List of time periods

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The categorization of time into discrete named blocks is called periodization. This is a list of such named time periods as defined in various fields of study. Major categorization systems include cosmological (concerning the various time periods in the origin and evolution of our universe), geological (concerning time periods in the origin and evolution of earth ) and historical (concerning time periods in the origin and evolution of mankind).

Human time periods

These can be divided broadly into prehistorical (before history began to be recorded) and historical periods (when written records began to be kept).

Further information: Human evolution

Prehistoric periods

Further information: List of archaeological periods

In archaeology and anthropology, human prehistory is subdivided around 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 Stone Age
  • Paleolithic Age
    • Lower Paleolithic
    • Middle paleolithic
    • Upper Paleolithic
  • Mesolithic Age
  • Neolithic Age
• The Copper Age. Note: The Copper Age was not part of the original three-age system.
• The Bronze Age
• The Iron Age

The dates for each age can vary by region. On the geologic time scale, the Holocene epoch starts at the end of last glacial period of the current ice age (around 10000 BC) and continues to the present. The beginning of Mesolithic is usually considered to correspond to the beginning of the Holocene epoch.

Historical periods

Main article: History by period

• Mesopotamia (3500 BC – 559 BC)

• Historical Periods of the Americas
  Further information: History of the Americas
  Further information: History of the United States
  • Classic and Postclassic eras, Central America (200 AD – 1519 AD)
  • Early Intermediate, Middle Horizon, Late Intermediate, Late Horizon (Peru, 200 AD – 1534 AD)
    • Huari, Chimú, Chincha, Chanka Confederation, Tiwanaku, Inca
  • Baroque (New World, 1600 AD – 1750 AD)
  • Spanish hegemony (Americas, 16th century – 1820s)
  • Reconstruction era (United States, 1865 AD – 1877 AD)
  • Gilded Age (United States, 19th century)
  • Progressive Era (United States, 1890s – 1920s)

• Historical Periods of Southeast Asia
  Further information: History of Southeast Asia
  • Srivijaya (Indonesia, 3rd century to 14th century), Tarumanagara (358 AD – 723 AD), Sailendra (8th & 9th centuries), Kingdom of Sunda (669 AD – 1579 AD), Kingdom of Mataram (752 AD – 1045 AD), Kediri (1045 AD – 1221 AD), Singhasari (1222 AD – 1292 AD), Majapahit (1293 AD – 1500 AD)
  • Chenla (Cambodia, 630 AD – 802 AD) and Khmer Empire (Cambodia, 802 AD – 1432 AD)
  • Anterior Lý Dynasty and Triệu Việt Vương, Third Chinese domination, Khúc Family, Dương Đình Nghệ, Kiều Công Tiễn, Ngô Dynasty, The 12 Lords Rebellion, Đinh Dynasty, Prior Lê Dynasty, Lý Dynasty, Trần Dynasty, Hồ Dynasty, Fourth Chinese domination (Vietnam, 544 AD – 1427 AD)
  • Spanish hegemony (Philippines, 1525 AD – 1898 AD)

• Chinese Dynasties
  Further information: History of China
  • Shang Dynasty (China 1600 BC – 1046 BC)
  • Zhou Dynasty (China 1200 BC – 500 BC)
  • Southern and Northern Dynasties, Sui Dynasty, Tang Dynasty, Period of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (China, 420 AD – 960 AD),
  • Liao Dynasty, Song Dynasty, Jin Dynasty (1115–1234), Western Xia Dynasty, Yuan Dynasty, and Ming Dynasty (China, 220 AD – 1644 AD)
  • Qing dynasty (China, 1644 AD – 1912 AD)

• Historical Periods of Ancient Egypt
  Further information: Ancient Egypt
  • Old Kingdom (Egypt, 3000 BC – 2000 BC)
  • Middle Kingdom (Egypt, 2000 BC – 1300 BC)
  • New Kingdom (Egypt, 1550 BC – 1070 BC)
  • Coptic period (Egypt 300 AD – 900 AD)

