\[ **BT: [[homepage]]** ] --- # history - [[knowledge#historiography and the study of history|historiography]] + [[prehistory]] + [[Pleistocene]] + [[Palaeolithic]] + [[Neolithic]] - [[history--Australia]] - [[history--China]] - [[history--Europe]] - [[history--West Asia]] + [[family history]] --- Note: [[It can be unhelpful to think of history as being divided into set 'eras'; the past was active and fluid.]][^1] --- ## terminology ### three-age system The three-age system is the division of human prehistory into three time-periods: the [[Palaeolithic|Stone Age]], the [[prehistory#Bronze Age|Bronze Age]] and the [[prehistory#Iron Age|Iron Age]].[^2] In some systems, a fourth [[prehistory#Copper Age|Copper Age]] is added as between the Stone Age and Bronze Age. The Copper, Bronze and Iron Ages are also known collectively as the Metal Ages.[^3] In history, [[knowledge#archaeology|archaeology]] and physical [[knowledge#the nature of anthropology|anthropology]], the three-age system is a methodological concept adopted during the 19th century according to which artefacts and events of late prehistory and early history could be broadly ordered into a recognizable chronology. C. J. Thomsen initially developed this categorization in the period 1816 to 1825.[^4] The structure reflects the cultural and historical background of the Mediterranean basin and the Middle East. The schema has little or no utility for establishing chronological frameworks in sub-Saharan Africa, much of Asia, the Americas, and some other areas; and has little importance in contemporary archaeological or anthropological discussion for these regions.[^5] --- [^1]: John Moreland, quoted in Alexandra Lester-Makin, *[[Lester-Makin, Lost Art of the Anglo-Saxon World, 2019|The Lost Art of the Anglo-Saxon World: The Sacred and Secular Power of Embroidery]]* (Osbow Books, 2019), chapter 1. EPUB. [^2]: ‘Three-Age System’, Wikipedia, last edited 14 October 2025, 15:37 (UTC), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-age_system. [^3]: ‘Three-Age System’, Wikipedia, last edited 14 October 2025, 15:37 (UTC). [^4]: ‘Three-Age System’, Wikipedia, last edited 14 October 2025, 15:37 (UTC). [^5]: ‘Three-Age System’, Wikipedia, last edited 14 October 2025, 15:37 (UTC).