List of archaeological periods

The names for archaeological periods vary enormously from region to region. This is a list of the main divisions by continent and region. Dating also varies considerably and those given are broad approximations across wide areas.

The three-age system has been used in many areas, referring to the prehistorical and historical periods identified by tool manufacture and use, of Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age.{{Cite book |last=Kipfer |first=Barbara Ann |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XneTstDbcC0C |title=Encyclopedic Dictionary of Archaeology |date=30 April 2000 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=9780306461583 |location=New York |publication-date=2000 |page=564 |quote=Three-Age system: The division of human prehistory into three successive stages - Stone Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age - based on the main type of material used in tools of the period. [...] The Ages are only developmental stages, and some areas skipped one or more of the stages. At first entirely hypothetical, these divisions were later confirmed by archaeological observations. |author-link=Barbara Ann Kipfer |access-date=29 November 2024}}{{Citation |last=Darvill |first=Timothy |title=Three Age System |date=2021-08-19 |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780191842788.001.0001/acref-9780191842788-e-4253 |work=The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology |publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en |doi=10.1093/acref/9780191842788.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-19-184278-8 |access-date=2024-11-29 |archive-date=9 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220309020215/https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780191842788.001.0001/acref-9780191842788-e-4253 |url-status=live }} Since these ages are distinguished by the development of technology, it is natural that the dates to which these refer vary in different parts of the world. In many regions, the term Stone Age is no longer used, as it has been replaced by more specific geological periods. For some regions, there is need for an intermediate Chalcolithic period between the Stone Age and Bronze Age. For cultures where indigenous metal tools were in less widespread use, other classifications, such as the lithic stage, archaic stage and formative stage refer to the development of other types of technology and social organization.

Historical periods denotes periods of human development with the advantage of the development of writing. Written records tend to provide more socio-political insight into the dominant nations, and hence allow categorization according to the ruling empires and cultures, such as Hellenistic, Roman, Viking. Inevitably these definitions of periods only relate to the region of that empire or culture.

The Industrial age or Modern era is generally taken to refer to post-1800. From this time, the Industrial Revolution which began in Western Europe resulted in global trade and greatly increased cultural exchange.

Archaeological period articles – by continent and region

class="wikitable"

! Continents

! Regions

! Periods articles

! Major periods

rowspan=2|Africa

|rowspan=1|North Africa

|North Africa

Paleolithic

Epipaleolithic

Neolithic {{c.|7500}} BCE

Iron Age

Roman

rowspan=1|Sub-Saharan Africa

|Sub-Saharan Africa

Earlier Stone Age

Middle Stone Age

Later Stone Age

Neolithic c. 4000 BCE

Bronze Age (3500 – 600 BCE)

Iron Age (550 BC – 700 CE)

Classic Middle Ages (c. 700 – 1700 CE)

rowspan=7|Asia

|rowspan=1|Near East

|Levantine

Stone Age (2,000,000 – 3300 BCE)

Bronze Age (3300 – 1200 BCE)

Iron Age (1200 – 586 BCE)

Historical periods (586 BCE – present)

rowspan=1|South Asia

|South Asian Periods

1) Paleolithic (c.53000 – 10000 BCE).

2) Mesolithic (c.10000 – 6500 BCE).

3) Neolithic (c. 6500 – 4000 BCE, up to c.2000 BC in some areas) see Mehrgarh and Bhirrana.

4) Chalcolithic (c. 4000 – 2000 BCE).

5) Bronze Age (c. 3100 – 1100 BCE) see Indus Valley civilization.

6) Iron Age (c. 1100 - 500 BCE).

i) Proto-history (c.1500 - 500 BCE) known as Vedic period.

ii) Historical period after 500 BCE.

rowspan=1|East Asia

|East Asia Periods

|Neolithic c. 7500 BCE Pengtoushan culture

rowspan=1|North Asia

|North Asia Periods

rowspan=1|Korea

|Korean Periods

Paleolithic c. 40,000/30,000 – c. 8000 BCE

Jeulmun pottery period c. 8000 – 1500 BCE

Mumun pottery period c. 1500 – 300 BCE

Protohistoric period c. 300 BCE – 300/400 CE

Three Kingdoms of Korea c. 300/400 – 668 CE

rowspan=1|Japan

|Japan Periods

Paleolithic c. 35,000 – c. 10,000 BCE

Jōmon period c. 10,000 – 300 BCE

Yayoi period c. 300 BCE – 250 CE

Yamato period c. 250 – 710 CE

rowspan=1|China

|China Periods

Paleolithic c. 1.36 million years ago

Neolithic period c. 10,000 – 2100 BCE

Ancient China c. 2100 – 221 BCE

Imperial period c. 221 BCE – 1911 CE

Modern period

rowspan=3|Americas

|rowspan=1|North America

|North America

Lithic/Paleo-Indian (pre 8000 BCE)

Archaic (c. 8000 – 1000 BCE)

Woodland (1000 BCE to 1000 CE)

Mississippian (800 CE to 1600 CE)

rowspan=1|Mesoamerica

|Mesoamerica

Lithic/Paleo-Indian (pre 8000 BCE)

Archaic (c. 8000 – 1000 BCE)

Formative (c. 1000 BCE – 250 CE)

Classic (250 – 900 CE)

Post-Classic (900 – 1515)

rowspan=1|South America

|South America
(Peru)

Lithic/Paleo-Indian (pre c. 8200 BCE)

Archaic (c. 8200 – 1000 BCE)

Formative (c. 1000 BCE – 500 CE)

Classic (c. 500 – 1200 CE)

Post-Classic (c. 1200 – 1900 CE)

rowspan=3|Australasia

|rowspan=1|Australia

|Australia

Indigenous Period (60,000 BCE – 1606 CE)

European-Contact Pre-Settlement Period (1606 – 1788 CE)

Settlement / Pre-Industrial Period (1788 – 1820 CE)

Industrial/Modern (1820s – Present)

rowspan=1|New Zealand

|New Zealand

Archaic period (1000 – 1350/1650 CE)

Classic period (1350 – 1800; 1650 – 1800 in eastern South Island)

rowspan=1|Oceania

|Oceania

rowspan=3|Europe

|rowspan=1|Northern Europe

|Northern Europe

Nordic Stone Age

Nordic Bronze Age (c. 1700 BCE - c. 500 BCE){{cite book |last=Vandkilde |first=Helle |title=Ancient Europe, 8000 B.C. to A.D. 1000: Encyclopedia of the Barbarian World |date=2004 |isbn=0-684-80668-1 |editor-last1=Bogucki |editor-first1=Peter |pages=73 |chapter=Bronze Age Scandinavia |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons |quote=The Bronze Age proper commenced c. 1700 B.C. and concluded c. 500 B.C., but metals became socially integrated by about 2000 B.C., during the Late Neolithic period—already a bronze age in all but name. |editor-last2=Crabtree |editor-first2=Pam J.}}

Pre-Roman Iron Age (c. 500 BCE - c. 1 BCE)

Roman Iron Age in northern Europe (c. 1 CE – 400 CE)

Germanic Iron Age (c. 400 – 800 CE)

Viking Age (c. 800 – 1066 CE)

Medieval period (1066 – c. 1500)

Post-medieval period (c. 1500 – c. 1800)

Industrial/Modern

rowspan=1|Western Europe

|Western Europe

Paleolithic (pre c. 8800 BCE)

Mesolithic (c. 8800 – 4900 BCE)

Neolithic (c. 4900 – 2000 BCE)