A brief history of Western culture

By miguelbg00
  • 3000 BCE

    Prehistoric (before c.3000 B.C.E.)

    In the West, writing was invented in ancient Mesopotamia just before 3000 B.C.E., so this period includes visual culture (paintings, sculpture, and architecture) made before that date. The oldest decorative forms we can recognize as art come from Africa and may date back to 100,000 B.C.E. In contrast, the oldest cave paintings known are about 40,800 years old,
  • 3000 BCE

    Ancient

    during this period the ancient Greeks first applied human reason to their observations of the natural world and created some of the earliest naturalistic images of human beings. This period is often credited with the birth of Western philosophy, mathematics, theater, science, and democracy.
  • 400

    Middle Ages

    It was during this period that Islam, one of the three great monotheistic religions, was born. Within little more than a century of the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632 C.E., Islam had become an empire that stretched from Spain across North Africa, the Middle and Near East, to India. Medieval Islam was a leader in science and technology and established some of the world’s great centers of learning
  • 1400

    Renaissance

    the Renaissance was a rebirth of interest in ancient Greek and Roman culture. It was also a period of economic prosperity in Europe—particularly in Italy and in Northern Europe.
    In 1517 a German theologian and monk, Martin Luther, challenged the authority of the Pope and sparked the Protestant Reformation. His ideas spread quickly, thanks in part to the printing press. By challenging the power of the Church, and asserting the authority of individual conscience

  • Early Modern

    The American and French Revolutions date to this period. The emerging middle classes began a centuries-long campaign to gain political power, challenging the control of the aristocracy and monarchy. Successive reform movements and revolutions gradually extended the franchise (the right to vote).

  • Modern

    Capitalism became the dominant economic system during this period.
    The 20th Century was the most violent in history. It included two world wars, the Cold War, the dismantling of colonialism and the invention of the Totalitarian state. Dictators imposed extreme political systems that caused mass starvation, mass dislocations and genocide. At the same time, the 20th Century was marked by the struggle for human rights and the rise of global capitalism.