Periodization

For periodization in sport, seeSports periodization.

Inhistoriography,periodizationis the process or study of categorizing the past into discrete, quantified, and named blocks of time for the purpose of study or analysis.This is usually done in order to understand current and historical processes, and thecausalitythat might have linked those events.

Periodizations can provide a convenient segmentation of time, wherein events within the period might consist of relatively similar characteristics. However, determining the precise beginning and ending of any 'period' is often arbitrary, since it has changed over time and over the course of history. Systems of periodization are more or less arbitrary, yet it provides a framework to help us understand them. Periodizing labels are continually challenged and redefined, but once established, period "brands" are so convenient that many are hard to change.

History

The practice of dividing history into ages or periods is as early as the development ofwriting,and can be traced to theSumerian period.TheSumerian King List,dating to thesecond millennium BC—and for most parts it is not considered historically accurate—is "periodized" into dynasticregnal eras.The classical division into aGolden Age,Silver Age,Bronze Age,Heroic Age,andIron Agegoes back toHesiodin the 8th – 7th century BC.

One Biblical periodization scheme commonly used in the Middle Ages wasSaint Paul's theological division of history into three ages: the first before the age ofMoses(under nature); the second under Mosaic law (under law); the third in the age of Christ (under grace). But perhaps the most widely discussed periodization scheme of the Middle Ages was theSix Ages of the World,written by the early 5th century AD,where every age was a thousand years counting fromAdamto the present, with the present time (in the Middle Ages) being the sixth and final age.

Background

Periodizing blocks might overlap, conflict or contradict one another. Some have a cultural usage (the "Gilded Age"), others refer to prominent historical events ('theInterwar period), while others are defined by decimal numbering systems ('the 1960s', 'the 17th century'). Other periods are named from influential individuals (the 'Napoleonic Era', the 'Victorian Era', and the 'Porfiriato').

Some of these usages will also be geographically specific. This is especially true of periodizing labels derived from individuals or ruling dynasties, such as theJacksonian Erain America, theMeiji Erain Japan, or theMerovingian Periodin France. Cultural terms may also have a limited reach. Thus the concept of the "Romantic period"is largely meaningless outside theWestern worldof Europe and European-influenced cultures. Likewise, 'the 1960s', though technically applicable to anywhere in the world according toCommon Eranumbering, has a certain set of specific cultural connotations in certain countries. For this reason, it may be possible to say such things as "The 1960s never occurred in Spain". This would mean that thesexual revolution,counterculture,youth rebellion and so on never developed during that decade in Spain's conservativeRoman Catholicculture and underFrancisco Franco's authoritarian regime. The historianArthur Marwickmentions that "the 1960s' began in the late 1950s and ended in the early 1970s". This was because the cultural and economic conditions that define the meaning of the period covers more than the accidental fact of a 10-year block beginning with the number 6. This extended usage is termed the 'long 1960s'. This usage derives from other historians who have adopted labels such as "the long 19th century"(1789–1914) to reconcile arbitrary decimal chronology with meaningful cultural and social phases.Eric Hobsbawmhas also argued for what he calls "the short twentieth century",encompassing the period from theFirst World Warthrough to the end of theCold War.

Periodizing terms often have negative or positive connotations that may affect their usage. This includesVictorian,which often negatively suggestssexual repressionand class conflict. Other labels such asRenaissancehave strongly positive characteristics. As a result, these terms sometimes extend in meaning. Thus theEnglish Renaissanceis often used for a period largely identical to theElizabethan Periodor reign ofElizabeth I,and begins some 200 years later than theItalian Renaissance.However theCarolingian Renaissanceis said to have occurred during the reign of theFrankishkingCharlemagne,and his immediate successors. Other examples, neither of which constituted a "rebirth" in the sense of revival, are theAmerican Renaissanceof the 1820s–1860s, referring mainly to literature, and theHarlem Renaissanceof the 1920s, referring mainly to literature but also to music and the visual arts.

Petrarchconceived of the idea of a European "Dark Age"which later evolved into the tripartite periodization of Western history intoAncient,Post-classicalandModern.

The conception of a 'rebirth' of Classical Latin learning is first credited to the Italian poetPetrarch(1304–1374), the father ofRenaissance Humanism,but the conception of a rebirth has been in common use since Petrarch's time. The dominant usage of the wordRenaissancerefers to the cultural changes that occurred in Italy that culminated in theHigh Renaissancearound 1500–1530. This concept applies dominantly to thevisual arts,and the work ofMichelangelo,Raphael,andLeonardo da Vinci.Secondarily it is applied to other arts, but it is questionable whether it is useful to describe a phase in economic, social and political history. Many professional historians now refer to the historical periods commonly known as theRenaissanceand theReformationas the start of theEarly Modern Period,which extends much later. There is a gradual change in the courses taught and books published to correspond to the change in period nomenclature, which in part reflects differences betweensocial historyandcultural history.The new nomenclature suggests a broader geographical coverage and a growing attention to the relationships between Europe and the wider world.

