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History divided into periods
In the last post we presented what history is and what it is for. As its development time is extremely long, Western historians have divided it into periods based on a categorization system influenced by geographical and anthropological data. Geography shows how groups of people in different areas relate to each other. Anthropological data provide information on different aspects of culture and human behavior.
The passage from one historical period to another is marked by a change or an important fact that occurred in one of these stages. The transition is not always so clear and marked, as changes occur slowly.
There is, however, no consensus on this as there are many other ways to group historical events considering political, cultural, and economic aspects. There is even debate about adding other categories to further subdivide the human experience, adding a more recent contemporary era, based on significant advancement and geographic change after the two world wars.
The first division is the Christian one, which separates time into two parts: before and after Christ. For this reason, any date referred to before the birth of Christ is indicated with the addition of BC (Before Christ) and if it occurred later should be added AC (After Christ).
Classification of historical periods
Prehistory – since the origin of humanity about 2 or 3 million years BC until the invention of writing, around 3000 BC.
Ancient Age – from the emergence of writing 3,000 BC to 476 A.C., with the fall of the Western Roman Empire.
Middle Ages – from 476 AC to 1453 AC, with the fall of the Eastern Roman Empire. Some historians, however, consider 1492, the year of the arrival of the Spaniards in America.
Modern Age – from 1453 AC to 1879 AC, with the French Revolution. Not all historians agree, some mark the end of the Modern Age in 1815 AC, with the Congress of Vienna, and others still consider 1848 AC, with the revolutionary movements.
Contemporary Age – since 1879.
Prehistory
The prehistoric period is often referred to as Period 1 because it includes prehistory, the first period in chronological order in history, and the events that lie farther back and coincide with the appearance of the first hominids 2 or 3 million years ago.
Prehistory is the largest of all historical periods, as it ranges from the appearance of the first hominids to the invention of writing, initiated by the Mesopotamians around 3000 BC. It is, therefore, the entire human past prior to writing. During this period, primitive man created language as a means of communication, learned to live in community, use fire, domesticate animals, and produce food, giving rise to agriculture. In addition, he created painting, ceramics and the first social and political organizations.
You can only learn about this period from archaeological finds that show a wide spread of migratory patterns gradually shifting to a sedentary lifestyle around 4000 BC.
Discoveries of ancient settlements show the development of primitive agricultural tools, which allowed for this change. Mesopotamia or the Fertile Crescent was one of the first areas colonized by humans, with cities such as Uruk being formed by the Sumerians around 3000 BC, although other forms of writing were created independently in different regions of the world.
Based on the material used for the construction of tools and the development of work techniques, historians divide Prehistory into the following periods:
Upper Paleolithic or Chipped Stone Age – 45,000 to 8,000 BC
There was already a certain social organization and sense of family, as they lived in clans, without religion and were nomadic extractives. They fed by hunting, fishing, and gathering fruits. They used the chipped stone, bones, and wood to make tools used in hunting. One of the most outstanding achievements was the mastery of fire. This allowed them to cook, keep warm, and light up the night.
Neolithic or Polished Stone Age
The polishing of stones and the use of metal to produce work tools was developed. Man developed agriculture, became sedentary, lived in villages, domesticated animals, and initiated mystical rituals.
Age of Metals
Period stretching from 5000 BC until the emergence of writing by the Sumerians, around 3000 BC. The production of metal parts was a strong impetus for trade. This increased the wealth of some villages, which grew into cities.
The passage from one phase to another happens because human beings begin to produce their own food, that is, agriculture and livestock begin, which provoked great changes in the way of life of these groups.
Our ancestors stopped being nomads and formed sedentary groups, as they no longer needed to move to look for food, since they could produce it. The first cities were created, and families and members of the same tribe lived in them.
