Mesolithic: 8,300 BC to 4,500 BC
Early, -8300 to -6500 Late, -6500 to -3500
Neolithic: 3500 BC to 2100 BC As far as artefacts are concerned, the Neolithic is usually split into Early and Late; Middle Neolithic is generally only used for monuments.
Early, -3500 to -2900 Middle, -2900 to -2500 Late, -2500 to -2100
There is an overlap of 50 years for the Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age
Bronze Age: 2150 BC to 800 BC
Early, -2150 to -1500 Middle, -1500 to -1150 Late, -1150 to -800
Iron Age: 800 BC to 100 AD
Early, -800 to -300 Late, -300 to 100
There is an overlap of up to a century (depending on which part of the country you are in) during which artefacts can be either culturally Roman or culturally Iron Age.
Roman: 1 AD to 410 AD
Early, 1 to 200 Late, 200 to 410
There is an overlap of at least a decade (depending on which part of the country you are in) during which artefacts can either be culturally Roman or culturally early-medieval.
Early-Medieval: 400 AD to 1066 AD Early, 400-720 Middle, 720-850 Late, 850-1066
In general, you will be able to date things more closely than this. Most early Anglo-Saxon object types will be quoted as mid fifth to mid sixth century (450-550), or late fifth or sixth century (475-600). Thereafter, dates tend to be quoted in centuries.
Medieval: 1066 AD to 1500 AD Late, 1400-1500?
‘Early medieval’ (soon after the Norman Conquest) can be hard to distinguish from ‘early-medieval’ (before the Norman Conquest). The term ‘middle medieval’ is not used. There is debate as to what constitutes the late medieval period. It is best to stick simply to ‘medieval’ and qualify it using calendar dates.
Post-Medieval: 1500 onwards Early, 1500-1600/1700
Early post-medieval is generally used for the 16th century and sometimes for the 17th century. The comments for the medieval period also apply here.
There is debate as to the relationship between ‘post-medieval’ and ‘modern’.
Modern: 1800 to the present day
PAS do not use early, middle and late qualifiers for this period
Designed by Corinne Mills 2005
email [email protected]