Chronology of Materials Technology
| -4000 | Copper metallurgy is invented and copper is used for ornamentation. |
| -3000 | Bronze is used for weapons and armor. |
| -1500 | The Hittites develop crude iron metallurgy. |
| -1200 | Invention of steel when iron and charcoal are combined properly. |
| 700 | Porcelain is invented in China. |
| 1839 | Charles Goodyear invents vulcanized rubber. |
| 1909 | Leo Baekeland presents the Bakelite hard thermosetting plastic. |
| 1931 | Julius Nieuwland develops the synthetic rubber neoprene. |
| 1931 | Wallace Carothers develops nylon. |
| 1953 | Karl Ziegler discovers metallic catalysts which greatly improve the strength of polyethylene polymers. |