The Eras of History

The aim of this blog is to give people a better understanding of what it is historians actually do and how varied their area of study can be. It is also worth noting that its not just era historians tend to specialise in but also geography, historical school (historiography) and the type of history as well. For example I would class myself as a Late Modern/Contemporary Marxist Historian of European Socio-Political History, with a main focus on Britain, Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia. I also often look into the 'Great Man theory' of history. Indeed, a historian is very specific and never general about what he/she studies unless they work within the Annals School of history.

Prehistory - history from the beginning of life on Earth up until the first accounts of written in history. Which is roughly between 5000BC and 3500BC. Can be narrowed down to:
- Stone Age

- Bronze Age

- Iron Age



Note: some have argued that the Big Bang itself is the beginning of prehistory.



Antiquity - This tends to cover Mesopotamia right up until the end of the Classics. For example it includes:

- Ancient Egypt

- Ancient Rome

- Ancient Greece

- Persian Empire

and many others.



Middle Ages (Medieval) - Subsequently at the end of the Roman Empire, the Middles Ages begins around roughly 500ad. It can be divided into three sub eras:

- Early Middle Ages approx. 500ad - 1000ad (Dark Ages)

- High Middle Ages approx. 1000ad - 1300ad

- Late Middle Ages approx. 1300ad - 1500ad (Renaissance)



Modern - You then have Modern history which again can be narrowed down to three sub eras:

- Early Modern approx. 1500ad - 1750ad (Enlightenment approx 1637ad - 1804ad) (Debated)

- Late Modern approx. 1750ad - 1989ad (Industrial Revolution approx. 1780ad - 1890ad) (World War I 1914ad - 1918ad, World War II 1939ad - 1945ad and the Cold War 1946ad - 1989ad) (Industrial Revolution and Cold War dates are highly debated)

- Contemporary Modern 0r Post-Modern approx. 1989ad - present (Collapse of Communism)



Note: this is highly debated by historians and therefore this should not be taken as dogma. For example some argue that the Contemporary era begins in 1900ad. I can agree to this to some extent as their are still people alive from that date. (Or there was when I last checked). Therefore we can argue that Contemporary history begins with the birth date of the oldest person on the planet as Contemporary means to 'be there' or 'eye witness'.



Some Historians debate all of this, this is the 'popular' and also my accepted eras of history.



The reason I have done this is because people often make the mistake of thinking historians study all history. this is not so, it would be impossible. Indeed I do find pretty much all history interesting. However as an Academic I only tend to study the Late modern and Contemporary Eras.




Note: This is all due to change as new evidence is uncovered everyday. For example it is hypothesized that there was a civilisation before Mesopotamia in Greenland or Antarctica.




- So now the question is, whats next? There is a subject within history known as Futurism. This is the study of what possibilities may occur in the future, be it immediate or distant. Futurists tend to see Post Modern as a different era to Contemporary History.