• Historical Periods of Europe
  Further information: European History
  • Migration period (Europe 200 AD – 700 AD)
  • Middle Ages (Europe, 5th century – 15th century)
    • Early Middle Ages European (AD 500 AD – 1000 AD)
      • Dark Age (Europe, 4th century – 900 AD)
      • Viking Age (Scandinavia, Europe, 793 AD – 1066 AD)
    • High Middle Ages (Feudalism) European military expansion (1000 AD – 1450 AD)
    • Late Middle Ages European (1300 AD – 1500 AD)
  • The Renaissance (Europe, 14th century – 16th century)
• Early modern period (Europe, 16th century – 18th century)
  • Age of Discovery (or Exploration) (Europe, 15th century – 17th century)
  • Spanish hegemony (Europe, 16th and 17th century)
    • Elizabethan period (United Kingdom, 1558 AD – 1603 AD)
    • The Protestant Reformation (Europe, 16th century)
    • Classicism (Europe, 16th - 18th century)
    • Industrious Revolution, (Europe, 16th - 18th century)
    • Jacobean Era (United Kingdom, 1603 AD – 1625 AD)
  • Petrine Era (Russia, 1689 AD – 1725 AD)
  • The Age of Enlightenment (or Reason) (Europe, 18th century)
    • Georgian Era (United Kingdom, 1714 AD – 1830 AD)
  • Modern era (Europe, 18th century – 20th century)
    • Industrial Revolution (Europe, United States, elsewhere 18th and 19th centuries)
    • Age of European colonialism and imperialism
      Further information: Colonialism
    • Napoleonic Era (1799 AD – 1815 AD)
    • Victorian era (United Kingdom, 1837 AD – 1901 AD); British hegemony, much of world, around the same time period.
    • Romantic Era (1800 AD – 1920 AD)
      • Edwardian period (United Kingdom, 1901 AD – 1910 AD)

• Historical Periods of Ancient Greece/Rome
  Further information: Ancient Greece
  Further information: Ancient Rome
  • Ancient Greece (Greece and Near East, c. 3300 BC – 31 BC (however, this area had settlements as far back as 9000 BC; see Timeline of Ancient Greece)
  • Ancient Rome (509 BC – AD 476)

• Historical Periods of India
  Further information: History of India
  • Indus Valley Civilization (3300 BC – 1300 BC)
  • Vedic period (India 1500 BC – 500 BC)
  • Gupta Empire, Pala Empire, Rashtrakuta, Hoysala Empire, and Kakatiya Empire (India, 280 AD – 1323 AD)
  • Mughal Empire (India, 1526 AD – 1857 AD)

• Historical Periods of Japan
  Further information: History of Japan
  • Jomon period (Japan 800 BC – 400 BC)
  • Yayoi period (Japan 400 BC — 300 AD)
  • Kofun period (Japan 300 AD – 600 AD)
  • Asuka period, Nara period, Heian period, Kamakura period, Muromachi period, and Azuchi-Momoyama period (Japan, 538 AD – 1603 AD)
  • Tokugawa shogunate (Japan, 1603 AD – 1868 AD)
  • Meiji period (Japan, 1868 AD – 1912 AD)

• Historical Periods of the Middle East
  Further information: History of the Islamic Empire
  • Islamic Golden Age (Islam, 700 AD – 1300 AD)
  • Ottoman Empire (Islam, 1299 AD – 1923 AD)

