The categorisation of the past into discrete, quantified named blocks of time is called periodization.[1] This is a list of such named time periods as defined in various fields of study.
These can be divided broadly into prehistorical periods and historical periods (when written records began to be kept).
Inarchaeology 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 designation 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 (c. 10,000 BC) and continues to the present. The beginning of the Mesolithic is usually considered to correspond to the beginning of the Holocene epoch.
Geologic Time – Period prior to humans. 4.6 billion to 3 million years ago. (See "prehistoric periods" for more detail into this.)
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 ("humans"; first stone tools c. three million years ago) and the invention of writing systems (for the Ancient Near East: c. five thousand years ago).
Paleolithic – the earliest period of the Stone Age
Mesolithic (Epipaleolithic) – 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 (or "Eneolithic", "Copper Age") – still largely Neolithic in character, when early coppermetallurgy 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 (ending in 220), the Western Roman Empire (in 476), the Gupta Empire (in the 550s), and the Sasanian Empire (in 651).
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.
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.
Late Period of Ancient Egypt (six dynasties: of these six, two were Persian dynasties that ruled from capitals distant from Egypt) (664 BC – c. 332 BC)
