Wikipedia:WikiProject Archaeology/Outline

The organization of knowledge about the past can be done in two primary ways: by regions or by periods - space or time. The chronological content is organized going backward in time as one reads down: older periods appear below more recent ones as they do in archaeological texts and in the ground due to stratification. This page is designed to provide an overall picture of both those approaches. It classifies content (or its lack) on Wikipedia not necessarily our state of knowledge as it is.

Notes

As of April 2013 coverage of the archaeological past was arguably too Eurocentric, particularly for major synthetic articles, templates and timelines. This needs addressing as it is an example of systemic bias.

Frameworks for thinking about space and time are varied and often argued about! The intention here is to use the most pragmatic and accepted frameworks that facilitates the organisation of articles

Archaeology by Period[edit]

Main article: List of archaeological periods -

Historic Archaeology[edit]

Note

Archaeologists now work on everything up to the present day (see: Contemporary archaeology). Articles need organising to reflect this and to not just reflect Anglo-American historic periods.

Prehistoric Archaeology[edit]

Synoptic table[edit]

This table synthesises and organises the archaeological content on Wikipedia by continent or region and by period at a very general level. Where possible it should link to the highest-level synthetic articles or lists. If there are glaring omissions in the selection of synthetic articles "Redlinks" may be created. This table uses Before Present (eg, 'Present' = AD1950 the radiocarbon dating definition) as a step toward culturally neutral chronology.

