List of time periods
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This is a list of named time periods defined in various fields of study.
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Cosmological time periods
The cosmological timescale is the longest imaginable. It covers the entire extent of the universe - many billions of years. A short first period is measured in tiny fractions of seconds, but thereafter most things happen on the scale of billion years. It is used to consider events noticeable on a universal scale, such as the formation of matter, stars, and galaxies.
- The Big Bang (13.7 GYA)
- The Dark Age between recombination and reionization (13.7-13.5 GYA)
- The Star-forming Era (13.5 GYA - now)
Geologic time periods
The geologic timescale covers the extent of the existence of Earth, from about 4600 million years ago to the present day. It is used to consider the formation and change of the Earth itself, and large-scale changes in the planet's inhabitants.
Dates are given as Millions of Years Ago (MYA).
| Eon | Era | Period | Epoch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Precambrian (4600-544 MYA) | Hadean (4600-3800 MYA) | ||
| Archaean (3800-2500 MYA) | |||
| Proterozoic (2500-544 MYA) | |||
| Phanerozoic (544 MYA - now) | Paleozoic (544-245 MYA) | Cambrian (544-505 MYA) | |
| Ordovician (505-440 MYA) | |||
| Silurian (440-410 MYA) | |||
| Devonian (410-360 MYA) | |||
| Carboniferous (360-286 MYA) | Mississippian (360-325 MYA) | ||
| Pennsylvanian (325-286 MYA) | |||
| Permian (286-245 MYA) | |||
| Mesozoic (245-65 MYA) | Triassic (245-208 MYA) | ||
| Jurassic (208-146 MYA) | |||
| Cretaceous (146-65 MYA) | |||
| Cenozoic (65 MYA - now) | Tertiary (65-1.8 MYA) | Paleocene (65-54 MYA) | |
| Eocene (54-38 MYA) | |||
| Oligocene (38-23 MYA) | |||
| Miocene (23-5 MYA) | |||
| Pliocene (5-1.8 MYA) | |||
| Quaternary (1.8 MYA - now) | Pleistocene (1.8-0.01 MYA) | ||
| Holocene (0.01 MYA - now) |
The Paleocene, the Eocene, and the Oligocene are also collectively known as the Paleogene. The Miocene, Pliocene, Pleistocene, and Holocene are also collectively known as the Neogene.
These names differ across different countries; in particular, the division of the Carboniferous period into Mississippian and Pennsylvanian is purely a North American distinction.
Human time periods
The "human" timescale covers the time that humans have existed, usually taken to be from about 250,000 years ago - when Homo Sapiens began to develop. It is broadly divided into prehistorical (before history began to be recorded) and historical periods (when written records began to be kept).
Calendar systems
Human historical periods
- Antiquity (Ancient Greece, c:a 1000 BC-, see Timeline of Ancient Greece)
- Pax Romana (Roman Empire, 96 - 180)
- Period of the Three Kingdoms (China, 220 - 280)
- Middle ages (Europe, 5th century - 14th century)
- Nara period (Japan, 709 - 795
- Period of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (China, 907 - 960)
- Sengoku period (Japan, 1478 - 1605)
- The Renaissance (Europe, 14th century - 16th century)
- Elizabethan period (United Kingdom, 1558 - 1603)
- The Age of Enlightenment Europe,18th century
- Napoleonic Era, 1799-1815
- Victorian era (United Kingdom, 1837 - 1901)
- Edwardian period (United Kingdom, 1901 - 1910)
- Meiji era (Japan, 1868 - 1912)
- Cold War (United States and Russia, as well as Earth, 1945-1989)
- Post-communist period (Russia, after 1991)
US History
periods overlap in some cases
- Pre-Colombian era
- Colonial Era
- Articles of Confederation
- Jacksonian Democracy
- Industrial Revolution
- Antebellum
- American Civil War
- Reconstruction
- Gilded Age
- Progressive Era
- Roaring Twenties
- Great Depression
- Atomic Age
- Space Age
- Cold War
- Information Age
- Dot-com era
- Post-9/11
Mythological and astrological time periods
- Greek mythology
- Golden Age, self-sufficient
- Silver Age, self-indulgent
- Brazen Age, warlike
- Heroic Age, nobly aspirant
- Iron Age, violent
Specialist human periods
There are many fields which have their own associated historical periods. These include:
- Climate
- Art, see history of art, art movements
- Music, see musical eras and history of music
- Literature, see history of literature
- Architecture - see also: architectural style
See also
- Periodization for a discussion of the tendency to try to fit history into non-overlapping periods.
- List of themed timelines
- Exponential timeline shows all history on one page in ten lines.