World History Timeline

Prehistory

• Refers to the period of time before written records of human history
• Divided into three stages:
  1. Paleolithic Era: Early humans, nomadic hunter-gatherers, used stone tools (2.5 million - 10,000 BCE)
  2. Mesolithic Era: Development of more complex tools, early agriculture (10,000 - 5,000 BCE)
  3. Neolithic Era: Emergence of settled agriculture, development of cities (5,000 - 2,000 BCE)

Ancient Civilizations

• Mesopotamia:
  • Sumerians (3,500 - 2,000 BCE): invented writing, developed cities
  • Babylonians (2,000 - 539 BCE): developed law codes, astronomy
• Ancient Egypt:
  • Old Kingdom (2,700 - 2,200 BCE): pyramids, pharaohs
  • New Kingdom (1,550 - 1,070 BCE): expansion, trade, cultural achievements
• Ancient Greece:
  • Classical Period (5th - 4th century BCE): democracy, philosophy, theater
  • Hellenistic Period (3rd - 1st century BCE): expansion, cultural spread

Medieval Period

• Middle Ages:
  • Feudalism: social hierarchy, lords and vassals
  • Crusades: religious wars between Christians and Muslims (11th - 13th century)
• Rise of Empires:
  • Byzantine Empire (330 - 1453 CE): Eastern Roman Empire
  • Islamic Golden Age (8th - 13th century): scientific, cultural achievements

Early Modern Period

• Renaissance:
  • Revival of classical knowledge, art, literature (14th - 17th century)
  • Emergence of nation-states, monarchies
• Age of Exploration:
  • European exploration, colonization of the Americas (15th - 17th century)
  • Establishment of trade routes, global economy

Modern Period

• Industrial Revolution:
  • Transformation from manual labor to machine-based manufacturing (18th - 19th century)
  • Development of capitalism, urbanization
• World Wars:
  • World War I (1914 - 1918): global conflict, rise of nationalism
  • World War II (1939 - 1945): global conflict, emergence of superpowers

Contemporary Period

• Cold War:
  • Bipolar world, rivalry between US and USSR (1945 - 1991)
  • Decolonization, rise of independent nations
• Globalization:
  • Increased interconnectedness, global economy (late 20th century - present)
  • Challenges: inequality, environmental degradation, cultural homogenization