dated ca. 1200 B.C.}}</ref>

===Iron Age===
The [[Late Bronze Age collapse]] occurs around 1200 BC,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Millek |first=Jesse |date=2021 |title=Why Did the World End in 1200 BCE |url=https://www.academia.edu/50934851 |journal=Ancient Near East Today |volume=9 |issue=8}}</ref> extinguishing most Bronze-Age Near Eastern cultures, and significantly weakening the rest. This is coincident with the complete collapse of the [[Indus Valley Civilisation]]. This event is followed by the beginning of the Iron Age. We define the Iron Age as ending in 510 BC for the purposes of this article, even though the typical definition is region-dependent (e.g. 510 BC in Greece, 322 BC in India, 200 BC in China), thus being an 800-year period.{{efn|The uncertainty in dating several Indian developments between 600 BC and 300 AD, due to the tradition that existed of editing existing documents (such as the Sushruta Samhita and Arthashastra) without specifically documenting the edit. Most such documents were canonized at the start of the Gupta empire (mid-3rd century AD).}}
*  '''1100 BC''' [[Star catalogue]] — <em>[[Babylonian star catalogues#Three Stars Each|Three Stars Each]]</em> is the earliest known catalogue in long-running tradition of [[Babylonian astronomy]],<ref>{{cite book
 | last=North | first=John | date=1995
 | title=The Norton History of Astronomy and Cosmology
 | url=https://archive.org/details/nortonhistoryofa0000nort | url-access=registration | location=New York and London | pages=[https://archive.org/details/nortonhistoryofa0000nort/page/30 30–31]
 | publisher=W.W. Norton & Company | isbn=0-393-03656-1}}</ref> likely drawing on Sumerian<ref>[http://members.westnet.com.au/gary-david-thompson/page11-4.html ''History of the Constellations and Star Names — D.4: Sumerian constellations and star names?''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907050519/http://members.westnet.com.au/Gary-David-Thompson/page11-4.html |date=2015-09-07 }}, by Gary D. Thompson</ref> and/or Elamite constellations.<ref>[http://members.westnet.com.au/gary-david-thompson/page11-5.html ''History of the Constellations and Star Names — D.5: Elamite lion-bull iconography as constellations?''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114124324/http://members.westnet.com.au/Gary-David-Thompson/page11-5.html |date=2012-11-14 }}, by Gary D. Thompson</ref>
* '''700 BC:''' [[Saddle]] (fringed cloths or pads used by [[Assyrian cavalry]]).<ref name=Beatie18>[https://books.google.com/books?id=lKYZy8dq8qMC&dq=saddle&pg=PA18 Beatie, Russel H.  ''Saddles'', University of Oklahoma Press, 1981] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140123113900/http://books.google.com/books?id=lKYZy8dq8qMC&pg=PA18&dq=saddle&hl=en&sa=X&ei=RpC_T6mdHYWk9ASsluWPCw&ved=0CFcQ6AEwBjgK |date=23 January 2014 }}, {{ISBN|080611584X}}, 9780806115849 P.18-22</ref>
* '''7th century BC:''' The royal [[Library of Ashurbanipal]] at [[Nineveh]] had 30,000 clay tablets, in several languages, organized according to shape and separated by content. The first recorded example of a [[library catalog]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Murray|first1=Stuart
 |title=The Library: An Illustrated History|date=2009
 |publisher=Skyhorse Publishing|location=New York
 |isbn=978-1-61608-453-0|page=9}}</ref>
* '''688 BC:''' Waterproof concrete in use, by the Assyrians.<ref>Jacobsen T and Lloyd S, (1935) "Sennacherib's Aqueduct at Jerwan", ''Oriental Institute Publications'' 24, Chicago University Press</ref> Later, the Romans developed concretes that could set underwater,<ref name="Lechtman and Hobbs">Lechtman and Hobbs "Roman Concrete and the Roman Architectural Revolution"</ref> and used concrete extensively for construction from 300 BC to 476 AD.<ref name="MAST">{{cite web |title=The History of Concrete |url=http://matse1.matse.illinois.edu/concrete/hist.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121127052951/http://matse1.matse.illinois.edu/concrete/hist.html |archive-date=27 November 2012 |access-date=8 January 2013 |publisher=Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign}}</ref>
* '''650 BC:''' [[Crossbow]] in [[China]].<ref>{{citation|last=Loades|first=Mike|year=2018|title=The Crossbow|publisher=Osprey}}</ref>
* '''600 BC:''' [[Coins]] in [[Phoenicia]] (Modern Lebanon) or [[Lydia]].<ref>M. Kroll, review of G. Le Rider's ''La naissance de la monnaie'', ''Schweizerische Numismatische Rundschau'' '''80''' (2001), p. 526. D. Sear, Greek Coins and Their Values Vol. 2, Seaby, London, 1979, p. 317.</ref>
* '''Late 7th or early 6th century BC:''' [[Wagonway]] called [[Diolkos]] across the [[Isthmus of Corinth]] in [[Ancient Greece]].
[[File:Trispastos scheme.svg|thumb|With the Greco-Roman ''trispastos'' ("three-pulley-crane"), the simplest [[ancient crane]], a single man tripled the weight he could lift than with his muscular strength alone.<ref>Hans-Liudger, Dienel; Wolfgang, Meighörner (1997): "Der Tretradkran", ''Technikgeschichte'' series, 2nd ed., [[Deutsches Museum]], München, p.&nbsp;13</ref>]]
* '''6th century BC – 10th century AD:''' [[Steel#Wootz steel and Damascus steel|High Carbon Steel]], produced by the [[Crucible steel|Closed Crucible method]], later known as [[Wootz steel]], of [[South India]].<ref name="wootz-davidson">Davidson, Hilda Ellis (1998). ''The Sword in Anglo-Saxon England: Its Archaeology and Literature''. Boydell & Brewer Ltd. p. 20. {{ISBN|0-85115-716-5}}.</ref><ref name="wootz-iisc">{{cite news | title=Wootz Steel: an advanced material of the ancient world | url=http://materials.iisc.ernet.in/~wootz/heritage/WOOTZ.htm | author1=Srinivasan, S. | author2=Ranganathan, S. | publisher=Department of Metallurgy, Indian Institute of Science | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119033451/http://materials.iisc.ernet.in/~wootz/heritage/WOOTZ.htm |archive-date=19 November 2018| location=Bangalore}}</ref>{{efn|A 10th century AD, [[Damascus]] steel blade, analysed under an electron microscope, contains nano-meter tubes in its metal alloy. Their presence has been suggested to be down to transition-metal impurities in the ores once used to produce Wootz Steel in South India.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.nature.com/news/2006/061113/full/news061113-11.html |title=Sharpest cut from nanotube sword |first=Katharine |last=Sanderson |date=15 November 2006 |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |pages=news061113–11 |doi=10.1038/news061113-11|s2cid=136774602 |doi-access=free }}</ref>}}
* '''6th century BC:''' [[University]] in [[Taxila]], of the Indus Valley, then part of the kingdom of [[Gandhara]], of the [[Achaemenid Empire]] (modern-day Pakistan).
* '''6th century – 2nd century BC:''' Systematization of medicine and surgery in the [[Sushruta Samhita]] in Vedic Northern India.<ref name = "sush">Hoernle, A. F. Rudolf (1907). ''Studies in the Medicine of Ancient India: Osteology or the Bones of the Human Body''. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press.</ref><ref>Wendy Doniger (2014), On Hinduism, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0199360079}}, page 79;<br />Sarah Boslaugh (2007), Encyclopedia of Epidemiology, Volume 1, SAGE Publications, {{ISBN|978-1412928168}}, page 547, '''Quote''': "The Hindu text known as Sushruta Samhita is possibly the earliest effort to classify diseases and injuries"</ref><ref name = "sush_date">Meulenbeld, Gerrit Jan (1999). ''A History of Indian Medical Literature''. Groningen: Brill (all volumes, 1999-2002). {{ISBN|978-9069801247}}.</ref> Documented procedures to:
** Perform [[cataract surgery]] ([[Couching (ophthalmology)|couching]]). Babylonian and Egyptian texts, a millennium before, depict and mention oculists, but not the procedure itself.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Ascaso|first1=Francisco J.|last2=Lizana|first2=Joaquín|last3=Cristóbal|first3=José A.|date=1 March 2009|title=Cataract surgery in ancient Egypt|url=https://journals.lww.com/jcrs/Citation/2009/03000/Cataract_surgery_in_ancient_Egypt.43.aspx|journal=Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery|language=en-US|volume=35|issue=3|pages=607–608|doi=10.1016/j.jcrs.2008.11.052|pmid=19251160|issn=0886-3350|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
** Perform [[Caesarean section]].<ref name = "sush_info"/>
** Construct [[Prosthetic limb]]s.<ref name = "sush_info"/>
** Perform [[Plastic surgery]], though reconstructive [[nasal surgery]] is described in millennia older [[Edwin Smith Papyrus|Egyptian papyri]].<ref name="sush_info">{{cite journal |last1=Singh |first1=Vibha |date=January–June 2017 |title=Sushruta: The father of surgery |journal=National Journal of Maxillofacial Surgery |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=1–3 |doi=10.4103/njms.NJMS_33_17 |pmc=5512402 |pmid=28761269 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=Dwivedi&Dwivedi>Dwivedi, Girish & Dwivedi, Shridhar (2007). [http://medind.nic.in/iae/t07/i4/iaet07i4p243.pdf ''History of Medicine: Sushruta – the Clinician – Teacher par Excellence''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010045900/http://medind.nic.in/iae/t07/i4/iaet07i4p243.pdf |date=10 October 2008 }}. [[National Informatics Centre|National Informatics Centre (Government of India)]].</ref>
* '''Late 6th century BC:''' [[Crank (mechanism)|Crank]] motion ([[rotary quern]]) in [[Ancient Carthage|Carthage]]{{sfn|Curtis|2008|p=375}} or 5th century BC [[Celtiberians|Celtiberian]] [[Spain]]<ref name="Frankel 2003, 17–19">Frankel, Rafael (2003): "The Olynthus Mill, Its Origin, and Diffusion: Typology and Distribution", ''[[American Journal of Archaeology]]'', Vol. 107, No. 1, pp.&nbsp;1–21 (17–19)</ref><ref>Ritti, Tullia; Grewe, Klaus; Kessener, Paul (2007): "A Relief of a Water-powered Stone Saw Mill on a Sarcophagus at Hierapolis and its Implications", ''[[Journal of Roman Archaeology]]'', Vol. 20, pp.&nbsp;138–163 (159)</ref> Later during the Roman empire, a mechanism appeared that incorporated a connecting rod.
* '''Before 5th century BC:''' [[Deed|Loan deeds]] in Upanishadic India.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://m.rbi.org.in/Scripts/PublicationsView.aspx?id=155 |title=Reserve Bank of India - Publications |quote=In ancient India, loan deed forms called rnapatra or rnalekhya were in use. These contained details such as the name of the debtor and the creditor, the amount of loan, the rate of interest, the condition of repayment and the time of repayment. The deed was witnessed by a person of respectable means and endorsed by the loan-deed writer. Execution of loan deeds continued during the Buddhist period, when they were called inapanna.}}</ref>
* '''500 BC:''' [[Lighthouse]] in Greece.<ref>Elinor Dewire and Dolores Reyes-Pergioudakis (2010). ''The Lighthouses of Greece''. Sarasota: Pineapple Press. {{ISBN|978-1-56164-452-0}}, pp 1-5.</ref>

