Epochs of human development. Brief chronology of world history

The first stage in the development of mankind, the primitive communal system, occupies a huge period of time from the moment of the separation of man from the animal kingdom (about 35 million years ago) until the formation of the first civilizations in various regions of the world (approx. IV millennium BC). Its periodization is based on differences in the material and technique of making tools: archaeological periodization. Accordingly, three periods are distinguished:

Stone Age (from the emergence of man to the 3rd millennium BC),

Bronze Age (from the end of the 4th to the beginning of the 1st millennium BC),

Iron Age (from 1st millennium BC).

In turn, the Stone Age is divided into Old Stone Age (Paleolithic), Middle Stone Age (Mesolithic), New Stone Age (Neolithic) and transitional to Bronze Copper-Stone Age (Chalcolithic).

A number of scientists divide the history of primitive society into five stages, each of which differs in the degree of development of tools, the materials from which they were made, the quality of housing, and the organization of farming. First stage - prehistory of economy and material culture: from the emergence of humanity to approximately 1 million years ago. This is a time when people's adaptation to the environment differed little from the livelihood of animals. Many scientists consider East Africa to be the ancestral home of humans. It is here that during excavations they find the bones of the first people who lived more than 2 million years ago. Second phase– a primitive appropriating economy approximately I million years ago – XI thousand BC, i.e. covers a significant part of the Stone Age - Early and Middle Paleolithic. Third stage– developed appropriating economy. It is difficult to determine its chronological framework, since in a number of places this period ended in the 20th millennium BC. (subtropics of Europe and Africa), in others (tropics) - continues to this day. Covers the Late Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and in some areas the entire Neolithic. Fourth stage– the emergence of a productive economy. In the most economically developed areas of the earth - IX - VIII thousand BC. (late Mesolithic – early Neolithic). Fifth stage- the era of the productive economy. For some areas of dry and humid subtropics - VIII - V millennium BC.

In addition to the production of tools, the material culture of ancient humanity was closely connected with the creation of dwellings. The most interesting archaeological finds of dwellings date back to the Early Paleolithic. The remains of 21 seasonal camps have been discovered on the territory of France. In one of them, an oval fence made of stones was open - the foundation of a light dwelling. Inside there were hearths and places where tools were made. In the cave of Le Lazare (France), the remains of a shelter were discovered, the reconstruction of which suggests the presence of supports, a roof made of skins, internal partitions and two fireplaces in a large room. The beds are made from animal skins (fox, wolf, lynx) and algae (dating back to about 150 thousand years BC.

On the territory of modern Russia and the CIS countries (or the former USSR), the remains of above-ground dwellings dating back to the Early Paleolithic were discovered near the village of Molodovo on the Dniester. They were an oval arrangement of specially selected large mammoth bones. Traces of 15 fires located in different parts of the dwelling were also found here.

The primitive era of humanity is characterized by a low level of development of productive forces, their slow improvement, collective appropriation of natural resources and production results (primarily exploited territory), equal distribution, socio-economic equality, absence of private property, exploitation of man by man, classes, states. This development was extremely uneven. General scheme of human evolution next:

- Homo Australopithecus;

- Homo erectus (Pithecanthropus and Sinanthropus);

- a person of modern physical appearance (Neanderthals and Upper Paleolithic people).

The appearance of the first australopithecus marked the emergence of material culture associated with the production of tools. It was the latter that became a means for archaeologists to determine the main stages of the development of ancient humanity. The rich and generous nature of the period did not help to accelerate this process; Only with the advent of the harsh conditions of the Ice Age, with the intensification of the labor activity of primitive man in his difficult struggle for existence, new skills rapidly appeared, tools were improved, and new social forms were developed. Mastery of fire, collective hunting of large animals, adaptation to the conditions of a melted glacier, invention of the bow, transition from appropriating to producing economy (cattle breeding and agriculture), discovery of metal (copper, bronze, iron) and the creation of a complex tribal organization of society - these are the most important stages , which mark the path of humanity in the conditions of the primitive communal system. The pace of development of human culture gradually accelerated, especially with the transition to a productive economy. But another feature has emerged - the geographical unevenness of the development of society. Areas with an unfavorable, harsh geographical environment continued to develop slowly, while areas with a mild climate, ore reserves, etc., moved faster towards civilization.

A colossal glacier (about 100 thousand years ago), which covered half the planet and created a harsh climate that affected the flora and fauna, inevitably divides the history of primitive humanity into three different periods: pre-glacial with a warm subtropical climate, glacial and post-glacial . Each of these periods corresponds to a certain physical type of person: in the pre-glacial period - archaeoanthropes (Pithecanthropus, Sinanthropus, etc.), in the glacial period - paleoanthropes (Neanderthal man), at the end of the Ice Age, in the late Paleolithic - neoanthropes, modern people.

Paleolithic. There are early, middle and late stages of the Paleolithic.

The oldest cultural monuments were discovered in the caves of Le Lazare (dating back to about 150 thousand years ago), Font-de-Gaume (France), Altamira (Spain). A large number of objects (tools) were found in Africa, especially in the Upper Nile Valley, etc. The most ancient remains of human culture are in the Russian Federation - CIS (Caucasus, Ukraine). By the Acheulean era, people settled more widely, penetrating into Central Asia and the Volga region. On the eve of the great glaciation, people already knew how to hunt the largest animals: elephants, rhinoceroses, deer, bison. In the Acheulean era, hunters became sedentary, living in one place for a long time. During this period, humanity was already sufficiently organized and equipped. The mastery of fire about 300 - 200 thousand years ago was especially significant. It is not for nothing that many southern peoples (in those places where people settled at that time) preserved legends about a hero who stole the heavenly fire. The myth of Prometheus, who brought fire to people, reflects the largest technical victory of our very distant ancestors. Some researchers also refer to the Early Paleolithic Mousterian era, while others highlight it in a special stage of the Middle Paleolithic. Mousterian Neanderthals lived both in caves and in dwellings specially made from mammoth bones - tents. At this time, man had already learned to make fire himself by friction, and not just maintain a fire lit by lightning. The basis of the economy was hunting for mammoths, bison, and deer. The hunters were armed with spears, flint points and clubs. The first artificial burials of the dead date back to this era, which indicates the emergence of very complex ideological ideas. It is believed that the emergence of the clan organization of society can be attributed to this same time. By streamlining gender relations - the emergence exogamy(from the ancient Greek “outside” - the prohibition of marriage relations between members of a related or local group) and endogamy(from the ancient Greek “within” - the admission of marriage relations within a certain social or ethnic group) can be explained by the fact that the physical appearance of the Neanderthal began to improve and by the end of the Ice Age it turned into a neoanthrope, or Cro-Magnon - people of the modern type.

Upper (Late) Paleolithic better known than previous eras. Nature was still harsh, the ice age was still ongoing. But man was already armed enough to fight for existence. The economy became complex: it was based on hunting large animals, but the beginnings of fishing appeared, and the collection of edible fruits, grains, and roots was a serious help. Stone (mainly flint) products were divided into two groups: weapons and tools (spearheads, knives, scrapers for dressing hides, tools for processing bone and wood). Various throwing weapons (darts, jagged harpoons, special spear throwers) have become widespread, making it possible to hit an animal at a distance. The basis of the social structure of the Upper Paleolithic was a small clan community of about a hundred people, twenty of whom were adult hunters. Small round dwellings may have been adapted for a couple's family. Finds of burials with beautiful weapons made of mammoth tusks and a large number of decorations indicate the emergence of a cult of leaders, clan or tribal elders. In the Upper Paleolithic, man settled widely in Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia, and Siberia. According to scientists, America was settled from Siberia at the end of the Paleolithic. The art of the Upper Paleolithic testifies to the high development of human intelligence of this era. In the caves of France and Spain, colorful images dating back to this time have been preserved. Such a cave was also discovered by Russian scientists in the Urals in Bashkiria (Kapova Cave) with images of a mammoth, rhinoceros, and horse. Images made by Ice Age artists using paint on cave walls and bone carvings provide insight into the animals they hunted. This was probably associated with magical rituals, spells and dances of hunters in front of painted animals, which was supposed to ensure a successful hunt. Elements of such magical actions have been preserved even in modern Christianity: a prayer for rain with the sprinkling of fields with water is an ancient magical act that dates back to primitive times. Of particular note is the cult of the bear, which allows us to talk about the origin of totemism. At Paleolithic sites, figurines of women are often found near fireplaces or dwellings. They are presented as very portly and mature. Obviously, the main idea of ​​such figurines is fertility, vitality, procreation, personified in a woman - the mistress of the home and hearth. The abundance of female images found in the Upper Paleolithic sites of Eurasia led to the conclusion that the cult of the female ancestor was generated by matriarchy. With very primitive relationships between the sexes, children knew only their mothers, but did not always know their fathers. Women guarded the fire in the hearths, homes, and children; women of the older generation could keep track of kinship and monitor the observance of marital relations so that children were not born from close relatives, the undesirability of which was obviously already realized.

