Click Here to view the durations of the three ages of human prehistory.
Landmarks in Human Prehistory
116,000 BCE: the world's oldest art was created around this time.
100,000 BCE: early mankind culture originates.
83,000 BCE: an ice age massively alters the migration routes of animals and man.
80,000 BCE: widespread burial rituals suggest a religious belief.
68,000 BCE: smallpox spreads worldwide.
60,000 BCE: evidence of belief in life after death.
35,000 BCE: fundamental religious principles are now widespread; a clan culture is universal; compassion for the unfortunate is widespread; rock painting is universal.
The Stone Age
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The Stone Age is by far the longest age in human history. It refers to a time when Homo Sapiens used stone as their primary material for making tools and weapons. As it lasted for about 2.5 million years, it was later divided into three subcategories: Paleolithic (old), Mesolithic (middle), and Neolithic (new).
The Paleolithic period lasted from 2 million BCE to 10, 000 BCE. It begins with the first evidence of toolmaking and ends with the end of the last ice age.
The Mesolithic period is relatively short, lasting from 10, 000 BCE to 5, 500 BCE. This time period covers the time between the end of the last ice age and the introduction of widespread farming. Globally speaking, the Mesolithic period could overlap into the Neolithic period by several hundred or thousand years, as some parts of the world may still be Mesolithic (pre-farming), whereas others would be Neolithic (farming).
The Neolithic period is even shorter than the Mesolithic period. It lasts from 5, 500 BCE to 2, 500 BCE. It marks the time between the introduction of widespread farming, and the widespread usage of metal tools. This would now take us into the Bronze Age. Like at the end of the Mesolithic period, there would be some overlap between the Neolithic period and the Bronze Age, as some regions may adopt metal tools many years later than others.
The Bronze Age
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The Bronze Age was an age characterized by the widespread usage of copper, and its alloy bronze. Like the Stone Age, it was sub-divided into three separate time periods: Early, Intermediate, and Late.
The Early Bronze Age took place between 3, 300 BCE and 2, 100 BCE, the Intermediate Bronze Age took place between 2, 100 BCE and 1, 550 BCE, and the Late Bronze Age took place between 1, 550 BCE and 1, 200 BCE.
The transition between the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age is what most historians call violent and culturally disruptive. The palace economies of the Aegean and Anatolia characterized the Late Bronze Age were being replaced. The fall of Troy, which has been recounted in Greek mythology occurred at the end of the Bronze Age. Every single important Anatolian (Turkish) site shows a destruction layer, and it appears that the Hittites suffered a similar fate when its capital Hattusas was burned, abandoned, and never reoccupied. This ended up destroying the Hittites. The Anatolian city of Troy was destroyed at least twice before it was abandoned until Roman times. Click Here to view a scene from the Trojan war.
The Iron Age
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The Iron Age is an age following the Bronze Age that is marked by the ubiquitous usage of iron or steel. The ancient texts of the Iron Age are among the oldest to be preserved today in manuscript tradition.
Along with the usage of iron, the Iron Age is characterized by the forms of weapons, personal ornaments, pottery, and systems of decorative design, which are altogether fundamentally different than those of the previous Bronze Age. The Iron Age represents yet another great leap in human civilization.
The approximate years of the Iron Age are more varying by region than in any other preceding age, as Iron Age characteristics were adopted by different civilizations at differing times. For example, the Iron Age lasted from 1, 200 BCE to 400 CE in Europe, whereas the Iron Age in Japan lasted between 100 BCE and 500 CE.
Sources: www.art-prints-on-demand.com; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Age; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronze_Age; www.matrixbookstore.biz/history_timelines.htm; www.ancientstones.org.uk/; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hattusa; www.inceblundellvillage.co.uk/Iron%20age%20House.jpg; http://www.telusplanet.net/dgarneau/euro2.htm;