Prehistoric Era

Before 3000 BCE

152 inventions from this era

The Prehistoric era spans 99% of human technological history—from the first stone tools 3.3 million years ago to the invention of writing around 3000 BCE. Three keystone inventions defined this period: stone tools extended human reach; fire provided warmth, protection, and cooking; agriculture ended nomadic wandering and created surplus that enabled civilization. This era resembles biological speciation: long periods of stasis punctuated by rapid change. The Neolithic Revolution (beginning ~10,000 BCE) was the first great technological transition—irrigation, plows, and animal domestication transformed scattered bands into settled villages. Path dependence emerged early: once communities invested in farming, returning to hunter-gathering became impossible. The biological parallel is the transition from unicellular to multicellular life—a transformation that unlocked entirely new possibilities through specialization.