Technology

'Technology is one of the keywords of our world, yet it is also one of the most confused. As an analytical category it seems necessary for our understanding of all of humanity's history, and indeed beyond. We are probably comfortable with asserting that humans have technologies since the palaeolithic, and a menagerie of animals, from crows to chimps, have even been identified as tool users. As an actors' category 'technology' is of surprisingly recent vintage, although cognate terms- techne, arts, and so on- have a much longer history.