HOW IS HISTORY DIVIDED? MAIN STAGES - HISTORY - 2025

The story is divided into two main branches: prehistory and history. These in turn are divided into stages: Ages of Stone and Metals, corresponding to prehistory; and Ancient, Middle, Modern and Contemporary Ages, corresponding to history.

Prehistory is responsible for studying all those events prior to the invention of writing. It is divided into two stages: the Stone Age (includes the Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic periods) and the Metal Age (made up of the Copper Age, the Bronze Age and the Iron Age).

History studies all the events that occurred from the invention of writing to the present. It is divided into four stages: the Ancient Age, the Middle Ages, the Modern Age and the Contemporary Age.

The division of history facilitates the study of the most important facts and / or events in the life of humanity (from the appearance of human beings to the present). That is why it is said that history is the science that studies the past to understand the present.

Each of the branches of the story will be detailed below:

Prehistory

Branch of history that is responsible for the study of the stage from the appearance of the human being to the emergence of writing.

Prehistory is divided into stone age and metal age.

1- Stone age

The Stone Age covers the period between 2,500,000 and 3,000 BC. C., approximately.

It is called the “Stone Age” because during this stage the human being used the stone to make the instruments of daily use. It is made up of the Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic periods.

- Paleolithic

The Paleolithic includes the period from 2,500,000 to 10,000 BC. C. It is divided into lower, middle and upper Paleolithic.

During this period the human being was nomadic. She moved in search of food to survive. Likewise, it was characterized by the construction of simple tools (made with stones).

- Mesolithic

This is a transition period between the Paleolithic and Neolithic. During the Mesolithic the human being had to modify their survival methods, which is why they began to domesticate animals to hunt more easily.

- Neolithic

Also called the period of polished stone or new stone. It covers the period approximately between the year 5,000 a. C and 3,000 a. C.

It was characterized by the emergence of agriculture and livestock, which caused them to become sedentary. It was not necessary to have to move from one place to another in search of food because they could sow and cultivate what they needed.

2- Age of Metals

The Metal Age was called the historical period during which human beings began to use metals in daily life.

Most historians affirm that it began shortly before 5,000 BC. C. and that culminated with the emergence of writing. However, this does not mean that humans put aside the use of metals.

It is made up of the Copper Age, the Bronze Age and the Iron Age.

- Copper Age

At this stage the sedentary human being begins to use copper, gold and silver for the creation of instruments to improve agriculture and hunting.

- Bronze Age

It arises when the human being discovers that, by alloying copper with tin, bronze is produced (a metal that is more resistant than copper).

In this age the emergence of the first political authority is seen. Likewise, it is observed how the social organization differed from previous periods and social inequality began to be noticed.

The Bronze Age spread over much of the world territory. However, it was limited by the Sahara Desert, preventing its worldwide expansion.

- Iron Age

This period is characterized by the use of iron to make its utensils. Iron began to be used because it was the metal that was in abundance (much more than copper and bronze).

The first signs of the division of social classes are observed. This stage spread throughout the world, reaching the Sahara Desert.

History

It is divided into four stages: the ancient age, the middle ages, the modern age and the contemporary age.

1- Ancient Age

The Ancient Age begins with the emergence of writing and ends with the fall of the Western Roman Empire in AD 47. C.

During this period the first civilizations emerged and developed: Mesopotamian, Phoenician, Persian, Hebrew, Egyptian, Greek and Roman.

2- Middle Ages

The Middle Ages encompasses the study of historical events that occurred from the 5th to the 15th century.

It begins with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and culminates with the discovery of the American continent (some historians point out that it culminates with the fall of the Byzantine Empire).

It was characterized by the disappearance of Roman citizenship, and the implementation of the theocentric ideology of the Christian and the Muslim ideology.

In the economic aspect, the feudal production model began to be used, according to which the King gave extensions of land (fiefdoms) to nobles and warriors.

These in turn allowed the peasants to live there on the condition that it was produced by them.

The Middle Ages were governed by both kings and clergy, since it was they who established what could or could not be done.

3- Modern Age

The Modern Age begins with the discovery of America (1492) and ends with the French Revolution (1789).

During this period the European continent underwent great economic, social and political changes. It was characterized by giving an anthropocentric meaning to human life (more interest was given to art, literature and scientific studies).

Likewise, the so-called “Modern State” arose, which consisted of concentrating power in the King, and to achieve this it was necessary to negotiate with the feudal lords so that they would give up their individual rights (in some cases wars were fought to obtain the lands).

Later the political power called absolute monarchy emerged.

4- Contemporary age

The Contemporary Age begins with the French Revolution in 1789 and continues to the present day.

This stage of history is characterized by its scientific discoveries, such as: the steamboat, the electric battery, the telephone, the electric light bulb, the airplane, the mobile phone, among others.

This is the stage of history that is currently being lived. For this reason, day by day more transcendental events are added to the life of human beings.

References

1. History by period, retrieved on September 26, 2017, from wikipedia.org
2. Modern history, retrieved on September 26, 2017, from wikipedia.org
3. Contemporary history, retrieved on September 26, 2017, from wikipedi.org
4. Stone age, retrieved on September 26, 2017, from ancient.eu
5. Middle age, retrieved on September 26, 2017, from wikipedia.org
6. The middle age, retrieved on September 26, 2017, from britannica.com
7. Ancient history, retrieved on September 26, 2017, from wikipedia.org