===Classical antiquity and medieval era===
====5th century BC====
* '''500 – 200 BC:''' [[Stirrup#Precursors|Toe stirrup]], depicted in 2nd century Buddhist art, of the Sanchi and Bhaja Caves, of the Deccan [[Satavahana dynasty|Satavahana empire]] (modern-day India)<ref>[https://archive.org/details/saddles00beat/page/28 ''Saddles'', Author Russel H. Beatie, Publisher University of Oklahoma Press, 1981], {{ISBN|080611584X}}, 9780806115849 P.28</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=xa7zPNkxswQC&pg=PA14 White, Lynn Townsend. ''Medieval Technology and Social Change'', Publisher Oxford University Press, 1964], {{ISBN|0195002660}}, 9780195002669 P.14</ref> although may have originated as early as 500 BC.<ref>Chamberlin, J. Edward (2007). ''Horse: How the Horse Has Shaped Civilizations''. [[Moscow]]: Olma Media Group. {{ISBN|1-904955-36-3}}.</ref>
* '''485 BC:''' [[Catapult]] by [[Ajatashatru]] in [[Magadha (Mahajanapada)|Magadha]], [[India]].<ref name = "Ajatashatru">Singh, Upinder (2016), ''A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century'', Pearson PLC, {{ISBN|978-81-317-1677-9}}</ref><ref name="aja_date">Jain, Kailash Chand (1991), ''Lord Mahāvīra and His Times'', Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-81-208-0805-8}}</ref>
* '''485 BC:''' Scythed chariot by [[Ajatashatru]] in [[Magadha (Mahajanapada)|Magadha]], [[India]].<ref name="Ajatashatru"/><ref name="aja_date" />
* '''5th century BC:''' [[Cast iron]] in [[History of China#Ancient China|Ancient China]]: Confirmed by archaeological evidence, the earliest cast iron is developed in China by the early 5th century BC during the [[Zhou dynasty]] (1122–256 BC), the oldest specimens found in a tomb of Luhe County in [[Jiangsu]] province.<ref name="wagner 7 36 37 64 68">Wagner (2001), 7, 36–37, 64–68. 335.</ref><ref>Ebrey, Walthall, and Palais (2006), 30.</ref><ref name="pigott 1999 177">Pigott (1999), 177.</ref>
* '''480 BC:''' [[Spiral stairs]] (Temple A) in [[Selinunte]], [[Sicily]] (see also [[List of ancient spiral stairs]])<ref>Beckmann, Martin (2002): "The 'Columnae Coc(h)lides' of Trajan and Marcus Aurelius", ''[[Phoenix (classics journal)|Phoenix]]'', Vol. 56, No. 3/4, pp.&nbsp;348–357 (354)</ref><ref>Ruggeri, Stefania (2006): "Selinunt", Edizioni Affinità Elettive, Messina, {{ISBN|88-8405-079-0}}, p.&nbsp;77</ref>
* '''By 407 BC:''' Early descriptions of what may be a [[Wheelbarrow]] in Greece.<ref>M. J. T. Lewis, "The Origins of the Wheelbarrow", ''[[Technology and Culture]]'', Vol. 35, No. 3. (July 1994), pp.&nbsp;470</ref> First actual depiction of one (tomb mural) shows up in [[China]] in 118 AD.<ref>[[Joseph Needham|Needham, Joseph]] (1965). ''Science and Civilisation in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology, Part 2, Mechanical Engineering''; rpr. Taipei: Caves Books Ltd., page 265</ref>
* '''By 400 BC:''' [[Camera obscura]] described by Mo-tzu (or [[Mozi]]) in China.<ref>{{Cite web|title=What is a camera obscura?|url=https://www.camera-obscura.co.uk/article/what-is-a-camera-obscura|access-date=7 January 2022|website=Camera Obscura and World of Illusions Edinburgh|language=en-GB}}</ref>

