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* additionally, social and political organization existed coincidentally within and across each of these periods | * additionally, social and political organization existed coincidentally within and across each of these periods | ||
* for an historic example of a person who lived in three periods at once see [[Otzi the Iceman]] | * for an historic example of a person who lived in three periods at once see [[Otzi the Iceman]] | ||
=== Three-Age System === | |||
* When putting together a chronological presentation of ancient artifacts, early 19th century archeologist C. J. Thomsen found that the objects stood out in the three groups of '''stone''', '''bronze''' and '''iron'''. | |||
* the ancient writers Hesiod (Greek) and Lucretius (Roman) grouped human history into "progressive" periods, i.e. either degrading or advancing from one to the other: | |||
** Hesiod's [[Ages of Man]] is a degradation: Golden, Silver, Bronze, Heroic and Iron. | |||
** Lucretius' is a progression: "Everything must pass through successive phases. Nothing remains forever what it was. Everything is on the move. Everything is transformed by nature and forced into new paths..." | |||
*Periodization is mostly used for archaeological categorization | |||
*for students, it is helpful to understand social and political structures, population growth, and trade and other forms of cultural diffusion | |||
== Major periods of human history == | == Major periods of human history == | ||
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!Bronze Age | !Bronze Age | ||
!Iron Age | !Iron Age | ||
|- | |- | ||
|rise of mankind | |rise of mankind | ||
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to 4,000 BC | to 4,000 BC | ||
|5,000-3,000 BC | |5,000-3,000 BC | ||
|3,300-1, | |3,300-1,200 BC | ||
|1, | |1,200 BC to 1500 AD | ||
|- | |- | ||
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center" |Stone Age | | colspan="2" style="text-align:center" |Stone Age | ||
|Chalcolithic period | |Chalcolithic period = isolated use of copper but mostly using stone tools | ||
use of copper but mostly stone tools | |Bronze = copper + tin and requires high-heat and specialization, as well as trade | ||
| | |"Historical periods" start 550 BC, including Classical Age (Americas or Eurasia), Roman Period, Early Medieval, etc. These each lead to modern "industrial age" starting in the early 1800s | ||
| | |||
|- | |- | ||
| colspan="3" style="text-align:center" |Prehistory (before writing) | | colspan="3" style="text-align:center" |Prehistory (before writing) | ||
| | | colspan="2" style="text-align:center" |Writing | ||
| | |||
|- | |- | ||
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center" |stone tools and other hand-made or natural objects | | colspan="2" style="text-align:center" |stone tools and other hand-made or natural objects | ||
|copper smelting (heating, separating from other elements, and shaping into tools through molds) | |copper smelting (heating, separating from other elements, and shaping into tools through molds) | ||
| | |furnaces, smelting | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
|some pottery, baskets | |some pottery, baskets | ||
|pottery, baskets, ovens, farm tools | |pottery, baskets, ovens, farm tools | ||
| | |simple copper tools and weapons | ||
| | |tools, weapons, some farming equipment | ||
| | |tools, weapons, farming equipment | ||
| | |- | ||
|Bands | |||
|Tribes, villages | |||
|Villages, early urbanization, | |||
|Urbanization, civilizations, centralized rule & some standardization | |||
|Urbanization, empires, centralized rule and standardization | |||
|} | |} | ||
See: | See: | ||
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* [https://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/behavior/carrying-storing/oldest-pottery Oldest Pottery | The Smithsonian Institution's Human Origins Program (si.edu)] | * [https://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/behavior/carrying-storing/oldest-pottery Oldest Pottery | The Smithsonian Institution's Human Origins Program (si.edu)] | ||
[[Category:World History]] | [[Category:World History]] | ||
[[Category:Timelines]] | [[Category:Timelines]] | ||
[[Category:Time]] | [[Category:Time]] |