User:PatHadley/Map of Archaeology/Content on the past

The organization of knowledge about the past can be done in two primary ways: by regions or by periods - space or time. This page is designed to provide an overall picture of both those approaches. It classifies content (or it's lack) on Wikipedia not necessarily our state of knowledge as it is.

Notes

As of April 2013 coverage of the archaeological past was arguably too Eurocentric, particularly for major synthetic articles, templates and timelines. This needs addressing as it is an example of [[systemic bias.

Frameworks for thinking about space and time are varied and often argued about! The intention here is to use the most pragmatic and accepted frameworks that facilitates the organisation of articles

Synoptic table

This table synthesises and organises the archaeological content on Wikipedia by continent or region and by period at a very general level.

	Prehistoric Europe	Prehistoric Africa		Prehistoric Asia
The Principal prehistoric cultures of the Old World
Period & Climate	Europe	North Africa, West Africa and Sahara	Central Africa, South and East Africa	Middle East	South Asia, and Central Asia	East Asia and South-East Asia
1000 Before Present (BP)	(Middle Ages)	(Caliphate)	(Sahelian kingdoms) Mapungubwe	(Caliphate)	(Middle Kingdoms)	(Song Dynasty)
2000 BP	Iron Age	(Ancient North Africa)	Bantu expansion	(Classical Antiquity)	(Iron Age India)	(Han Dynasty)
11th century BC (3000 BP)	Urnfield culture Bronze Age	Copper Age in Niger	Bantu expansion	Late Bronze Age Early Iron Age	development of Indian Iron Age	Chinese Bronze Age
4000 BP	Bell beaker Chalcolithic corded ware domestication of the horse	Neolithic of Tichit Tenerean		Middle Bronze Age (Sumer)	Indus Valley civilisation writing	Chinese Neolithic of Longshan
5000 BP	Yamna culture, enclosed villages first megaliths Chalcolithic of Central Europe		Beginning of the Hunter-gatherer art of South Africa	Early Bronze Age	Regionalization Era
6000 BP	Samara culture Lower Neolithic Danubian Neolithic	Mediterranean and Egyptian Neolithic	Beginning of Neolithic in East Africa	Uruk period Chalcolithic (copper metallurgy)	Mehrgarh	Neolithic of Yang-Shao rice-growing (?)
7000 BP	Cardial and Linear Pottery (agriculture, stock-rearing, Pottery) Starčevo and Vinča culture agriculture, stock-rearing (pigs, bovine, sheep)	Neolithic of the Sahara/Sahel		Ubaid period ceramic Cyprus	Mehrgarh[bhirana] haryana	Hongshan culture of Northeast Asia (c. 4700 BC/6700 BP)
8000 BP	Tardenoisian cultures (gathering of legumes) Neolithic (Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean ) Sesklo and Choirokoitia			Neolithic with ceramic Ubaid period	MehrgarhBhirrana (India)	Neolithic of northern China
9000 BP	Sauveterrian cultures Komornica culture		Wiltonian	Pre-ceramic B Pre-ceramic A Neolithic in Turkey (wheat, barley)		hunter gatherers of Jōmon (ancient Japan)
10,000 BP	Ahrensburg culture, Azilian and Asiloid cultures (northern Spain, southern France)	Capsian		Goats domestication Zagros in Iran First towns Near East at Aşıklı Höyük and Jericho		Hoabinhian of Southeast Asia
11,000 BP	Backed point culture (Federmesser) Mezine (Ukraine)		Magosian	Natufian	Kandivili
12,000 BP Holocene began glacial ended (12,000 BP) glacial at its coldest (20,000 BP)	Magdalenian Solutrean Epigravettian Hamburg culture	Ibero-Maurisian Mushabian Sebilian	Lupemban culture	Kebarian Athlitian Beginning of Neolithic religion at Göbekli Tepe (Southeastern Turkey)	Bhimbetka rock paintings south Asia	pre-Jōmon ceramic (Japan)
20,000 BP	Gravettian (France) Pavlovian Aurignacian (art) Kostienki (western Russia)			Antelian Aurignacian (art)		Sơn Vi culture (northern Vietnam)
30,000 BP	Châtelperronian Homo neanderthalensis, Homo sapiens Aurignacian (art) Szeletian (Hungary)	Aterian	Stillbay		Balangoda Culture[bhimbetka rock paintings] Angara Culture	Sen-Doki
40,000 BP	Homo neanderthalensis, Homo sapiens			Emirian Jabroudian
50,000 BP	Mousterian Homo neanderthalensis	Mousterian Homo neanderthalensis	Fauresmithian Homo sapiens	Mousterian Homo neanderthalensis	Soanian	Ngandong culture
80,000 BP latest glacial began (95,000 BP)	Homo neanderthalensis Micoquien (the Netherlands)	Homo neanderthalensis Micoquien	Mousteroid Homo sapiens	Homo neanderthalensis		Ordos culture
100,000 BP glacial ended (130,000 BP)	Upper Acheulean Homo neanderthalensis	Homo neanderthalensis	Sangoan Homo sapiens	Homo neanderthalensis	Acheulean Soanian
200,000 BP glacial began (352,000 BP)	Homo neanderthalensis Tayacian (southern France)	Homo neanderthalensis	Homo sapiens Acheulean	Homo neanderthalensis Acheulean
300,000 BP	middle Acheulean Homo neanderthalensis Clactonian (England)				Pre-Soanian
500,000 BP	Lower Acheulean Homo heidelbergensis Homo neanderthalensis worked pebbles	Lower Acheulean		Homo neanderthalensis		Homo erectus pekinensis
1,000,000 BP	worked pebbles Homo antecessor (northern Spain, England, France)	Homo erectus worked pebbles	lower Acheulean Oldowan			worked pebbles
2,000,000 BP			Homo habilis, Homo ergaster		bhimbetka findings cupules

Resources

Archaeology by Period

Main article: List of archaeological periods

Archaeology – also a category

Integrated overview
- Synoptic table of the principal old world prehistoric cultures

Periods and stages in archaeology – also a sub-category
- Prehistory - in need of serious cleanup
- Lower Palaeolithic
- Middle Palaeolithic
- Upper Palaeolithic
- Mesolithic
- Neolithic
- Chalcolithic
- Bronze Age
- Iron Age
- Romans
- Anglo-Saxons
- Medieval archaeology
- Post-medieval archaeology
- Industrial archaeology

Archaeology by region – also a sub-category

- List of famous archaeological sites – also in sub-category
- List of archaeological periods – also in sub-category