====4th century BC====
[[Image:Musée du Louvre - Antiquités égyptiennes - Salle 06 - 02f.jpg|thumb|right|Egyptian reed pens inside ivory and wooden palettes, the Louvre<ref>{{cite web|title=Palette de scribe|url=http://www.louvre.fr/oeuvre-notices/palette-de-scribe|website=Antiquités égyptiennes du Louvre|language=fr}}</ref>]]
* '''4th century BC:''' [[Trebuchet|Traction trebuchet]] in [[History of China#Ancient China|Ancient China]].<ref name="O'Callaghan">{{cite book|author1=Joseph F. O'Callaghan|author2=Donald J. Kagay|author3=Theresa M. Vann|title=On the Social Origins of Medieval Institutions: Essays in Honor of Joseph F. O'Callaghan|year=1998|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-11096-0|pages=179|quote=Developed in China between the fifth and fourth centuries BC, it reached the Mediterranean by the sixth century AD}}</ref>
* '''4th century BC:''' [[Gear]]s in [[History of China#Ancient China|Ancient China]]
* '''4th century BC:''' [[Reed pen]]s, utilising a split nib, were used to write with ink on [[Papyrus]] in Egypt.<ref name="O'Callaghan" />
* '''4th century BC:''' Nailed [[Horseshoe]], with 4 bronze shoes found in an [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan tomb]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Bates|first=W. N.|date=1902|title=Etruscan Horseshoes from Corneto — AJA 6:398‑403|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Journals/AJA/6/4/Etruscan_Horseshoes*.html|access-date=7 January 2022|website=penelope.uchicago.edu}}</ref>
* '''375 BC – 350 BC:''' [[Horse mill|Animal-driven rotary mill]] in Carthage.{{sfn|Curtis|2008|p=376}}{{sfn|de Vos|2011|p=178}}
* '''By the late 4th century BC:''' [[Corporation]]s in either the [[Maurya Empire]] of India<ref>Vikramaditya S. Khanna (2005). [https://ssrn.com/abstract= ''The Economic History of the Corporate Form in Ancient India'']. [[University of Michigan]].</ref> or in Ancient Rome ([[Collegium (ancient Rome)|Collegium]]).
* '''Late 4th century BC:''' [[Cheque]] in the [[Maurya Empire]] of India.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://m.rbi.org.in/Scripts/PublicationsView.aspx?id=155 | title=Reserve Bank of India - Publications |quote = In the Mauryan period, an instrument called adesha was in use, which was an order on a banker desiring him to pay the money of the note to a third person}}</ref>
* '''Late 4th century BC:''' [[Potassium nitrate]] manufacturing and military use in the [[Seleucid Empire]].<ref>{{cite book |last = Roy |first = Kaushik |date = 2014 |title = Military Transition in Early Modern Asia, 1400-1750 |page = 19 |isbn = 978-1-7809-3765-6 |location = London |publisher = Bloomsbury Academic |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=KyVnAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA19}}</ref>{{Verify source|date=July 2024}}
* '''Late 4th century BC:''' [[Formal system]]s by [[Pāṇini]] in India, possibly during the reign of [[Chandragupta Maurya]].<ref>Vergiani, Vincenzo (2017), "Bhartrhari on Language, Perception, and Consciousness", in Ganeri, Jonardon (ed.), ''The Oxford Handbook of Indian Philosophy'', Oxford University Press</ref>
* '''4th to 3rd century BC:''' [[Zinc mining#History|Zinc production]] in North-Western [[India]] during the [[Maurya Empire]].<ref>Craddock et al. 1983. (The earliest evidence for the production of zinc comes from India. Srinivasan, Sharda and Srinivasa Rangnathan. 2004)</ref> The earliest known zinc mines and smelting sites are from Zawar, near [[Udaipur]], in [[Rajasthan]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tf.uni-kiel.de/matwis/amat/def_en/articles/metallurg_heritage_india/metallurgical_heritage_india.html |title=Mettalurgical heritage of India|author=Srinivasan, Ranganathan|publisher=Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel |access-date=4 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dli.gov.in/rawdataupload/upload/insa/INSA_1/20005afd_33.pdf|title=Smelting furnaces in Ancient India|author=Rina Shrivastva|year=1999|publisher=Indian Journal of History & Science,34(1), Digital Library of India|access-date=4 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425052130/http://www.dli.gov.in/rawdataupload/upload/insa/INSA_1/20005afd_33.pdf|archive-date=25 April 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

====3rd century BC====
[[File:Making Paper 4.PNG|thumb|140px|right|An illustration depicting the papermaking process in Han dynasty China.]]
* '''3rd century BC:''' [[Analog computer]]s in the Hellenistic world (see e.g. the [[Antikythera mechanism]]), possibly in [[Rhodes]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Harry Henderson|title=Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Technology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3Tla6d153uwC&pg=PA13|access-date=28 May 2013|date=1 January 2009|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-1-4381-1003-5|page=13|quote=The earliest known analog computing device is the Antikythera mechanism.}}</ref>
* '''By at least the 3rd century BC:''' [[Archimedes' screw]], one of the earliest [[hydraulic]] machines, was first used in the Nile river for irrigation purposes in [[Ancient Egypt]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Archimedes' Screw |url=http://physics.kenyon.edu/EarlyApparatus/Fluids/Archimedes_Screw/Archimedes_Screw.html |website=Kenyon |access-date=11 July 2018}}</ref>
* '''Early 3rd century BC:''' [[Lock (water transport)|Canal lock]] in [[Canal of the Pharaohs]] under [[Ptolemy II]] (283–246 BC) in [[Hellenistic Egypt]]<ref>Moore, Frank Gardner (1950): "Three Canal Projects, Roman and Byzantine", ''[[American Journal of Archaeology]]'', Vol. 54, No. 2, pp.&nbsp;97–111 (99–101)</ref><ref>Froriep, Siegfried (1986): "Ein Wasserweg in Bithynien. Bemühungen der Römer, Byzantiner und Osmanen", ''Antike Welt'', 2nd Special Edition, pp.&nbsp;39–50 (46)</ref><ref>Schörner, Hadwiga (2000): "Künstliche Schiffahrtskanäle in der Antike. Der sogenannte antike Suez-Kanal", ''Skyllis'', Vol. 3, No. 1, pp.&nbsp;28–43 (33–35, 39)</ref>
* '''3rd century BC:''' [[Cam (mechanism)|Cam]] during the [[Hellenistic period]], used in water-driven [[automata]].<ref>[[Andrew Wilson (classical archaeologist)|Wilson, Andrew]] (2002): "Machines, Power and the Ancient Economy", ''[[The Journal of Roman Studies]]'', Vol. 92, pp.&nbsp;1–32 (16) {{JSTOR|3184857}}</ref>
* '''By the 3rd century BC:''' [[Water wheel]]. The origin is unclear: Indian Pali texts dating to the 4th century BCE refer to the ''cakkavattaka'', which later commentaries describe as ''arahatta-ghati-yanta'' (machine with wheel-pots attached). Helaine Selin suggests that the device existed in Persia before 350 BC.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Selin |first1=Helaine |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 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GzjpCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA282}}</ref> The clearest description of the water wheel and [[Escapement#Liquid-driven escapements|Liquid-driven escapement]] is provided by [[Philo of Byzantium]] (c. 280 – 220 BC) in the Hellenistic kingdoms.<ref>[[John Peter Oleson|Oleson, John Peter]] (2000): "Water-Lifting", in: [[Örjan Wikander|Wikander, Örjan]]: "Handbook of Ancient Water Technology", Technology and Change in History, Vol. 2, Brill, Leiden, {{ISBN|90-04-11123-9}}, pp.&nbsp;217–302 (233)</ref>
* '''3rd century BC:''' [[Gimbal]] described by Philo of Byzantium<ref>{{cite book|first= Ernest Frank |last= Carter |title= Dictionary of Inventions and Discoveries |url= https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofinve00cart |url-access= registration |year= 1967 |page= [https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofinve00cart/page/74 74] | publisher= Philosophical Library}}</ref>
* '''Late 3rd century BC:''' [[Dry dock]] under [[Ptolemy IV]] (221–205 BC) in [[Hellenistic Egypt]]<ref>{{Citation | last = Oleson | first = John Peter | author-link = John Peter Oleson | title = Greek and Roman Mechanical Water-Lifting Devices: The History of a Technology | year = 1984 | publisher = University of Toronto Press | isbn = 90-277-1693-5 | page = 33}}</ref>
* '''3rd century BC – 2nd century BC:''' [[Blast furnace]] in [[History of China#Ancient China|Ancient China]]: The earliest discovered blast furnaces in China date to the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, although most sites are from the later [[Han dynasty]].<ref name="wagner 7 36 37 64 68"/><ref>Pigott (1999), 183–184.</ref>
[[File:Museum für Antike Schiffahrt, Mainz 02. Spritsail.jpg|thumb|The earliest [[fore-and-aft rig]]s, [[spritsails]], appeared in the 2nd century BC in the [[Aegean Sea]] on small Greek craft.<ref name="Casson 1995, 243–245">[[Lionel Casson|Casson, Lionel]] (1995): "Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World", Johns Hopkins University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-8018-5130-8}}, pp.&nbsp;243–245</ref> Here a spritsail used on a [[Roman Empire|Roman]] merchant ship (3rd century AD).]]

