The modern word technology finally refers either to procedures and skillful application of sciences for the

production of industrial or manual products or to the products of these processes themselves. In this
sense, technology nowadays encompasses only a part of the original Greek definition. The place of
technology as being on the one hand a product of humans (being thus rooted in human anthropology and
human tool usage), and being on the other hand based on a solid scientific understanding of the laws of
nature (modern technology), can be seen as the two key features of contemporary and recent approaches
to analyze and understand technology. Technology is then in one respect as old as humankind: Many
approaches in anthropology thus refer to the general structure of technology in all of human history and
relate it to the biological condition of humans. But recent anthropological thinking also reflects on the
specific details of modern technology. It has often been argued that there is a structural difference
between modern, science-based technology and older forms of craftsmanship of ancient or medieval types
of technology. Therefore, a central question for modern anthropology is to analyze the consequences
modern technology has for our picture of humankind: how to define man in the age of technology.