List of time periods
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a list of named time periods defined in various fields of study. See the above main article link History by period for a brief survey of historical and other related meanings within the humanities, and a synopsis of why different terms exist in the historical (written history) record.
Contents |
[edit] Cosmological time periods
[edit] 13.7 Billion (13,700,000,000) years ago the Big Bang.
Because of the scales involved (both very large and very small), cosmological time periods are usually described in seconds. In this table, each row is defined in seconds after the Big Bang, with earliest at the top of the chart.
| Seconds after the Big Bang | Period |
|---|---|
| 5.4 × 10−44 | Planck time |
| 10−43 to 10−35 | Planck Epoch |
| 10−35 to 10−33 | Inflationary epoch |
| 10−35 to 10−12 | Epoch of Grand Unification |
| 10−12 to 10−6 | Electroweak Epoch |
| 10−6 to 100 | Hadron Epoch |
1 second to 100 seconds after the big bang - the Lepton Epoch
100 seconds to 300,000 years after the big bang - Epoch of Nucleosynthesis
300,000 years on from the Big Bang - Epoch of Galaxies
[edit] Formation of Population III stars
The first stars were formed from the Hydrogen and Helium formed in the Big Bang were short lived massive Population III stars. Nuclear processes in these stars converted the Hydrogen and Helium into metals and other heavier elements. As the Population III stars died these heavier elements were released.
[edit] Formation of Population II stars
Population II stars contain metals formed in the Population III stars]. These were longer lived than the Population III stars and some of them are still around. In addition to the metals these inherited from the Population III stars the Population II stars also formed metals by nuclear reactions and when the stars died much of that material was returned to be used as the building blocks for the next generation of stars.
[edit] 5 Billion Years ago - Formation of Population I stars
Population I stars are also known as metal rich stars. Our own sun is a Population I star and was formed about 5 billion years ago.
[edit] Geologic time periods
The geologic time scale covers the extent of the existence of Earth, from about 4600 million years ago to the present day. It is marked by Global Boundary Stratotype Sections and Points. Geologic time units are (in order of descending specificity) eons, eras, periods, epochs, and ages; and the corresponding chronostratigraphic units, which measure "rock-time", are eonothems, erathems, systems, series, and stages.
The second and third timelines are each subsections of their preceding timeline as indicated by asterisks. The Cenozoic is sometimes divided into the Quaternary and Tertiary periods, although their use is no longer official.
<timeline> ImageSize = width:800 height:100 PlotArea = left:65 right:15 bottom:20 top:5 AlignBars = justify
Colors =
id:neogene value:rgb(0.99215,0.8,0.54) id:paleogene value:rgb(1,0.7019,0) id:cretaceous value:rgb(0.5,0.764,0.1098) id:jurassic value:rgb(0.302,0.706,0.5) id:triassic value:rgb(0.403,0.765,0.716) id:permian value:rgb(0.404,0.776,0.867) id:carboniferous value:rgb(0.6,0.741,0.855) id:devonian value:rgb(0.6,0.6,0.788) id:silurian value:rgb(0.694,0.447,0.714) id:ordovician value:rgb(0.976,0.506,0.651) id:cambrian value:rgb(0.984,0.5,0.373) id:neoproterozoic value:rgb(0.792,0.647,0.583) id:mesoproterozoic value:rgb(0.867,0.761,0.533) id:paleoproterozoic value:rgb(0.702,0.698,0.369) id:eoarchean value:rgb(0.5,0.565,0.565) id:paleoarchean value:rgb(0.6,0.592,0.569) id:mesoarchean