The document discusses engineering materials and their properties. It begins by introducing the importance of materials in everyday life and how early civilizations were defined by their materials development. It then describes how early humans only had access to natural materials like stone and wood, but later discovered techniques to produce superior materials like pottery and metals. In recent times, scientists have understood the relationship between a material's structure and properties, allowing them to design thousands of specialized materials. The development of technologies has been associated with the availability of suitable materials, like steel enabling automobiles and semiconductors enabling electronics.