The Last Codex
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The Last Codex

If everything were lost, this is where we would start again.

The inventions of humankind: what they are, how they work and how to build them again.

Open the atlas

Where to begin again

With what you have
  1. ISurvival3 inventionsControl of Fire · Stone Tools · Rope & Cordage
  2. IISettlement24 inventionsWriting · Drinking Water · Wheel & Axle
  3. IIICrafts & cities22 inventionsPrinting Press · Iron Smelting · Steel
  4. IVScience & industry23 inventionsSteam Engine · Hygiene & Antisepsis · Electric Generator
  5. VElectric age14 inventionsComputer · Penicillin · Reinforced Concrete

What leads to what

Explore the graph
Control of FireRope & CordageDrinking WaterIrrigationPloughCrop RotationHorse CollarBreadSalting & CuringCheeseBeerCanning & PasteurisationSoapVaccinationAnaesthesiaHygiene & AntisepsisX-Ray ImagingPenicillinPotteryCharcoalBronzeGlassLeather TanningIron SmeltingSteelDistillationVulcanised RubberStone ToolsPotter's WheelLime and lime mortarBricksArch and VaultAqueductRoman ConcretePortland CementReinforced ConcreteCrane & PulleyGearsPiston PumpWater WheelWindmillSteam EngineWater TurbineInternal Combustion EngineSteam TurbineWind TurbineBatteryElectric GeneratorElectric MotorLead-Acid BatteryIncandescent Light BulbTransformerTransistorComputerSolar cellEyeglassesMicroscopeTelescopePhotographyWritingPaperPrinting PressElectric TelegraphTelephoneRadioWheel & AxleSteam LocomotiveBicycleSailMagnetic CompassCelestial NavigationHot-Air BalloonAeroplaneWeavingDyeingLock & KeySpinning WheelSewing MachineRefrigerationMeasures and standardsPositional NumeralsSundialMechanical ClockThermometer and barometerBow & ArrowGunpowderControl of FireRope & CordageDrinking WaterIrrigationPloughCrop RotationHorse CollarBreadSalting & CuringCheeseBeerCanning & PasteurisationSoapVaccinationAnaesthesiaHygiene & AntisepsisX-Ray ImagingPenicillinPotteryCharcoalBronzeGlassLeather TanningIron SmeltingSteelDistillationVulcanised RubberStone ToolsPotter's WheelLime and lime mortarBricksArch and VaultAqueductRoman ConcretePortland CementReinforced ConcreteCrane & PulleyGearsPiston PumpWater WheelWindmillSteam EngineWater TurbineInternal Combustion EngineSteam TurbineWind TurbineBatteryElectric GeneratorElectric MotorLead-Acid BatteryIncandescent Light BulbTransformerTransistorComputerSolar cellEyeglassesMicroscopeTelescopePhotographyWritingPaperPrinting PressElectric TelegraphTelephoneRadioWheel & AxleSteam LocomotiveBicycleSailMagnetic CompassCelestial NavigationHot-Air BalloonAeroplaneWeavingDyeingLock & KeySpinning WheelSewing MachineRefrigerationMeasures and standardsPositional NumeralsSundialMechanical ClockThermometer and barometerBow & ArrowGunpowder

Domains of knowledge

Open the atlas
Writing & Communication

Writing

Knowledge that outlives memory

c. 3,300 BCEII
Writing & Communication

Printing Press

Movable type, copied by the thousand

c. 1440III
Energy & Prime Movers

Steam Engine

Heat turned into motion

1712IV
Tools & Making

Stone Tools

The first cutting edge

3.3 MyaI
Land Transport

Wheel & Axle

Rolling instead of dragging

c. 3,500 BCEII

Walk through time

Open the timeline
  1. Prehistory23
  2. Antiquity19
  3. Middle Ages7
  4. Renaissance4
  5. Industrial age20
  6. Electric age10
  7. Modern age3

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