value:rgb(0.698,0.65,0.6) id:neoarchean value:rgb(0.796,0.804,0.784) id:ediacaran value:rgb(0.918,0.847,0.737) id:cryogenian value:rgb(0.863,0.671,0.667) id:tonian value:rgb(0.796,0.643,0.424) id:stratherian value:rgb(1,1,0.8) # light yellow id:calymmian value:rgb(1,1,0.8) # light yellow id:orosirian value:rgb(1,1,0.8) # light yellow id:rhyacian value:rgb(1,1,0.8) # light yellow id:siderian value:rgb(1,1,0.8) # light yellow id:ectasian value:rgb(1,1,0.8) # light yellow id:stenian value:rgb(1,1,0.8) # light yellow id:cenozoic value:rgb(1,1,0) id:mesozoic value:rgb(0.5,0.6784,0.3176) id:paleozoic value:rgb(0.5,0.7098,0.835) id:phanerozoic value:rgb(0.7019,0.886,0.819) id:proterozoic value:rgb(0.8,0.85,0.568) id:archean value:rgb(0.6,0.6784,0.6745) id:hadean value:rgb(0.4,0.4,0.4) id:black value:black id:white value:white
Period = from:-4567.17 till:0 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:500 start:-4500 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:100 start:-4500
Define $markred = text:"*" textcolor:red shift:(0,3) fontsize:10
PlotData=
align:center textcolor:black fontsize:8 mark:(line,black) width:25 shift:(0,-5)
bar:eon
at: 0 align:right $markred at: -542 align:left $markred shift:(2,3) from: -542 till: 0 text:Phanerozoic color:phanerozoic from:-2500 till: -542 text:Proterozoic color:proterozoic from:-3800 till: -2500 text:Archean color:archean from: start till: -3800 text:Hadean color:hadean
bar:era
from: -65.5 till: 0 text:C~z shift:(0,1.5) color:cenozoic from: -251 till: -65.5 text:Meso~zoic shift:(0,1.5) color:mesozoic from: -542 till: -251 text:Paleo~zoic shift:(0,1.5) color:paleozoic from: -1000 till: -542 text:Neoprote-~rozoic shift:(0,1.8) color:neoproterozoic from:-1600 till: -1000 text:Mesoproterozoic color:mesoproterozoic from:-2500 till: -1600 text:Paleoproterozoic color:paleoproterozoic from:-2800 till: -2500 text:Neo-~archean shift:(0,1.5) color:neoarchean from:-3200 till: -2800 text:Meso-~archean shift:(0,1.5) color:mesoarchean from:-3600 till: -3200 text:Paleo-~archean shift:(0,1.5) color:paleoarchean from:-3800 till: -3600 text:Eoar-~chean shift:(0,0.5) color:eoarchean fontsize:6 from:start till: -3800 color:white
bar:period
fontsize:6 from: -23.03 till: 0 color:neogene from: -65.5 till: -23.03 color:paleogene from: -145.5 till: -65.5 color:cretaceous from: -199.6 till: -145.5 color:jurassic from: -251 till: -199.6 color:triassic from: -299 till: -251 color:permian from: -359.2 till: -299 color:carboniferous from: -416 till: -359.2 color:devonian from: -443.7 till: -416 color:silurian from: -488.3 till: -443.7 color:ordovician from: -542 till: -488.3 color:cambrian
from: -630 till: -542 text:Ed. color:ediacaran from: -850 till: -630 text:Cryo-~genian color:cryogenian shift:(0,0.5) from: -1000 till: -850 text:Ton-~ian color:tonian shift:(0,0.5) from: -1200 till: -1000 text:Ste-~nian color:mesoproterozoic shift:(0,0.5) from: -1400 till: -1200 text:Ect-~asian color:mesoproterozoic shift:(0,0.5) from: -1600 till: -1400 text:Calym-~mian color:mesoproterozoic shift:(0,0.5) from: -1800 till: -1600 text:Stath-~erian color:paleoproterozoic shift:(0,0.5) from: -2050 till: -1800 text:Oro-~sirian color:paleoproterozoic shift:(0,0.5) from: -2300 till: -2050 text:Rhy-~acian color:paleoproterozoic shift:(0,0.5) from: -2500 till: -2300 text:Sid-~erian color:paleoproterozoic shift:(0,0.5) from: start till: -2500 color:white
</timeline>
<timeline> ImageSize = width:800 height:100 PlotArea = left:65 right:15 bottom:20 top:5 AlignBars = justify
Colors =