	Prehistoric Europe	Prehistoric Africa		Prehistoric Asia			Prehistoric Americas		Prehistoric Oceania
An Overview of the global past to 1000 BP
Period & Climate	Europe	North Africa, West Africa and Sahara	Central Africa, South and East Africa	Middle East	South Asia, and Central Asia	East Asia and South-East Asia	North America (now Canada and the United States)	Central and South America	Australia, the Philippines and Austronesian peoples
1000 Before Present (BP)	(Middle Ages)	(Caliphate)	(Sahelian kingdoms) Mapungubwe	(Caliphate)	(Middle Kingdoms)	(Song Dynasty)	End of the Woodland period beginning of the Post-archaic period
1500 BP
2000 BP (approximately 0 Before Christ)	Iron Age	(Ancient North Africa)	Bantu expansion	(Classical Antiquity)	(Iron Age India)	(Han Dynasty)	Hopewell tradition
2500 BP
3000 BP	Urnfield culture Bronze Age	Copper Age in Niger	Bantu expansion	Late Bronze Age Early Iron Age	development of Indian Iron Age	Chinese Bronze Age	Beginning of the Woodland period
3500 BP
4000 BP	Bell beaker Chalcolithic corded ware domestication of the horse	Neolithic of Tichit Tenerean		Middle Bronze Age (Sumer)	Indus Valley civilisation writing	Chinese Neolithic of Longshan
4500 BP
5000 BP	Yamna culture, enclosed villages first megaliths Chalcolithic of Central Europe		Beginning of the Hunter-gatherer art of South Africa	Early Bronze Age	Regionalization Era
5500 BP
6000 BP	Samara culture Lower Neolithic Danubian Neolithic	Mediterranean and Egyptian Neolithic	Beginning of Neolithic in East Africa	Uruk period Chalcolithic (copper metallurgy)	Mehrgarh	Neolithic of Yang-Shao rice-growing (?)
6500 BP
7000 BP	Cardial and Linear Pottery (agriculture, stock-rearing, Pottery) Starčevo and Vinča culture agriculture, stock-rearing (pigs, bovine, sheep)	Neolithic of the Sahara/Sahel		Ubaid period ceramic Cyprus	Mehrgarh[bhirana] haryana	Hongshan culture of Northeast Asia (c. 4700 BC/6700 BP)
8000 BP	Tardenoisian cultures (gathering of legumes) Neolithic (Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean ) Sesklo and Choirokoitia			Neolithic with ceramic Ubaid period	MehrgarhBhirrana (India)	Neolithic of northern China
9000 BP	Sauveterrian cultures Komornica culture		Wiltonian	Pre-ceramic B Pre-ceramic A Neolithic in Turkey (wheat, barley)		hunter gatherers of Jōmon (ancient Japan)
10,000 BP	Ahrensburg culture, Azilian and Asiloid cultures (northern Spain, southern France)	Capsian		Goats domestication Zagros in Iran First towns Near East at Aşıklı Höyük and Jericho		Hoabinhian of Southeast Asia
11,000 BP	Backed point culture (Federmesser) Mezine (Ukraine)		Magosian	Natufian	Kandivili
12,000 BP Holocene began glacial ended (12,000 BP)	Magdalenian Solutrean Epigravettian Hamburg culture	Ibero-Maurisian Mushabian Sebilian	Lupemban culture	Kebarian Athlitian Beginning of Neolithic religion at Göbekli Tepe (Southeastern Turkey)	Bhimbetka rock paintings south Asia	pre-Jōmon ceramic (Japan)
20,000 BP glacial at its coldest (20,000 BP)	Gravettian (France) Pavlovian Aurignacian (art) Kostienki (western Russia)			Antelian Aurignacian (art)		Sơn Vi culture (northern Vietnam)
30,000 BP	Châtelperronian Homo neanderthalensis, Homo sapiens Aurignacian (art) Szeletian (Hungary)	Aterian	Stillbay		Balangoda Culture[bhimbetka rock paintings] Angara Culture	Sen-Doki
40,000 BP Beginning of the Upper Paleolithic in Europe and Late Stone Age in Africa	First spread of Anatomically Modern Humans competing with established Homo neanderthalensis Chatelperronian technology	Anatomically Modern Humans Mousterian technology	Anatomically Modern Humans Mousterian technology	First spread of Anatomically Modern Humans Mousterian technology	'First spread of Anatomically Modern Humans Mousterian technology	First spread of Anatomically Modern Humans Mousterian technology
50,000 BP	Homo neanderthalensis Mousterian technology	Anatomically Modern Humans Mousterian technology	Anatomically Modern Humans Mousterian technology	Anatomically Modern Humans Mousterian technology	Homo erectus Acheulean and Oldowan-derived chopper technology (see Movius Line)	Homo erectus Oldowan-derived chopper technology
80,000 BP More complex stone tools - not added as terminology is debated	Homo neanderthalensis Mousterian technology	First spread of Anatomically Modern Humans Mousterian technology	Anatomically Modern Humans Mousterian technology Howiesons Poort	Anatomically Modern Humans Mousterian technology	Homo erectus Acheulean and Oldowan-derived chopper technology (see Movius Line)	Homo erectus Oldowan-derived chopper technology
100,000 BP Modern humans spread out from Africa Last glacial period (major Ice Age) begins (110,000,000 BP)	Homo neanderthalensis Mousterian and Clactonian technology	Homo neanderthalensis Mousterian technology	Established Anatomically Modern Humans Mousterian technology	First spread of Anatomically Modern Humans Mousterian technology	Homo erectus Acheulean and Oldowan-derived chopper technology (see Movius Line)	Homo erectus Oldowan-derived chopper technology
200,000 BP Earliest solid evidence for use of fire	Homo neanderthalensis Clactonian technology	Archaic Homo Sapiens Acheulean technology	Definite rise of Anatomically Modern Humans Acheulean technology	Homo neanderthalensis Acheulean	Homo erectus Acheulean and Oldowan-derived chopper technology (see Movius Line)	Homo erectus Oldowan-derived chopper technology
300,000 BP The beginning of the Middle Paleolithic in Europe and Middle Stone Age in Africa	Homo neanderthalensis Acheulian and Clactonian technology	Archaic Homo Sapiens developing Acheulean technology	Archaic Homo Sapiens developing Acheulean technology	Homo ergaster and Homo neanderthalensis Acheulean technology	Homo erectus Acheulean and Oldowan-derived chopper technology (see Movius Line)	Homo erectus Oldowan-derived chopper technology
400,000 BP The first of our species	Homo heidelbergensis and Homo neanderthalensis Acheulean and Levallois technology	Homo heidelbergensis Acheulean technology	Likely rise of Homo Sapiens (based on genetic evidence) Acheulean technology	Homo ergaster and Homo neanderthalensis Acheulean technology	Homo erectus Acheulean and Oldowan-derived chopper technology (see Movius Line)	Homo erectus Oldowan-derived chopper technology
600,000 BP	Homo heidelbergensis Acheulean technology	Homo antecessor Acheulean technology	Homo heidelbergensis and Homo antecessor Acheulean technology	Homo ergaster Acheulean technology	Homo erectus Acheulean and Oldowan-derived chopper technology (see Movius Line)	Homo erectus Oldowan-derived chopper technology
1,000,000 BP	Homo ergaster Oldowan technology	Homo ergaster Oldowan technology	Homo antecessor Acheulean technology Last Australopithecines	Homo ergaster Acheulean technology	Homo erectus Acheulean and Oldowan-derived chopper technology (see Movius line	Homo erectus Oldowan-derived chopper technology
1,500,000 BP The first steps out of Africa and more advanced tools		Oldowan technology but no fossil preservation	Homo habilis, Homo ergaster The first Acheulean technology Australopithecines	Homo ergaster and/or erectus with Oldowan technology	Homo ergaster and/or erectus with Oldowan technology
2,000,000 BP			Homo habilis First appearances of Homo ergaster and/or erectus Australopithecines Oldowan technology		Possible independent evolution of Homo erectus
2,500,000 BP The first stone tools The beginning of the Pleistocene			First appearance of Homo habilis and possiblyHomo rudolfensis Australopithecines The earliest Oldowan technology
Period & Climate	Prehistoric Europe	North Africa, West Africa and Sahara	Central Africa, South and East Africa	Middle East	South Asia, and Central Asia	East Asia and South-East Asia	North America (now Canada and the United States)	Central and South America	Australia, the Philippines and Austronesian peoples
	Prehistoric Europe	Prehistoric Africa		Prehistoric Asia			Prehistoric Americas		Prehistoric Oceania
An Overview of the global past to 1000 BP

Periods and stages in archaeology – also a sub-category'

Prehistory - in need of serious cleanup

Archaeology by region[edit]

Also a sub-category

List of archaeological periods – also in sub-category

- List of famous archaeological sites – also in sub-category