A New Look at Ancient Technology: The Smithsonian Program

This essay concerns the Smithsonian Institution's linkages with the past history of human contrivance and the essential connections of such contrivance with the present. During the past year the Smithsonian has launched a new program in ancient technology which elicits support from its anthropologists, historians, and technologists. Since the conclave of world scientists at the Smithsonian Bicentennial celebrations in