The purpose of this chronology is not to provide an all-inclusive history of science, technology, and ethics. Rather the aim is to highlight enough of the most important developments to capture a sense of the timing and pace of both macro-level (e.g., shifts from pre-modern to modern forms of science) and micro-level (e.g., the interplay of contemporary thinkers) changes and interactions. By organizing information in a historical manner, the chronology provides a supplementary perspective for thinking about science, technology, and ethics. It enables users of the encyclopedia to orient specific article topics within the larger sweep of time that conditions and is in turn conditioned by various persons, events, organizations, and ideas. The compilers of this chronology are grateful to Dr. David Lee for allowing the use of material from his website at http://www.sciencetimeline.net/.

The Ancient World: from the First Tools to 550 B.c.e.