Mesolithic About ten millennia BC, a huge glacier, reaching 1000 - 2000 m in height, began to melt rapidly, its remains have survived to this day in the Alps and on the mountains of Scandinavia. The transition period from the glacier to the modern climate is called the conventional term “Mesolithic”, i.e. The “Middle Stone” Age is the interval between the Paleolithic and Neolithic, occupying approximately three to four thousand years. The Mesolithic is clear evidence of the strong influence of the geographical environment on the life and evolution of mankind. Nature has changed in many ways: the climate has warmed, the glacier has melted, deep rivers have flowed south, large expanses of land previously covered by the glacier have gradually become free, vegetation has been renewed and developed, mammoths and rhinoceroses have disappeared. In this regard, the stable, established life of the Paleolithic mammoth hunters was disrupted, and other forms of economy had to be created. Using wood, man created a bow and arrows. This significantly expanded the object of hunting: along with deer, elk, and horses, small birds and animals began to be hunted. The great ease of such hunting and the ubiquity of game made strong communal groups of hunters unnecessary. Hunters and fishermen wandered in small groups through the steppes and forests, leaving behind traces of temporary camps. The warming climate allowed for the revival of gathering. The collection of wild cereals turned out to be especially important for the future, for which wooden and bone sickles with silicon blades were even invented. An innovation was the ability to create cutting and piercing tools. Probably at this time people became familiar with moving through water on logs and rafts and with the properties of flexible rods and fibrous tree bark. The domestication of animals began: a hunter-archer went after game with a dog; killing wild boars, people left litters of piglets to feed. The Mesolithic is the time of human settlement from south to north. Moving through forests along rivers, man walked through the entire space cleared by the glacier and reached what was then the northern edge of the Eurasian continent, where he began to hunt sea animals. The art of the Mesolithic differs significantly from the Paleolithic: there was a weakening of the communal principle and the role of the individual hunter increased - in the rock paintings we see not only animals, but also hunters, men with bows and women waiting for their return.

Neolithic. This is the last stage of the Stone Age, but the term reflects neither chronological nor cultural uniformity. In the 11th century AD Novgorodians wrote about barter trade with the Neolithic (by type of economy) tribes of the North, and in the 18th century. Russian scientist S. Krasheninnikov described the typically Neolithic life of the local inhabitants of Kamchatka. Nevertheless, the period of the 7th - 5th millennium BC belongs to the Neolithic. Humanity, settled in different landscape zones, has taken different paths and different paces. The tribes that found themselves in harsh conditions in the North remained at the same level of development for a long time. But in the southern zones the evolution was faster. Man already used ground and drilled tools with handles, a loom, and knew how to sculpt dishes from clay, process wood, build a boat, and weave a net. The potter's wheel, which appeared in the 4th millennium BC, sharply increased labor productivity and improved the quality of pottery. In the 4th millennium BC. In the East, the wheel was invented, animal draft power began to be used: the first wheeled carts appeared. Neolithic art is represented by petroglyphs (drawings on stones) in the regions of the North, revealing in detail the hunting of moose by skiers and hunting of whales in large boats.

One of the most important technical revolutions of antiquity is associated with the Neolithic era - the transition to a productive economy (Neolithic revolution). Happened the first social division of labor into agriculture and cattle breeding, which contributed to progress in the development of productive forces, and second social division of labor - separation of crafts from agriculture, which contributed to the individualization of labor. Agriculture was spread very unevenly. Its first outbreaks were discovered in Palestine, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. In Central Asia, artificial irrigation of fields using canals appeared already in the 4th millennium BC. Agricultural tribes are characterized by large settlements of adobe houses (up to several thousand inhabitants).

Chalcolithic (also Copper-Stone Age, as rare items made of pure copper appeared). The Trypillian culture (VI - III millennium BC) between the Carpathians and the Dnieper on fertile soils belongs to this era. Trypillians (like other early farmers) developed a type of complex economy that existed in the countryside until the era of capitalism: agriculture (wheat, barley, flax), livestock breeding (cow, pig, sheep, goat), fishing and hunting. Primitive matriarchal communities, apparently, did not yet know property and social inequality. Of particular interest is the ideology of the Trypillian tribes, permeated with the idea of ​​fertility, which was expressed in the identification of land and woman: the land giving birth to a new ear of cereal was, as it were, equated to a woman giving birth to a new person. This idea underlies many religions, including Christianity. The painting of large clay vessels of the Trypillian culture reveals the worldview of ancient farmers and the picture of the world they created. According to their ideas, it consisted of three zones (tiers): the earth zone with plants, the Middle Sky zone with the sun and rain, and the Upper Sky zone, which stores at the top reserves of heavenly water that can spill when it rains. The supreme ruler of the world was a female deity. The picture of the world of the Trypillians is very close to the one reflected in the ancient hymns of the Indian Rigveda.

Human evolution has accelerated especially due to with the discovery of metal - copper and bronze(alloy of copper and tin), later mastering iron. These periods are designated as Bronze Age, Iron Age(however, the next stage of human development is more connected with them - the era of the Ancient World). Tools, weapons, armor, jewelry and dishes starting from the 3rd millennium BC. steel from bronze. The exchange of products between tribes increased and clashes between them became more frequent. The division of labor deepened, and property inequality appeared within the clan. In connection with the development of cattle breeding, the role of men in production increased. The era of patriarchy was coming. Within the clan, large patriarchal families arose, with a man at the head, leading an independent household. Polygamy also appeared at the same time. In the Bronze Age, large cultural communities had already emerged, which may have corresponded to the language families: Indo-Europeans, Finno-Ugric, Turks and Caucasian tribes. Their geographical location was very different from the modern one. The ancestors of the Ugro-Finns moved north and northwest, passing west of the Urals. The ancestors of the Turkic peoples were located east of Baikal and Altai. In all likelihood, the main ancestral home of the Slavs was the area between the Dnieper, the Carpathians and the Vistula. The neighbors of the Proto-Slavs were the ancestors of the Germanic tribes in the northwest, the Baltic tribes in the north, the Dacothracian tribes in the southwest, and the Proto-Iranian (Scythian) tribes in the south and southeast.

Decomposition of the primitive communal system.

Around the 7th millennium BC. the decomposition of primitive society began. Among the factors contributing to this, in addition to the Neolithic revolution, an important role was played by the intensification of agriculture, the development of specialized cattle breeding, the emergence of metallurgy, the formation of specialized crafts, and the development of trade. With the development of plow farming, agricultural labor passed from women's hands to men's, and a man - a farmer and warrior - became the head of the family. Accumulation was created differently in different families. The product gradually ceases to be divided among community members, and property begins to pass from father to children, the foundations of private ownership of the means of production are laid. From the account of kinship on the maternal side they move to the account of kinship on the father's side - patriarchy takes shape. Accordingly, the form of family relationships changes; a patriarchal family based on private property arises. The subordinate position of women is reflected, in particular, in the fact that mandatory monogamy is established only for women, while polygamy (polygamy) is allowed for men. The most ancient documents of Egypt and Mesopotamia testify to this situation, which developed towards the end of the 4th and beginning of the 3rd millennium BC. This is confirmed by the oldest written monuments of some tribes of the foothills of Western Asia and China of the 2nd millennium BC.

