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.
| The Principal prehistoric cultures of the Old World
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|
| 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
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| Iron Age of the Chad Basin
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|
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
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|
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
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| Beginning of the Hunter-gatherer art of South Africa
| Bronze Age
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|
|
4000 BCE
|
Lower Neolithic
| Danubian Neolithic
| Mediterranean and Egyptian Neolithic
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| 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
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| 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
|
|
|
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| 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
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| 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
|
fr:Tableau synoptique des principales cultures préhistoriques du Vieux Monde
es:Tabla de culturas prehistóricas del Viejo Mundo