5th Millennium BC


This period will be divided into periods of 200 years.	Sapience Home Site Map About Sapience History Antiquity

This period will be divided into periods of 200 years.

Content

c. 5000-4001 BC No specific events have yet been associated with this period of history.


This will be connected to physical and natural science. Physics and chemistry are less directly significant than astronomy, earth science, and biology. Personal studies of the human body and psychology are less directly useful than biography.	Links to other sites: Not yet developed.
Anthropology including social foundations, demography, and physical anthropology will be highly important. Human ecology including environmental influence on people, relationships with other life, and human influence on the environment is significant. Human geography including European geography, Asian geography, African geography, North American geography, South American geography, and Oceanic geography will be significant. Asian geography including Southwest Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia, and North Asia will also be significant. Particular groups may be useful. Culture is highly important for studies of the 5th millennium BC. Material culture including foodstuffs, clothing, buildings, transportation devices, communication devices, industrial technology, and other artifacts is most easily studied. Elements of conceptual culture including graphic arts, literature, mathematics, applied science, and philosophy can sometimes be traced. Language including linguistics, writing, and languages of the world is important for studies of this period. Behavioral culture including occupations, recreation and entertainment, and cultural events can also sometimes be followed. Customs including vital customs, living and dwelling customs, dress and adornment, social interaction, and institutional customs will be significant. Institutions Families are significant but not well known. Marriage, parenting, kinship, and particular families can be examined. Education seems to have been mostly informal, but research, teaching, cultural institutions, educational organization, and particular schools can be considered. Economics including economic activity, industries, and economic systems is obscure. Government including law, government structure, government activity, and particular governments is obscure. Religion including beliefs, practice, and organization can be examined to some extent. Particular religions at this point are mostly pagan. Asian pagan religions are easiest to follow. European pagan, African pagan, and American Indian pagan religions are obscure at this point. Sociology Social structure and change will be useful in examining this period. Social structure including anthropological structure, cultural structure, institutional structure, and class structure can be examined. Social types include hunting and gathering, horticultural, and possibly agricultural societies. Social change including factors, processes, and particular changes will also be significant. Communities are important, but few of the major communites of the present can be traced to this period. Peoples of the world will be highly important in examining this period. Particular nations can be examined. UK, Italy, South Korea, Myanmar, Ukraine, South AFrican, and Columbia can be considered. Asiatic peoples are significant. Thailand, In the Middle East, In Iran there were significant Neolithic settlements. In Turkey there were significant settlements in this period. In Egypt, this is considered part of the predynastic period. South Asian peoples including India where Neolithic farming villages appeared in the north can be examined. I know little of Pakistan during this period, but at least one important neolithic settlement had begun to practice metalworking. I know little of Bangladesh in this period. Oriental peoples including those of China where the neolithic Yang Shao peoples appeared can be considered. I know little of Japan during this period. Southeast Asian peoples can be considered, but I know nothing of Indonesia in this period. I know little of the Philippines in this period. I know nothing of Vietnam during this period. I know practically nothing of Western civilization in this period. Neolithic farming may have been introduced into France by people called the Danubians. For Germanic peoples, I know nothing of Germany in this period. For Northeast European peoples, I know nothing of Russia in this period. African peoples can be examined. I have very little information for Congo. In Eastern Africa, I know little of Ethiopia. I also know little of Western Africa including Nigeria in this period. American Indian peoples can perhaps be identified. I know little of Mexico in this period. I know little of South American Indians in this period. I know nothing of Brazil in this period. I know little of North American Indian peoples such as lived in wht is now the United States Other History This is preceded by prehistory, specifically late prehistory. It is followed by other periods of antiquity, specifically the 4th millennium BC, and has been studied in classical and medieval times. It has been better studied in modern times including the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, but significant progress has been made in the 19th century and the 20th century and will be in the future.

This will be connected to physical and natural science. Physics and chemistry are less directly significant than astronomy, earth science, and biology.

Personal studies of the human body and psychology are less directly useful than biography.

Links to other sites: Not yet developed.

Anthropology including social foundations, demography, and physical anthropology will be highly important. Human ecology including environmental influence on people, relationships with other life, and human influence on the environment is significant. Human geography including European geography, Asian geography, African geography, North American geography, South American geography, and Oceanic geography will be significant. Asian geography including Southwest Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia, and North Asia will also be significant. Particular groups may be useful.

Culture is highly important for studies of the 5th millennium BC. Material culture including foodstuffs, clothing, buildings, transportation devices, communication devices, industrial technology, and other artifacts is most easily studied. Elements of conceptual culture including graphic arts, literature, mathematics, applied science, and philosophy can sometimes be traced. Language including linguistics, writing, and languages of the world is important for studies of this period. Behavioral culture including occupations, recreation and entertainment, and cultural events can also sometimes be followed. Customs including vital customs, living and dwelling customs, dress and adornment, social interaction, and institutional customs will be significant.

Institutions

Families are significant but not well known. Marriage, parenting, kinship, and particular families can be examined. Education seems to have been mostly informal, but research, teaching, cultural institutions, educational organization, and particular schools can be considered. Economics including economic activity, industries, and economic systems is obscure. Government including law, government structure, government activity, and particular governments is obscure. Religion including beliefs, practice, and organization can be examined to some extent. Particular religions at this point are mostly pagan. Asian pagan religions are easiest to follow. European pagan, African pagan, and American Indian pagan religions are obscure at this point.

Sociology

Social structure and change will be useful in examining this period. Social structure including anthropological structure, cultural structure, institutional structure, and class structure can be examined. Social types include hunting and gathering, horticultural, and possibly agricultural societies. Social change including factors, processes, and particular changes will also be significant. Communities are important, but few of the major communites of the present can be traced to this period.

Peoples of the world will be highly important in examining this period. Particular nations can be examined. UK, Italy, South Korea, Myanmar, Ukraine, South AFrican, and Columbia can be considered.

Asiatic peoples are significant. Thailand, In the Middle East, In Iran there were significant Neolithic settlements. In Turkey there were significant settlements in this period. In Egypt, this is considered part of the predynastic period. South Asian peoples including India where Neolithic farming villages appeared in the north can be examined. I know little of Pakistan during this period, but at least one important neolithic settlement had begun to practice metalworking. I know little of Bangladesh in this period. Oriental peoples including those of China where the neolithic Yang Shao peoples appeared can be considered. I know little of Japan during this period. Southeast Asian peoples can be considered, but I know nothing of Indonesia in this period. I know little of the Philippines in this period. I know nothing of Vietnam during this period.

I know practically nothing of Western civilization in this period. Neolithic farming may have been introduced into France by people called the Danubians. For Germanic peoples, I know nothing of Germany in this period. For Northeast European peoples, I know nothing of Russia in this period.

African peoples can be examined. I have very little information for Congo. In Eastern Africa, I know little of Ethiopia. I also know little of Western Africa including Nigeria in this period.

American Indian peoples can perhaps be identified. I know little of Mexico in this period. I know little of South American Indians in this period. I know nothing of Brazil in this period. I know little of North American Indian peoples such as lived in wht is now the United States

Other History

This is preceded by prehistory, specifically late prehistory. It is followed by other periods of antiquity, specifically the 4th millennium BC, and has been studied in classical and medieval times. It has been better studied in modern times including the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, but significant progress has been made in the 19th century and the 20th century and will be in the future.