| Prehistory | – | Period before written records. |
| Paleolithic | ~2.5 MYA-10k YA | Earlier part of the Stone Age, when primitive stone implements were used. |
| Neolithic | ~10k-4.2k BC | Later part of the Stone Age, when ground or polished stone tools were first made. |
| Ancient History | – | The Bronze Age and the Iron Age, characterized by use of metals. |
| Bronze Age | ~3.3k-1.2k BC | First time when humans started to use tools and weapons of bronze. |
| Iron Age | ~1.2k BC-600 AD | Iron used as the main material for tools, replacing bronze. |
| Classical Antiquity | – | Period between Iron Age and the Middle Ages in Europe and Near East. |
| Middle Ages | 600-1500 | Period of European history between the fall of the Roman Empire and the Renaissance. |
| Modern History | 1500-present | |
| Early Modern | 1500-1800 | Period following the Middle Ages, encompassing the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery. |
| Late Modern | 1800-1945 | Industrial Revolution to the end of World War II. |
| Contemporary | 1945-present | Post World War II period. |