Contemporary Historical Periods Throughout the World

• Machine Age (1900 AD – 1945 AD)
  • Age of Oil (after 1901 AD)
  • World War I (1914 AD – 1918 AD)
  • Interwar period (1918 AD – 1939 AD)
    • Roaring Twenties (1920 AD – 1929 AD)
    • Great Depression (1929 AD – World War II)
  • World War II (1939 AD – 1945 AD)
  • Atomic Age (after 1945 AD)
    • Post-war era (1946 AD – 1962 AD)
    • Cold War (Soviet Union and United States, and their allies, 1945 AD – 1989 AD or 1991 AD)
      • Space Age (after 1957 AD)
        • The Sixties (1960 AD – 1969 AD)
  • Post-Modern (Soviet Union and United States, 1973 AD – present)
    • Information Age (1970 AD – present)
      • The Seventies (1970 AD – 1979 AD)
      • The Eighties (1980 AD – 1989 AD)
      • The Nineties (1990 AD – 1999 AD)
      • The Noughties (2000 AD – 2009 AD)
        • The Social Age (2004 AD - present)
      • The Tens (2010 AD - 2019 AD)
    • The Big Data age (2001 AD – present)

Mythological and astrological time periods

• Astrological ages
  • Age of Taurus
  • Age of Aries
  • Age of Pisces
  • Age of Aquarius

• Greek mythology
  • Golden Age, self-sufficient
  • Silver Age, self-indulgent
  • Bronze Age, warlike
  • Heroic Age, nobly aspirant
  • Iron Age, violent

• Aztec mythology
  • Nahui-Ocelotl, Destroyed by Jaguars
  • Nahui-Ehécatl, Destroyed by Hurricane
  • Nahuiquiahuitl, Destroyed by rain of Fire
  • Nahui-Atl, Destroyed by Flood
  • Nahui-Ollin, Destroyed by Earthquakes

Geologic time periods

Main articles: Geologic time scale and List of Global Boundary Stratotype Sections and Points

The geologic time scale covers the extent of the existence of Earth, from about 4600 million years ago to the present day. It is marked by Global Boundary Stratotype Sections and Points. Geologic time units are (in order of descending specificity) eons, eras, periods, epochs, and ages; and the corresponding chronostratigraphic units, which measure "rock-time", are eonothems, erathems, systems, series, and stages.

The second and third timelines are each subsections of their preceding timeline as indicated by asterisks. The Cenozoic is sometimes divided into the Quaternary and Tertiary periods, although their use is no longer official.

Cosmological time periods

13.7 billion years ago: The Big Bang Theory (The Universe's Possible Beginnings)

Main article: Timeline of the Big Bang

Time Period	Duration	Description
Planck epoch	From the start to 10-43 seconds after the Big Bang	Very little concrete information is known about this epoch. Different theories propose different views on this particular time.
Grand unification epoch	Between 10-43 to 10-36 seconds after the Big Bang	The result of the universe expanding and cooling down during the Planck epoch.
Electroweak epoch	Between 10-36 seconds to 10-12 seconds after the Big Bang	The universe cools down to 1028 Kelvin.
Inflationary epoch	Between 10-36 seconds to 10-32 seconds after the Big Bang	The shape of the universe flattens due to cosmic inflation.
Quark epoch	Between 10-12 seconds to 10-6 seconds after the Big Bang	Cosmic inflation has ended. Quarks are present in the universe at this point.
Hadron epoch	Between 10-6 seconds to 1 second after the Big Bang	The universe has cooled enough for quarks to form hadrons, protons, neutrons.
Lepton epoch	Between 1 second to 10 seconds after the Big Bang	Most hadrons and anti-hadrons annihilate each other, leaving behind leptons and anti-leptons.
Photon epoch	Between 10 seconds to 380,000 years after the Big Bang	Most leptons and anti-leptons annihilate each other. The universe is dominated by photons.
Nucleosynthesis	Between 3 minutes to 20 minutes after the Big Bang	The temperature of the universe has cooled down enough to allow atomic nuclei to form via nuclear fission.
Recombination	About 377,000 years after the Big Bang	Hydrogen and helium atoms form.
Reionization	Between 150 million and 1 billion years after the Big Bang	The first stars and quasars form due to gravitational collapse.

See also

• Exponential timeline shows all history on one page in ten lines.
• Periodization for a discussion of the tendency to try to fit history into non-overlapping periods.
• List of fossil sites with link directory
• List of timelines