Prehistoric Periods

• Lower Paleolithic (2.6 million – 300,000 years ago) First stone tools, control of fire
• Middle Paleolithic (300,000 – 50,000 years ago) Neanderthals, more sophisticated tools
• Upper Paleolithic (50,000 – 10,000 BCE) Cave art, bone flutes, complex tool industries
• Mesolithic/Epipaleolithic (10,000 – 8,000 BCE, varies by region) Post-Ice Age adaptations, microliths, transition to sedentism
• Neolithic (begins ~10,000 BCE Near East, later elsewhere) Agriculture, pottery, permanent settlements

Metal Ages

• Chalcolithic/Copper Age (5,500 – 3,300 BCE) First metal use, transitional period
• Bronze Age (3,300 – 1,200 BCE) Bronze metallurgy, first urban civilizations
• Iron Age (1,200 – 550 BCE) Iron working, widespread metal tools

Historical Periods (Western-centric framework)

• Classical Antiquity (800 BCE – 500 CE) Greek and Roman civilizations
• Medieval Period (500 – 1500 CE) Feudal systems, rise of Christianity in Europe
• Renaissance (1400 – 1600 CE) Revival of classical learning, artistic revolution
• Early Modern Period (1500 – 1800 CE) Age of Exploration, Scientific Revolution
• Industrial Revolution (1760 – 1840 CE) Machine manufacturing, mechanization
• Modern Era (1800 – 1945 CE) Nation-states, global conflicts, electrical technology
• Contemporary Period (1945 – present) Digital age, globalization, information technology