RIZAL TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

Cities of Mandaluyong and Pasig

MODULE 1:
Ancient, Middle and
Modern Technologies
in the World and the
Philippines

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 RIZAL TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
Cities of Mandaluyong and Pasig

MODULE 1
Historical Antecedents and Philosophy in the STS

Ancient, Middle and Modern

Technologies in the World and in the
Philippines

The following are the topics content of this module 1, Lesson 2:

a. S &T Across History

Study Guide

This module was designed to provide the students with meaningful

opportunities for guided and independent pace of learning. Students will
be able to process the learning context in their own flexible time.

This module has the following parts:

a. Learning outcomes
b. Topic presentation
c. Learning activities
d. Assessment (discussion/forum)
e. References

Students are required to finished every module by finishing

learning activities, answering the assessment and complying with the
given assignment or task.

Learning Outcomes

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 RIZAL TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
Cities of Mandaluyong and Pasig

1. Discuss the interactions between science, technology, and

society throughout history.
2. Discuss how scientific and technological developments affect
society and the environment.

Topic Presentation

INTRODUCTION

“If we lived on a planet where nothing ever changed, there

would be little to do. There would be nothing to figure out. There
would be no impetus for science. And if we lived in an
unpredictable world, where things change in random or very
complex ways, we would not be able to figure things out. But we
live in an in between universe where things change but according
to patterns, rules, or as we call them, laws of nature. If I throw a
stick up into the air, it always falls down. If the sun sets in the
west, it always rises again the next morning in the east. And so, it
becomes possible to figure things out. We can do science, and
with it we can improve our lives.” (Carl Edward Sagan).

From the beginning of time, man has tried to improve his way
and quality of life. The caveman discovered how to make and used
tools, developed a logical sequence of activities, and evolved
processes that added value to his life. The totality of the use and
the application of his knowledge, skills, tools, and materials,
constitute what we today describe as “technology”. The
development of Science and Technology does not only leave
indelible impact in the history, but its trail can be traced by its
influence in our society and country as a whole.

The history of the development of science and technology is

one of the important concerns in studying the subject Science,
Technology, and Society. It reveals how the scientific and
technological innovations have changed across time and explores
its impacts on the prevailing social, cultural, political, and
economic contexts. Moreover, it also shows the conditions that
shaped it that pertains to the historical antecedents of science
and technology development.

Antecedents pertains to the precursor to the unfolding or

existence of something. Meaning, historical antecedents in

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 RIZAL TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
Cities of Mandaluyong and Pasig

science and technology are the factors that paved the way for the
presence of advanced and sophisticated innovations. Background
insights in the history of science and technology allow us to
assess these innovations. Understanding the causes (how
previous generations influenced the innovations) and effects (how
innovations influenced the previous generations), we can have
proper decision and determine its appropriate application in our
daily life. Necessity is the mother of inventions and innovations.
Although science and technology affect the society through
addition of existing knowledge and changing the view of how
natural world works, society also influences the product of
science and technology.

LESSON 2 – S &T ACROSS HISTORY

Specific Objective:

a. Enumerate the different technological advancements

from ancient age to date.
b. Identify the different significant events related to the
development of technology in the ancient times.

Studying ancient history allows us understand where we have

come from and why we are here, and how technology evolved
through time.

The birth of technology begun even before in the ancient time.

There are Three-Age System that was introduce in the early 19 th
century by Christian Jurgensen Thomsen, an Archeologist and a
Curator of the National Museum, Denmark, Copenhagen through this
book entitled Ledetraad til Nordisk Oldkyndighed (Guide to

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 RIZAL TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
Cities of Mandaluyong and Pasig

Scandinavian Antiquity). The system was originally formulated to

classify artifacts in the possession of the museum based on the
materials to which they were made of. The three prehistoric period
was born.

The Stone Age (2.5 mya –

3000BC) – The period of
weapons made by stone,
wood, bones and other
similar materials. It was
divided into two periods
by John Lubbock,
Paleolithic and Neolithic
period.

