List of time periods
The categorization of the past into discrete, quantified named blocks of time is called periodization. This is a list of such named time periods as defined in various fields of study.
These can be divided broadly into prehistoric periods and historical periods
.
In archaeology and anthropology, prehistory is subdivided into the three-age system. This list includes the use of the three-age system as well as a number of various designations used in reference to sub-ages within the traditional three.
The dates for each age can vary by region. On the geologic time scale, the Holocene epoch starts at the end of the last glacial period of the current ice age and continues to the present. The beginning of the Mesolithic is usually considered to correspond to the beginning of the Holocene epoch.
Prehistoric periods
Era
- Precambrian
- * Hadean
- * Archean
- ** Eoarchean
- ** Paleoarchean
- ** Mesoarchean
- ** Neoarchean
- * Proterozoic
- ** Paleoproterozoic
- *** Siderian
- *** Rhyacian
- *** Orosirian
- *** Statherian
- ** Mesoproterozoic
- *** Calymmian
- *** Ectasian
- *** Stenian
- ** Neoproterozoic
- *** Tonian
- *** Cryogenian
- *** Ediacaran
- Phanerozoic
- * Paleozoic
- ** Cambrian
- *** Cambrian Explosion
- ** Ordovician
- ** Silurian
- ** Devonian
- ** Carboniferous
- ** Permian
- * Mesozoic
- ** Triassic
- ** Jurassic
- ** Cretaceous
- * Cenozoic
- ** Paleogene
- *** Paleocene
- **** Danian
- **** Selandian
- **** Thanetian
- *** Eocene
- *** Oligocene
- ** Neogene
- *** Miocene
- **** Aquitanian
- **** Burdigalian
- **** Langhian
- **** Serravallian
- **** Tortonian
- **** Messinian
- *** Pliocene
- **** Zanclean
- **** Piacenzian
- ** Quaternary
- *** Pleistocene
- **** Gelasian
- **** Calabrian
- **** Chibanian
- **** Late Pleistocene
- *** Holocene
- **** Greenlandian
- **** Northgrippian
- **** Meghalayan
- *** Anthropocene
General periods
- Geologic Time – Period prior to humans. 4.6 billion to 3 million years ago.
- Primatomorphid Era – Period prior to the existence of Primatomorpha
- Simian Era – Period prior to the existence of Simiiformes
- Hominoid Era – Period prior to the existence of Hominoidea
- Hominid Era – Period prior to the existence of Hominidae
- *Distant signs of Human-like apes
- Homininaeid Era – Period prior to the existence of Homininae
- Homininid Era – Period prior to the existence of Hominini
- Prehistory – Period between the appearance of Homo and the invention of writing systems.
- * Paleolithic – the earliest period of the Stone Age
- ** Lower Paleolithic – time of archaic human species, predates Homo sapiens
- ** Middle Paleolithic – coexistence of archaic and anatomically modern human species
- ** Upper Paleolithic – worldwide expansion of anatomically modern humans, the disappearance of archaic humans by extinction or admixture with modern humans; earliest evidence for pictorial art.
- * Mesolithic – a period in the development of human technology between the Palaeolithic and Neolithic periods.
- * Neolithic – a period of primitive technological and social development, beginning about 10,200 BC in parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world.
- * Chalcolithic – still largely Neolithic in character, when early copper metallurgy appeared alongside the use of stone tools.
- * Bronze Age – not part of prehistory for all regions and civilizations who had adopted or developed a writing system.
- * Iron Age – not part of prehistory for all civilizations who had introduced written records during the Bronze Age.
- Ancient history – Aggregate of past events from the beginning of recorded human history and extending as far as the Early Middle Ages or the Postclassical Era. The span of recorded history is roughly five thousand years, beginning with the earliest linguistic records in the third millennium BC in Mesopotamia and Egypt.
- *Classical antiquity – Broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world. It is the period in which Greek and Roman society flourished and wielded great influence throughout Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.
- Post-classical history – Period of time that immediately followed ancient history. Depending on the continent, the era generally falls between the years AD 200–600 and AD 1200–1500. The major classical civilizations that the era follows are Han China, the Western Roman Empire, the Gupta Empire, and the Sasanian Empire.
- * Middle Ages – Lasted from the 5th to the 15th century. It began with the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and is variously demarcated by historians as ending with the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, or the discovery of America by Columbus in 1492, merging into the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery.
- ** Early Middle Ages
- ** High Middle Ages
- ** Late Middle Ages
- Modern history – After the post-classical era
- *Early modern period – The chronological limits of this period are open to debate. It emerges from the Late Middle Ages, demarcated by historians as beginning with the fall of Constantinople in 1453, in forms such as the Italian Renaissance in the West, the Ming dynasty in the East, and the rise of the Aztecs in the New World. The period ends with the beginning of the Age of Revolutions.
- * Contemporary history – History within living memory. It shifts forward with the generations, and today is the span of historic events from approximately 1945 that are immediately relevant to the present time.
Forms of modernity
- Hominids archaeologically and anatomically similar or identical to modern humans
- Anatomically modern humans
- Technologically modern humans
Technological periods
- Prehistory
- * Paleolithic
- * Mesolithic
- * Neolithic
- * Chalcolithic
- Ancient history
- * Bronze Age
- * Iron Age
- Late Middle Ages
- * Renaissance
- Early modern history
- Modern history
- * Industrial Age
- * Machine Age
- ** Age of Oil
- ** Jet Age
- * Nuclear Age
- * Space Age
- * Information Age
- ** Internet Age
African periods
Egyptian periods
Prehistoric EgyptDynastic Period
- Early Dynastic Period or Archaic Period
- Old Kingdom
- First Intermediate Period
- Middle Kingdom
- Second Intermediate Period
- New Kingdom
- Third Intermediate Period
Islamic Egypt
- Egypt under four foreign Arabic dynasties that ruled from capitals distant from Egypt.
- * Rashidun Egypt
- * Umayyad Egypt
- * Abbasid Egypt
- Tulunid dynasty
- Ikhshidid dynasty
- Fatimid Dynasty
- Ayyubid Dynasty
- Mamluk dynasties
- * Bahri dynasty
- * Burji dynasty
Contemporary Egypt
- Kingdom of Egypt
- Republican Egypt
Libyan periods
- Prehistoric Libya
- Carthaginian Libya
- Roman Libya
- Vandal Libya
- Islamic Libya
- Ottoman Libya
- Colonial Libya
- Libya as an independent country
- * Early Independent Era
- * Libyan Arab Republic
- * Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
- * Contemporary Libya
American (continent) periods
- Classic and Postclassic eras, Central America
- Early Intermediate, Middle Horizon, Late Intermediate, Late Horizon
- * Huari, Chimú, Chincha, Chanka people, Tiwanaku, Inca
- Baroque
- Spanish hegemony
Mexican periods
- Olmecs
- Mayans
- Teotihuacan
- Toltecs
- Aztecs
- Spanish Conquest of Mexico
- New Spain
- Mexican War of Independence
- First Mexican Empire
- First Mexican Republic
- Centralist Republic of Mexico
Modern Mexico
- Revolutionary Mexico
- Maximato
- PRI One-Party State
- Contemporary Mexico
United States historical periods
- Lithic stage
- Archaic stage
- Formative stage
- Woodland period
- Classic stage
- Mississippian period
- Post-Classic stage
United Colonies
Confederation period
First Party System
Second Party System
Third Party System
- Civil War Era
- Reconstruction era
- Gilded Age
Fifth Party System
- Great Depression
- United States home front during World War II
- Post-World War II
- Civil Rights Movement
- United States in the Vietnam War