Introduction

In the past, all work was done by people. People made everything by hand, even tools that they used. Around three hundred years ago, that began to change. Scientists and inventors started building machines that were used to do work that was earlier done by people. This changed how people lived and how they worked. 

Some occupations became less needed or even disappeared because machines replaced people and technology changed what we need. For example, before electric lamps were invented, gas lamps were used to light up city streets. Individuals known as lamplighters walked around city streets every evening to light up each lamp by hand. They also returned in the early morning to put the lamps out. Today, we no longer need lamplighters because electric street lamps turn themselves on and off automatically. 

Other occupations changed because workers could now use machines. For example, in the past, farmers did everything by hand or with the help of animals. They used only simple tools. Today, farmers use many types of machines that make work on a farm faster and easier. For example, farmers today can use tractors to pull heavy equipment (like a plow) while in the past they had to pull it by hand or use a horse or an ox to do it.  

The development of technology also created occupations that did not exist before. For example, the invention of cars created the occupation of a car mechanic while the invention of the computer created the occupation of a computer programmer.

In this activity, you will look at seven black and white photos that show the workers of the past. Some of them used machines in their work, while others did not. Some occupations that you will see in the photos no longer exist while others are still common. Photos used in this activity will help us understand how people worked in the past and how technology changed nearly all jobs and occupations. 

Note for educators: Some photos used in this activity document obsolete technology that will likely be unrecognizable to students. We recommend using this activity in class rather and as a homework assignment unless relevant background information is provided prior to assigning this activity to students.