The termMiddle Agesalso derives fromPetrarch.He was comparing his own period to the Ancient orClassical world,seeing his time as a time of rebirth after a dark intermediate period, the Middle Ages. The idea that the Middle Ages was a middle phase between two other large scale periodizing concepts, Ancient and Modern, still persists. It can be subdivided into theEarly,HighandLate Middle Ages.The termDark Agesis no longer in common use among modern scholars because of the difficulty of using it neutrally, though some writers have attempted to retain it and divest it of its negative connotations. The term "Middle Ages" and especially the adjectivemedievalcan also have a negative ring in colloquial use, but does not carry over into academic terminology. However, other terms, such asGothic architecture,used to refer to a style typical of the High Middle Ages have largely lost the negative connotations they initially had, acquiring new meanings over time (seeGothic architectureandGoth subculture).

TheGothicand theBaroquewere both named during subsequent stylistic periods when the preceding style was unpopular. The word "Gothic" was applied as a pejorative term to all things Northern European and, hence, barbarian, probably first byGiorgio Vasari.He coined the term "Gothic" in an effort to describe (particularly architecture) what he found objectionable. The wordbaroque—derived from similar words in Portuguese, Spanish, or French—literally refers to an irregular or misshapen pearl. Its first use outside the field of jewellery manufacture was in the early 18th century, as a criticism of music that was viewed as over-complicated and rough. Later, the term was also used to describe architecture and art.The Baroque period was first designated as such in the 19th century, and is generally considered to have begun around 1600 in all media.Music historyplaces the end of the period in the year 1750 with the death ofJ. S. Bach,while art historians consider the main period to have ended significantly earlier in most areas.

Three-age system

Main article:Three-age system

Inarcheology,the usual method for periodization of the distantprehistoricpast is to rely on changes in material culture and technology, such as theStone Age,Bronze AgeandIron Ageand their sub-divisions also based on different styles of material remains. Despite the development over recent decades of the ability throughradiocarbon datingand other scientific methods to give actual dates for many sites or artefacts, these long-established schemes seem likely to remain in use. In many cases neighbouring cultures with writing have left some history of cultures without it, which may be used. The system further underwent subdivisions, including the 1865 partitioning of the Stone Age intoPalaeolithic,MesolithicandNeolithicperiods byJohn Lubbock.

Historiography

Main article:Historiography

Some events or short periods of change have such a drastic effect on the cultures they affect that they form a natural break in history. These are often marked by the widespread use of bothpre-andpost-phrases centered on the event, as inpre-Reformationandpost-Reformation,orpre-colonialandpost-colonial.Bothpre-warandpost-warare still understood to refer toWorld War II,though at some future point the phrases will need to be altered to make that clear.

World history

Example of periodizations in history

Several major periods historians may use are:

1. Prehistory
2. Ancient history
3. Late antiquity
4. Post-classical history
5. Early modern period
6. Late modern period
7. Modern history(sometimes the nineteenth century and modern are combined)
8. Contemporary history

Althoughpost-classicalis synonymous with theMiddle Agesof Western Europe, the termpost-classicalis not necessarily a member of the traditionaltripartite periodizationof Western European history into 'classical', 'middle' and 'modern'.

Some popularized periodizations using the terms long or short by historians are:

• Long eighteenth century

• Long nineteenth century
• Short twentieth century

See also

• List of time periods
• List of archaeological periods
• Regnal year
• Geological era
• Cosmological epoch
• Japanese era name
• Logarithmic timeline
• Chronological dating
• Second Hundred Years' War

References

Sources

• Lawrence Besserman, ed.,The Challenge of Periodization: Old Paradigms and New Perspectives,1996,ISBN0-8153-2103-1.See Chapter 1 for an overview of thepostmodernistposition on periodization.
• Bentley, J. H. 1996. Cross-Cultural Interaction and Periodization in World History.American Historical Review(June): 749–770.
• Grinin, L.2007. Periodization of History: A theoretic-mathematical analysis. In:History & MathematicsArchived2012-02-06 at theWayback Machine.Moscow: KomKniga/URSS. pp. 10–38.ISBN978-5-484-01001-1.

External links

• Quotations related toPeriodizationat Wikiquote
• Media related toPeriodizationat Wikimedia Commons