Source:https://www.agefotostock.com/age/en/Stock-Images/Rights-Managed/FAI-13893

1. Paleolithic (Old Stone) Period. It is

known to be the longest time in human
history which began approximately two
million years ago and ended between
40,000 to 10,000 years ago. Humans
were believed to be an ape-like
creature to a true homo sapiens. They
were hunter-gatherers who used stone-
made tools, flints or bones to hunt
animals and harvest wild plants as
source of food. They were usually
nomadic or semi-nomadic with no permanent settlement.
During this period, early human development
was categorized into three divisions: Lower, Middle and Upper
Paleolithic periods.
Source:https://www.gettyimages.com/photos/paleolithic?
mediatype=photography&phrase=paleolithic&sort=mostpopular

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Lower Paleolithic Middle Paleolithic Upper Paleolithic

Development of Netherland Man, Homo sapiens (Cro-
simple tools early human Magnon man and
ancestor who Grimaldi Man)
Australopithecus, existed 40,000 to
earliest ancestors 100,000 years ago Period of communal
from Olduvai Gorge, hunting, extensive
Tanzania Known as cavemen fishing, supernatural
who used fire, stone beliefs, cloth
Homo Erectus tools and flake types sewing, sculpture,
comprised those for hunting. painting and making
100,000 to 500,000 personal ornaments.
year-old stone Use bones as
discovered from needles in sewing There was a first
various African, body coverings manmade dwellings
Asian, European made from animal called pit house
sites. fur and skins

2. Mesolithic Period
(Middle Stone)
Period. Occurred
during end of
Paleolithic and
beginning of
Neolithic period.
There was a
gradual change in
human lives
attributed by the
retreat of glaciers
and growth of forest
and deserts. People
begun to learn fishing along rivers and shores, make pottery
and use bow. Gradual transition from gathering agricultural
food to food production.

https://www.agefotostock.com/age/en/Stock-
Images/Rights-Managed/BAT-LLM95775

3. Neolithic (New Stone) Period.

The stage of cultural and
technological development

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based from agriculture which was characterized by domestic plant

such as rice, corn, beans and also wild animals such as goats,
cattles, sheeps and pigs. They use stone tools and pottery. Weaving
and settled in villages. Agriculture continue to expand across most of
the inhabited regions giving way to urban civilization. End of this
period is the beginning of the age of metal tools.

Source: https://www.alamy.com/pre-christian-bc-bronze-
age-germans-image64336094.html

The Bronze Age (300BC –

1200BC). It was stared when tools
and weapons were already widely
made with copper and bronze
through the metal extraction from
ore, the process is called smelting
(which was discovered by Sumerians
of Mesopotamia), then pouring it into
a mold for shaping. Bronze could be
done by blending copper and tin.
Technological knowledge slowly
moved from place to place which
was began from Southwest Asia to the different parts of the world. It
took thousands of years before it covered the entire mainland od
Eurasia (Poroszlai, 1999).

Source: https://www.alamy.com/pre-christian-bc-bronze-age-germans-image64336094.html

The Iron Age (1500BC – 450AD).

This began with the smelting pits
with advance quality to produce
higher temperature that could smelt
iron ore (Reardon, 2011). Iron age
slowly spread into different parts of
the world from North America to
Saharan Africa where diffusion of
bronze technology was halted by the Sahara desert. People Dwells in
agriculture. Corn harvest being carried on by means of sickles

Source:https://www.sciencephoto.com/media/991905/
view/prehistoric-man-iron-age-farming

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 RIZAL TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
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The Middle Age (450 – 1450AD). A

long period of history in Europe. It
is the time of castles and
peasants, guilds and monasteries,
cathedrals and crusades. It was
divided in two smaller ages, Dark
Age(450-1000AD) was no
significant science
accomplishments, no great arts
produced and no great leaders
born. High Middle Age(1000 –
1450AD). The rise of Islam.
Inventors devised technologies
like the pinhole camera, soap, windmills, surgical instruments,
an early flying machine and the system of numerals that we
use today.
Early Middle Ages. Election of commander
Source: https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/early-middle-ages.html