The growth of labor productivity, increased exchange, constant wars - all this led to the emergence of property stratification among the tribes. It also gave rise to social inequality. The top of the family aristocracy was formed, which was actually in charge of all affairs. Noble members of the community sat on the tribal council, were in charge of the cult of the gods, and selected military leaders and priests from their midst. Along with property and social differentiation within the clan community, differentiation also occurs within the tribe between individual clans. On the one hand, strong and rich clans stand out, on the other, weak and impoverished ones. Accordingly, the former gradually turn into dominant ones, the latter into subordinates. As a result of wars, entire tribes or even groups of tribes could find themselves in a subordinate position. However, for a long time, the top of the clan nobility still had to take into account the opinion of the entire community. But increasingly, the labor of the collective is abused in its own interests by the clan elite, with whose power ordinary community members can no longer argue.

So, signs of the collapse of the clan system were: the emergence of property inequality, the concentration of wealth and power in the hands of tribal leaders, the increase in armed clashes, the conversion of prisoners into slaves, the transformation of a consanguineous collective into a territorial community. Archaeological excavations in various parts of the world, including the CIS, allow us to draw such conclusions. An example is the famous Maikop mound in the North Caucasus, dating back to the 2nd millennium BC. or the magnificent burials of leaders in Trialeti (south of Tbilisi). The abundance of jewelry, the burial with the leader of forcibly killed male and female slaves, the colossal size of the grave mounds - all this testifies to the wealth and power of the leaders, to the violation of the original equality within the tribe. Gradually, conditions were created for the emergence of class society and the state.

The primitive communal system is the starting point in the history of mankind.

The history of mankind is divided into the following periods:

• – The primitive era (Stone Age) – from the moment of the appearance of man (approx. 3 million rubles) until the 5-4th millennium BC. e. (Invention of iron)
• – Ancient world -IV-III millennium BC. e. -V centuries n. e. (until 476 - fall of the Western Roman Empire)
• – Middle Ages – con. V century – XV centuries (Before 1492 - Discovery of America)
• – Modern times – XVI century. – 1914 (Before the start of the First World War)
• – Modern times (from 1914 to the present)

An important point for studying the history of the primitive era and the ancient world is a clear understanding of the calculus of this period.

Firstly, the division of history into the period BC and OUR era, or BEFORE the Nativity of Christ and AFTER the Nativity of Christ. Obviously, the key moment in this chronology was the event associated with the birth of Jesus Christ. In historical science, as a rule, the phrase BCE or before the Nativity of Christ is applied to the period that begins from 10 thousand years before the Nativity of Christ. That is, from the Mesolithic era. To other time periods preceding this era (the Mesolithic era) they simply say “Years ago” (for example, they do not say “250 thousand years ago or 15 thousand years BC”, but simply say “250 thousand years ago, or 15 thousand years ago ". This is due to the difficulty of clearly defining time in those distant periods of history. Starting from 10 thousand years ago (Mesolithic) they use "By the Nativity of Christ, or B.C. ".

Secondly, using the periodization to the Nativity of Christ, or to our era, one must take into account that more than 2 thousand years have passed since the Nativity of Christ, that is, since the beginning of our era. That is, if we say that this or that event happened 6 thousand years ago, then this means that it took place in the 4th millennium BC. If we say that the event occurred 7 - 8 thousand years ago, then this means that it took place in the 6-5 millennium BC.

Thirdly, the calculation that occurs in the period BC goes in the opposite direction. For example, if in our time, that is, in our era, we count the years as “2010, 2011, 2012, 2013,” then we count the period “BY AD” as follows: “2013, 2012, 2011, 2010...”. It’s the same with millennia and centuries: “7-6 millennia BC, or 3-2 centuries BC.”

A clear understanding of this will allow you to avoid surprise when solving the UNO test when you come across tasks like “Determine when the Chalcolithic era was” and the answer options will be: 4-2.5 thousand years ago or 4-2.5 thousand years BC.

Basic concepts and terms:

Historical sources are any media that directly reflect the historical process and make it possible to study the past of human society, that is, everything created by man has survived to this day in the form of objects of material culture, written monuments, oral folk art, etc.

Groups of historical sources:

• – Oral (myths, legends, fairy tales, etc.)
• – Written (chronicles, documents, diaries, memoirs, etc.)
• – Material (remains of dwellings, tools, utensils, clothing, etc.)
• – Linguistic (names of rivers, mountains, cities, villages, etc.)
• – Ethnographic (those that arise from the study of the life and customs of modern traditional societies (today – mainly Australian or African tribes)
• – Phono, photo, film documents.

Archaeological culture is a set of archaeological monuments of a certain territory and time that have unique local characteristics. A.K. gets its name from the place of the first discovery or from certain distinctive features (burial, shape of ceramics, etc.).

Material culture is the totality of all material values ​​created by a certain culture, its materialized component. Since different societies are characterized by different cultures, the material culture of humanity, an individual nation, and the like is considered in accordance with the level of generalization.

Spiritual culture is a system of moral values, as well as the totality of mental achievements and experience of both an individual person and all of humanity, which is reflected in the form of social values ​​(of every society of every era), folklore, works of art, literature, achievements of philosophy, and the like.

Civilization is a human community, over a certain period of time (the process of origin, development, death or transformation of civilization) has stable special features in the socio-political organization, economy and culture (science, technology, art, etc.), common spiritual values and ideals, mentality (svdomist).

Art is one of the forms of social consciousness; a type of human activity, a type of imagination, expressed in specifically sensual images, in accordance with certain aesthetic ideals. In a broad sense, art is defined as perfect skill in some business or industry; skill. The development of art as an element of spiritual culture is determined both by the general laws of human existence and humanity, and by aesthetic and artistic laws, aesthetic and artistic views, and the ideals and traditions.

Religion is a belief in the existence of supernatural forces, accompanied by a belief in the ability of these forces or powers (God, gods, the Absolute, the Cosmos, etc.) to influence the Universe and the fate of people.

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Lecture “Topic No. 2”

Epochs, styles, directions

A work of art is a form of existence of art. It reflects the world in all its complexity of diversity and aesthetic richness.

Artists* always strive to convey the world truthfully. In the process of creativity, a certain artistic method is born, so truth in art is not always identical to verisimilitude.

In the formation of artistic and figurative techniques and methods, many social and cultural prerequisites are involved, associated with ideas about truth, with the religious and ideological views of society, with the worldview of the artist himself.

The historically established structural uniformity of artistic techniques, artistic language, relationships between content and form, which in a given era unites the works of masters who worked in different types and genres of art, is calledstyle .

The word style can be used in a broad sense - lifestyle, playing style, clothing style, etc., and in a narrow sense - “style in art”.

In different historical eras, Style manifests itself in separate types, which are called current.

Social development occurs unevenly. If it is slow in nature, as in Antiquity, then the change in the system of artistic forms occurs very slowly over thousands of years, centuries, then such development is usually called an artistic era.

Later, from the 17th century. world public development is significantly accelerating, art is faced with diverse tasks, aggravation of social contradictions, so there is a rapid change of styles.

In the art of the 19th and 20th centuries, only individual stylistic trends appear; the ideological instability of society prevents the formation of unified styles, and rapidly changing directions emerge.

Primitive art (20,000 - 5,000 BC) developed in complete dependence on nature, on the everyday needs of man, and was associated with magic. Characteristic is the development of ceramics with regular shapes, ornaments, carvings, and realistic images of animals (rock paintings).

*The word “artists” is used in a broad sense, i.e. artists, architects, writers, etc. , i.e. creators of works of art.

:

Rock paintings depicting animals. Paintings in the caves of Lascaux (France), Altamira (Spain), Tassilin Ajer (North Africa).

