The techniques of engineering and applied science for commercial and industrial purposes. Many fundamental technologies—the smelting and working of metals, spinning and weaving of textiles, and the firing of clay, for example—were empirically developed at the dawn of civilization, long before any concept of science existed. With the advent, in about 3000 bc, of the first major civilizations in Egypt and Mesopotamia, many new technologies were developed—irrigation systems, road networks and wheeled vehicles, a pictographic form of writing, and new building techniques. Other civilizations subsequently became important technological centres, notably those of Greece and Rome, the Arab empire of the 7th to 10th centuries, and the Mayan, Aztec, and Toltec civilizations of the American continent. In the mid‐16th century the focus of technological change shifted to Europe, with the beginning of the Scientific Revolution.

By the late 17th century, technology essentially meant engineering. During the 19th century science began to create many new technologies, such as electricity generation and supply and photography. The trend continued into the 20th century, especially with the development of road vehicles, the petrochemical industry, plastics, radio and television, sound recording and reproduction, synthetic fibres, a wide range of pharmaceutical products, nuclear power, and the advent of computers and information technology (see information revolution). Since the 1970s pollution and the depletion of energy resources have caused increasing public concern. This has led to the growth of alternative technologies, with an emphasis on renewable energy sources, recycling of raw materials, and the conservation of energy. Recent areas of innovation are genetic engineering (the modification of plant or animal genes to produce a desired commodity or assist in an industrial process) and nanotechnology (manufacturing techniques that manipulate materials at an atomic scale).