The table gives a rough picture of the relationships between the various principal cultures of Prehistory outside the Americas, Antarctica, Australia and Oceania. It also serves as an index of the broad features of that prehistory to be followed through links to articles. Drawing parallels between the sets of information here and in the Timeline of glaciation might also be informative in some cases. In archaeology, culture refers to either of two separate but allied concepts: An archaeological culture is a pattern of similar artefacts and features found within a specific area over a limited period of time. ...
The term prehistory (Greek words προ = before and ιστορία = history) is usually used to describe the period before written history became available. ...
World map showing the Americas The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World consisting of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions. ...
For the fictional superstate in George Orwells novel, see Oceania (Nineteen Eighty-Four). ...
There have been four major periods of glaciation in the Earths past. ...
| The Principal prehistoric cultures of the Old World |
| Prehistoric Europe | | History of Africa and | African archaeology | Near Eastern archaeology | History of Asia | |
| Period & Climate | Western Europe | Central Europe and Eastern Europe | North Africa, West Africa and Sahara | Central Africa, South and East Africa | Middle East | South Asia, India and Central Asia | Far East and South-East Asia |
After the year 1000
| Medieval | | Iron Age of the Chad Basin | |
1000 CE
| Opening of the Middle Ages End of Antiquity | Iron Age | Iron Age in Niger Roman Empire | Iron Age in Kenya, Uganda Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe | Roman Empire | | |
1 BCE
| Iron Age | Iron Age | Nigeria, Great Lakes | First cultivators of the equatorial forest | Empire of Alexander Persian Empire Phoenicians | Mauryan Empire (India) Steppe Scythians Indian Iron Age | Chinese Iron Age Chinese Zhou period |
1000 BCE
| Bronze Age Bell beaker | Bronze Age Myceneans | Copper Age in Niger
| development of agriculture in East Africa | Hittites Assyrians | development of pastoralism in India Bactrian towns | Chinese Bronze Age Chinese Shang period |
2000 BCE.
| Chalcolithic
| corded ceramic domestication of the horse | Neolithic of Tichit Tenerean | | Akkad Empire Sumerian Kingdom | Indus Valley civilisation writing | Chinese Neolithic of Longshan |
3000 BCE
| enclosed villages first megaliths | Chalcolithic of Central Europe | | Beginning of the Hunter-gatherer art of South Africa | Bronze Age | | |
4000 BCE
| Lower Neolithic | Danubian Neolithic
| Mediterranean and Egyptian Neolithic | | Chalcolithic (copper metallurgy) | Neolithic of Iran
| Neolithic of Yang-Shao rice-growing (?) |
5000 BCE
| Cardial (agriculture, stock-rearing, pottery) Tardenoisian cultures | agriculture, stock-rearing (pigs, bovine, Sheep) | Neolithic of the Sahara/Sahel
| | irrigated agriculture ceramic Cyprus
| (and Caucasian) irrigation | cultivation of millet pig rearing |
6000 BCE
| Sauveterrian cultures (gathering of Legumes) | in Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean | ceramic | | Neolithic with ceramic raising sheep & goats end of pre-ceramic B aceramic Cyprus | pre-ceramic of Iran Afghanistan and Baluchistan | Neolithic of northern China
|
7000 BCE
| | Backed point culture | | Wiltonian | Pre-ceramic B (wheat, barley) Neolithic Pre-ceramic A | | hunter gatherers of Jomon (ancient Japan) |
8000 BCE
| Azilian and Asiloid cultures | | Capsian | | | | Hoabinhian of South-East Asia |
9000 BCE
| late Gravettian | late Gravettian plains complex (Mezine Kostienki) | | Magosian
| Natufian
| Khandivili
| |
10 000 BCE Holocene began glacial ended (10,000BCE) glacial at its coldest (18,000BCE)
| Magdalenian Solutrean Epigravettian | Epigravettian
| Ibero-maurusian Sebilian
| Lupembian
| Kebarian Athlitian
| | pre-Jomon ceramic(Japan) |
20 000 BCE
| Gravettian Aurignacian (art) | Pavlovian Aurignacian (art) | | | Aurignacian (art) | | |
30 000 BCE
| Chatelperronian
| Szeletian
| Aterian | Stillbayan
| Emirian
| Angara culture | Sen-Doki
|
40 000 BCE
| | | | | Amoudian
| | |
50 000 BCE
| Mousterians (earliest graves)
| Mousterian
| Mousterian
| Fauresmithian
| Jabroudian Mousterian
| Soanian | Ngandong culture |
80 000 BCE latest glacial began (95000BCE)
| Micoquian
| | Micoquian
| Mousteroid
| | | Ordos culture
|
100 000 BCE glacial ended (135,000BCE)
| Upper Acheulean
| Upper Acheulean
| | Sangoen
| | Acheulean Soanian | Fen Culture |
200 000 BCE glacial began (195,000 BCE) glacial ended (240,000BCE) glacial began (285,000BCE)
| Tayacian
| | Acheulean
| Acheulean
| Acheulean
| | |
300 000 BCE
| middle Acheulean Clactonian | middle Acheulean
| | | | Pre-Soanian | |
500 000 BCE
| Lower Acheulean worked pebbles | Lower Acheulean worked pebbles | Lower Acheulean
| | | | Padjitanian
|
1 000 000
| worked pebbles
| worked pebbles
| worked pebbles
| lower Acheulian Olduwan | | | worked pebbles
|
2 000 000
| | | | | | | |
|
| Period & Climate | Western Europe | Central Europe and Eastern Europe | North Africa, West Africa and Sahara | Central Africa, South and East Africa | Middle East | South Asia, India and Central Asia | Far East and South-East Asia |