Čovjek, kao kreativno biće, ima potrebu zabilježiti svoje ideje o izradi raznih materijalnih predmeta kako bi ih prenio generacijama. Najjednostavniji i istovremeno univerzalni način prijenosa tih ideja su crteži. Tragovi takvih crteža potječu iz razdoblja prije nove ere. Načini i materijali korišteni za njegovo snimanje su se promijenili, ali univerzalna čitljivost takvih zapisa ostaje.
7. tisućljeće pr. Kr. – Crtež zidne slike koja bi mogla prikazati drevni anatolijski grad Çatalhöyük (prethodno poznat kao Catal Huyuk ili Çatal Hüyük)

Magyar: Catalhüyüki freskórészlet, előtérben obszidián magkövek (Anatóliai Civilizációk Múzeuma, Ankara, Törökország) – reprodukcija http://By Kit36a at Hungarian Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47759198
2350-2000. pr. Kr. Plan nekretnina grada Umme, Mésopotamie,

By Rama, CC BY-SA 3.0 fr, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2991431
2144 – 2124. pr. Kr. Kipovi Gudee.
Statue en diorite dite “”l’architecte à la règle”, dediée à la deesse Gatumdu, v. 2120 av. J.-C (période néo-sumérienne). Musée du Louvre (Pariz). Trouvée dans les ruines de Girsu à Tellō (Irak).

By Michel wal – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11545860
14. st. pr. Kr. Plan Velikog hrama Atena u Meryreovoj grobnici i Plan Velikog hrama Atena u Panehsyjevoj grobnici

By Unknown author – Amarna tomb of Meryre, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2057613

By Unknown author – Amarna tomb of Panehsy, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2057614
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1300. pr. Kr. Plan grobnice Ramzesa IV

By Ancient Egyptian Architect – Unknown source, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22470472
500. pr. Kr. Babilonska karta svijeta

By British Museum. Object Number: 92687., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1748616
početak 9. stoljeća Plan Svetog Galla

Javna domena, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2259984
850. godina Knjiga genijalnih uređaja

By Book of of Ahmad ibn Musa ibn Shakir, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14730630
1230. – 1235. godine Villard De Honnecourt, Strojevi

Autor Villard de Honnecourt – Web galerija umjetnosti: Podaci o slikama o umjetničkom djelu, javno vlasništvo, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15611274
14. stoljeće Skica ručice vagona Guido da Vigevano

By The original uploader was Dr. Manuel at German Wikipedia. – Transferred from de.wikipedia to Commons., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1718610
15. stoljeće Bilježnica Francesca di Giorgia Martinija, 1470.

By Francesco di Giorgio – Web Gallery of Art: Image Info about artwork, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3096604
kasno 15. i početak 16. stoljeća Leonardo da Vinci, dizajn za helikopter i samostrel

By Leonardo da Vinci – Bortolon, The Life and Times of Leonardo, Paul Hamlyn, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1647222

By Leonardo da Vinci – http://www.sandia.gov/tp/SAFE_RAM/CRSBW.HTM, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3177161
16. stoljeće Theatrum Instrumentorum, Jacques Besson

By Jacques Besson – Cosmolabe ou, instrument universel, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2084761

By Jacques Besson – https://books.google.fr/books?id=Kzu1H_G3yNMC&printsec=frontcover&dq=theatrum++jacques+Besson&hl=fr&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiLua_pn5DMAhVCqxoKHbq-DxEQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=theatrum%20%20jacques%20Besson&f=false Theatrum instrumentorum 1578, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=48198389
16. stoljeće La pratica della perspettiva, pored Giorgio Martini

By The original uploader was Filarete at Esperanto Wikipedia. – Transferred from eo.wikipedia to Commons., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=48644496
1615. godine Machinae novae, Faust Vrančić

Machinae novae Fausti Verantii Siceni cum declaratione Latina Italica Hispanica Gallica et Germanica. Digitalne zbirke NSK
18. stoljeće Scientific apparatus designed by Boulton and Watt in preparation of the Pneumatic Institution in Bristol

By Thomas Beddoes and James Watt – “Considerations on the medicinal use and on the production of factitious airs; Part I, by Thomas Beddoes, M.D., Part II, by James Watt, engineer; 2nd ed., Bristol, Bulgin & Rosser, for J. Johnson (London), 1795, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14865467
18. stoljeće Reprodukcija parnog stroja koji su dizajnirali Boulton i Watt, 1784. godine

By Robert Henry Thurston (1839–1903) – Scanned from a paper reproduction of the original sketch.From a book published in 1878 in New York: A History of the Growth of the Steam Engine, by Robert H. Thurston, professor of mechanical engineering in the Stevens Institute of Technology, Hobroken, USA.Thurston, Robert Henry (1878) “James Watt and His Inventions” in A History of the Growth of the Steam Engine, New York, United States: D. Appleton and Company, pp. p. 119 Retrieved on 16 September 2010., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3478839