The Neolithic Revolution set in motion a development whereby humans influenced their environment on an ever larger scale in order to meet their need for nutrition and material goods. A process of eminent historical importance, especially to the history of the knowledge about nature and technology, was the cultural, political, and economic development of Greece during the Archaic Period. A new era of natural science in ancient Greece began in Alexandria. The development of technology in antiquity was shaped in equal measure by inventions and innovations, by technology transfer and the adoption of technical artefacts and processes from foreign cultures, by the preservation of traditional technology, and also by stagnation. The technological achievements of China included inventions in the field of mechanics, especially the use of water power. The development in India was similar to that in China: the emergence and collapse of empires, immigration, urbanization, internal wars, and local powers shaped Indian civilization in crucial ways.