Changing technology essay

Technology has dramatically changed over time. What the Ancient Egyptians, The Ancient Greeks, and Cavemen once found new and interesting, are now everyday technology that we don’t give a second thought to. These technologies include papyrus paper, baths for relaxation, and visual communication. All of these technologies were able to advance the world in the right direction.

One of the most notable technologies invented was papyrus paper. Invented in Egypt around 3000 BCE, papyrus paper was a flexible writing material that was able to hold ink for a long time. This invention revolutionized the world as before most people drew and wrote upon cave walls, stone, and animal hides, among other things. This allowed for the transportation of information to be much easier. It also allowed for the creation of technologies such as books, letters, legal documents, and many other things. The papyrus paper was created from papyrus plants, therefore not many other countries could replicate it. This allowed the Ancient Egyptians to export papyrus paper around the world, hence changing the way people write and share information.

We wouldn’t be able to share information if we didn’t have a way to communicate, this is where the Cavemen come in. During the Paleolithic and Neolithic ages, Cavemen would communicate through visual art pieces commonly drawn on caves. This form of communication would later be known as Cave art. Cave art was used to tell stories, warn others of predators, and share various bits of information. Cave art would later influence modern language, most notably hieroglyphics. Cave art was able to be used all around the world but, much like modern-day language, different symbols represented different words, similar to how the Japanese have one way to write the word ball that’s different from how New Zealanders write ball. Cave art was the beginning of both language and visual arts.

While the Paleolithic and Neolithic age introduced language and visual arts, the age of the Roman Empire introduced the concept of relaxation. The Romans introduced bathhouses once the invented aqueducts. Aqueducts were used to transport freshwater over large bridges, would then run through an underground sewage system, and into the city of Rome. Baths would be heated by an underground heating system the Romans called using the hypocaust system. This system worked by building the baths on pillars, leaving enough space for furnaces, the heat from the furnaces would float up and heat the water without the smoke touching the water. Think of it as a plate on top of a pot of boiling water. Bathhouses introduced the concept of relaxation for many as the fee to enter was kept small enough that anyone, whether poor or rich, could come in and relax after a long week or day. It also served the purpose of being a popular social spot. Men and Women would be able to socialize (in separate baths of course) while being able to relax and just, chill out. Social bathing is still common today, places like public pools, Hamner springs, onsens, hamams, and various other places around the world.

Technology has changed over the past decades and will continue to change as new inventions come out every other week. Inventions such as phones, electric scooters, and wireless headphones will be looked back in a way similar to how we look back on inventions of the ancient world; nothing special.