Sculptural images of women, the so-called Paleolithic Venus.

Megalithic structures Stonehenge (England), Stone Grave (Ukraine).

Ancient despotism (the art of the interfluve and Ancient Egypt (5000 BC - VIII century BC)) represent an artistic era. During this period, many artistic discoveries took place, but the main thing that defines the era remains unchanged:

Complete submission to religion,

Development of funeral cults

Development of canons in all types of art,

Formation of the fundamentals of construction equipment,

Synthesis of arts in architecture,

gigantism.

Major monuments and leading artists :

Mesopotamia.

Bulls - I’m walking from the palace of Sargon II to Dur Shurrukin.

Harp with a bull's head from the royal tomb of Ur.

Gate of the goddess Ishtar. Babylon.

Ancient y Egypt:

Pyramids at Giza

Temples of Amon Ra in Karnak and Luxor

Abu Simbel Temple

Thutmose. Sculpture. Head of Queen Nefertiti

Sculpture of the royal scribe Kaya

Fayum portrait of a young man wearing a golden crown

Antiquity (the art of Ancient Greece (VII-III century BC) and Ancient Rome (III century AD)) explained the world mythologically. It was both realistic and illusory - a fantastic view of the world. In art this is expressed in:

glorification of the ideal image

harmony of internal and external appearance

humanization of art

Sculpture becomes contemporary art. Ancient artists convey the image of a perfect person with the highest skill and realism. Sculptural portraiture developed in Ancient Rome.

Antiquity developed building systems that we still use today. In Ancient Greece, an order building system developed, a combination of columns and ceilings, and in Ancient Rome, based on the discovery of cement, a round arch and a dome were used. New types of public and engineering buildings were created.

:

Knossos Palace, Fr. Crete

Lion Gate, Mycenae

Ancient Greece:

Architectural ensemble of the Parthenon (main temples: Parthenon, Erechtheion).

Pergamon Altar.

Halicarnassus Mausoleum.

Phidias (sculptor). Sculpture of the Parthenon.

Phidias. Sculpture of Olympian Zeus.

Miron (sculptor). Discus thrower.

Polykleitos (sculptor). Spearman.

Sculpture. Venus de Milo.

Sculpture. Nike of Samothrace.

Sculpture. Laocoon.

Ancient Rome:

Pantheon in Rome (temple of all gods)

Colosseum, Flavian Amphitheater (Rome)

Pont Du Gard (France)

Equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius

Trajan's Column (Rome)

Medieval art (V – XVI centuries) is subordinated to Christian ideology, filled with allegories and symbols. Characteristic is the synthesis of art subordinate to Christian liturgy. The current view was architecture.

The era is divided into two periods: Romanesque (XI - XII centuries) and Gothic (late XII - XIV centuries)

Romanesque architecture uses design features of the architecture of Ancient Rome (Roma). Romanesque cathedrals are built in the form of basilicas, they are heavy with dark interiors, with two round towers on the facade of the building. The sculpture decorating the cathedral is planar, schematic (usually a relief), located mainly above the portals.

Gothic art - This is a qualitative leap in the development of medieval art. The cathedral, while maintaining the shape of a basilica, is now being built on the basis of a new frame system. The essence of which is that a brick frame is built using a pointed arch. The spaces between the pillars - supports (buttresses) are filled with windows - stained glass. Therefore, the interiors become as if permeated with light. The building is richly decorated with sculpture and architectural decoration. The façade is flanked by towers that are now square in plan. The façade of the cathedral, the only real wall, is richly decorated with sculpture. Now very realistic, round sculpture predominates. Above the main portal there is a round carved window called the “rose”.

Late Gothic (XV - XVI centuries) is distinguished by the architectural decoration of the facade - it resembles tongues of flame, the rose window disappears. This kind of Gothic was called flaming.

Major monuments and leading artists :

Worms Cathedral (Germany) – Romanesque architecture

Notre Dame de Paris (Paris) - Gothic

Cologne Cathedral (Germany) – late

St. Anne's Cathedral (Vilnius, Lithuania) – flaming

After the collapse of the Great Roman Empire in the 4th century AD, it was divided into the Western Empire, with its capital in Rome, and the Eastern Empire, with its capital in Byzantium. In the West, Catholicism and, accordingly, Romanesque and Gothic culture developed. And in Eastern (it became known as Byzantium) Orthodoxy spread. In Byzantium, the entire culture was also subordinated to religious ideology. Byzantium existed from the 4th to the 15th centuries. but art reached its greatest flowering during the reign of Justinian (VI century AD). In architecture, centric, domed, and later cross-domed cathedrals corresponded to Orthodoxy. Monumental painting (mosaics and frescoes) and easel painting (icon painting) are developing. Subject to religious dogma, painting was strictly canonized.

Major monuments and leading artists :

Sophia of Constantinople (Istanbul)

Church of San Appolinare (Ravenna)

Church of San Vitale (Ravenna)

Old Russian state (X - XVII centuries) adopted Orthodoxy, respectively, the cross-domed system of temple buildings and the picturesque canon. But in the process of development it developed unique national features. A national type of temple building is emerging: cross-domed, cuboid with wavy or keel-shaped walls (zakomar). The domes are raised on high drums.

In strictly canonized painting, the Slavic type of face predominates, Russian saints appear, national ornaments appear, and the entire characteristic of the images becomes more humane.

The influence of folk architecture was very strongly manifested in the transfer of artistic expressions, decor, and color into stone construction and was called “patterned” (XVI-XVII centuries). Folk technical techniques were embodied in the appearance of stone and tented temples.

Major monuments and leading artists :

Sofia Kyiv, Kyiv. (13 domes)

Demetrius Cathedral, Vladimir. (1 dome)

Church of Paraskeva Pyatnitsa, Chernigov. (1 dome)

Aristotle Fiorovanti. Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. (5 domes)

Icon of Our Lady of Vladimir.

St. Basil's Cathedral (Protection on the Moat), Moscow.

Icon of the Intercession with a portrait of B. Khmelnitsky.

Oranta. Mosaic of Sophia of Kyiv.

A. Rublev. Trinity (icon).

Renaissance (Renessanse) as the basis of the ancient heritage at a new historical stage arose in Italy, here at the end of the 13th – 16th centuries the humanistic ideals of antiquity were revived. Hence the name of the era “Renaissance”. The Renaissance claims that the world is knowable, and man is a titanic personality capable of changing the world. Artists discovered the individuality of man, so the portrait appeared; They developed the theory and practice of perspective, artistically mastered the anatomy of the human body, developed the harmony of composition, used color effects, the depiction of nudes and the female body was a visible argument in the fight against medieval asceticism.

In the sculpture, the main image is the shuttle, and not the deity. The main types of sculpture have emerged: monumental and decorative. After antiquity, the equestrian statue is being revived again.

In architecture, along with the requirement of ancient forms (the use of arcades, the Greek portico), the development of its own artistic language occurs. A new type of public buildings is being created, a city palace (parade ground) and country houses - villas..

Major monuments and leading artists :

Giotto di Bonde. Murals of the Chapel del Arena, Padua.

Botticelli. Birth of Venus.

Leonardo da Vinci. Jokona. Mona Lisa.

Leonardo da Vinci. Madonna of the Rocks.

Leonardo da Vinci. Painting “The Last Supper” (Milan).

Rafael Santi. Sistine Madonna.

Rafael Santi. Murals in the Vatican (Vatican Stanza, Rome).

Michelangelo. Sculpture. David.

Michelangelo. Ceiling paintings of the Sistine Chapel (Vatican)

Giorgione. Judith.

Giorgione. Storm.

Titian. Portrait of Pope Paul III with his nephews.

Titian. Young man with a glove.

Titian. Assunta.

Veronese. Marriage in Cana of Galilee.

Brunelleschi. Church of Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence.

Palladio. Villa near Rome.

Donattello. Equestrian statue of Gattamelata, Padua.