====2nd century BC====
{{main list|2nd century BC#Inventions, discoveries, introductions}}
* '''2nd century BC:''' [[Paper]] in [[Han dynasty]] [[China]]{{efn|Although it is recorded that the Han dynasty (202 BC – AD 220) court eunuch [[Cai Lun]] (born c. 50–121 AD) invented the pulp papermaking process and established the use of new raw materials used in making paper, ancient padding and wrapping paper artifacts dating to the 2nd century BC have been found in China, the oldest example of pulp papermaking [[History of cartography#China|being a map]] from [[Fangmatan]], [[Gansu]].<ref>Buisseret (1998), 12.</ref>}}
*'''206 BC:''' [[Compass]] in [[Han dynasty]] [[China]]<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Guarnieri |first1=M |title=Once Upon a Time, the Compass |journal=IEEE Industrial Electronics Magazine |date=2014|doi=10.1109/MIE.2014.2316044 |s2cid=11949042 }}</ref>
* '''Early 2nd century BC:''' [[Astrolabe]] invented by [[Apollonius of Perga]].

====1st century BC====
* '''1st century BC:''' Segmental [[arch bridge]] (e.g. [[Pont-Saint-Martin (bridge)|Pont-Saint-Martin]] or [[Ponte San Lorenzo]]) in [[Italy]], [[Roman Republic]]<ref>O'Connor, Colin: ''Roman Bridges'', Cambridge University Press, 1993, {{ISBN|0-521-39326-4}}, p.&nbsp;171</ref><ref>Galliazzo, Vittorio (1995): "I ponti romani", Vol. 1, Edizioni Canova, Treviso, {{ISBN|88-85066-66-6}}, pp.&nbsp;429–437</ref>
* '''1st century BC:''' News bulletin during the reign of Julius Caesar.<ref name="Chisholm 1911, p. 159">{{EB1911|inline=1 |wstitle=Acta Diurna |volume=1 |page=159}}</ref> A paper form, i.e. the earliest [[newspaper]], later appeared during the late Han dynasty in the form of the [[Dibao]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761564853_4/newspaper.html |title=Newspaper - MSN Encarta |access-date=17 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206041632/http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761564853_4/Newspaper.html |archive-date=6 December 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=if30>Irving Fang, ''A History of Mass Communication: Six Information Revolutions'', Focal Press, 1997, p. 30</ref><ref>Lamont, Ian, [https://www.scribd.com/doc/5021205/The-Rise-of-the-Press-in-Late-Imperial-China "The Rise of the Press in Late Imperial China"], 27 November 2007</ref>
* '''1st century BC:''' [[Arch dam]] ([[Glanum Dam]]) in [[Gallia Narbonensis]], [[Roman Republic]] (see also [[List of Roman dams]])<ref>Smith, Norman (1971): "A History of Dams", Peter Davies, London, {{ISBN|978-0-432-15090-0}}, pp.&nbsp;25–49 (33–35)</ref><ref>Schnitter, Niklaus (1978): "Römische Talsperren", ''Antike Welt'', Vol. 8, No. 2, pp.&nbsp;25–32 (31f.)</ref><ref>Schnitter, Niklaus (1987): "Verzeichnis geschichtlicher Talsperren bis Ende des 17. Jahrhunderts", in: Garbrecht, Günther (ed.): ''Historische Talsperren'', Verlag Konrad Wittwer, Stuttgart, Vol. 1, {{ISBN|3-87919-145-X}}, pp.&nbsp;9–20 (12)</ref><ref>Schnitter, Niklaus (1987): "Die Entwicklungsgeschichte der Bogenstaumauer", Garbrecht, Günther (ed.): ''Historische Talsperren'', Vol. 1, Verlag Konrad Wittwer, Stuttgart, {{ISBN|3-87919-145-X}}, pp.&nbsp;75–96 (80)</ref><ref>Hodge, A. Trevor (2000): "Reservoirs and Dams", in: [[Örjan Wikander|Wikander, Örjan]]: ''Handbook of Ancient Water Technology'', Technology and Change in History, Vol. 2, Brill, Leiden, {{ISBN|90-04-11123-9}}, pp.&nbsp;331–339 (332, fn. 2)</ref>
* '''Before 40 BC:''' [[Trip hammer]] in [[China]]<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 184" >Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 184.</ref>
* '''38 BC:''' An empty shell Glyph for [[0#Pre-Columbian Americas|zero]], is found on a [[Maya numerals]] Stela, from Chiapa de Corzo, [[Chiapas]]. Independently invented by [[Ptolemy|Claudius Ptolemy]], in the second century CE Egypt, and appearing in the calculations of the [[Almagest]].
* '''37 BC – 14 BC:''' [[Glass blowing]] developed in Jerusalem.<ref name="Avigad">Avigad, N (1983). ''Discovering Jerusalem''. Nashville. {{ISBN|0-8407-5299-7}}</ref><ref name="Tattona">Tatton-Brown, V. (1991). "The Roman Empire". In H. Tait (ed.) ''Five Thousand Years of Glass''. pp. 62–97. British Museum Press: London {{ISBN|0-8122-1888-4}}</ref><ref name="Stern">{{cite book|author1=Birgit Schlick-Nolte|author2=E. Marianne|title=Early glass of the ancient world: 1600 B.C.-A.D. 50 : Ernesto Wolf collection|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dJUsAQAAIAAJ&q=clay+blowpipe|year=1994|publisher=[[Gerd Hatje|Verlag Gerd Hatje]]|isbn=978-3-7757-0502-8|pages=81–83}}</ref>
* '''Before 25 BC:''' [[Reverse overshot water wheel]] by [[Roman engineering|Roman engineers]] in [[Rio Tinto (river)|Rio Tinto]], Spain<ref>Davies, Oliver: ''Roman Mines in Europe'', Oxford (1935)</ref>
* '''25 BC:''' [[Noodle]] in [[Lajia]] in [[China]]<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lu |first1=Houyuan |last2=Yang |first2=Xiaoyan |last3=Ye |first3=Maolin |title=Culinary archaeology: Millet noodles in Late Neolithic China |journal=Nature |date=13 October 2005 |volume=437 |issue=7061 |pages=967–968 |doi=10.1038/437967a |pmid=16222289|bibcode=2005Natur.437..967L |s2cid=4385122 }}</ref>

====1st century AD====
* '''1st century AD:''' The [[aeolipile]], a simple [[steam turbine]] is recorded by Hero of Alexandria.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-45691|title=turbine |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |date=2007 |access-date=18 July 2007}}</ref>
* '''1st century AD:''' The first use of [[respiratory protective equipment]] is documented by [[Pliny the Elder]] ({{circa|23 AD}}–79) using animal bladder skins to protect workers in Roman mines from red lead oxide dust.<ref>{{cite wikisource | title=Naturalis_Historia/Liber_XXXIII#XL|wslanguage=la}}</ref>
* '''1st century AD:''' Oldest surviving [[wine]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Cosano |first1=Daniel |last2=Manuel Román |first2=Juan |last3=Esquivel |first3=Dolores |last4=Lafont |first4=Fernando |last5=Ruiz Arrebola |first5=José Rafael |date=2024-09-01 |title=New archaeochemical insights into Roman wine from Baetica |journal=Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports |volume=57 |pages=104636 |doi=10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104636 |bibcode=2024JArSR..57j4636C |issn=2352-409X|doi-access=free }}</ref>
* '''1st century AD:''' [[Vending machine]]s invented by [[Hero of Alexandria]].
* '''By the 1st century AD:''' The [[double-entry bookkeeping|double-entry bookkeeping system]] in the Roman Empire.<ref>{{cite book|author=J. R. Edwards|title=A History of Financial Accounting (RLE Accounting)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pd1JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA46|date=4 December 2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-67881-5|page=46}}</ref>

