The epoch is a period of the development of mankind. What are the epochs of the world?

Many people use the word "era", especially without thinking about its meaning. "Victorian era", "Soviet era", "Renaissance" - what do these phrases actually mean, what is this time line, so often used by historians, philosophers, archaeologists and other researchers?

Definition of the term "epoch"

An epoch is an exception to the rule on time units. It can not be said that this is a year, a decade, a century or a millennium. An epoch can last an indefinite period of time, sometimes it takes several centuries, and sometimes a millennium. Everything depends on the degree and speed of human development. The epoch is a unit by means of which the periodization of the historical process takes place. The term is also interpreted as a specific qualitative period of human development.

Periodization of the development of society

The historical epoch is a philosophical concept symbolizing the degree of development of civilization, the transition of mankind to a different level of cultural, technical and social development, ascent to the highest stage. Philosophers and historians of different times have tried to solve the puzzle and create a single correct periodization. To do this, scientists took certain historical periods, studied what was happening in those days, at what level of development were people, and then they already unified them. For example, the era of the ancient world is slavery, the modern era is capitalism, etc.

It should be noted that historians have created several periodizations of the development of mankind, and all of them affect different time frames. The most common division: antiquity, the Middle Ages, the new time. This issue remains open until now, as scientists have not come to a consensus. The division of world history into epochs is ambiguous.

Criteria for the division of history

The epoch of the world is a time interval, selected according to a certain criterion. Perhaps, historians would have come to an agreement, if they assessed the development of society by one definition. And so there is no consensus on how to divide history, from which to build. Some take as a basis the attitude of people to property, others - the level of development of productive forces, some make a periodization, choosing the degree of enslavement or freedom of the individual.

In the end, the world community of historians decided that the era is a technological stage in the development of society. There have been several such periods in history, and all of them are separated by technological revolutions. The best minds are fighting to understand what stages mankind has already gone through, and what other steps it has yet to go through.

The main epochs of world history

Scientists distinguish four main periods of development of society: archaic, agrarian, industrial and post-industrial. The first period refers to the VIII - VI centuries. BC. The archaic era is characterized by a significant breakthrough of mankind forward, a change in the image of society, the emergence of the foundations of statehood, a large demographic outburst. During this period, urbanization flourished, mostly people lived in cities. There have also been significant changes in military affairs.

The agrarian epoch falls on the V-IV centuries. BC. Society from primitive communal passes into agrarian and political. During this period, many principalities, kingdoms and empires arose with centralized administration. There was a division of labor into cattle, agricultural and handicraft. This period is characterized by an agricultural way of production.

In the industrial era (XVIII - 1 half of the 20th century), global socio-economic, technological and political changes took place. Instead of manufactories, factories appeared, that is, manual labor was replaced by machines. As a result, the labor market expanded, productivity increased, and active urbanization was observed. Post-industrial era began in the second half of the twentieth century, it is also called a "period without regularities." Characterized by accelerated development of events, automation of production. The era began with significant changes in all spheres of life, it continues to this day.