Source: https://mayphus.org/history/
Title: World History Chart
Metadata: {"kind":"artifact","language":"en","route":"/history/","tags":["history"],"type":"page"}

World History Chart

Which selected periods overlap in time? This small chart puts nine examples on one scale. Filter by region and fit the time scale to look more closely. The dates and sources below remain readable without JavaScript.

This is a selection, not a complete or representative history of the world. Gaps mean no example is shown. Regional labels locate the examples; they are not maps of borders. Cultural periods, political periods and one site's peak are different kinds of evidence, not equivalent measures of achievement.

Bars follow the linked sources’ chronologies. Approximate endpoints are identified in the notes; their placement is not a claim of exact dates. BCE and CE are shown with no year zero. The axis measures time between the starts of years, not precise reign lengths. Sources checked on 10 October 2026.

| Period | Region | Start | End | Qualification | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Old Kingdom | Egypt | 2649 BCE | 2130 BCE | Approximate chronology; follows the current essay, whose URL retains an older endpoint. | [Met: Old Kingdom](https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/egypt-in-the-old-kingdom-ca-2649-2150-b-c) |
| Mycenaean period | Greece | 1600 BCE | 1100 BCE | Approximate cultural period, not one continuously unified state. | [Met: Mycenaean Civilization](https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/mycenaean-civilization) |
| La Venta at its height | Mesoamerica | 1000 BCE | 500 BCE | The site’s greatest size and importance, not its founding and abandonment dates. | [Met: La Venta](https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/la-venta) |
| Achaemenid Empire | West Asia | 550 BCE | 330 BCE | Political-period boundaries; territorial extent changed within this span. | [Met: Achaemenid Empire](https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/the-achaemenid-persian-empire-550-330-b-c) |
| Western Han | China | 206 BCE | 9 CE | Shown separately from Eastern Han to retain the interruption. | [Met: Han Dynasty](https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/han-dynasty-206-b-c-220-a-d) |
| Eastern Han | China | 25 CE | 220 CE | The cited periodization begins in 25 CE; the preceding gap is not filled. | [Met: Han Dynasty](https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/han-dynasty-206-b-c-220-a-d) |
| Kamakura period | Japan | 1185 CE | 1333 CE | Uses Columbia’s 1185 period boundary; periodizations can differ. | [Columbia: Asia for Educators](https://afe.easia.columbia.edu/tps/1000ce_jp.htm) |
| Mali Empire | West Africa | 1230 CE | 1600 CE | Both endpoints approximate; follows this exhibition’s chronology. | [Met: Sahel exhibition](https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/sahel-art-empire-sahara/inside-the-exhibition) |
| Inca period | Andes | 1400 CE | 1533 CE | Approximate cultural-period span. Its endpoint does not imply that Inca people or traditions disappeared. | [Met: Inca Assemblage](https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/capac-hucha-as-an-inca-assemblage) |

## About this version

This browser-based chart replaces an archived Racket layout study. It uses a smaller, newly source-checked selection rather than reproducing the old chart’s unverified dates. The earlier source record remains recoverable in the site's private history. This version runs in JavaScript and SVG; it does not require Racket.

See the [Timelines collection](https://mayphus.org/timelines/) for related studies.