The Relationship Between Culture and Technology Essay

The Relationship Between Culture and Technology The relationship between technology and culture is cyclical. Logically, a culture will develop technologies based on the needs or desires of the people, because this is where the creative influences lie. As this technology spreads and is absorbed into the people’s lives, it affects their culture and way of life. This change in lifestyle can also occur when a technology developed outside a culture is introduced into the culture, providing an external influence. As Paul Ehrlich explains, there are technological evolutions and associated cultural evolutions, and they do not necessarily occur concurrently. Ehrlich [believes] that, in our modern era, technology is evolving faster than†¦show more content†¦land, water, women). Thus culture – warfare – is affected by technology, and the needs that it creates. Technology is developed as a way to further a way of life, thus making common tasks easier, if not simpler. It doesn’t make sense for a culture to invent something that is not relevant or useful. Technologies are determined by a culture’s â€Å"demands and preoccupations,† and depend on the existing environment of the society. (Teresi) For example, nomadic cultures have no use for architecture or other developments of a non-mobile life, but in 1600 BCE the chariot was a welcome addition to daily life. (Chant) In China in the 11th century, Tseng Kung-Lang published a formula for gunpowder, following centuries of his people’s interest in explosions, eruptions and colorful displays of fireworks. (Teresi) Eskimos developed harpoons with detachable heads, so that, upon killing a seal, the shaft would float to the surface of the sea and simplify retrieval of the seal (Ehrlich). The time-consuming activity of seal hunting was often the Eskimos’ only source of food, and so it was important to develop a technology that was not wasteful. In the Indus Valley in the third millennium BC, a people developed who were more interested in organized cities than in temples or warfare. Artifacts found there include seals, beads, and ceramics, but there is no evidence of warfare. (Teresi) More warlike cultures leave artifacts such as spears, shields and helmets.Show MoreRelatedEssay on The Relationship Between Technology and Human Culture2844 Words   |  12 PagesThe Relationship Between Technology and Human Culture Human culture and technology are continually co-evolving in a dynamic relationship. All technologies (See Note 1) develop in a particular cultural context as the result of changing needs or constraints. But once developed, a technology changes the culture that gave it birth. When a technology spreads to another culture, the cultural context affects the speed or way in which the technology is adopted and how it is used. 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