Synoptic table of the principal old world prehistoric cultures

The synoptic table of the principal old world prehistoric cultures gives a rough picture of the relationships between the various principal cultures of prehistory outside the Americas, Antarctica, Australia and Oceania. It also serves as an index of the broad features of that prehistory to be followed through links to articles. Literate cultures are shown in brackets ().

Table

The Principal prehistoric cultures of the Old World
	Prehistoric Europe	Prehistoric Africa		Prehistoric Asia
Period & Climate	Europe	North Africa, West Africa and Sahara	Central Africa, South and East Africa	Middle East	South Asia, and Central Asia	East Asia and South-East Asia
1000 AD	(Middle Ages)	(Caliphate)	(Sahelian kingdoms) Mapungubwe	(Caliphate)	(Middle Kingdoms)	(Song Dynasty)
0 BC/AD	Iron Age (and Roman Empire)	(Ancient North Africa), Nok, Ile-Ife	Bantu expansion	(Classical Antiquity)	(Iron Age India)	(Han Dynasty)
1000 BC	Urnfield culture Bronze Age	Copper Age in Niger Nok	Bantu expansion	Late Bronze Age Early Iron Age	development of Indian Iron Age	Chinese Bronze Age, Late and Final Jōmon in Japan
2000 BC	Bell beaker Chalcolithic corded ware domestication of the horse	Neolithic of Tichit Tenerean		Middle Bronze Age (Sumer)	Indus Valley civilisation Indus script	Chinese Neolithic of Longshan
3000 BC	Yamna culture, enclosed villages Chalcolithic of Central Europe		Beginning of the Hunter-gatherer art of South Africa	Early Bronze Age	Regionalization Era
4000 BC	Samara culture Lower Neolithic Danubian Neolithic	Mediterranean and Egyptian Neolithic	Beginning of Neolithic in East Africa	Uruk period Chalcolithic (copper metallurgy)	Mehrgarh	Neolithic of Yang-Shao rice-growing (?)
5000 BC	Cardial and Linear Pottery (agriculture, stock-rearing, Pottery) oldest European megaliths Starčevo and Vinča culture agriculture, stock-rearing (pigs, bovine, sheep) Chalcolithic (copper metallurgy)	Neolithic of the Sahara/Sahel		Ubaid period ceramic Cyprus more megaliths than earlier, spreading southward into Levant and Cyprus	Mehrgarh, Bhirrana in India	Hongshan culture of Northeast Asia (c. 4700 BC)
6000 BC	Tardenoisian cultures (gathering of legumes) Neolithic (Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean ) Sesklo and Choirokoitia			Neolithic with ceramic Ubaid period	Mehrgarh, Bhirrana (India)	Neolithic of northern China
7000 BC	Sauveterrian cultures Komornica culture		Wiltonian	Pre-ceramic B Pre-ceramic A Neolithic in Asia Minor (wheat, barley)		hunter gatherers of Jōmon (ancient Japan)
8000 BC	Ahrensburg culture, Azilian and Asiloid cultures (northern Spain, southern France)	Capsian		Goats domestication Zagros in Iran First towns Near East at Aşıklı Höyük and Jericho		Hoabinhian of Southeast Asia
9000 BC	Backed point culture (Federmesser) Mezine (Ukraine)		Magosian	Natufian Oldest known megaliths: Hattians or their predecessors	Kandivili
10,000 BC Holocene began glacial ended (10,000 BC) glacial at its coldest (18,000 BC)	Magdalenian Solutrean Epigravettian Hamburg culture	Ibero-Maurisian Mushabian Sebilian	Lupemban culture	Kebarian Athlitian Beginning of Neolithic religion at Göbekli Tepe (southern Anatolia)	Bhimbetka rock paintings south Asia	pre-Jōmon ceramic (Japan)
20,000 BC	Gravettian Pavlovian Aurignacian (art) Kostienki (western Russia)			Antelian Aurignacian (art)		Sơn Vi culture (northern Vietnam)
30,000 BC	Châtelperronian Homo neanderthalensis, Homo sapiens Aurignacian (art) Szeletian culture (Hungary)	Aterian	Stillbay		Bhimbetka rock paintings, Balangoda Culture Angara Culture	Sen-Doki
40,000 BC	Homo neanderthalensis, Homo sapiens			Jabroudian
50,000 BC	Mousterian Homo neanderthalensis		Fauresmithian Homo sapiens	Mousterian Homo neanderthalensis	Soanian	Ngandong culture
80,000 BC latest glacial began (93,000 BC)	Homo neanderthalensis		Mousteroid Homo sapiens	Homo neanderthalensis
100,000 BC glacial ended (128,000 BC)	Upper Acheulean Homo neanderthalensis		Sangoan Homo sapiens	Homo neanderthalensis	Acheulean Soanian
200,000 BC glacial began (350,000 BC)	Homo neanderthalensis Tayacian (southern France)		Homo sapiens Acheulean	Homo neanderthalensis artwork 248,000 BC Acheulean
300,000 BC	middle Acheulean Homo neanderthalensis Clactonian (England)				Pre-Soanian
500,000 BC	Lower Acheulean Homo heidelbergensis Homo neanderthalensis worked pebbles	Lower Acheulean		Homo neanderthalensis		Homo erectus pekinensis
1,000,000 BC	worked pebbles Homo antecessor (northern Spain, England, France)	Homo erectus worked pebbles	lower Acheulean Oldowan			worked pebbles
2,000,000 BC			Homo habilis,Homo ergaster		Bhimbetka findings cupules

See also

• Detailed logarithmic timeline
• Evolution of human intelligence
• List of timelines
• List of years in archaeology
• Timeline of glaciation
• Timeline of historic inventions
• Timeline of human evolution