In around 2,000 BCE, the Minoans on the Greek island of Crete built a 50 km road leading from the palace of Gortyn on the south side of the island, through the mountains, to the palace of Knossos on the north side of the island. Tools were initially developed by hominids through observation and trial and error. Around 2 Mya , they learned to make the first stone tools by hammering flakes off a pebble, forming a sharp hand axe. This practice was refined 75 kya into pressure flaking, enabling much finer work. Since the distinction between Technik and Technologie is absent in English, both were translated as technology. The term was previously uncommon in English and mostly referred to the academic discipline, as in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
- Innovations continued through the Middle Ages with the introduction of silk production , the horse collar, and horseshoes.
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