====2nd century====
{{See also|2nd century#Inventions, discoveries, introductions}}
* '''132:''' [[Seismometer]] and [[pendulum]] in [[Han dynasty]] [[China]], built by [[Zhang Heng]]. It is a large metal urn-shaped instrument which employed either a suspended pendulum or [[inverted pendulum]] acting on inertia, like the ground tremors from [[earthquake]]s, to dislodge a metal ball by a lever trip device.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Sleeswyk AW, Sivin N | title=Dragons and toads: the Chinese seismoscope of BC. 132 | year=1983 | journal=[[Chinese Science]] | volume=6 | pages=1–19}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Needham | first = Joseph | title = Science and Civilization in China, Volume 3: Mathematics and the Sciences of the Heavens and the Earth | place = Cambridge | publisher = Cambridge University Press | year = 1959 | pages = 626–635| bibcode = 1959scc3.book.....N}}</ref>
* '''2nd century:''' [[Carding]] in India.<ref name=Baber1>Baber (1996), page 57</ref>

====3rd century====
[[File:Römische Sägemühle.svg|thumb|Schematic of the Roman [[Hierapolis sawmill]]. Dated to the 3rd&nbsp;century&nbsp;AD, it is the earliest known machine to incorporate a [[Crank (mechanism)|crank]] and [[connecting rod]] mechanism.<ref name="Ritti, Grewe, Kessener 2007, 140, 161">Ritti, Tullia; Grewe, Klaus; Kessener, Paul (2007): "A Relief of a Water-powered Stone Saw Mill on a Sarcophagus at Hierapolis and its Implications", ''[[Journal of Roman Archaeology]]'', Vol. 20, pp.&nbsp;138–163 (140, 161)</ref><ref name="Grewe 2009, 429">Grewe, Klaus (2009): [http://www.freundeskreis-roemerkanal.de/Text/BAUTECHNIK%20IM%20ANTIKEN%20UND.pdf "Die Reliefdarstellung einer antiken Steinsägemaschine aus Hierapolis in Phrygien und ihre Bedeutung für die Technikgeschichte. Internationale Konferenz 13.−16. Juni 2007 in Istanbul"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511200049/http://www.freundeskreis-roemerkanal.de/Text/BAUTECHNIK%20IM%20ANTIKEN%20UND.pdf |date=11 May 2011}}, in: Bachmann, Martin (ed.): ''Bautechnik im antiken und vorantiken Kleinasien'', Byzas, Vol. 9, Ege Yayınları/Zero Prod. Ltd., Istanbul, {{ISBN|978-975-8072-23-1}}, pp.&nbsp;429–454 (429)</ref><ref name="Grewe 2010">Grewe, Klaus (2010): [http://www.traianvs.net/pdfs/2010_15_grewe.pdf "La máquina romana de serrar piedras. La representación en bajorrelieve de una sierra de piedras de la antigüedad, en Hierápolis de Frigia y su relevancia para la historia técnica (translation by Miguel Ordóñez)"], in: ''Las técnicas y las construcciones de la Ingeniería Romana'', V Congreso de las Obras Públicas Romanas, pp.&nbsp;381–401</ref>]]
* '''By at least the 3rd century:''' Crystallized sugar in India.<ref>Shaffer, Lynda N., "Southernization", ''Agricultural and Pastoral Societies in Ancient and Classical History'' edited by Michael Adas, pp.&nbsp;311, Temple University Press, {{ISBN|1-56639-832-0}}.</ref>
* '''Early 3rd century:''' [[Woodblock printing]] is invented in [[Han dynasty]] [[China]] at sometime before 220 AD. This made China become the world's first [[print culture]].<ref>{{cite book |title=The Rise of Modern China |last=Hsü |first=Immanuel C. Y. |year= 1970 |publisher= Oxford University Press |location=New York |isbn=0-19-501240-2 |page= 830}}</ref>
* '''Late 3rd century – Early 4th century:''' [[Water turbine]] in the [[Roman Empire]] in modern-day [[Tunisia]].<ref>[[Andrew Wilson (classical archaeologist)|Wilson, Andrew]] (1995): "Water-Power in North Africa and the Development of the Horizontal Water-Wheel", ''Journal of Roman Archaeology'', Vol. 8, pp.&nbsp;499–510 (507f.)</ref><ref>[[Örjan Wikander|Wikander, Örjan]] (2000): "The Water-Mill" in: Wikander, Örjan (ed.): ''Handbook of Ancient Water Technology'', Technology and Change in History, Vol. 2, Brill, Leiden, {{ISBN|90-04-11123-9}}, pp.&nbsp;371–400 (377)</ref><ref>Donners, K.; Waelkens, M.; Deckers, J. (2002): "Water Mills in the Area of Sagalassos: A Disappearing Ancient Technology", ''Anatolian Studies'', Vol. 52, pp.&nbsp;1–17 (13)</ref>

====4th century====
{{see also|4th century#Inventions, discoveries, introductions}}
* '''280 – 550:''' [[Chaturanga]], a precursor of [[Chess]] was invented in India during the [[Gupta Empire]].<ref>{{cite book | author=Leibs, Andrew | year=2004 | title=Sports and Games of the Renaissance | publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group | isbn=978-0-313-32772-8 | location=Westport, CT}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Estes, Rebecca |author2=Robinson, Dindy |year=1996 |title=World Cultures Through Art Activities |publisher=Teachers Ideas Press |location=Englewood, CO |isbn=978-1-56308-271-9}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=5 March 2014 |title=Hindi and the origins of chess |url=http://en.chessbase.com/post/hindi-and-the-origins-of-chess |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140308000809/http://en.chessbase.com/post/hindi-and-the-origins-of-chess |archive-date=8 March 2014 |work=chessbase.com}}</ref>
* '''4th century:''' Roman [[Dichroic glass]], which displays one of two different colors depending on lighting conditions.
* '''4th century:''' [[Simple suspension bridge#History|Simple suspension bridge]], independently invented in Pre-Columbian South America,  and the [[Hindu Kush]] range, of present-day [[Afghanistan]] and [[Pakistan]]. With Han dynasty travelers noting bridges being constructed from 3 or more vines or 3 ropes.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 4 part 3 187−189">Needham, Joseph. (1986d). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology, Part 3, Civil Engineering and Nautics. Taipei: Caves Books Ltd. {{ISBN|0-521-07060-0}}, 187–189.</ref> Later bridges constructed utilizing cables of iron chains appeared in Tibet.<ref name="Peters">{{cite book
|author=Peters, Tom F.
|title=Transitions in Engineering: Guillaume Henri Dufour and the Early 19th Century Cable Suspension Bridges
|publisher=Birkhauser
|year=1987
|isbn=3-7643-1929-1
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=73JPiTuDYscC
}}</ref><ref>"suspension bridge" in Encyclopædia Britannica (2008). 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.</ref>
* '''4th century:''' [[Fishing reel]] in [[History of China#Ancient China|Ancient China]]: In literary records, the earliest evidence of the fishing reel comes from a 4th-century AD<ref>Hucker (1975), 206.</ref> work entitled ''Lives of Famous Immortals''.<ref>Ronan (1994), 41.</ref>
* '''347:''' [[Oil Well]]s and [[Borehole]] drilling in [[China]]. Such wells could reach depths of up to 240&nbsp;m (790&nbsp;ft).<ref name=ASTM>{{cite web|url=http://www.astm.org/COMMIT/D02/to1899_index.html|title=ASTM International – Standards Worldwide|website=www.astm.org|access-date=26 March 2018|archive-date=6 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706232229/https://www.astm.org/COMMIT/D02/to1899_index.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* 4th century – 5th century: [[Paddle wheel boat]] (in ''[[De rebus bellicis]]'') in [[Roman Empire]]<ref>De Rebus Bellicis (anon.), chapter XVII, text edited by Robert Ireland, in: BAR International Series 63, part 2, p. 34</ref>

