gene pool, technological pool

I think Lewis Mumford had something when he talked about:

"...a technological pool: an accumulation of tools, machines, materials, processes, interacting with soils, climates, plants, animals, human populations, institutions, cultures. The capacity of this technological reservoir, until the third quarter of the nineteenth century, was immensely greater than ever before: what is more, it was more diversified - and possibly quantitatively larger, as well as qualitatively richer- than what exists today. Not the least important part of this technological pool were the skilled craftsmen and work teams that transmitted the colossal accumulation of knowledge and skill. when they were eliminated from the system of production, that vast cultural resource was wiped out."