From the Paleolithic to the present — click any card to explore
Paleolithic
50,000–10,000 BCE: The Great Leap
Behaviorally modern humans spread across the globe, producing the first art, music, and long-distance trade — while coexisting with, and eventually outlasting, the Neanderthals
Pop. ~0.1–5 million
Prehistoric
10,000–4,000 BCE: The Neolithic Revolution
Humanity's great transition from nomadic hunter-gatherers to settled farmers — the invention of agriculture, the first towns, and the birth of organized religion
Pop. ~5–14 million
Ancient World
4000–3000 BCE: Dawn of Civilization
Rise of early cities, writing systems, and organized religion in the Fertile Crescent and Nile Valley
Pop. ~14–27 million
3000–2000 BCE: Pyramid Age and Early Empires
Construction of the Egyptian pyramids, rise of Akkadian empire, flourishing of Indus Valley cities, and Bronze Age trade networks across Eurasia
Pop. ~27–50 million
2000–1000 BCE: Bronze Age Kingdoms
Rise of Babylon and the Hittite Empire, New Kingdom Egypt, Shang Dynasty China, Mycenaean Greece, and the Bronze Age Collapse
Pop. ~50–115 million
1000–500 BCE: Iron Age and the Axial Age Dawns
Iron replaces bronze across Eurasia, Assyria builds history's first professional army, Homer composes the Iliad and Odyssey, the Babylonian exile reshapes Judaism, and the Buddha and Confucius are born
Pop. ~115–150 million
500–1 BCE: The Axial Age in Full Bloom
The Persian Wars vindicate Athenian democracy, Socrates and Aristotle define Western philosophy, Alexander's conquests spread Hellenic culture to the Indus, Ashoka spreads Buddhism across Asia, Qin unifies China, and Rome destroys Carthage to dominate the Mediterranean
Pop. ~150–300 million
Late Antiquity
1–500 CE: Late Antiquity
The Roman Empire at its height, the rise of Christianity, the fall of Rome, Neoplatonism, Han China, and the Gupta golden age
Pop. ~300 million declining to ~200 million
Early Middle Ages
500–1000 CE: Islam, Byzantium, and the Tang
Justinian's Byzantium, the birth of Islam and the Arab conquests, the Tang Dynasty golden age, the Viking Age, and Charlemagne
Pop. ~200–295 million
Post-Classical
1000–1500 CE: The Medieval World
Mongol conquests, the Crusades, Black Death, rise of Gothic cathedrals and universities, Aztec and Inca empires, and the eve of the Age of Discovery
Pop. ~295–460 million
Early Modern
1500–1650 CE: Reformation, Conquest, and the First Scientific Revolution
Columbus's Columbian Exchange reshapes the world, Spanish conquistadors destroy the Aztec and Inca empires, Luther ignites the Protestant Reformation, Copernicus dethrones the Earth, the Ottoman and Mughal empires reach their peaks, and the Thirty Years' War devastates Central Europe
Pop. ~460–545 million
1650–1800 CE: Enlightenment and Revolution
Newton unifies physics, Locke and Rousseau ground political authority in consent, the transatlantic slave trade peaks, Peter the Great forces Russia into Europe, the American and French Revolutions translate Enlightenment theory into political fact, and the Haitian Revolution abolishes slavery for the first time
Pop. ~545–950 million
Modern
1800–1900 CE: The Industrial Century
Industrial Revolution, Napoleonic hegemony, the rise of nationalism and empire, Darwin's evolution, germ theory, and the first globalization
Pop. ~950 million–1.6 billion
1900–2000 CE: The Turbulent Century
World Wars, totalitarianism, the Holocaust, nuclear age, Cold War, decolonization, and the digital revolution
Pop. ~1.6–6.1 billion
Contemporary
2000–2026 CE: The Digital Age
September 11 and the War on Terror, rise of social media, the 2008 financial crisis, climate change, COVID-19 pandemic, and the AI revolution
Pop. ~6.1–8.2 billion