Philosodata: Historical Eras

These are the eras of society according to historians, chronologically sorted and grouped by whether the revolution is technological, economic, political, religious, wars, cultural, or generational.

This is, by no means, exhaustive. Grouping historical eras is a human-made value of the mind, and can be endlessly divided all the way down to daily or hourly activities if someone were obsessive enough. But, it’s a fun way to observe social trends, especially when you impose the trends on top of each other.

Ancient history

  • ? – ~2000 BC: Stone/Neolithic Age (technological)
  • ~5000 BC – ~300 BC: Copper Age (technological), transition to Bronze Age
  • ~3300 BC – ~1200 BC: Bronze Age (technological)
  • ~1200 BC – 550 BC: Iron Age (technological)
  • 753 BC – 476 AD: Roman Empire (political)
  • ~600 BC – ~600 AD: Greek Empire (political)
  • ~550 BC – ~330 BC: Persian Empire (political)
  • 285 AD – 1453: Byzantine Empire (political)

Post-classical history

  • 476 AD – 1450: Middle Ages (political)
    • 476 AD – ~1000: Late Antiquity / Early Middle Ages
    • ~1000 – ~1250: High Middle Ages
    • ~1250 – ~1450: Late Middle Ages
  • 1336 – 1700: Age of Discovery/Exploration (economic)
  • ~1400 – ~1600: Renaissance (religious/cultural)
    • ~1400 – ~1500: Renaissance Humanism (religious)
    • ~1450 – ~1600: European Renaissance (cultural)
  • 1433 – 1460: Arthurian Generation (generational)
  • 1460 – 1482: Humanist Generation (generational)
  • 1483 – 1511: Reformation Generation (generational)
  • 1512 – 1540: Reprisal Generation (generational)
  • 1517 – 1648: Protestant Reformation (religious)
  • 1541 – 1565: Elizabethan Generation (generational)
  • 1545 – 1563: Catholic Reformation / Counter-Reformation (religious)
  • 1566 – 1587: Parliamentary Generation (generational)
  • 1588 – 1617: Puritan Generation (generational)
  • 1618 – 1647: Cavalier Generation (generational)
  • 1648 – 1673: Glorious Generation (generational)
  • 1650 – 1800: Enlightenment / Age of Reason (religious/cultural)
  • 1674 – 1700: Enlightenment Generation (generational)
  • 1701 – 1723: Awakening Generation (generational)
  • 1724 – 1741: Liberty Generation (generational)
  • 1742 – 1766: Republican Generation (generational)
  • ~1760 – ~1840: First Industrial Revolution (technological)
  • 1764 – 1848: Revolutionary Period (political/wars)
    • 1765 – 1791: American Revolution
    • 1791 – 1804: Haitan Revolution
    • 1804 – 1835: Serbian Revolution
    • 1808 – 1833: Spanish-American War
    • 1821 – 1832: Greek War of Independence
    • 1822 – 1825: Brazilian War of Independence
    • 1789 – 1799: French Revolution
  • 1767 – 1791: Compromise Generation (generational)
  • 1788 – 1868: Convict Era (political/cultural)
  • 1792 – 1821: Transcendental Generation (generational)
  • ~1800 – 1914: Age of Imperialism (political/wars)
    • 1799 – 1815: Napoleonic Era (political/wars)
    • 1837 – 1901: Victorian Era (political/cultural/wars)
    • 1901 – 1914: Edwardian Era (political/cultural/wars)
  • 1822 – 1842: Gilded Generation (generational)
  • 1843 – 1859: Progressive Generation (generational)
  • 1846 – present: Oil Age (technological)
  • 1857 – 1858: Indian Rebellion (political/wars)
  • 1850 – 1864: Taiping Revolution (political/wars)
  • 1860 – 1882: Missionary Generation (generational)
  • 1861 – 1865: American Civil War (political/wars/cultural)
  • 1870 – 1914: Second Industrial Revolution (technological)
  • 1880 – 1945: Machine Age (technological)
  • 1883 – 1900: Lost Generation (generational)
  • 1896 – 1917: Progressive Era (religious/cultural)
  • 1901 – 1927: Greatest/G.I. Generation (generational)
  • 1914 – 1918: World War I (war)
  • 1920 – 1929: Roaring Twenties (cultural)
  • 1928 – 1945: Silent Generation (generational)
  • 1929 – 1939: Great Depression / Dirty Thirties (economic/cultural)
  • 1939 – 1945: World War II (war/cultural)

Modern history

  • 1944 – 1976: Jet Age (technological)
  • 1946 – 1964: Baby Boomers (generational)
  • 1945 – 1991: Atomic Age (cultural/technological)
  • 1947 – present: Digital/Third Industrial Revolution (cultural/technological)
  • 1957 – 2011: Space Age (cultural/technological)
  • 1965 – 1980: Generation X (generational)
  • 1970 – present: Information Age (cultural/technological)
    • 1996 – present: Social Age
    • 2000 – present: Mobile Phone Age
  • 1981 – 1996: Generation Y/Millennials (generational)
  • 1997 – 2010: Generation Z/Zoomers (generational)
  • 2010 – ~2025: Generation Alpha (generational)

Conceptual

Only history can indicate whether these will be valid, but they’re here for completeness.

  • 1993 – present: Imagination Age (cultural)
  • 2015 – present: Fourth Industrial Revolution (cultural/technological)
  • 2021 – present: Holographic Age (cultural/technological)
  • 2022 – present: Age of AI (cultural/technological)
  • 2015 – present: Over-Information Age (cultural/technological)