Toward the end of the 11th century, the Catholic Church

began to authorize military expeditions called it as crusades
began in 1905 to expel Muslim “infidels” from the Holy Land. No
one “won” the Crusades; in fact, many thousands of people from
both sides lost their lives. Between the 10th and 13th centuries,
most European cathedrals were built in the Romanesque style.
church builders began to embrace a new architectural style,
known as the Gothic (a technology developed in the Islamic
world).

Between 1347 and 1350, a mysterious disease known as

the " Black Death " (the bubonic plague) killed some 20 million
people in Europe—30 percent of the continent’s population. It was
especially deadly in cities, where it was impossible to prevent the
transmission of the disease from one person to another. The
plague started in Europe in October 1347, when 12 ships from the
Black Sea docked at the Sicilian port of Messina. Most sailors
aboard the ships were dead, and those who were alive were
covered in black boils that oozed blood and pus. Symptoms of the
Black Death included fever, chills, vomiting, diarrhea, terrible
aches and pains – and then death. Victims could go to bed feeling
healthy and be dead by morning. The plague killed cows, pigs,

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 RIZAL TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
Cities of Mandaluyong and Pasig

goats, chickens and even sheep, leading to a wool shortage in

Europe.

Based from the study, today’s scientists believed that

the plague was caused by a bacillus called Yersina pestis , which
travels through the air and can also be contracted through the bite
of an infected flea or rat, both of which were common in the
Middle Ages, especially on ships.

Discussion / Forum

Black Death Plague is one of the deadliest diseases in

history. This disease killed over thousands of people during the
middle age. One of the best and effective techniques that the
people did during those time to prevent and lessen the spreading of
disease is the quarantine technique.
Today, as we face the covid-19 pandemic, we still use the
quarantine technique because of its effective and efficient result in
preventing the transmission of virus. Aside from this technique, the
government also mandated to wear protective gears such as
facemask, face shield and PPE to prevent the contamination and
the spread of virus.
What are the differences between how modern people combat
covid-19 pandemic and how people during middle age faced the
Black death plague? Also, share your opinions on what we could
have been doing wrong to stop the spread of the virus.

References

 Aldea K., Caronan H., Candido M. (2018) Science,

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Technology, and Society (OBE Ready). Mnadaluyong City:

Books Atbp, Publishing Corp.

 McNamara, D., Valverde, V., & Beleno, R. (2018). Science,

Technology, and Society (1st ed., pp. 1-128). Quezon City: C&E
Publishing Inc.

 Ratnasiri, N., 2006. The role of Science and Technology in

nation building. Journal of the National Science Foundation
of Sri Lanka, 34(3), p.113. DOI:
http://doi.org/10.4038/jnsfsr.v34i3.3640

 https://www.simio.com/blog/2018/09/05/evolution-industrial-
ages-industry-1-0-4-0/
 Ilagan, Y. et al (2018) Science Technology and Society.
Panday Lahi Publishing House, Muntinlupa City, Philippines

 https://www.dreamstime.com/illustration/evolution-
communication.html
 https://www.google.com/search?q=www&tbm=isch&ved
 https://www.google.com/search?q=Law%20of%20planetary
%20motion%20by%20johannes
 https://www.google.com/search?
q=universe+model+by+nicolaus+copernicus

 https://www.sciencephoto.com/media/991905/view/prehistoric-
man-iron-age-farming
 https://www.alamy.com/pre-christian-bc-bronze-age-germans-
image64336094.html
 https://www.alamy.com/pre-christian-bc-bronze-age-germans-
image64336094.html
 https://www.agefotostock.com/age/en/Stock-Images/Rights-
Managed/BAT-LLM95775
 https://www.gettyimages.com/photos/paleolithic?
mediatype=photography&phrase=paleolithic&sort=mostpopula
r

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