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The names for archaeological periods vary enormously from region to region. This is a list of the main divisions by continent and region. Dating also varies considerably and those given are broad approximations across wide areas.
The three-age system has been used in many areas, referring to the prehistorical and historical periods identified by tool manufacture and use, of Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age.[1][2] Since these ages are distinguished by the development of technology, it is natural that the dates to which these refer vary in different parts of the world. In many regions, the term Stone Age is no longer used, as it has been replaced by more specific geological periods. For some regions, there is need for an intermediate Chalcolithic period between the Stone Age and Bronze Age. For cultures where indigenous metal tools were in less widespread use, other classifications, such as the lithic stage, archaic stage and formative stage refer to the development of other types of technology and social organization.
Historical periods denotes periods of human development with the advantage of the development of writing. Written records tend to provide more socio-political insight into the dominant nations, and hence allow categorization according to the ruling empires and cultures, such as Hellenistic, Roman, Viking. Inevitably these definitions of periods only relate to the region of that empire or culture.
The Industrial age or Modern era is generally taken to refer to post-1800. From this time, the Industrial Revolution which began in Western Europe resulted in global trade and greatly increased cultural exchange.
Archaeological period articles – by continent and region
editContinents | Regions | Periods articles | Major periods |
---|---|---|---|
Africa | North Africa | North Africa |
Paleolithic |
Sub-Saharan Africa | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Earlier Stone Age | |
Asia | Near East | Levantine |
Stone Age (2,000,000 – 3300 BCE) |
South Asia | South Asian Periods |
1) Paleolithic (c.53000 – 10000 BCE). | |
East Asia | East Asia Periods | Neolithic c. 7500 BCE Pengtoushan culture | |
North Asia | North Asia Periods | ||
Korea | Korean Periods |
Paleolithic c. 40,000/30,000 – c. 8000 BCE | |
Japan | Japan Periods |
Paleolithic c. 35,000 – c. 10,000 BCE | |
China | China Periods |
Paleolithic c. 1.36 million years ago | |
Americas | North America | North America |
Lithic/Paleo-Indian (pre 8000 BCE) |
Mesoamerica | Mesoamerica |
Lithic/Paleo-Indian (pre 8000 BCE) | |
South America | South America (Peru) |
Lithic/Paleo-Indian (pre c. 8200 BCE) | |
Australasia | Australia | Australia |
Indigenous Period (60,000 BCE – 1606 CE) |
New Zealand | New Zealand |
Archaic period (1000 – 1350/1650 CE) | |
Oceania | Oceania | ||
Europe | Northern Europe | Northern Europe |
Nordic Stone Age
Nordic Bronze Age (c. 1700 BCE - c. 500 BCE)[3] |
Western Europe | Western Europe |
Paleolithic (pre c. 8800 BCE) | |
Southeastern Europe | Southeastern Europe |
Paleolithic |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Kipfer, Barbara Ann (30 April 2000). Encyclopedic Dictionary of Archaeology. New York: Springer Science & Business Media (published 2000). p. 564. ISBN 9780306461583. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
Three-Age system: The division of human prehistory into three successive stages - Stone Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age - based on the main type of material used in tools of the period. [...] The Ages are only developmental stages, and some areas skipped one or more of the stages. At first entirely hypothetical, these divisions were later confirmed by archaeological observations.
- ^ Darvill, Timothy (2021-08-19), "Three Age System", The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/acref/9780191842788.001.0001, ISBN 978-0-19-184278-8, archived from the original on 9 March 2022, retrieved 2024-11-29
- ^ Vandkilde, Helle (2004). "Bronze Age Scandinavia". In Bogucki, Peter; Crabtree, Pam J. (eds.). Ancient Europe, 8000 B.C. to A.D. 1000: Encyclopedia of the Barbarian World. Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 73. ISBN 0-684-80668-1.
The Bronze Age proper commenced c. 1700 B.C. and concluded c. 500 B.C., but metals became socially integrated by about 2000 B.C., during the Late Neolithic period—already a bronze age in all but name.