====5th century====
{{see also|5th century#Inventions, discoveries, introductions}}
* '''400:''' The construction of the [[Iron pillar of Delhi]] in [[Mathura]] by the [[Gupta Empire]] shows the development of rust-resistant ferrous metallurgy in Ancient India,<ref>[http://home.iitk.ac.in/%7Ebala/journalpaper/journal/journalpaper_17.pdf ''On the Corrosion Resistance of the Delhi Iron Pillar''], R. Balasubramaniam, ''Corrosion Science'', Volume 42 (2000) pp. 2103–2129. ''Corrosion Science'' is a publication specialized in corrosion science and engineering.</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Yoshio Waseda |author2=Shigeru Suzuki | title = Characterization of corrosion products on steel surfaces |page=vii
|publisher=Springer | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=E_clmVK12YsC&q=iron+pillar+not+corrosive&pg=PR7 |isbn = 978-3-540-35177-1 |year = 2006}}</ref> although original texts do not survive to detail the specific processes invented in this period.
* '''5th century:''' The [[horse collar]] as a fully developed collar harness is developed in [[Northern and Southern dynasties]] [[China]] during the 5th century AD.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 28">Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 28.</ref> The earliest depiction of it is a [[Dunhuang]] cave [[mural]] from the Chinese [[Northern Wei]] dynasty, the [[painting]] dated to 477–499.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 322">Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 322.</ref>
* '''5th century – 6th century:''' [[Pointed arch bridge]] ([[Karamagara Bridge]]) in [[Cappadocia]], [[Eastern Roman Empire]]<ref>Galliazzo, Vittorio (1995): "I ponti romani", Vol. 1, Edizioni Canova, Treviso, {{ISBN|88-85066-66-6}}, p.&nbsp;92</ref><ref>Warren, John (1991): "Creswell's Use of the Theory of Dating by the Acuteness of the Pointed Arches in Early Muslim Architecture", ''[[Muqarnas (journal)|Muqarnas]]'', Vol. 8, pp.&nbsp;59–65 (61–63)</ref>
[[File:Nepali charka in action.jpg|thumb|A [[w:Demographics of Nepal|Nepali]] [[w:Spinning wheel|Charkha]] in action]]

====6th century====
* '''By the 6th century:''' [[Incense clock]] in China.<ref name=Schafer161>Schafer (1963), pages 160-161</ref><ref name=Bedini69>Bedini (1994), pages 69-80</ref>
* '''After 500:''' [[Charkha (spinning wheel)|Charkha]] (spinning wheel/cotton gin) invented in India (probably during the [[Vakataka dynasty]] of [[Maharashtra, India]]), between 500 and 1000 A.D.<ref>{{cite book | last1 = Smith | first1 = C. Wayne | last2 = Cothren | first2 = J. Tom | title = Cotton: Origin, History, Technology, and Production | publisher = John Wiley & Sons | volume = 4 | date = 1999 | pages = viii | url = http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0471180459.html | isbn = 978-0471180456
 | quote = The first improvement in spinning technology was the spinning wheel, which was invented in India between 500 and 1000 A.D.}}</ref>
* '''563:''' [[Pendentive]] [[dome]] ([[Hagia Sophia]]) in [[Constantinople]], [[Eastern Roman Empire]]<ref>Heinle, Erwin; Schlaich, Jörg (1996): "Kuppeln aller Zeiten, aller Kulturen", Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart, {{ISBN|3-421-03062-6}}, pp.&nbsp;30–32</ref>
* '''577:''' [[Match#Early matches|Sulfur matches]] exist in [[China]].
* '''589:''' [[Toilet paper]] in [[Sui dynasty]] [[China]], first mentioned by the official [[Yan Zhitui]] (531–591), with full evidence of continual use in subsequent dynasties.<ref name="needham volume 5 part 1 123">Needham, Volume 5, Part 1, 123.</ref><ref>Hunter (1978), 207.</ref>

====7th century====
{{see also|7th century#Inventions, discoveries, introductions}}
* '''619:''' [[Toothbrush]] in [[China]] during the [[Tang dynasty]]<ref name=kumar-412413>{{cite book |last=Kumar |first=Jayanth V. |title=Textbook of preventive and community dentistry |year=2011 |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=978-81-312-2530-1 |pages=412–413 |edition=2nd |chapter=Oral hygiene aids}}</ref>
* '''672:''' [[Greek fire]] in [[Constantinople]], [[Byzantine Empire]]: Greek fire, an [[incendiary device|incendiary weapon]] likely based on [[petroleum]] or [[naphtha]], is invented by Kallinikos, a Lebanese Greek refugee from [[Baalbek]], as described by [[Theophanes the Confessor|Theophanes]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Pryor|Jeffreys|2006|pp=607–609}}</ref> However, the historicity and exact chronology of this account is dubious,<ref>{{Harvnb|Theophanes|Turtledove|1982|p=52}}</ref> and it could be that Kallinikos merely introduced an improved version of an established weapon.<ref>{{Harvnb|Roland|1992|p=657}}; {{Harvnb|Pryor|Jeffreys|2006|p=608}}</ref>
* '''7th century:''' [[Banknote]] in [[Tang dynasty]] [[China]]: The banknote is [[Economy of the Song dynasty#The world's first paper money|first developed in China]] during the [[Tang dynasty|Tang]] and [[Song dynasty|Song]] dynasties, starting in the 7th century. Its roots are in merchant [[receipt]]s of deposit during the Tang dynasty (618–907), as [[Four occupations#The shang (商)|merchants]] and [[wholesaler]]s desire to avoid the heavy bulk of [[Ancient Chinese coinage|copper coinage]] in large commercial transactions.<ref name="Ebrey, Walthall, and Palais">Ebrey, Walthall, and Palais (2006), 156.</ref><ref name="Bowman">Bowman (2000), 105.</ref><ref name="gernet 1962 80">Gernet (1962), 80.</ref>
* '''7th century:''' [[Porcelain]] in [[Tang dynasty]] [[China]]: True porcelain is manufactured in northern China from roughly the beginning of the Tang dynasty in the 7th century, while true porcelain was not manufactured in southern China until about 300 years later, during the early 10th century.<ref>Wood (1999), 49.</ref>

====8th century====
{{see also|8th century#Inventions, discoveries, introductions}}

