Table of Contents
Prehistory (3.3 million BCE - 3000 BCE)
Overview: Prehistory encompasses human history before written records, featuring significant developments in tools, culture, and early societies.
Key Developments:
- Use of basic tools and fire by early humans.
- Development of hunter-gatherer societies and later, agricultural practices.
- Creation of early settlements, notably Göbekli Tepe (9500 BCE).
Bronze Age (3300 BCE - 1200 BCE)
Overview: The Bronze Age marked the advent of metallurgy, allowing for stronger tools and weapons, and saw the rise of complex societies and written records.
Key Events:
- 3200 BCE - Emergence of writing in Mesopotamia (cuneiform).
- 2600 BCE - Building of the Great Pyramids in Egypt.
- 1700 BCE - Rise of the Indus Valley Civilization and the Minoan Civilization in Crete.
Iron Age (1200 BCE - 600 BCE)
Overview: The Iron Age saw iron replace bronze for weaponry and tools, coinciding with the spread of empires and increased militarization in societies across Eurasia and Africa.
Key Events:
- 1200 BCE - Fall of the Mycenaean civilization and start of the Greek Dark Ages.
- 900 BCE - Rise of Assyrian Empire and iron-based military dominance.
- 800 BCE - Foundation of Rome and development of the ancient Italian societies.
Classical Antiquity (600 BCE - 476 CE)
Overview: Classical Antiquity is characterized by the flowering of Greek and Roman civilization, remarkable developments in philosophy, governance, and the arts, and the eventual establishment of the Roman Empire.
Key Events:
- 490 BCE - Battle of Marathon marks the rise of Greek city-states against Persia.
- 27 BCE - Founding of the Roman Empire under Augustus.
- 476 CE - Fall of the Western Roman Empire, marking the transition to the Middle Ages.