List of historical time periods

Posted in History

The categorization of time into discrete named blocks is called periodization. This is a list of such named time periods as defined in various fields of study.

Major categorization systems include cosmological (concerning the various time periods in the origin and evolution of our universe), geological (concerning time periods in the origin and evolution of earth ) and historical (concerning time periods in the origin, evolution of mankind).

Prehistorical periods

In archaeology and anthropology, prehistory is subdivided around the three-age system.

  • Paleolithic Age
  • The Neolithic Age
  • The Bronze Age

The dates for each age can vary by region, although the beginning of Mesolithic is usually considered to correspond to the beginning of the Holocene epoch on the geologic time scale at the end of the most recent Ice age, about 9400 BC.

Historical periods

  • Antiquity
    • Iron Age
    • Mesopotamia 6000 BC - 1100 BC
    • Indus Valley Civilization 3300 BC - 1300 BC
    • Old Kingdom (Egypt, 3000 BC - 2000 BC)
    • Middle Kingdom (Egypt, 2000 BC - 1300 BC)
    • Shang Dynasty (China 1800 BC - 1200 BC
    • New Kingdom (Egypt, 1300 BC - 700 BC)
    • Zhou Dynasty (China 1200 BC - 500 BC)
    • (Ancient Greece, c:a 1000 BC-, see Timeline of Ancient Greece)
    • Ancient Rome 509 BC - 476)
    • Period of the Three Kingdoms (China, 220 - 280)
    • Dark Age {Europe, 4th century - 900}
  • Middle Ages (Europe, 5th century - 15th century)
    • Viking Age (Scandinavia, Europe, 793 - 1066)
    • Nara period (Japan, 709 - 795)
    • Period of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (China, 907 - 960)
    • Fatih Sultan Mehmet (Istanbul, 1453)
  • Early Modern (Europe, 14th century - 18th century)
    • The Renaissance (Europe, 14th century - 16th century)
    • Age of Discovery (or Exploration) (Europe, 15th century - 17th century)
    • Elizabethan period (United Kingdom, 1558 - 1603)
    • The Protestant Reformation (Europe, 16th century)
    • The Age of Enlightenment (Europe,18th century)
    • Tokugawa shogunate (Japan, 1603 - 1868)
  • Modern (Europe, 18th century - 20th century)
    • Industrial Revolution (Europe, United States, elsewhere 18th and 19th centuries)
    • Napoleonic Era (1799 - 1815)
    • Victorian era (United Kingdom, 1837 - 1901)
    • Edwardian period (United Kingdom, 1901 - 1910)
    • Meiji era (Japan, 1868 - 1912)
    • Machine Age(1900 - 1945)
    • Electric age
    • World War I (Much of Earth, 1914 - 1918)
    • Interwar period (Earth, 1918 - 1939 or 1937)
    • World War II (Earth, 1937 or 1939 - 1945)
    • Atomic Age (after 1945)
    • Cold War (Soviet Union and United States, as well their allied states, 1945 - 1989)
    • Space Age (after 1957)
    • Information Age (1971 - Present)

Mythological and astrological time periods

  • Astrological ages
    • Age of Taurus
    • Age of Aries
    • Age of Pisces
    • Age of Aquarius
  • Greek mythology
    • Golden Age, self-sufficient
    • Silver Age, self-indulgent
    • Bronze Age, warlike
    • Heroic Age, nobly aspirant
    • Iron Age, violent
  • Aztec mythology
    • Nahui-Ocelotl, Destroyed by Jaguars
    • Nahui-Ehécatl, Destroyed by Hurricane
    • Nahuiquiahuitl, Destroyed by rain of Fire
    • Nahui-Atl, Destroyed by Flood
    • Nahui-Ollin, Destroyed by Earthquakes

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