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Historical era)
This is a list of named time periods defined in various fields of study.
The cosmological timescale covers the entire lifetime of the universe - many billions of years - from it's formation (often called "the big bang") until it's termination (sometimes called "the big crunch"). The initial phases of the big bang are measured in tiny fractions of seconds but after these, cosmological events happen on a scale of billions of years; for example: our own sun is estimated to have a lifespan of 10 billion years. Cosmological time periods are used to think about events that occur on a universal scale such as: the formation stars, galaxies and the final fate of the universe.
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).
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
- Prehistoric
- Antiquity
- Middle Ages (Europe, 5th century - 15th century)
- Early Modern (Europe, 14th century - 18th century)
- Modern (Europe, 18th century - 20th century)
- Industrial Revolution (Europe 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 (Earth, 1914 - 1918)
- Interwar period (Earth, 1918 - 1939*)
- World War II (Earth, 1939* - 1945)
- Cold War (Soviet Union and United States, as well as Earth, 1945-1989)
- Post-communist period (Russia, after 1991)
*: This date is somewhat subjective. Some sources cite 1937 as the start of World War II.
Mythological and astrological time periods
Specialist human periods
See also