id:neogene value:rgb(0.99215,0.8,0.54) id:paleogene value:rgb(1,0.7019,0) id:cretaceous value:rgb(0.5,0.764,0.1098) id:jurassic value:rgb(0.302,0.706,0.5) id:triassic value:rgb(0.403,0.765,0.716) id:permian value:rgb(0.404,0.776,0.867) id:carboniferous value:rgb(0.6,0.741,0.855) id:devonian value:rgb(0.6,0.6,0.788) id:silurian value:rgb(0.694,0.447,0.714) id:ordovician value:rgb(0.976,0.506,0.651) id:cambrian value:rgb(0.984,0.5,0.373) id:cenozoic value:rgb(1,1,0) id:mesozoic value:rgb(0.5,0.6784,0.3176) id:paleozoic value:rgb(0.5,0.7098,0.835) id:phanerozoic value:rgb(0.7019,0.886,0.819) id:black value:black id:white value:white id:darkgreen value:rgb(0,0.35,0)
Period = from:-542 till:0
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:100 start:-500
ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:10 start:-540
Define $markred = text:"*" textcolor:red shift:(0,3) fontsize:10 Define $markgreen = text:"*" textcolor:darkgreen shift:(0,3) fontsize:10
PlotData=
align:center textcolor:black fontsize:8 mark:(line,black) width:25 shift:(0,-5)
bar:eon at: 0 align:right $markred at: -542 align:left $markred shift:(2,3) from: -542 till: 0 text:Phanerozoic color:phanerozoic
bar:era at: 0 align:right $markgreen at: -65.5 align:left $markgreen shift:(2,3) from: -65.5 till: 0 text:Cenozoic color:cenozoic from: -251 till: -65.5 text:Mesozoic color:mesozoic from: -542 till: -251 text:Paleozoic color:paleozoic
bar:period fontsize:8 from: -23.03 till: 0 text:Neo-~gene shift:(0,0.5) color:neogene from: -65.5 till: -23.03 text:Paleo-~gene shift:(0,0.5) color:paleogene from: -145.5 till: -65.5 text:Cretaceous color:cretaceous from: -199.6 till: -145.5 text:Jurassic color:jurassic from: -251 till: -199.6 text:Triassic color:triassic from: -299 till: -251 text:Permian color:permian from: -359.2 till: -299 text:Carboniferous color:carboniferous from: -416 till: -359.2 text:Devonian color:devonian from: -443.7 till: -416 text:Sil-~urian shift:(0,0.5) color:silurian from: -488.3 till: -443.7 text:Ordovician color:ordovician from: -542 till: -488.3 text:Cambrian color:cambrian
</timeline>
<timeline> ImageSize = width:800 height:100 PlotArea = left:65 right:15 bottom:20 top:5 AlignBars = justify
Colors =
id:neogene value:rgb(0.99215,0.8,0.54) id:paleogene value:rgb(1,0.7019,0) id:cenozoic value:rgb(1,1,0) id:holocene value:rgb(1,1,0.702) id:pleistocene value:rgb(1,0.922,0.384) id:pliocene value:rgb(1,0.922,0.675) id:miocene value:rgb(1,0.871,0) id:oligocene value:rgb(0.918,0.776,0.447) id:eocene value:rgb(0.918,0.678,0.263) id:paleocene value:rgb(0.92,0.576,0.005) id:black value:black id:white value:white id:darkgreen value:rgb(0,0.35,0)
Period = from:-65.5 till:0 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:10 start:-60 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:-65
Define $markgreen = text:"*" textcolor:darkgreen shift:(0,3) fontsize:10
PlotData=
align:center textcolor:black fontsize:8 mark:(line,black) width:25 shift:(0,-5)
bar:era at: 0 align:right $markgreen at: start align:left $markgreen shift:(2,3) from:start till: 0 text:Cenozoic color:cenozoic
bar:period from: -23.03 till: 0 text:Neogene color:neogene from:start till: -23.03 text:Paleogene color:paleogene
bar:epoch from: -0.1 till: 0 color:holocene from: -1.806 till: -0.1 text:P color:pleistocene from: -5.332 till: -1.806 text:Plio-~cene shift:(0,1) color:pliocene fontsize:7 from:-23.03 till: -5.332 text:Miocene color:miocene from:-33.9 till:-23.03 text:Oligocene color:oligocene from:-55.8 till:-33.9 text:Eocene color:eocene from:start till:-55.8 text:Paleocene color:paleocene
</timeline>
[edit] 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).