In the Nordic countries (Netherlands, Germany, France) the ideas of the Renaissance penetrated from the end of the 15th century. The uniqueness of national cultures, medieval traditions, combined with the ideas of the Italian Renaissance, have developed a unique style, which is commonly called Northern Renaissance.

The 17th century was a time of intensive formation of national states, national cultures, the establishment of absolute power in some countries and the emergence of bourgeois relations in others. It became impossible to express the complexity and inconsistency of the era in one artistic formula, therefore in the 17th century a variety of artistic forms arose, i.e. styles. In the 17th century, styles appeared: classicism, baroque, realism.

Major monuments and leading artists :

Durer. Portrait of a Venetian.

Durer. Four Apostles.

Durer. Graphic illustrations for "Apocalypse"

Van Eyck. Madonna of Chancellor Rollin.

Van Eyck. Ghent Altarpiece.

Limburg brothers. Miniatures of “The Magnificent Book of Hours of the Duke of Berry.”

Bruegel. Blind.

Bosch. Ship of fools.

Baroque - the most common style of the 17th century. This is art built on contrasts, asymmetry, a tendency towards grandeur, and overload with decorative motifs.

In painting and sculpture characteristic:

diagonal compositions

image of exaggerated movement

illusory image

black and white contrasts

bright color, picturesque spot (in painting)

In architecture:

bent, volute-shaped forms

asymmetry

use of color

abundance of decor

the desire to deceive the eye and go beyond the real space: mirrors, enfilades, ceiling lamps depicting the sky.

ensemble organization of space

synthesis of arts

the contrast of elaborately decorated architecture and the clear geometry of gardens and parks, or city streets.

Baroque triumphed in those countries where feudalism and the Catholic Church dominated. These are the following countries: Italy, Spain, Flanders, later Germany and in the 18th century - Russia. (in architecture)

Major monuments and leading artists :

Caravaggio. Lutenist.

Rubens. Perseus and Andromeda.

Rubens. Self-portrait with Isabella Brant.

Bernini. Sculpture "Ecstasy of Saint Teresa"

Bernini. Sculpture "Apollo and Daphne"

Jules Hardouin Mansart. Palace of Versailles (France).

Bernini. St. Peter's Square in Rome.

Classicism (Lat. exemplary). French absolutism of the 17th century. regulated life, enclosing it within the strict framework of statehood. The hero of classicism is not free in his actions, but is subject to strict norms, social duty, humility of feelings with reason, adherence to abstract norms of virtue - this is the aesthetic ideal of classicism.

The classicism of the 17th century was a model for itself. chose Greek antiquity. IN architecture The Greek order is used. The sculpture contains ideal mythological images. In painting:

stern majesty

sublime beauty of images

horizontal or side-by-side composition

careful selection of details and colors

standard images, theatricality of gestures and feelings

Major monuments and leading artists :

Poussin. Arcadian shepherds.

Poussin. Seasons.

Lorren. The Rape of Europa.

Dutch culture. In the 17th century In the countries where capitalism was emerging, there was a struggle for national independence. The victory of the burghers determined the character of Dutch culture, the birth of realism, and the emergence of independent genres of easel painting (portrait, everyday genre, still life).

Major monuments and leading artists :

Holland XVII :

Rembrandt. Self-portrait with Saskia on her lap

Rembrandt. Return of the Prodigal Son.

Vermar of Delft. A girl reading a letter.

Vermar of Delft. Geographer.

Terborch. A glass of lemonade.

Hals. Gypsy.

Spain XVII :

Velazquez. Spinners.

Velazquez. Portrait of Pope Innok X

Velazquez. Surrender of Breda

Velazquez. Portrait of Inflanta Margherita

El Greco. Funeral of Count Orgaz

Rococo. With the beginning of the 18th century, a crisis of French absolutism emerged. Strict etiquette is replaced by an atmosphere of frivolity and pleasure. An art emerges that can satisfy the most elaborate and refined tastes - this is Rococo. This is a completely secular art, the main theme is love and erotic scenes, favorite heroines are nymphs, bacchantes, mythological and biblical themes of love.

This art of miniature forms found its main expression in painting and applied art. Light colors, fractional and openwork forms, complex patterns, asymmetry, creating a feeling of unease.

Major monuments and leading artists :

Watteau. Society in the park.

Boucher. Diana's bathing.

Boucher. Portrait of Madame Pampadour.

Fragonard. Swing.

Fragonard. A kiss on the sly.

Education. Since the 40s, a new social stratum of the emerging bourgeoisie, the so-called “third estate,” has appeared in France. This is what determined the development of the new philosophical and artistic movement, the Enlightenment. It originated in the depths of philosophy, and its meaning was that all people from birth have equal opportunities and only education and enlightenment (i.e. training) can distinguish them from the general mass of equal members of society.

The main genre is the everyday picture, depicting the modest life of the third estate; integrity and hard work are glorified.

Major monuments and leading artists :

Chardin. Cook.

Dreams. Spoiled child.

Houdon. Sculpture. Voltaire in a chair.

In England, the Enlightenment originated in literature at the end of the 17th century. Therefore, everyday painting becomes narrative, i.e. artists and graphic artists create whole series of paintings that consistently tell about the fate of the heroes and are of a moral and edifying nature. The English Enlightenment was characterized by the development of portraiture.

Major monuments and leading artists :

Hagarth. Fashionable marriage.

Gainsborough. Portrait of the Duchess de Beaufort.

Russian Enlightenment developed in the 18th – early 19th centuries and is associated with ideological and philosophical movements. Russian Enlightenmentists: philosophers - F. Prokopovich, A. Kantemir, M. Lomonosov and writers - Tatishchev, Fonvizin, Radishchev believed in the limitless mind of man, in the possibility of harmonizing society through the development of the creative principles of each individual, through education. At this time, home education is rapidly developing in Russia, new educational institutions are opening, and newspaper, magazine and book publishing is developing.

All this served educational purposes, the upbringing of the individual - the “son of the Fatherland”; and therefore the development of the portrait.

But the Russian Enlightenment also had an anti-serfdom orientation, because They quite rightly believed that peasants (serfs) were also endowed with a wealth of mental and emotional abilities.

Major monuments and leading artists :

Argunov. Portrait of P. Zhemchugova.

Nikitin. Portrait of a floor hetman.

Livitsky. Portraits of Smolyanok.

Borovikovsky. Portrait of Lopukhina.

Rokotov. Portrait of Struyskaya.

Shubin. Portrait of Golitsyn.

Falcone. Monument to Peter I in St. Petersburg (“Bronze Horseman”)

But creating ideal images of peasants, the art of the Enlighteners of the late 18th - early 19th centuries. merged with sentimentalism .

Major monuments and leading artists :

Tropinin. Portrait of A. Pushkin.

Tropinin. Goldsmith.

Venetsianov. Spring.

Venetsianov. On the arable land.

Baroque in Russian and Ukrainian architecture. With the advent of absolutist monarchies, including in the Vatican - the center of the capitalist church, the pomp, splendor, and theatricality of court art intensified, which contributed to the development of baroque in the architecture of Italy and France in the 18th century, in Russia (18th century), Ukraine (“Cossack baroque ") second half of the 17th - 18th centuries.

Features of Baroque architecture:

synthesis of arts in architecture

ensemble (a palace in a park with a large number of pavilions)

increase in decorativeness, stucco decorations, sculpture

the use of order elements: bent pediments, bunches of pilasters or semi-columns, niches that completely cover the wall and enhance the light and shadow contrast

color use: turquoise wall, white architectural details, gold molding

interiors: lush decorative theatricality, enfilades, painting with illusory effects, use of mirrors

Ukrainian or “Cossack Baroque”- This is a completely independent stage in the development of European Baroque. There is no palace pomp in it. Bent pediments, “creases” in the roofs and domes of churches are used. Wall decor is a flat carving, white on a white or light blue wall background. Instead of palaces, houses of the Cossack elite, offices, and collegiums are built. And the religious architecture continues the traditions of folk wooden architecture (three-domed cathedrals).

