Technology of different information ages

The term technology is the practical application of knowledge, using the resources of matter, energy and natural phenomena to solve human problems thereby making life easier.

It simply refers to things people device to accomplish particular ends or achieve results. Technology is a productive effort geared to change various aspects of human life to achieve a better world. Technology therefore has economic, social, ethical and aesthetic dimensions, depending on the use it is put and the prevailing circumstances at the time it is used.

By information ages, we are talking of the various phases of human development or what is known as the stages or processes of human civilisation. The phases range from the prehistory; 3500BC to the computer age which is the modern technological era. Early man practised technology from birth without knowing it as technology. Prehistory refers to the time before writing was developed, a period when no written records existed. The story of prehistory humans depends on archaeological findings and more recently biological evidence. Archaeologist and anthropologists use such information to create theories about our early past.

Archeology is the study of past societies through the analysis of what they left behind. Archeologists dig up and examine artifacts Which are objects made by man. Such artifacts may be tools, weapons, arts and even buildings made by early humans.

Anthropology is the story of human life and culture. Culture includes what people wear, food, their values and social organisation. Anthropologists use artefacts and fossils which are rock-like remains of biological organisms such as human skeletons. Therefore civilisation and technology date back to man’s effort to survive his hostile environment, through the mastery of his environment, fashioning tools for hunting, fishing and gathering food supplies, Discovery of fire and agriculture, development of writing, invention of machines and the electronic age.

What are the information ages? They are:

1. The stone age: the stone age is the first of the three age system of archaeology, Which device the prehistory of human technology into three periods namely stone age, bronze age, and the iron age. The stone age is a broad prehistoric age, last thing about 3.4 million years and ended between 6000 BCE and 2000 BCE with the advent of metal working. During the stone age man and his predecessor species in the genus homo, used stone exclusively to manufacture implements with a sharp edge, a point of percussion surface. During this period bone was also used to produce very few bone tools whereas millions of stone tools were produced. Bone is much softer than the rather, hard stone and metals used by early man. Metal working was beyond human capacity during the stone age. Products and tools of stone age include; Oldowan toolkits. The oldest stone tools are known as the Oldowan toolkits and they consist of the following; Hammerstones which shows battering on their surfaces, Stone cores which shows a series of flake scars along one or more edges, sharp stone flakes which were struck from the cores and offer useful cutting edges, along with lots of debris from the process of percussion flaking
2. Bronze Age: the bronze age primarily took place between 3,500 BC and 1,200 BC and is traditionally divided into the early bronze age (3500-2000 BC), middle bronze age (2000-1600 BC) and late bronze age (1600-1200 BC). The bronze Age is a period characterised by the use of copper and its alloy bronze (tin and copper) as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. It stands between the stone age and iron age. The time bronze age implies the inability to melt iron ore. During the bronze Age pictures and symbols we are used to represent words and special writing styles where developed.
3. Iron Age: the iron age has an archaeological term is the condition of civilisation and culture of a people using mainly iron for their cutting tools and weapons. The iron age is the period occurring after the bronze age. The term iron age suggests the ability to manufacture artefacts in either stone, bronze or iron. The early period of the age is characterised by the widespread use of iron or steel. Iron was used to produce spares, arrows and shields for war, sickles, machetes, hoes, diggers for farming. The iron age was a period when there were changes in agricultural practises, religious beliefs and artistic styles. The beginning of the iron age in Europe and adjacent areas is characterised by different forms of implements, weapons, personal ornaments and pottery and also by systems of the corrective design.
4. Middle Ages: the middle ages also called medieval is a period in the European history which dates from the 5th century to the 15th century. The middle ages follow the fall of the Western Roman empire in 476 and precedes the early modern era. It is referred as “middle” in the sense of being between the ancient times and modern times. This period experience cruel killing of people, wars, reduction in population and lack of civilisation. For Europe as a whole, the conquest of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453 is commonly used as the end date of the middle ages. During the middle ages, feathers (quills) we are used for writing with ink from the 6th and 19th century. The strongest quills came from the primary flight feathers discarded by birds during their annual molt. Goose feathers were most commonly used. Quill pens I still used today by artist and some other professionals. Metal pens where first patented in America in 1810 and then mass produced by 1860
5. Industrial Age: the industrial age also known as industrial revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century. It began in Britain in 1760 then subsequently spread throughout Western Europe, north America, Japan and eventually the entire world. During this period major changes took place in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation and technology which played a major role in the life of people socially, economically, and culturally. Quality of life improved. The industrial revolution marked a major turning point in human history, almost every aspect of daily life was influenced in some way. Average income and population increased. Machines replaced manual and animal labour. It started with the mechanisation of the textile industries, the development of iron making techniques and the increased use of refined coal. Trade expanded due to the introduction of canals, improved roots and railways. Production capacity increased especially with the production of more machines. The introduction of steam power, greater use of water wheels and powered machinery especially in textile manufacturing increased production capacity. It is marked by the spread of western customs, such as Christianity. Industrialists immediately recognised the usefulness of new machines and then used more of them.
6. The Electronic Age: the electronic age is the present age in which we live. It is called the computer age or computer era. This is the period where computer is the tool of design, manufacturer, process, operations, control and maintenance. Computer is the bedrock in word processing, data generation and processing and storage. It is used in complex calculations and graphics. It is also utilised in education, in medical research, diagnosis and prescription, in industrial processes and control including traffic control. Computers are used in security operations, in bomb detection and disposal as well as in mental projections and deflection. The electronic age has made life more comfortable as it impacts positively on almost all fields of human endeavour, from domestic to industrial, social, economic and political.