Ages & Periods - Encyclopedia of World History and Prehistory
One hundred fifty years of archaeology have contributed to the development of a world history; in some cases, archaeology is the only way we know anything about the history of the ancient world.
Maeshowe, Orkney's finest chambered cairn
Important Neolithic chamber tomb in the Orkney Islands; webpage from OrkneyJar.
Important Neolithic chamber tomb in the Orkney Islands; webpage from OrkneyJar.
Oldowan Tradition
The Oldowan Tradition is the name given to a pattern of stone-tool making by our hominid ancestors, from 2.5-1.5 million years ago.
The Oldowan Tradition is the name given to a pattern of stone-tool making by our hominid ancestors, from 2.5-1.5 million years ago.
Stone Age
The Stone Age (known to scholars as the Paleolithic era) in human prehistory is the name given to the period roughly between about 1.5 million and 20,000 years ago.
The Stone Age (known to scholars as the Paleolithic era) in human prehistory is the name given to the period roughly between about 1.5 million and 20,000 years ago.
Neolithic Period
The Neolithic period designation is a prime example of how science doesn't come as clean as you can think it, at least in archaeology.
The Neolithic period designation is a prime example of how science doesn't come as clean as you can think it, at least in archaeology.
Chalcolithic Period
The Chalcolithic is the name given to the period in the Near East and Europe after the Neolithic and before the Bronze Age, between about 4500 and 3500 BC.
The Chalcolithic is the name given to the period in the Near East and Europe after the Neolithic and before the Bronze Age, between about 4500 and 3500 BC.
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a fairly arbitrary technological stage invented as part of a three-part system (Stone, Bronze, and Iron)
The Bronze Age is a fairly arbitrary technological stage invented as part of a three-part system (Stone, Bronze, and Iron)
Pleistocene Epoch
The Pleistocene epoch is that little snippet of geological history between 1.8 million years to 11,000 years ago.
The Pleistocene epoch is that little snippet of geological history between 1.8 million years to 11,000 years ago.
Three Age System
The so-called Three Age System was developed by the Danish curator of the National Museum of Denmark C.J. Thomsen, at the instigation of his predecessor Rasmus Nyerup, and to resolve display issues.
The so-called Three Age System was developed by the Danish curator of the National Museum of Denmark C.J. Thomsen, at the instigation of his predecessor Rasmus Nyerup, and to resolve display issues.