====9th century====
{{see also|9th century#Inventions, discoveries, introductions}}
[[File:Mōko Shūrai Ekotoba.jpg|thumb|A Mongol bomb thrown against a charging [[Japan]]ese [[samurai]] during the [[Mongol invasions of Japan]] after founding the [[Yuan dynasty]], 1281.]]
* '''9th century:''' [[Gunpowder]] in [[Tang dynasty]] [[China]]: Gunpowder is, according to prevailing academic consensus, discovered in the 9th century by [[Chinese alchemy|Chinese alchemists]] searching for an [[elixir of life|elixir of immortality]].<ref name="Jack Kelly 2005">Jack Kelly ''Gunpowder: Alchemy, Bombards, and Pyrotechnics: The History of the Explosive that Changed the World'', Perseus Books Group: 2005, {{ISBN|0465037224}}, 9780465037223: pp. 2-5</ref> Evidence of gunpowder's first use in China comes from the [[Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period]] (618–907).<ref>Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 8–9, 80–82.</ref> The earliest known recorded recipes for gunpowder are written by Zeng Gongliang, Ding Du, and Yang Weide in the ''[[Wujing Zongyao]]'', a military manuscript compiled in 1044 during the [[Song dynasty]] (960–1279).<ref>Needham (1987), Volume 5, Part 7, 70–73, 120–124.</ref><ref name="gernet 1996 311">Gernet (1996), 311.</ref><ref>Day & McNeil (1996), 785.</ref>
* '''9th century:''' [[Playing card]] in [[Tang dynasty]] [[China]]<ref>{{Harvnb|Needham|1954|pp=[https://archive.org/stream/ScienceAndCivilisationInChina/Science_and_Civilisation_in_China_Vol_1_Introductory_Orientations#page/n177/mode/2up 131–132]}}.</ref><ref name="wilkinson">{{cite journal|last=Wilkinson | first=W.H. | title=Chinese Origin of Playing Cards | journal=[[American Anthropologist]] | volume=VIII | issue=1 | year=1895 | pages=61–78 | doi=10.1525/aa.1895.8.1.02a00070 | url=https://zenodo.org/record/1448960 | doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="lo 2000 390">{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1017/S0041977X00008466| title = The game of leaves: An inquiry into the origin of Chinese playing cards| journal = Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies| volume = 63| issue = 3| pages = 389–406| year = 2009| last1 = Lo | first1 = A. | s2cid = 159872810}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Needham|2004|p=[https://archive.org/stream/ScienceAndCivilisationInChina/Science_and_Civilisation_in_China_Vol_4-1_Physics_and_Physical_Technology_Physics#page/n379/mode/2up/search/dominoes 328]}} "it is also now rather well-established that dominoes and playing-cards were originally Chinese developments from dice."</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Needham|2004|p=[https://archive.org/stream/ScienceAndCivilisationInChina/Science_and_Civilisation_in_China_Vol_4-1_Physics_and_Physical_Technology_Physics#page/n383/mode/2up 332]}} "Numbered dice, anciently widespread, were on a related line of development which gave rise to dominoes and playing-cards (+9th-century China)."</ref>

====10th century====
{{see also|10th century#Inventions, discoveries, introductions}}
* '''10th century:''' [[Fire lance]] in [[Song dynasty]] [[China]], developed in the 10th century with a tube of first bamboo and later on metal that shot a weak [[gunpowder]] blast of flame and shrapnel, its earliest depiction is a painting found at [[Dunhuang]].<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 224–225, 232–233, 241–244.</ref> Fire lance is the earliest [[firearm]] in the world and one of the earliest gunpowder weapons.<ref name=Helaine>{{cite book|author=Helaine Selin|title=Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=raKRY3KQspsC&pg=PA389|access-date=30 July 2013|date=1 January 1997|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-0-7923-4066-9|page=389}}</ref><ref>{{Citation | last = Crosby | first = Alfred W. | title = Throwing Fire: Projectile Technology Through History | year = 2002 | publisher = Cambridge University Press | isbn =0-521-79158-8}}</ref>
* '''10th century:''' [[Fireworks]] in [[Song dynasty]] [[China]]: Fireworks first appear in China during the Song dynasty (960–1279), in the early age of [[gunpowder]]. Fireworks could be purchased from market vendors; these were made of sticks of [[bamboo]] packed with gunpowder.<ref>Gernet (1962), 186.</ref>
* '''974:''' [[Fountain pen]]: invented at the request of [[al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah]] in [[Egypt in the Middle Ages|Arab Egypt]].<ref>{{Cite journal|journal=[[Journal of Semitic Studies]]|volume=26|issue=1|year=1981|pages=229–234|title=A Mediaeval Islamic Prototype of the Fountain Pen?|first=C. E.|last=Bosworth|quote= ...not more than a few days passed before the craftsman, to whom the construction of this contrivance had been described, brought in the pen, fashioned from gold. He then filled it with ink and wrote with it, and it really did write. The pen released a little more ink than was necessary. Hence al-Mu'izz ordered that it should be adjusted slightly, and he did this. He brought forward the pen and behold, it turned out to be a pen which can be turned upside down in the hand and tipped from side to side, and no trace of ink appears from it. When a secretary takes up the pen and writes with it, he is able to write in the most elegant script that could possibly be desired; then, when he lifts the pen off the sheet of writing material, it holds in the ink. I observed that it was a wonderful piece of work, the like of which I had never imagined I would ever see.|doi=10.1093/jss/26.2.229}}</ref>

====11th century====
{{main list|11th century#Inventions, discoveries, introductions}}
* '''11th century:''' Early versions of the [[Bessemer process]] are developed in China.
* '''11th century:''' [[Su Song#The endless chain drive|Endless power-transmitting chain drive]] by [[Su Song]] for the development an astronomical clock (the [[Su Song#Horology and mechanical engineering|Cosmic Engine]])<ref name="needham volume 4 111">Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 111.</ref>
* '''11th century:''' [[Calico]] was developed in [[Kozhikode|Calicut]], India.<ref name="eb-calico2">''Encyclopædia Britannica'' (2008). [https://www.britannica.com/topic/calico-textile "calico"].</ref>
* '''1088:''' [[Movable type]] in [[Song dynasty]] [[China]]: The first record of a movable type system is in the ''[[Dream Pool Essays]]'', which attributes the invention of the movable type to [[Bi Sheng]].<ref>Needham, Volume 5, Part 1, 201–202.</ref><ref name="gernet 1996 335">Gernet (1996), 335.</ref><ref name="bowman 2000 599">Bowman (2000), 599.</ref><ref name="day mcneil 70">Day & McNeil (1996), 70.</ref>

====12th century====

====13th century====
{{see also|13th century#Inventions, discoveries, introductions}}
* '''13th century:''' [[Rocket]] for military and recreational uses date back to at least 13th-century China.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.solarviews.com/eng/rocket.htm|title=A Brief History of Rocketry |publisher=Solarviews.com |access-date=14 June 2012}}</ref>
* '''13th century:''' The earliest form of [[mechanical escapement]], the [[verge escapement]] in [[Europe]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/timeinhistoryevo00whit|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/timeinhistoryevo00whit/page/104 104]|title=Time in History: Views of Time from Prehistory to the Present Day|first=G. J.|last=Whitrow|date=26 March 1989|publisher=Oxford University Press|access-date=26 March 2018|via=Internet Archive|isbn=9780192852113}}</ref>
* '''13th century:''' [[Button]]s (combined with buttonholes) as a functional fastening for closing clothes appear first in [[Germany]].<ref>Lynn White: "The Act of Invention: Causes, Contexts, Continuities and Consequences", ''Technology and Culture'', Vol. 3, No. 4 (Autumn, 1962), pp. 486–500 (497f. & 500)</ref>
* '''13th century:''' [[Bomb|Explosive bomb]] in [[Jin dynasty (1115–1234)|Jin dynasty]] Manchuria: Explosive bombs are used in 1221 by the [[Jin dynasty (1115–1234)|Jin dynasty]] against a [[Song dynasty]] city.<ref name="Connolly">{{cite book |author=Peter Connolly |url=https://archive.org/details/hutchinsondictio0000benn/page/356 |title=The Hutchinson Dictionary of Ancient and Medieval Warfare |date=1 November 1998 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-57958-116-9 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/hutchinsondictio0000benn/page/356 356]}}</ref> The first accounts of bombs made of cast iron shells packed with explosive gunpowder are documented in the 13th century in China and are called "thunder-crash bombs",<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 170–174.</ref> coined during a [[Jin dynasty (1115–1234)|Jin dynasty]] naval battle in 1231.<ref name="needham volume 5 part 7 171">Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 171.</ref>
* '''13th century:''' [[Hand cannon]] in [[Yuan dynasty]] China: The earliest hand cannon dates to the 13th century based on archaeological evidence from a [[Heilongjiang]] excavation. There is also written evidence in the ''Yuanshi'' (1370) on Li Tang, an [[Jurchens|ethnic Jurchen]] commander under the Yuan dynasty who in 1288 suppresses the rebellion of the Christian prince Nayan with his "gun-soldiers" or ''chongzu'', this being the earliest known event where this phrase is used.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 293–294.</ref>
* '''13th century:''' Earliest documented [[snow goggles]], a type of sunglasses, made of flattened walrus or caribou ivory are used by the Inuit peoples in the arctic regions of North America.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://collections.civilisations.ca/public/pages/cmccpublic/alt-emupublic/Display.php?irn=855927|title=Prehistoric Inuit Snow-Goggles, circa 1200|access-date=2009-01-25|publisher=[[Canadian Museum of Civilization]] | date=1997-10-03|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706173656/http://collections.civilisations.ca/public/pages/cmccpublic/alt-emupublic/Display.php?irn=855927|archive-date=2011-07-06}}<br />{{cite book|title=Origin of Everyday Things|last1=Acton|first1=Johnny|last2=Adams|first2=Tania|last3=Packer|first3=Matt|editor-first=Jo|editor-last=Swinnerton|year=2006|publisher=[[Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.]]|isbn=1-4027-4302-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/originofeveryday0000acto/page/254 254]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/originofeveryday0000acto/page/254}}</ref><ref>Inuit hero Nanook from the silent documentary film ''[[Nanook of the North]]'' (1922) wearing whale bone [https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/51/b0/57/51b057742fc5e30e5695bc9fe3a2afe3.jpg snow-goggles] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304083959/https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/51/b0/57/51b057742fc5e30e5695bc9fe3a2afe3.jpg |date=March 4, 2016 }} Retrieved December 5, 2014</ref> In China, the first sunglasses consisting of flat panes of [[smoky quartz]] are documented.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/sunglasses.htm|title=Sunglasses History – The Invention of Sunglasses|access-date=2007-06-28|last=Ament|first=Phil|date=2006-12-04|work=The Great Idea Finder|publisher=Vaunt Design Group|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070703224202/http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/sunglasses.htm|archive-date=2007-07-03}}</ref><ref name="Vision">{{cite web | last=Vision | first=Website | title=Torquay Museum | website=Torquay Museum | url=http://www.torquaymuseum.org/explore/collections-spotlight/explorers/chinese-sunglasses | access-date=2021-08-07}}</ref>
* '''13th century - 14th century:''' [[Cotton gin|Worm gear cotton gin]] in India.<ref>{{cite book |last=Habib |first=Irfan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K8kO4J3mXUAC&pg=PA54 |title=Economic History of Medieval India, 1200-1500 |publisher=[[Pearson Education]] |year=2011 |isbn=978-81-317-2791-1 |page=54 |author-link=Irfan Habib}}</ref>
* '''1277:''' [[Land mine]] in [[Song dynasty]] [[China]]: Textual evidence suggests that the first use of a land mine in history is by a Song dynasty brigadier general known as Lou Qianxia, who uses an 'enormous bomb' (''huo pao'') to kill [[History of the Song dynasty#Yuan invasion and end of the Song dynasty|Mongol soldiers]] invading [[Guangxi]] in 1277.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 175–176, 192.</ref>
* '''1286:''' [[Eyeglasses]] in [[Italy]]<ref>Vincent Ilardi, ''Renaissance Vision from Spectacles to Telescopes'' (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: American Philosophical Society, 2007), [https://books.google.com/books?id=peIL7hVQUmwC&pg=PA5 page 5].</ref>