Major monuments and leading artists :

Rastrelli. Winter Palace (St. Petersburg)

Rastrelli. St. Andrew's Church (Kyiv)

Grigorovich Barsky. St. Nicholas Church on the Embankment (Kyiv)

Kovnir. Bell tower at the Far Caves (Kievo-Pechersk Lavra)

Kovnir. Intercession Cathedral in Kharkov.

In the last third of the 18th century, a bourgeois revolution took place in France. Its tasks and requirements for citizens of society coincided with the heroic-civic ideals of Roman antiquity. In Ancient Roman society, the individual, her freedom and even life are sacrificed to society. The story was interpreted as the act of an outstanding personality. It is the hero, the outstanding personality, who is the bearer of the moral values ​​of society. This became the model for artists of the late 18th century. and developed into the last great pan-European style.

Classicism (in the works of J. David it is customary to say “revolutionary classicism”).

Painting is characterized by the artistic techniques of 17th century classicism. But the historical picture reflects civic and journalistic themes, and the portraits, in accordance with the ideals of the revolution, reflected the personality, the image of a contemporary of great changes.

From the beginning of the 19th century. classicism in painting loses its citizenship, only the external side remains: the strict logic of the composition of details, colors, statuesque figures. Thus, classicism in painting turns into academicism.

Major monuments and leading artists :

David. Death of Marat

David. Oath of the Horatii

Engr. Odalisque

Classicism in architecture. In France at the end of the 18th century, and in Russia from the beginning of the 19th century, the classicism style dominates in architecture. The style was formed under the influence of the ideas of patriotism and citizenship based on the use of ancient samples. Compositional techniques:

symmetry; usually the main building with a portico in the center and two wings

the sculpture is concentrated at the main entrance - the portico. A sculptural image of a chariot drawn by four or six horses driven by the goddess of Glory is often used.

Classicism is associated with the growth of cities and the need to organize their space. In Russia, classicism appears as the idea of ​​a universal style that creates uniform construction techniques; the use of local materials, plaster, creates new types of buildings: gymnasiums, universities, trading houses, triumphal arches, the type of noble estate.

The architectural style of late classicism is called empire style- completing the development of style. Along with the use of ancient forms (both Greek and Roman), stylized Egyptian motifs appear, especially in interiors.

Major monuments and leading artists :

Russia. General Staff Building (St. Petersburg)

Voronikhin. Kazan Cathedral (St. Petersburg)

Bozhenov. Pashkov house. Moscow.

Baretti. University building. Kyiv.

Soufflot. Pantheon (Paris)

Romanticism. The Great French Bourgeois Revolution ended with the restoration of the monarchy. The style of romanticism (early 19th century) was the result of people's disappointment in the possibility of a reasonable transformation of society based on the principles of freedom, equality, and fraternity. The desire to rise above the prose of life, to escape from the oppressive everyday life, which is why artists are so interested in exotic subjects, the dark fantasy of the Middle Ages, and the theme of the struggle for freedom. Artists are interested in the ancient world of man, his individual exclusivity. The romantic hero is always portrayed in emergency situations; usually he is a proud, lonely hero, experiencing vivid and strong passions. This is expressed in the expressive and sensual power of color, where color begins to dominate the design.

Painting is characterized by:

nervous excitement, composition expression

strong contrasts of color spots

exotic themes, gothic symbolism

software works, i.e. based on historical and literary subjects

Major monuments and leading artists :

Gericault. Raft "Medusa".

Delacroix. Freedom at the Barricades.

Ryud. Sculptural relief "La Marseillaise" on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

Goya. Mahi.

Goya. Portrait of the king's family.

3. AGES AND PERIODS IN HUMAN HISTORY

The history of mankind goes back many hundreds of thousands of years. If in the middle of the 20th century. It was believed that man began to emerge from the animal world 600 thousand - 1 million years ago, then modern anthropology, the science of the origin and evolution of man, came to the conclusion that man appeared about 2 million years ago. This is the generally accepted view, although there are others. According to one hypothesis, human ancestors appeared in Southeast Africa 6 million years ago. These two-legged creatures did not know tools for more than 3 million years. They acquired their first tools 2.5 million years ago. About 1 million years ago, these people began to settle throughout Africa, and then beyond its borders.

The two-million-year history of mankind is usually divided into two extremely uneven eras - primitive and civilizational (Fig. 2).

civilization era

Primitive era

about 2 million

years BC e.

BC e. milestone

Rice. 2. Epochs in human history

era primitive society accounts for more than 99% of human history. The primitive era is usually divided into six unequal periods: Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age.

Paleolithic, the ancient Stone Age, is divided into the Early (Lower) Paleolithic (2 million years BC - 35 thousand years BC) and the Late (Upper) Paleolithic (35 thousand years BC - 10 thousand years BC). During the Early Paleolithic period, man entered the territory of Eastern Europe and the Urals. The struggle for existence during the Ice Age taught man how to make fire and make stone knives; the proto-language and the first religious ideas arose. During the Late Paleolithic period, Homo habilis turned into Homo sapiens; races were formed - Caucasian, Negroid, Mongoloid. The primitive herd was replaced by a higher form of social organization - the clan community. Before the spread of metal, matriarchy reigned.

Mesolithic, the Middle Stone Age, lasted about 5 thousand years (X thousand years BC - V thousand years BC). At this time, people began to use a stone ax, bow and arrows, and the domestication of animals (dogs, pigs) began. This is the time of mass settlement of Eastern Europe and the Urals.

Neolithic, the new Stone Age (VI thousand years BC - IV thousand years BC), is characterized by significant changes in technology and forms of production. Ground and drilled stone axes, pottery, spinning and weaving appeared. Various types of economic activity have developed - agriculture and cattle breeding. The transition from gathering, from an appropriating economy to a producing one, began. Scientists call this time Neolithic revolution.

During Chalcolithic, Copper-Stone Age (IV thousand years BC – III thousand years BC), Bronze Age(3rd millennium BC – 1st millennium BC), iron age(II thousand years BC - end of the 1st thousand years BC) in the most favorable climatic zone of the Earth, the transition from primitiveness to ancient civilizations began.

The appearance of metal tools and weapons in different regions of the Earth did not occur simultaneously, therefore the chronological framework of the last three periods of the primitive era varies depending on the specific region. In the Urals, the chronological framework of the Chalcolithic is determined by the 3rd millennium BC. BC - beginning of the 2nd millennium BC e., Bronze Age - beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. e. – mid-1st millennium BC e., Iron Age - from the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e.

During the spread of metal, large cultural communities began to emerge. Scientists believe that these communities corresponded to the language families from which the peoples who currently inhabit our country emerged. The largest language family is Indo-European, from which 3 groups of languages ​​have emerged: Eastern (current Iranians, Indians, Armenians, Tajiks), European (Germans, French, English, Italians, Greeks), Slavic (Russians, Belarusians, Ukrainians, Poles, Czechs , Slovaks, Bulgarians, Serbs, Croats). Another large language family is Finno-Ugric (current Finns, Estonians, Karelians, Khanty, Mordovians).

During the Bronze Age, the ancestors of the Slavs (proto-Slavs) emerged from the Indo-European tribes; archaeologists find monuments belonging to them in the region located from the Oder River in the west to the Carpathians in eastern Europe.

Civilization era is about six thousand years old. In this era, a qualitatively different world was created, although for a long time it still had many connections with primitiveness, and the transition to civilization itself was carried out gradually, starting from the 4th millennium BC. e. While part of humanity made a breakthrough - moved from primitiveness to civilization, in other areas people continued to be at the stage of a primitive communal system.

The era of civilization is usually called world history and is divided into four periods (Figure 3 on page 19).

