TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY IN THE BRONZE AGES

·         Among the preconditions of technology are geographic considerations such as the availability of natural resources.

-          It  was not  just  the  fact  that  both Egypt  and  Mesopotamia  were  river valley civilizations;  the  agricultural life of both  regions  depended upon  the  fact  that these rivers besides  providing  water  for irrigation, periodically overflowed their banks and provided  the rich  silt  which  fertilized  the land  and  helped  to  produce abundant  crops, and the floodings were so important that both areas had to develop hydraulic-engineering techniques in order to control the waters, since either too much or too little water could be  disastrous;  irrigation techniques had  to  be  highly developed.

·         The technological character of irrigation works ­- the dikes, reservoirs, irrigation canals, and ditches ­- in turn affected the social and political development of both lands.

·         Technology was  one  of  a number  of  factors which combined to produce  certain  political conditions, because when political conditions deteriorated in both these regions to the point where there was no longer any effective supervisory or enforcing agent to maintain the irrigation  works, both the Tigris-Euphrates  and  Nile  valleys declined in productivity  and have never since fully recovered  economically, and the deterioration of public works followed closely the  breakdown of public order.

·         The presence of absence of certain raw materials also had a profound effect upon the development of technologies in both Egypt and Mesopotamia. 

-          Although Mesopotamia had little natural stone and few timber resources, it did have ample supplies of clay; hence, the common building material became brick, and clay tablets became their chief writing instruments.

-           In Egypt, natural stone was available in large quantities, so the Egyptians developed the use of stone for building monumental structures; a multitude of associated technologies and   techniques   were dependent upon the use of these basic raw materials.

·         As men learned to make and use items of metal, the absence, in  certain  areas,  of  tin ores for  making  alloys  of  bronze required  the  development  of trading techniques, just as the development  of  metallurgy  itself  required  the  evolution  of mining,  smelting,  and working techniques. (Trade and commerce were dependent in great measure upon the evolving technology)

·         Another important factor affecting the development   of was religion.

-          It was the religious beliefs of the Egyptians regarding the after-life which caused them to erect the monumental pyramids.

-          The fact that the common  people  had  to sacrifice  their energies and labors for this kind of work  tells us  much about the role and position of the Pharaohs as  god-king and  also indicates the great social gulf which  existed  between the  rulers  and  the ruled.

-           Throughout much of history man’s religious beliefs have provided an important stimulus to his technology.

-          The building of the pyramids also demonstrates another element within technology itself, namely, the importance of the organization of work as well as the techniques and tools employed.

-          For these great edifices, like the irrigation works upon which the Pharaohs' wealth was based, represent a triumph of human and social organization more than they do the application of developed tools and machines.

·         The high development of the various crafts in both Egypt and Mesopotamia also manifests another characteristic of technology during most of human history, namely, its separation from science.

-           Both technology and science were related to religion, but in quite different ways.

-          Science and religion were the property of a highly educated caste which had little to do with the work of the craftsman. 

-          The crafts followed an empirical tradition, based on experience passed down by oral rather than written means.

-          Few craftsmen could read or  write,  while  the priestly  caste  alone  possessed  the  esoteric  scientific  and religious  knowledge.

-          Not until much later in human history,  as we shall  see, did science and  technology  work  together  to reinforce  one  another  and  increase  man's  control  over  his environment.

·          Nevertheless, both the Egyptians and Mesopotamians could point to significant accomplishments in technological development; however, technology had  not  yet  developed to the point where  man  had  sufficient control  over  his  environment to provide  more  than  the  bare essentials of life for the majority of the population.

·         Yet, in these early river-civilizations man had already learned to use some elements of nature for his own purposes.

-           Wild animals had been domesticated to serve as carriers for man, to help take some of the burden off men's backs; similarly, the force of the wind had been harnessed by sails, thereby releasing human   muscle power.

-          In addition, the great advances in agriculture through the use of irrigation techniques meant that men could work with nature instead of struggling against her in order to provide him with subsistence.

-           Life was still harsh and work was still overburdening for the vast majority of human beings, yet the beginnings of civilized life in urban communities were to be found, along with the development of writing to extend human powers of memory and speech.

-          Thus, in the very beginning of civilization, technology played an important role and was advanced by the very civilization which it had helped to create.