Simplicable Guide

108 Examples of Traditional Technology

John Spacey, March 07, 2023

Traditional technology is any tool or infrastructure that is passed from generation to generation such that it is sustained over time. This is about continuity with the past. Traditional technologies may change and be improved but these transformations aren't intended to disrupt or reinvent but rather to put each generation's mark on the tradition. The following are illustrative examples of traditional technologies.

Abacus	Accordions
Aqueducts	Bagpipes
Balls	Baseball gloves
Bathtubs	Belts
Binoculars	Blankets
Books	Bottle caps
Bottles	Bow and arrows
Bowling balls	Bricks
Calligraphy sets	Canals
Candles	Canes
Canoes	Carpenter's squares
Chalkboards	China cabinets
Chisels	Coins
Compasses	Eyeglasses
Fire pits	Fishing rods
Flagpoles	Flutes
Grandfather clocks	Greenhouses
Guitars	Hammers
Handbags	Handmade soap
Handsaws	Harps
Hockey sticks	Horseshoes
Hourglasses	Ice skates
Igloos	Junks (ships)
Kayaks	Kimono
Lanterns	Leather belts
Lighthouses	Locks and keys
Luggage	Mailboxes
Mirrors	Moccasins
Music boxes	Neon lights
Paddles	Paint brushes
Paper	Pencils
Pens	Pianos
Pipe organs	Pocket watches
Pottery	Protractors
Public fountains	Puppets
Quilts	Radios
Record players / gramophones	Rolling pins
Ropes	Rulers
Saddles	Sailboats
Screwdrivers	Sewing needles
Shoji - Japanese sliding paper doors	Sleds
Staplers	Stone carving tools
Stonemasonry and stonecraft	Sundials
Swing sets	Tatami - Japanese straw flooring
Teapots	Telegraphs / telegrams
Telescopes	Timber framed houses
Traditional architecture	Traditional clothing
Traditional drums	Traditional footwear
Traditional furniture	Traditional infrastructure e.g. roads
Typewriters	Ukulele
Umbrellas	Violins
Wallets	Weather vanes
Windmills	Wood carving tools
Wooden chairs	Wrenches

Some traditional technologies are still a part of the day-to-day lives of people in a culture. For example, traditional Japanese shoji are still commonly built into modern homes and apartments in Japan. Other traditional technologies aren't part of day-to-day life anymore but are practiced as an element of cultural heritage.

Electricity has been commercialized for 140 years with the first hydroelectric power plant opening on September 30, 1882 in Appleton, Wisconsin. As such, there are certainly electronic things that can be considered traditional technologies such as radios. This is likely to greatly increase as low technology is sustained by cultures.

Overview: Traditional Technology
Type	Traditions
Definition	Tools and infrastructure that are passed from generation to generation such that they are sustained over time.
Related Concepts	Traditions » Cultural Heritage » Low Technology »