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Ages (historic periods of time): Difference between revisions

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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
!Classical Period
|-
|-
|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
|3,300-1,100 BC
|3,300-1,200 BC
|1,000 BC to 550 BC
|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)]


=== 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


[[Category:World History]]
[[Category:World History]]
[[Category:Timelines]]
[[Category:Timelines]]
[[Category:Time]]
[[Category:Time]]