The batch which has them in such awe is all the trash you discarded over the Christmas Break. A continuing assignment in this course is to develop a time-line of important dates in the history of technology and our culture. You will start with the author's little list on page 12 of the text and the other dates mentioned in the Introduction. That will make it easy for you to add the other dates you come across as the semester progresses. It is important to do that because I will be asking you to turn in a copy of your time-line as part of the last homework assignment.
Many people accept that, at some distant time, mankind and the dinosaurs coexisted.
Add these dates to the time line. Hand in a copy of your time-line to be graded. The text's author stresses that the development of materials in the past arose in answer to utilitarian needs. That opinion is not universally accepted. Some think that esthetics played an important role.