A period is a cycle or period of time.
Period is a term that comes from the Latin word periodus which, in turn, has antecedents in the Greek language. It is important to note that period can also be written and pronounced as period , both forms being accepted by the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) .
The notion is associated with time and different time periods or cycles . A period can be understood as the temporal extension of a thing or the period it takes for something to return to its original state.
For example: "Football matches are divided into two periods of forty-five minutes each" , "We are experiencing the longest period of economic growth in our history" , "The director obtained the necessary support to be re-elected by a new period at the head of the institution .
Based on these general meanings, the term period can be found in different areas and with more or less diverse meanings. For chemistry , to mention one case, a period is any of the horizontal lines found in the so-called periodic table of elements .
Periods of history
Although dividing history into periods is necessarily arbitrary, given that human beings know only part of their time on Earth, historians decided to establish the year 3,000 BC. C. as the beginning of history, based on the fact that it was then that some Mesopotamian civilizations developed writing. Everything that happened up to that moment belongs to Prehistory and is divided into Paleolithic (2 and a half million years before, the period in which human beings appeared), Mesolithic and Neolithic .
Returning to history from the year 3000 BC. C., four periods were defined, which are the following:
- Ancient Age : It began with the invention of writing and lasted until the Roman Empire fell in the West . Among its most outstanding characteristics are maritime and agricultural activity, social and governmental organization. Some of the most important civilizations of this period were the Romans , Ancient Greece , Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt .
- Middle Ages : it is the period that began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire , in the year 476 , and that ended in 1492 along with the discovery of America . There are scholars who prefer the year 1453 as the closing date for this stage, when the invention of the printing press , the fall of the Eastern Roman Empire and the end of the 100 Years' War took place. One of the most important features of the Middle Ages was, in Europe , the development of feudalism.
- Modern Age : It was characterized by the end of feudalism, the development of the bourgeoisie and capitalism, and the creation of modern States. This period ended together with the French Revolution , in 1789 .
- Contemporary Age : depending on the point of view, it could be said that this is the period that we can best know, given that it continues today. Some of its main characteristics are advances at an artistic, technological, social , economic and political level, with a clear focus on the so-called consumer society .
It is possible to consider different periods.
Other uses of the concept
In the field of astronomy , the phase it takes for a celestial body to complete an orbit is called the orbital period . It is possible to distinguish between synodic periods (how long it takes for the body to appear again at an astronomical point, being observed from our planet and with respect to the sun ) and sidereal periods (the delay for the body to complete an entire revolution around the sun, considering as a reference to a certain star).
This term can also be used to refer to the menstrual cycle ( menstruation ) in women and females of certain animals: "I am somewhat uncomfortable since I have my period."