Ancient world began with the emergence of civilization in Mesopotamia or Mesopotamia (in the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers). In the 3rd millennium BC. e. A civilization arose in the Nile River valley - the ancient Egyptian. In the 2nd millennium BC. e. Ancient Indian, ancient Chinese, Hebrew, Phoenician, ancient Greek, and Hittite civilizations arose. In the 1st millennium BC. e. The list of ancient civilizations was replenished: the civilization of Urartu was formed on the territory of Transcaucasia, the civilization of the Persians was formed on the territory of Iran, and the Roman civilization was formed on the Apennine Peninsula. The zone of civilizations covered not only the Old World, but also America, where the civilizations of the Mayans, Aztecs and Incas developed.

The main criteria for the transition from the primitive world to civilizations:

The emergence of the state, a special institution that organizes, controls and directs the joint activities and relationships of people and social groups;

the emergence of private property, the stratification of society, the emergence of slavery;

social division of labor (agriculture, crafts, trade) and the producing economy;

the emergence of cities, special types of settlements, centers

Newest

Ancient world Middle Ages Modern times

IV thousand 476 beginning

BC e. BC e. XV-XVI 1920s

Rice. 3. Main periods of world history

crafts and trade, in which the inhabitants, at least partially, were not engaged in rural labor (Ur, Babylon, Memphis, Thebes, Mohenjo-Daro, Harappa, Pataliputra, Nanyang, Sanyang, Athens, Sparta, Rome, Naples, etc.);

the creation of writing (the main stages are ideographic or hieroglyphic writing, syllabic writing, alphabetic or alphabetic writing), thanks to which people were able to consolidate laws, scientific and religious ideas and pass them on to posterity;

creation of monumental structures (pyramids, temples, amphitheatres) that have no economic purpose.

The end of the Ancient World is associated with 476 AD. e., the year of the fall of the Western Roman Empire. Back in 330, Emperor Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire to its eastern part, to the shores of the Bosphorus, to the site of the Greek colony of Byzantium. The new capital was named Constantinople (the ancient Russian name for Tsargrad). In 395, the Roman Empire split into Eastern and Western. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the Eastern Roman Empire, officially called the “Empire of the Romans”, and in literature - Byzantium, became the successor to the ancient world. The Byzantine Empire lasted for about a thousand years, until 1453, and had a huge influence on Ancient Rus' (see Chapter 7).

Chronological framework middle ages, 476 - the end of the 15th century, are determined, first of all, by the events and processes that took place in Western Europe. The Middle Ages were an important stage in the development of European civilization. During this period, many special features emerged and began to develop that distinguished Western Europe from other civilizations and had a tremendous impact on all of humanity.

Eastern civilizations did not stop in their development during this period. There were rich cities in the East. The East presented the world with famous inventions: the compass, gunpowder, paper, glass, etc. However, the pace of development of the East, especially after the invasion of nomads at the turn of the 1st – 2nd millennium (Bedouins, Seljuk Turks, Mongols), was slower compared to the West. But the main thing was that eastern civilizations were focused on repetition, on the constant reproduction of old forms of statehood, social relations, and ideas that had developed in ancient times. Tradition placed strong barriers holding back change; Eastern cultures resisted innovation.

The end of the Middle Ages and the onset of the third period of world history is associated with the beginning of three world historical processes - a spiritual revolution in the life of Europeans, the Great Geographical Discoveries, and manufacturing production.

The spiritual revolution included two phenomena, a kind of two revolutions in the spiritual life of Europe - the Renaissance (Renaissance) and the Reformation.

Modern science sees the origins of the spiritual revolution in the crusades organized at the end of the 11th - 13th centuries. European chivalry and the Catholic Church under the banner of the struggle against the “infidels” (Muslims), the liberation of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem and the Holy Land (Palestine). The consequences of these campaigns for the then poor Europe were important. Europeans came into contact with the higher culture of the Middle East, adopted more advanced methods of cultivating the land and craft techniques, brought from the East many useful plants (rice, buckwheat, citrus fruits, cane sugar, apricots), silk, glass, paper, woodcuts ).

The centers of the spiritual revolution were medieval cities (Paris, Marseille, Venice, Genoa, Florence, Milan, Lubeck, Frankfurt am Main). Cities achieved self-government and became centers not only of crafts and trade, but also of education. In Europe, city residents achieved recognition of their rights at the national level and formed the third estate.

Renaissance originated in Italy in the second half of the 14th century, in the 15th-16th centuries. spread throughout all Western European countries. Distinctive features of Renaissance culture: secular character, humanistic worldview, appeal to the cultural heritage of antiquity, as if “reviving” it (hence the name of the phenomenon). The creativity of the Renaissance figures was imbued with faith in the limitless possibilities of man, his will and reason. Among the brilliant galaxy of poets, writers, playwrights, artists and sculptors whose names humanity is proud of are Dante Alighieri, Francesco Petrarch, Giovanni Boccaccio, Francois Rabelais, Ulrich von Hutten, Erasmus of Rotterdam, Miguel Cervantes, William Shakespeare, Geoffrey Chaucer, Thomas More, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael Santi, Michelangelo, Titian, Velazquez, Rembrandt.

Reformation- a social movement in Europe in the 16th century directed against the Catholic Church. Its beginning is considered to be 1517, when the doctor of theology Martin Luther came out with 95 theses against the sale of indulgences (certificates of remission of sins). The ideologists of the Reformation put forward theses that actually denied the need for the Catholic Church with its hierarchy and the clergy in general, and denied the rights of the church to land and other wealth. Under the ideological banner of the Reformation, the Peasant War in Germany (1524-1526), ​​the Dutch and English revolutions took place.

The Reformation marked the beginning of Protestantism, the third movement in Christianity. This direction, which broke away from Catholicism, united many independent churches and sects (Lutheranism, Calvinism, the Anglican Church, Baptists, etc.). Protestantism is characterized by the absence of a fundamental opposition between the clergy and the laity, the rejection of a complex church hierarchy, a simplified cult, the absence of monasticism, and celibacy; in Protestantism there is no cult of the Virgin Mary, saints, angels, icons, the number of sacraments is reduced to two (baptism and communion). The main source of doctrine for Protestants is the Holy Scripture (that is, the Old Testament and the New Testament).

The Renaissance and Reformation placed at the center the human personality, energetic, striving to transform the world, with a clearly expressed strong-willed beginning. However, the Reformation had a more disciplinary effect; she encouraged individualism, but placed it within the strict framework of morality based on religious values.

Great geographical discoveries- a set of the most significant discoveries on land and sea from the mid-15th to the mid-17th centuries. The discoveries of Central and South America (H. Columbus, A. Vespucci, A. Velez de Mendoza, 1492-1502), and the sea route from Europe to India (Vasco da Gama, 1497-1499) were important. F. Magellan's first trip around the world in 1519-1522. proved the existence of the World Ocean and the sphericity of the Earth. Great geographical discoveries became possible thanks to technical discoveries and inventions, including the creation of new ships - caravels. At the same time, long sea voyages stimulated the development of science, technology, and manufacturing. The era of colonial conquests began, which was accompanied by violence, robberies and even the death of civilizations (Mayans, Incas, Aztecs). European countries seized land in America (from the beginning of the 16th century, blacks began to be imported there), Africa, and India. The wealth of the enslaved countries, usually less developed socio-economically, gave a powerful impetus to the development of industry and trade, and ultimately to the industrial modernization of Europe.

At the end of the 15th century. originated in Europe manufactories(from Latin - I do with my hands), large enterprises based on the division of labor and manual craft techniques. Often the period of European history from the emergence of manufactories to the beginning of the industrial revolution is called "manufacture". There were two forms of manufacture: centralized (the entrepreneur himself created a large workshop, in which all operations for the manufacture of a particular product were carried out under his leadership) and much more widespread - dispersed (the entrepreneur distributed raw materials to home-based artisans and received from them a finished product or semi-finished product) . Manufactures contributed to the deepening of the social division of labor, the improvement of the instruments of production, the growth of labor productivity, and the formation of new social strata - the industrial bourgeoisie and wage workers (this social process will end during the industrial revolution). Manufactories prepared the transition to machine production.

