The Historical Dynamics of Technological Systems: Putting the Contemporary Technological System into Historical Perspective

In order to put the contemporary technological system into historical perspective, it is important to present the dynamics of historical technological systems as early as the pre-industrial period, with the first significant force driving technological change appearing in the Middle Ages. From the 12th to until the end of the 18th Century, the first pre-industrial technological system was put in place, bringing increasing complexity and innovation. The innovative dimension of watchmaking technology resided in the development of metal mechanical parts, - iron and copper - which represented, during the three following centuries, a very strong potential for increased levels of precision, finesse and mechanical miniaturization. The general blockage in the technological world at the end of the 18th Century had led to a technological revolution often called “the Industrial Revolution”.