Areas of study

Particular studies and fields

These are approaches to history; not
listed are histories of other fields, such
as history of science, history of
mathematics and history of philosophy.

Ancient history : the study from

the beginning of human history until
the Early Middle Ages.
Atlantic history: the study of the
history of people living on or near the
Atlantic Ocean.

Art History: the study of changes

in and social context of art.

Comparative history: historical

analysis of social and cultural
entities not confined to national
boundaries.

Contemporary history: the study

of recent historical events.

Counterfactual history: the study

of historical events as they might
have happened in different causal
circumstances.

Cultural history: the study of

culture in the past.

Digital History: the use of

computing technologies do massive
searches in published sources.

Economic History: the use of

economic models fitted to the past.

Intellectual history: the study of

ideas in the context of the cultures

that produced them and their
development over time.

Maritime history: the study of

maritime transport and all the
connected subjects.

Modern history : the study of the

Modern Times, the era after the
Middle Ages.

Military History: the study of

warfare and wars in history and what
is sometimes considered to be a
sub-branch of military history, Naval
History.

Paleography: study of ancient

texts.

People's history: historical work

from the perspective of common
people.

Political history: the study of

politics in the past.

Psychohistory: study of the

psychological motivations of
historical events.

Pseudohistory: study about the

past that falls outside the domain of
mainstream history (sometimes it is
an equivalent of pseudoscience).

Social History: the study of the

process of social change throughout
history.

Women's history: the history of

female human beings. Gender
history is related and covers the

perspective of gender.

World History: the study of history

from a global perspective, with
special attention to non-Western
societies.

Periods
Main article: Periodization
Historical study often focuses on events and developments that occur in
particular blocks of time. Historians give these periods of time names in
order to allow "organising ideas and classificatory generalisations" to be
used by historians.[34] The names given to a period can vary with
geographical location, as can the dates of the start and end of a particular
period. Centuries and decades are commonly used periods and the time
they represent depends on the dating system used. Most periods are
constructed retrospectively and so reflect value judgments made about the
past. The way periods are constructed and the names given to them can
affect the way they are viewed and studied. [35]
Prehistoric periodisation
The field of history generally leaves prehistory to the archaeologists, who
have entirely different sets of tools and theories. The usual method for
periodisation of the distant prehistoric past, in archeologyis to rely on
changes in material culture and technology, such as the Stone Age, Bronze
Age and Iron Age and their sub-divisions also based on different styles of
material remains. Despite the development over recent decades of the
ability through radiocarbon dating and other scientific methods to give
actual dates for many sites or artefacts, these long-established schemes
seem likely to remain in use. In many cases neighbouring cultures with
writing have left some history of cultures without it, which may be used.

Stages of history
Main article: Marx's theory of history The stages of history
The Marxian theory of history identifies five stages of history: [36][37][38][39][40]
Primitive communism
The First Stage: is usually called primitive communism. It has the following
characteristics.

Shared property: there is no concept of ownership beyond individual

possessions. All is shared by the tribe to ensure its survival. [citation needed]

Hunting and gathering: tribal societies have yet to develop large

scale agriculture and so their survival is a daily struggle. [citation needed]

Proto-democracy: there is usually no concept of "leadership" yet. So

tribes are led by the best warrior if there is war, the best diplomat if they
have steady contact with other tribes and so forth.

Slave society
The Second Stage: may be called slave society, considered to be the
beginning of "class society" where private property appears.

Class: here the idea of class appears. There is always a slaveowning ruling class and the slaves themselves.

Statism: the state develops during this stage as a tool for the slaveowners to use and control the slaves.

Agriculture: people learn to cultivate plants and animals on a large

enough scale to support large populations.

Democracy and authoritarianism: these opposites develop at the

same stage. Democracy arises first with the development of the
republican city-state, followed by the totalitarian empire.

Private property: citizens now own more than personal property.

Land ownership is especially important during a time of agricultural
development.

Feudalism
The Third Stage: may be called feudalism; it appears after slave society
collapses. This was most obvious during the European Middle Ages when
society went from slavery to feudalism.

Aristocracy: the state is ruled by monarchs who inherit their

positions, or at times marry or conquer their ways into leadership.

Theocracy: this is a time of largely religious rule. When there is only

one religion in the land and its organizations affect all parts of daily life.

Hereditary classes: castes can sometimes form and one's class is

determined at birth with no form of advancement. This was the case
with India.

Nation-state: nations are formed from the remnants of the fallen

empires. Sometimes to rebuild themselves into empires once more.
Such as England's transition from a province to an empire.