====14th century====
* '''Early 14th century – Mid 14th century:''' [[Multistage rocket]] in [[Ming dynasty]] [[China]] described in ''[[Huolongjing]]'' by [[Jiao Yu]].
* '''By at least 1326:''' [[Cannon]] in [[Ming dynasty]] [[China]]<ref>{{cite journal|first=Lu|last=Gwei-Djen|author2=Joseph Needham |author3=Phan Chi-Hsing |date=July 1988|journal=Technology and Culture|volume=29|issue=3|pages=594–605|publisher=[[Johns Hopkins University Press]]|title=The Oldest Representation of a Bombard|doi=10.2307/3105275|jstor=3105275|s2cid=112733319 }}</ref>
* '''14th century:''' Painting [[Canvas]] was first used in [[Italy]].<ref>Gordon, xiii</ref>
* '''14th century:''' [[Jacob's staff]] described by [[Levi ben Gerson]]
* '''14th century:''' [[Naval mine]] in [[Ming dynasty]] [[China]]: Mentioned in the ''[[Huolongjing]]'' military manuscript written by [[Jiao Yu]] (fl. 14th to early 15th century) and [[Liu Bowen]] (1311–1375), describing naval mines used at sea or on rivers and lakes, made of [[wrought iron]] and enclosed in an ox bladder. A later model is documented in [[Song Yingxing]]'s encyclopedia written in 1637.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 203–205.</ref>
* '''14th century:''' [[Bidriware]] in the [[Bahmani Sultanate]] in [[India]].<ref name="TOI">{{cite news |date=2 January 2012 |title=Proving their mettle in metal craft |work=The Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Proving-their-mettle-in-metal-craft/articleshow/11332582.cms |url-status=live |access-date=2 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130508043800/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-01-02/hyderabad/30580986_1_bidriware-hyderabad-bidar |archive-date=8 May 2013}}</ref>
[[File:Handtiegelpresse von 1811.jpg|thumb|upright|The 15th-century invention of the [[printing press]] with [[movable type]] by the German [[Johannes Gutenberg]].<ref>See [http://rhsweb.org/library/1000PeopleMillennium.htm People of the Millennium] for an overview of the wide acclaim. In 1999, the [[A&E Network]] ranked [http://www.wmich.edu/mus-gened/mus170/biography100 Gutenberg no. 1 on their "People of the Millennium" countdown]. In 1997, [[Time–Life]] magazine picked [http://www.mainz.de/gutenberg/g2000.htm Gutenberg's invention as the most important of the second millennium] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100310192514/http://www.mainz.de/gutenberg/g2000.htm |date=10 March 2010}}; the same did four prominent US journalists in their 1998 resume [http://rhsweb.org/library/1000PeopleMillennium.htm 1,000 Years, 1,000 People: Ranking The Men and Women Who Shaped The Millennium]. The [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07090a.htm Johann Gutenberg] entry of the [[Catholic Encyclopedia]] describes his invention as having made a practically unparalleled cultural impact in the [[Christian era]].</ref> ]]

====15th century====
{{see also|15th century#Inventions, discoveries, introductions}}
* '''Early 15th century:''' [[Coil spring]] in [[Europe]]<ref name="White1966" >{{Cite book
| last=White
| first=Lynn Jr.
| title=Medieval Technology and Social Change
| publisher=Oxford Univ. Press
| year=1966
| location=New York
| isbn=0-19-500266-0
| url=https://archive.org/details/medievaltechnolo00whit
}}, p.126-127</ref>
* '''15th century:''' [[Mainspring]] in Europe<ref name="White1966"/>
* '''15th century:''' [[Rifle]] in Europe
* '''1420s:''' [[Brace (tool)|Brace]] in [[County of Flanders|Flanders]], [[Holy Roman Empire]]<ref name="White 1968, 462f.">[[Lynn Townsend White, Jr.|White, Lynn]] (1962): "Medieval Technology and Social Change", At the Clarendon Press, Oxford, p.&nbsp;112</ref>
* '''1439:''' [[Printing press]] in [[Mainz, Germany]]: The printing press is invented in the [[Holy Roman Empire]] by [[Johannes Gutenberg]] before 1440, based on existing [[screw press]]es. The first confirmed record of a press appeared in a 1439 [[lawsuit]] against Gutenberg.<ref name="meggs58-69">Meggs, Philip B. A History of Graphic Design. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 1998. (pp 58–69) {{ISBN|0-471-29198-6}}</ref>
* '''Mid 15th century:''' The [[Arquebus]] (also spelled Harquebus) is invented, possibly in Spain.<ref>{{cite book|title=Penny Cyclopaedia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sttPAAAAMAAJ&pg=373|access-date=5 January 2016|volume=1|year=1833|publisher=C. Knight|pages=373–374}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.britannica.com/technology/harquebus |title=harquebus weapon |website=Britannica.com |access-date=5 January 2016}}</ref>
* '''1480s:''' [[Mariner's astrolabe]] in [[Portuguese discoveries|Portuguese circumnavigation of Africa]]<ref>Stimson, Alan (1985): "The Mariner's Astrolabe. A Survey of 48 Surviving Examples", UC Biblioteca Geral, Coimbra, p.&nbsp;576</ref>