c. 700
Communication
China
Woodblock printing
Carved wooden blocks print texts and images on paper in Tang China.
Why it mattered
Copies without copyists: the first mechanical reproduction of text.
Middle Ages
700
3 recorded milestones at this point in the record.
c. 700
Exploration
Oceania
Polynesian wayfinding to Hawaii and Rapa Nui
Navigators read swells, stars and birds to settle the remotest islands on earth.
Why it mattered
The most demanding open-ocean navigation ever achieved without instruments.
c. 700
Transportation
Europe
Horseshoe and the nailed iron shoe
Protected hooves let horses work hard roads and wet fields.
Why it mattered
Raised the working life of draught animals.
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