Ancient Age
Ancient Age or Antiquity is the period of history that is counted from the development of writing in 3,000 years BC, until the fall of the Western Roman Empire, in 476 of the Christian eras. It is divided into Eastern Antiquity and Western or Classical Antiquity. In it occurred the advent of Christianity, classical Greek philosophy, and Roman law, very important for the formation of the West.
Oriental Antiquity is marked by the appearance of the first civilized peoples: Egyptians, Mesopotamians, Phoenicians, Persians, and Hebrews. These people were strongly influenced by the physical-geographic environment in which they lived. This phase is marked by great commercial development. In general, they had an economy based on agriculture and livestock and used slave labor.
The Phoenicians, who did not have favorable conditions for an agrarian economy, developed navigation and trade. The Mediterranean Sea was the main trade route. The Silk Road spanned the land area between China and Rome. This also facilitated contact and cultural exchange between ancient civilizations.
The main empires found in this period are the Western Roman Empire, located in Rome, the Gupta Empire located in present-day India, the Han Empire located in present-day China, and the Sasanian Empire located in present-day Iran. The main religions of this period were Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism.
Ancient Age - Classical Era (600 BC – 476 AC)
It marks the origins of the first great civilizations and involves the organization and reorganization of human societies throughout ancient civilizations. Some of these great civilizations at the beginning of this period included Babylon and Persia. Alexander the Great conquered the Persian Empire in 331 BC, beginning the Hellenistic period. Greek civilization maintained more detailed accounts of history, politics, philosophy, and scientific achievements.
Middle Ages (476 AC – 1453 AC)
The Middle Ages is divided into two subperiods: the High Middle Ages (V-X centuries) and the Late Middle Ages (XI-XV centuries).
The Middle Ages is the period of history beginning in 476 AC. with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ends in 1453 AC with the fall of the Eastern Roman Empire. It should be emphasized that this is a Eurocentric division, it should be noted that this is a Eurocentric division because it refers to events related to the European continent.
The term “Middle Ages” was created by the Renaissance and one of the first to use it was a 15th century Italian named Giovanni Andrea. This nomenclature had a pejorative connotation, since such a “middle time” was considered a period that separated Europe from the Greco-Roman classical tradition. The classical period of Antiquity was interrupted by the Middle Ages, understood negatively. The end of this period brought the rescue of the classical tradition or a “renaissance”.
It was marked by the development of feudalism, the mode of economic production, the system of political and social organization, the influence of the Church, the Crusades, and the Inquisition.
Traditionally, feudalism has always been understood as an exclusively economic model, but the prevailing opinion among historians is that it is a key concept that helps us understand much of the Middle Ages and that does not apply exclusively to the economic field. It is also useful for understanding the entire social, political, cultural, and ideological organization of medieval Europe. Its classical period was between the 11th and 13th centuries.
The regions that witnessed feudalism in its classic application belonged to Central Europe, especially France, Germany, northern Italy, and England. Other places, such as Spain and Portugal, also experienced some of its characteristics.
The Catholic Church played a significant role in that society, since it propagated the ideology that justified social organization. For the Church, each group had a specific role to play. And it was God who established these functions. The Church, therefore, defined that society as estates, and this resulted in little social mobility.
For many scholars, the Middle Ages are considered the Dark Ages, as they come after the Ancient Age, full of art and culture, and precede the Modern Age, the cradle of humanism and the Renaissance. In the view of these historians, the constant wars between villages and the emergence of institutions such as the Inquisition made this period marked by darkness and misery.
Modern age
The Modern Age is the period of history beginning in 1453 AD. with the capture of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks and the fall of the Eastern Roman Empire and until the year 1789 AD, the date of the French Revolution. It is one of the briefest periods of classical periodization, lasting about three hundred years.
Main features
During this period, there was a strong evolution with inventions such as the printing press. The arrival of the Spaniards in America, in 1492 AC, led to a new way of seeing and understanding the world. Since the end of the Middle Ages, cities had been growing and, therefore, had a strong logistical and urban development. As a result, feudalism, the prevailing economic system, gave way to the capitalist system.
