How PREHISTORY is divided into Europe, America, Asia ...

Although for years historians have looked for a way to create divisions in history that serve all nations, this has not been entirely so, causing that, depending on the different regions, the division of a period may vary. To see the different stages of the first period of history depending on the area, in this lesson from a teacher we must talk about how prehistory is divided.

Index

1. How Prehistory is divided in Europe
2. How Prehistory is divided in America
3. The division of Prehistory in the Middle East
4. The division of Prehistory in Asia

The division we usually have in our heads when talking about Prehistory is that of Europto. The European division is based on the differentiation of materials, since depending on the type of material used for the manufacture of weapons and tools we can speak of one age or another.

Stone age

The first of the two stages of Prehistory is the Stone age, covering the Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic stages, in which although the material was stone in all, they were differentiated by elements such as nomadism or societies.

Regarding its chronology, we can speak of it being located between 2.59 million years ago and 4,000 years ago, being the period in which the central material was stone. The three phases of the Stone Age were as follows:

• Paleolithic: The longest stage of the European division of Prehistory, beginning with the earliest documented stone tools and ending at the end of the Pleistocene. Paleolithic human beings were still nomads, although they were already beginning to create tools and inventions that over the centuries would make them establish their home.
• Mesolithic: Begun with the end of the ice ages and ending with the discovery of polishing the stones, this period is known as the one in which human beings initiated the change from nomadic life to lifestyle sedentary.
• Neolithic: This stage ranged from the first polished stone tools to the beginning of the use of metals by prehistoric men. In the Neolithic, the first societies emerged, with human beings achieving a transformation towards nomadism.

Age of metals

On the other hand, the second division that Europeans make of Prehistory is that of the Metal Age, beginning 4,000 years ago and ending with the appearance of writing. It was the period when human beings were able to use and work metals.

The stages of the Metal Age were the following:

• Copper Age: Not knowing the foundry, the first metal used by men was copper, which they could work with the hammer and without using any type of foundry. The evolution achieved by the use of copper served all fields, both in the economy and in war.
• Bronze Age: By mixing copper and tin, human beings created bronze, being a more useful and resistant material than copper, and therefore being much more useful for production and for war.
• Iron age: The last period of the European division of Prehistory, being named for the use of iron, a material more common and much more resistant, serving to improve the lives of human beings and form the first great cities.

The division of Prehistory on American soil is more complicated to divide than its European version, since the sources that we possess about American prehistoric life they are minors than its counterpart in the Old Continent.

Even with this, we can talk about a series of stages that broadly allow us to know the evolution of the Americans in phases.

The division of prehistory in America is the next:

• Lithic or Paleoindian Period: Located between the arrival of the Americans and until the end of the Holocene, it is characterized by a hunter-gatherer society that begins to produce its first tools made of stone, being similar to the European Paleolithic, although with a society that is not yet capable of polishing the stones and therefore having a more limited production.
• Archaic Period: After the glaciations, the Americans began in agriculture and livestock, being the beginning of the transition to a sedentary life. The populations of Mexico and Peru were the most advanced in this process, being what years later would mark the birth of the olmec and the ancestors of the Incas. In these more advanced cities the first military leaders emerged who, over the years, would become the leaders of the societies, being one of the regions in which the concept of king was born more prematurely, although it was linked to the idea military.
• Formative Period: The birth of the first powerful peoples in the area of Mesoamerican and in the Andes it allowed the passage to the Formative Period, which was maintained until the arrival of writing, being key at this stage the emergence of the main characteristics of American society that would remain during centuries. In this period, very powerful estate societies already appeared, the greatest example being the Olmec culture that so much influenced later peoples and that is considered the mother culture of later civilizations, such as the Maya wave Aztec.

Image: Slideshare

Although it is not a continent as such, the reality is that the Middle East or the Near East has always been a key place in human evolution, being considered one of the central points of the human being during Prehistory, since the innovations and creations that took place in this area were key to the evolution of both Europe and Asia.

If you want to know how Prehistory is divided in the Middle East, keep in mind the following divisions:

• Paleolithic: Very similar to the one that took place in Europe, with cultures that are practically the same between both areas, although the pace of evolution was different. Among the main characteristics we find the use of stone for tools, fire control, bone industry and the performance of rituals to bury the dead.
• Mesolithic: Its beginning took place after the last ice age, and was characterized because although human beings continued to be hunters and gatherers, they specialized, hunting the most important and common spices and creating groups to collect meal. At the end of this period, the first semi-sedentary emerged, which began maintenance in the same place.
• Neolithic: It is considered that the first signs of the Neolithic revolution appeared in this region, being located in what would be Mesopotamia, Turkey and Canaan. This period is the one that marks the change from nomadic society to sedentary lifestyle, with agriculture and livestock appearing, and where human beings learned to polish stones.
• Copper Age: The evolution of the human being in the Middle East it was faster than in Europe during Prehistory, since the writing and creation of cities predated the European one, causing that in the division of the Prehistory of this region there is only one Age of Metals, being that of the Copper. The use of metal was for decorations, tools and weapons, being key to the new great powers that emerged in the Mesopotamia area. The fact that there are no bronze or iron ages does not mean that the prehistoric peoples of the area did not know about metals, but only that when they entered so early In the Ancient Age due to the discovery of writing, these metal phases are included within what is history in itself and after the Prehistory.

To finish this lesson on how prehistory is divided, we must talk about the division in the area of ​​Asia, this being continent one of the great always forgotten in western historiography, but it is very interesting to see its differences with respect to to Europe.

The Phases of Prehistory in Asia were the following:

• Paleolithic: The first remains of human beings in Asia are found in China and Indonesia, therefore these two places were where the Prehistory of this region could begin. Although in Asia we find elements similar to those in Europe, such as stone or bone tools, their forms and uses differ quite a lot from those in Europe.
• Mesolithic: We have very few remains from this time on Asian soil, so it is thought that this stage of Asian Prehistory must have lasted a very short time. From the few remains found in India, Japan or China we can only deduce that they were still hunters and gatherers.
• Neolithic: The three major areas of influence at this time were the Indian subcontinent, East Asia and Southeast Asia. In these three areas the first peoples of Asia were born, growing food such as millet, peas, rice or beans, and raising livestock as in the case of the domestication of the pig to eat it. These three zones marked the places where the first great powers of Asia would appear.
• Age of metals: At first, copper became a metal only valid for the most powerful and wealthy people, taking years to be used for the tools, and therefore having a slower development than others regions. The regions with the greatest predominance of metals were the first to go to the Ancient Age, such as China.

If you want to read more articles similar to How Prehistory is divided, we recommend that you enter our category of History.

• Alimen, M. H., & Steve, M. J. (Eds.). (1989). Prehistory (Vol. 1). Siglo XXI de España Editores.
• Comas, J., Saldaña, I. P., & Zavala, L. J. (1962). Introduction to general prehistory (Vol. 40). General Directorate of Publications.
• Arciniegas Duque, M. (1990). General prehistory of America and Colombia.