Historians believe that history began with humans creating writing. Prior to this invention, or prehistory, was comprised of hunter-gatherer societies who relied upon wildlife and plants for sustenance.
With writing’s invention, people could more reliably record events. This led to king lists, chronicles and similar records being produced.
The Big Bang
Post World War II, the Big Bang became the dominant theory of cosmic evolution. Astronomers and cosmologists utilized observations of the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation to support it as opposed to Steady State models of creation.
Early Universe was an extremely hot, dense cauldron. Over time, atoms started forming into galaxies; this period is known as Inflation Epoch and lasted approximately 13.8 billion years.
The Paleolithic Age
At that time, hunting and fishing were primary food sources, since humans hadn’t yet learned how to farm.
During this period, Acheulean tool technology emerged and included bifaces, side scrapers and backed tools designed to tackle difficult ecosystems.
At this point, the extinction of large mammals compelled people to adjust their diets. Narrow stone blades and tools made from bone, ivory and antler became widespread while needles and harpoons became available as survival mechanisms.
The Neolithic Age
The Neolithic, or New Stone Age, saw people abandon nomadic lifestyles for more settled ones and learn how to cultivate crops and domesticate animals for food production.
At this point, agriculture first made its debut, revolutionizing how humans lived their lives forever. Pottery also first emerged and art forms such as painting began to develop rapidly.
The Middle Ages
The Middle Ages was a period from the end of Roman hegemony until Renaissance, or rebirth of classical learning, when learning once more became fashionable. This era featured feudalism, Black Death epidemics and crusades as key aspects.
European peasants experienced remarkable economic expansion during this period, as they successfully bargained with their lords for stable rents.
The Renaissance
Renaissance thinkers began proclaiming that Europe needed a renewal after its barbarous Middle Ages had ended. Reviving classical ideas while expanding and adapting them for their culture.
Wealthy merchants like the Medici family used cultural patronage as a form of display to show their wealth and power, encouraging artists and cultural endeavors that showcased nature, humanism and individualism to thrive.
The Enlightenment
During the Enlightenment, people used reasoned and analytical thought in all areas of life; their insights helped shape our modern world today.
Enlightenment-inspired leaders led revolutions throughout America and elsewhere, but many failed to dismantle colonial-era racial and class hierarchies.
Enlightenment philosophers believed the public sphere should be open to all, yet some form of regulation should exist to keep it functional and manageable.
The Age of Discovery
The Age of Discovery took place from 15th to 17th centuries and saw European explorers exploring new territory while also seeking more direct trade routes.
Christopher Columbus was often supported by powerful monarchies; expeditions were expensive to undertake and thus, money had to be earned in order to finance them. Thanks to technological developments, Europeans can now travel anywhere on Earth with relative ease.
The Age of Exploration
The Age of Exploration was an era during which European nations took an interest in exploring the globe for various purposes – from finding new trade routes to creating world maps.
As part of their tradition, Hellenic Greeks created written histories. These chronicles chronicled social and political events from this era while providing context.
Writing marks an important turning point in history and allowed explorers to exchange knowledge about various regions around the globe.
The Age of Exploitation
European exploration expanded beyond waterways as European colonists colonized and exploited land and peoples around the globe. European explorers discovered North America, South America and parts of Africa.
Named the New World by these early European explorers, the Europeans also spread horses, cows, sheep and tobacco plants throughout other nations around the globe, which had an enormous effect on trade and culture around the globe.
The Age of Industry
The Industrial Revolution began in the 18th century, rapidly changing largely rural, agrarian societies into industrialized, urban ones. Goods that had previously been handcrafted began being mass produced using machines in factories.
Rapid urbanization led to overcrowded slums and tenements as well as the rise of robber barons; yet this period also gave birth to new ideas regarding worker rights and labor laws.
