Synoptic table of the principal old world prehistoric cultures

The synoptic table of the principal old world prehistoric cultures gives a rough picture of the relationships between the various principal cultures of Prehistory outside the Americas, Antarctica, Australia and Oceania. It also serves as an index of the broad features of that prehistory to be followed through links to articles. Drawing parallels between the sets of information here and in the Timeline of glaciation might also be informative in some cases.

Table

{| border=0 cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" align="center"
- bgcolor=#bbbdff
colspan=8 |
"'The Principal prehistoric cultures of the Old World

- bgcolor=#bbfbff!!Prehistoric Europe!!History of Africa and!African archaeology!Near Eastern archaeology!History of Asia!
- bgcolor=#bbbdffff! Period & Climate! Western Europe! Central Europe
and Eastern Europe! North Africa,
West Africa and Sahara! Central Africa,
South and East Africa! Middle East! South Asia, India and
Central Asia! East Asia and South-East Asia
-
After the year 1,000 CE




"Medieval"|
Iron Age of the
Chad Basin|
-bgcolor=#ddffbb
1,000 CE




Opening of the Middle Ages

End of "Antiquity"
Iron Age



Iron Age in Niger, "Roman Empire"
Iron Age in Kenya, Uganda
Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe



"Roman Empire"||
-
1 BCE




Iron Age
Iron Age
Nigeria, Great Lakes
First cultivators
of the equatorial forest
"Empire of Alexander"
"Persian Empire"
Phoenicians
Mauryan Empire (India) Steppe Scythians
Indian Iron Age
Chinese Iron Age
Chinese
Zhou period
-bgcolor=#ddffbb
1,000 BCE





Bronze Age


Bronze Age
"Myceneans"
Copper Age in Niger



development of agriculture
in East Africa


"Hittites"
"Assyrians"
development of
pastoralism in India
Bactrian towns
Chinese Bronze Age
Chinese
Shang period
-
2,000 BCE





Bell beaker
Chalcolithic

corded ceramic


domestication of the horse
Neolithic of Tichit

Tenerean|

Akkad Empire
Sumerian Kingdom
Indus Valley civilisation

writing
Chinese Neolithic
of Longshan
-bgcolor=#ddffbb
3,000 BCE






enclosed villages

first megaliths


Chalcolithic
of Central Europe|
Beginning of the Hunter-gatherer art
of South Africa
Bronze Age||
-
4,000 BCE








Lower Neolithic

Danubian Neolithic


Mediterranean
and Egyptian
Neolithic|

Chalcolithic
(copper metallurgy)


Neolithic
of Iran

Neolithic
of Yang-Shao
rice-growing (?)
-bgcolor=#ddffbb
5,000 BCE





Cardial
(agriculture, stock-rearing, pottery)

Tardenoisian
cultures


agriculture, stock-rearing (pigs, bovine, sheep)
Neolithic of the Sahara/Sahel

|
irrigated agriculture ceramic Cyprus



(and Caucasian)

irrigation
cultivation of millet
pig rearing
-
6,000 BCE








Sauveterrian cultures
(gathering of legumes)
in Greece
and the Eastern Mediterranean



ceramic|
Neolithic with ceramic
raising
sheep & goats
end of pre-ceramic B aceramic Cyprus

pre-ceramic of Iran
Afghanistan and
Baluchistan
Neolithic of northern China


-bgcolor=#ddffbb
7,000 BCE




|



Backed point
culture|
Wiltonian
Pre-ceramic B
(wheat, barley)
Neolithic
Pre-ceramic A|
hunter gatherers
of Jōmon (ancient Japan)
-
8,000 BCE






Azilian

and Asiloid cultures |
Capsian|||
Hoabinhian of Southeast Asia
-bgcolor=#ddffbb
9,000 BCE








late Gravettian
late Gravettian plains
complex (Mezine
Kostienki)|

Magosian



Natufian



Khandivili

|
-
10,000 BCE Holocene began
glacial ended (10,000 BCE)

glacial at its coldest (18,000 BCE)

Magdalenian
Solutrean
Epigravettian


Epigravettian


Ibero-maurusian

Sebilian

Lupemban culture




Kebarian
Athlitian

|
pre-Jōmon ceramic (Japan)
Paleo-Siberian hunters move to North America (one possible timing)

-bgcolor=#ddffbb
20,000 BCE







Gravettian

Aurignacian (art)


Pavlovian

Aurignacian (art)||


Aurignacian (art)|
Sơn Vi culture (northern Vietnam)
-
30,000 BCE







Chatelperronian



Szeletian




Aterian


Stillbay








Angara culture


Sen-Doki

-bgcolor=#ddffbb
40,000 BCE




||||
Emirian


||
-
50,000 BCE




Mousterians
(earliest graves)




Mousterian





Mousterian




Fauresmithian



Mousterian

Mousterian





Soanian



Ngandong
culture
-bgcolor=#ddffbb
80,000 BCE



latest glacial began (95,000 BCE)




Micoquian
|



Micoquian

Mousteroid



||


Ordos
culture

-
100,000 BCE


glacial ended (130,000 BCE)




Upper Acheulean





Upper Acheulean



|
Sangoan




|


Acheulean

Soanian


Fen Culture
-bgcolor=#ddffbb
200,000 BCE
glacial began (350,000 BCE)

Tayacian


|



Acheulean






Acheulean







Acheulean

||
-
300,000 BCE






middle Acheulean



Clactonian

middle Acheulean



|||




Pre-Soanian|
-bgcolor=#ddffbb
500,000 BCE





Lower Acheulean




worked pebbles
Lower Acheulean




worked pebbles




Lower Acheulean
|||
Padjitanian





-
1,000,000 BCE





worked pebbles





worked pebbles







worked pebbles



lower Acheulian


Olduwan||


worked pebbles



-bgcolor=#ddffbb
2,000,000 BCE


|||||||
-


- bgcolor=#bbddff! Period & Climate! Western Europe! Central Europe
and Eastern Europe! North Africa,
West Africa and Sahara! Central Africa,
South and East Africa! Middle East! South Asia, India and
Central Asia! Far East and South-East Asia
-