Many people use the word "epoch" without really thinking about its meaning. “Victorian era”, “Soviet era”, “Renaissance era” - what do these phrases really mean, what is this time period so often used by historians, philosophers, archaeologists and other researchers?
Definition of the term "epoch"
An epoch is an exception to the rule about time units. It cannot be said that it is a year, a decade, a century or a millennium. An era can last an indefinite period of time, sometimes it takes several centuries, and sometimes millennia. Everything depends on the degree and speed of human development. An epoch is a unit by 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
Historical epoch is a philosophical concept that symbolizes the degree of development of civilization, the transition of mankind to another level of cultural, technical and social development, the ascent to the highest level. Philosophers and historians of different times tried to solve the puzzle and create a single correct periodization. ForFor this, scientists took certain historical periods, studied what exactly happened at that time, at what level of development people were, and then they already united them. For example, the era of the ancient world is slavery, the new era is capitalism, etc.
It should be noted that historians have created several periodizations of human development, and they all cover different time frames. The most common division: antiquity, Middle Ages, modern times. This question remains open until now, since scientists have not come to a consensus. The division of world history into eras is ambiguous.
Criteria for dividing history
The epoch of peace is a time period allocated according to a certain criterion. Perhaps historians would come to an agreement if they assessed the development of society by one definition. And so there is no consensus on exactly how to divide history, what to build on. Some take as a basis the attitude of people to property, others - the level of development of the 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 an epoch 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 struggling to understand which stages humanity has already passed, and which it still has to go through.
Main epochs of world history
Scientists identify four main eras of developmentsocieties: 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 face of society, the emergence of the foundations of statehood, and a large demographic surge. During this period, urbanization flourished, mostly people lived in cities. There have also been significant changes in military affairs.
Agrarian era falls on the V-IV centuries. BC. Society from the primitive communal passes into the agrarian-political. During this period, many principalities, kingdoms and empires with centralized control arose. There was a division of labor into cattle-breeding, agricultural and handicraft. This period is characterized by the agricultural mode of production.
The industrial era (XVIII - 1st half of the XX centuries) saw global socio-economic, technological and political changes. 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. The post-industrial era began in the second half of the twentieth century, it is also called the "period without patterns." It is characterized by accelerated development of events, automation of production. The era began with significant changes in all areas of life, it continues to this day.