[edit] Prehistorical periods
In archaeology and anthropology, prehistory is subdivided around the three-age system.
- The Stone Age
- Paleolithic (Old Stone Age)
- Mesolithic or Epipaleolithic (Middle Stone Age)
- Neolithic (New Stone Age)
- The Copper Age
- The Bronze Age
The dates for each age can vary by region, although the beginning of Mesolithic is usually considered to correspond to the beginning of the Holocene epoch on the geologic time scale at the end of the most recent Ice age, about 9400 BC.
[edit] Historical periods
- Antiquity
- Iron Age
- Mesopotamia 6000 BC - 1100 BC
- Indus Valley Civilization 3300 BC - 1300 BC
- Old Kingdom (Egypt, 3000 BC - 2000 BC)
- Middle Kingdom (Egypt, 2000 BC - 1300 BC)
- Shang Dynasty (China 1800 BC - 1200 BC
- New Kingdom (Egypt, 1300 BC - 700 BC)
- Zhou Dynasty (China 1200 BC - 500 BC)
- (Ancient Greece, c:a 1000 BC-, see Timeline of Ancient Greece)
- Ancient Rome 509 BC - 476)
- Period of the Three Kingdoms (China, 220 - 280)
- Dark Age {Europe, 4th century - 900}
- Middle Ages (Europe, 5th century - 15th century)
- Viking Age (Scandinavia, Europe, 793 - 1066)
- Nara period (Japan, 709 - 795)
- Period of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (China, 907 - 960)
- Sengoku period (Japan, 1478 - 1605)
- Early Modern (Europe, 14th century - 18th century)
- The Renaissance (Europe, 14th century - 16th century)
- Age of Discovery (or Exploration) (Europe, 15th century - 17th century)
- Elizabethan period (United Kingdom, 1558 - 1603)
- The Protestant Reformation (Europe, 16th century)
- The Age of Enlightenment (Europe,18th century)
- Tokugawa shogunate (Japan, 1603 - 1868)
- Modern (Europe, 18th century - 20th century)
- Industrial Revolution (Europe, United States, elsewhere 18th and 19th centuries)
- Napoleonic Era, 1799-1815
- Victorian era (United Kingdom, 1837 - 1901)
- Edwardian period (United Kingdom, 1901 - 1910)
- Meiji era (Japan, 1868 - 1912)
- World War I (Much of Earth, 1914 - 1918)
- Interwar period (Earth, 1918 - 1939 or 1937)
- World War II (Earth, 1937 or 1939 - 1945)
- Cold War (Soviet Union and United States, as well their allied states, 1945-1989)
- Information Age (1971-1991)
- Space Age (after 1957)
- Post-communist period (Russia and other former Soviet states, after December 1991- September 2001)
- Post-9/11 period [after September 2001]]
[edit] Calendar systems
Various societies in the past have created calendars to record events, such as religious observances and agricultural tasks. A common characteristic of most known calendars is that they measure time in relation to a particular point in history, known as the epoch date. A period between epoch dates is known as a calendar era.
[edit] Mythological and astrological time periods
- Greek mythology
- Golden Age, self-sufficient
- Silver Age, self-indulgent
- Bronze Age, warlike
- Heroic Age, nobly aspirant
- Iron Age, violent
- Aztec mythology
- Nahui-Ocelotl, Destroyed by Jaguars
- Nahui-Ehécatl, Destroyed by Hurricane
- Nahuiquiahuitl, Destroyed by rain of Fire
- Nahui-Atl, Destroyed by Flood
- Nahui-Ollin, Destroyed by Earthquakes
[edit] See also
- Periodization for a discussion of the tendency to try to fit history into non-overlapping periods.
- Exponential timeline shows all history on one page in ten lines.de:Periodisierung
fr:Histoire (périodes) hu:Történelmi korszakok sl:Periodizacija zgodovine tr:Çağ

