There is a reason we name eras after materials - the bronze age, iron age, etc. Currently we're living in the silicon age.

Progress in fundamental materials science tends to unlock whole new technology paradigms.

You can do city planning with sod and stone. Mobile phones, on the other hand, require a nearly incomprehensible level of materials innovation. It is everything from the battery to conductive touch screen glass to plastic casing to silicon microchip... Not to mention all the science of satellites and rockets and radio waves that make them useful...

By the way, the show "Connections" by James Burke is brilliant. A must-watch for any tech curious nerd.