Politics in the Modern Age
Absolutism was the established form of government. In it, the king's words were law, and his will and desire were a command. This form of domination was based on theories of "divine predestination", which pointed to the king as chosen by God and secular texts such as The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli. European monarchs watched their power crumble through several liberal revolutions, until the French Revolution began the process that would definitively overthrow the Ancient Regime.
Most Important Events of the Modern Era
The Catholic Church played an important role in that society, since it propagated the ideology that justified social organization. For the Church, each group had a specific function to perform, and these functions had been established by God. The Church, therefore, defined that society as estates, and this resulted in little social mobility.
For many scholars, the Middle Ages are considered the Dark Ages, as they come after the Ancient Age, full of art and culture, and precede the Modern Age, the cradle of humanism and the Renaissance. In the view of these historians, the constant wars between villages and the emergence of institutions such as the Inquisition made this period marked by darkness and misery.
New currents of thought – humanism and rationalism prevailed in the first part of the Modern Age. New philosophical trends arise, inspired by the classics, which bring man to the center of philosophical thought and debate. The commercial and artistic renaissance, the Enlightenment and the Protestant Reformation changed the social imaginary of that period and its transformations still last.
Religious reform – led by Martin Luther, it was a great social revolution, responsible for a hard blow against the Catholic Church, which reacted with the counter-reformation, a movement to quell the progress of religious reform.
Great navigations – happened thanks to discoveries and advances such as the improvement of the astrolabe and the compass, more resistant boats for sea voyages and, later, the advent of steam engines.
Industrial Revolution – the development of the industrial sector made it possible to create machines to improve industrial processes to meet the growing market demand. The capitalist system begins to assert itself thanks to a growing number of middle classes able to buy and manage their own economy.
Expansion of the bourgeoisie – this social class was consolidated in the Modern Age because trade and industrial activity grew, but new buyers were needed and, with that, cities and countries began to open to the world to buy and sell products.
Expansion of business at sea – the Turks had blocked trade in the Mediterranean and, for this reason, the expansion of trade had to be done across the Atlantic Ocean. Christopher Columbus arrived in America because he was looking for a trade route to India.
Piracy – due to this commercial opening through the seas and oceans, piracy increases, that is, the presence of thieves who attack ships to loot them and take care of the mutiny. Many of these ships were on business with other countries and loaded with monetary and material riches.
Increase of slavery – due to the discovery of new lands and imperialism there is a considerable increase in human slavery. Slaves were taken from Africa to the Spanish, French, Portuguese, and English colonies in America, creating authentic depopulation of African areas and human exploitation as a form of trade.
Contemporary age
The current Contemporary Age begins in 1789 AC, with the French Revolution. In it, the birth of government systems such as the republican, the consolidation of the capitalist system, the fall of power of the Catholic Church, the increase in world population, the appearance of great inventions and globalization took place.
Consolidation of capitalism as an economic system – capitalism has been consolidated as the most popular form of economic and social organization in most countries of the world.
Loss of Church power – Capitalism and new cultural currents founded on reason gradually led to the decline of the influence of the Church and Western religions.
Population increase – population increase has been constant; however, the reason is no longer the birth rate but the advances in medicine and science that increase the life expectancy of populations.
Increased demand – with the world’s population increasing, more commodities are needed and therefore industries have grown, and natural resources are being overexploited.
Globalization – the advance of capitalism has increased intercontinental trade and tourism. Large multinational companies manufacture their products in less developed countries at much lower costs and sell these products to developed countries, maximizing profits.
Was it extraterrestrial?
Many studies since the arrival of man on the Moon ensure that we are living in the next era in the history of our species, which should be called the "extraterrestrial phase", as they consider the inevitable attempt to conquer outer space to be the next expansion of man. As there is no unanimity in this regard, the hypothesis has both supporters and detractors.
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