The importance of technological activity and designing and making activity, a historical perspective Matt McLain Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK m.n.mclain@ljmu.ac.uk Key Words: Technology, designing, making, design and technology, tool use, neuroscience, cultural psychology, constructivism, socio-technological Abstract Whilst tool use is by no means an exclusive human trait, the “ability to deliberately manipulate” is central to our development, and it is our ability to “create complex artefacts” (Wolpert, 2003) that sets us apart. Recent archaeological and neuroscience advances have suggested that the activity of designing and making of tools, such as the handaxe, played a crucial role in the development of language. This paper will argue that the technological mindset is a preeminent paradigm in hu- man development. The paper will work within an interpretive and constructivist paradigm. The standpoint of the author is that of a technologist and literature is used to build and argument for the historic rel- evance of technological achievement, the trustworthiness of the research will be addressed through critical and refective review of literature. The conclusion ends with polemic and rhetorical ques- tions, based on the discussion, aimed a generating further debate both within the subject and the wider educational communities. In the context of curriculum change in the English education system, the aim of this paper is to re-examine the role of designing and making activity and technology education. The fndings will be literature from contemporary neuroscience, and revisit the original nature of design and technology and current challenges (Ofsted, 2011), highlighting the historical and social importance of the designing and making activity. A central assertion of this paper is that core subjects, such as science, in the contemporary Eng- lish curriculum owe their origins to technological innovation, in terms of solving human needs through design and making. As such, they argue for the case for continued inclusion within a broad curriculum, in whatever form it may take, from a cultural rather than purely a technical or economic perspective. Introduction “… the evolution of causal thinking was essential for the development of tool use, as it is not possible to make a complex tool without understanding cause and efect. This was a great evolutionary adaptive advantage. The evolution of language may have been linked to the same process. It has been technology that resulted from causal beliefs, not social interaction, that has driven human evolution.” (Wolpert, 2003, emphasis mine) 330