World historical processes indicating the end of the Middle Ages required new ways of transmitting information. This new method was printing. Johannes Gutenberg made a breakthrough in book production technology. Gutenberg's invention was a mature and prepared development of the book industry in previous centuries: the appearance in Europe of paper, the technique of woodblock printing, the creation in scriptoria (monastic workshops) and in universities of hundreds and thousands of handwritten books of predominantly religious content. Gutenberg in 1453–1454 In Mainz he first printed a book, the so-called 42-line Bible. Printing has become the material basis for the dissemination of knowledge, information, literacy, and sciences.

Chronological framework of the third period of world history, new times(beginning of the 16th century - beginning of the 1920s) are defined in the same way as the medieval period, primarily by events and processes that took place in Western Europe. Since in other countries, including Russia, development was slower compared to the West, the processes characteristic of modern times began here later.

With the advent of modern times, the destruction of medieval foundations (that is, political and social institutions, norms, customs) and the formation of an industrial society began. The process of transition from a medieval (traditional, agrarian) society to an industrial society is called modernization (from French - newest, modern). This process took about three hundred years in Europe.

Modernization processes occurred at different times: they began earlier and proceeded faster in Holland and England; these processes proceeded more slowly in France; even slower - in Germany, Italy, Russia; there was a special path of modernization in North America (USA, Canada); began in the East in the 20th century. modernization processes were called Westernization (from English - Western).

Modernization covered all spheres of society, it included:

Industrialization, the process of creating large-scale machine production; the process of ever-increasing use of machines in production began with the industrial revolution (it first began in England in the 1760s, in Russia it began at the turn of the 1830s-1840s);

Urbanization (from Latin - urban), the process of increasing the role of cities in the development of society; the city gains economic dominance for the first time,

pushing the countryside into the background (already at the end of the 18th century, the proportion of the urban population in Holland was 50%; in England this figure was 30%; in France - 15%, and in Russia - about 5%);

democratization of political life, creation of prerequisites for the formation of a rule of law state and civil society;

Secularization, limiting the influence of the church in the life of society, including the conversion by the state of church property (mainly land) into secular; the process of spreading secular elements in culture was called the “secularization” of culture (from the word “secular” - secular);

Rapid, compared to the past period, growth of knowledge about nature and society.

The ideas of the Enlightenment played a major role in the process of modernization and the spiritual revolution. Education, as an ideological movement based on the conviction of the decisive role of reason and science in the knowledge of the “natural order” corresponding to the true nature of man and society, arose in England in the 17th century. (J. Locke, A. Collins). In the 18th century Enlightenment spread throughout Europe, reaching its highest peak in France - F. Voltaire, D. Diderot, C. Montesquieu, J.-J. Rousseau. French educators, led by D. Diderot, participated in the creation of a unique publication - the “Encyclopedia, or Explanatory Dictionary of Sciences, Arts and Crafts,” which is why they are called encyclopedists. Enlighteners of the 18th century. in Germany - G. Lessing, I. Goethe; in the USA - T. Jefferson, B. Franklin; in Russia - N. Novikov, A. Radishchev. Enlightenmentists considered ignorance, obscurantism, and religious fanaticism to be the causes of all human disasters. They opposed the feudal-absolutist regime, for political freedom and civil equality. The Enlighteners did not call for revolution, but their ideas played a revolutionary role in the public consciousness. The 18th century is most often called the “century of Enlightenment.”

Revolutions and fundamental changes in the socio-political system, characterized by a sharp break with the previous tradition and a violent transformation of social and state institutions, played a huge role in the process of modernization. In the West in the XVI-XVIII centuries. revolutions swept four countries: Holland (1566-1609), England (1640-1660), USA (War of Independence of the North American Colonies, 1775-1783), France (1789-1799). In the 19th century revolutions swept other European countries: Austria, Belgium, Hungary, Germany, Italy, Spain. In the 19th century The West “got sick” of revolutions, having undergone a kind of vaccination.

The 19th century is called the “century of capitalism” because in this century industrial society was established in Europe. Two factors were decisive in the victory of industrial society: the industrial revolution, the transition from manufacture to machine production; a change in the political and social structure of society, almost complete liberation from state, political, and legal institutions of traditional society. For the main differences between industrial and traditional societies, see table. 1. (page 27).

The end of modern times is usually associated with the First World War (1914 -1918) and the revolutionary upheavals in Europe and Asia in 1918 -1923.

The fourth period of world history, which began in the 1920s, was called modern times in Soviet historiography. For a long time, the name of the last period of world history was given a propaganda meaning as the beginning of a new era in the history of mankind, opened by the October Revolution of 1917.

In the West, the last period of world history is called modernity, modern history. Moreover, the beginning of modernity is moving: once it began in 1789, then in 1871, now in the early 1920s.

The question of the end of the fourth period of world history and the onset of the fifth period, just like the whole problem of periodization, is debatable. It is quite obvious that in the world at the turn of the 20th - 21st centuries. V. dramatic changes have occurred. Understanding their essence, significance and consequences for humanity, which has entered the 3rd millennium after the birth of Christ, is the most important task of economists, sociologists, and historians.

Table 1.

Main features of traditional and industrial societies

Years before the new era.
4 thousand years. Unification of small states in the Nile Valley. The first pyramid. Sumerian-Akkadian kingdom in Mesopotamia. Invention of cuneiform. The Harappan civilization arose in the Indus Valley. In the Yellow River Valley, silkworms are bred and bronze is smelted; knotted and patterned writing appears.
2.5-2 thousand years. Minoan civilization. Assyrian state with its capital in Nineveh. The Phoenicians create alphabetic writing and open the way to the Red Sea. Tripoli agricultural culture in the Dnieper region.
2 thousand years. Aryan tribes penetrate into India, and the Achaean Greeks into Hellas.
1.5 thousand years. The state of Shang (Yin) arises in China.
1400 Exodus of the Jews from Egypt under the leadership of Moses.
OK. XV century Separation of Proto-Slavic tribes from Indo-European unity.
XV-XIII centuries The period of Achaean Greece.
1300-1200 The Hittites discover a way to obtain iron. 970-940 The reign of King Solomon, the construction of the Jerusalem Temple.
IX-VIII centuries The first mentions of the Persian state.
800 Founding of Carthage by the Phoenicians.
776 First Olympic Games.
753 Legendary date of the founding of Rome.
660 First Emperor of Japan.
560 Birth of Buddha.
551 Birth of Confucius.
489 - IV century n. e. State of Greater Armenia.
461 The Golden Age of Pericles in Greece. Construction of the Parthenon.
334-325 Conquests of Alexander the Great in the East.
317-180 Mauryan Empire in India.
264-146 Three Punic wars between Rome and Carthage and the destruction of Carthage.
246 Construction of the Great Wall of China begins.
146 Submission of Greece to Rome.
73-71 Revolt of Roman slaves led by Spartacus.
49-44 Dictatorship of Julius Caesar in Rome.
6 BC - 4 AD e. Probable date of birth of Jesus Christ.

Years of the new era.
1st century The emergence of Christianity.
OK. 29. Crucifixion of Jesus Christ by order of the Roman procurator Pontius Pilate.
I-II centuries The first mentions of the Slavs by ancient authors.
132-135 The dispersion of Jews throughout the world begins.
164-180 Plague devastates the Roman and Chinese empires.
III-IX centuries Mayan civilization in America.
395 Division of the Roman Empire into Eastern and Western.
IV-V centuries Introduction of Christianity in Georgia and Armenia.
476 Fall of the Western Roman Empire.

The beginning of the Middle Ages.
482 Baptism of the Franks. The first kingdom of the Franks.
570 Birth of Muhammad, founder of Islam.
630 Formation of the Arab state.
End of the 7th century Formation of the Bulgarian state.
711-720 Arab conquest of Spain.
732 Battle of Poitiers. The Arab advance into Europe was stopped.
VIII-X centuries Khazar Khaganate.
The first chronicle information about Novgorod.
The legendary date of the founding of Kyiv.
9th century Education of Kievan Rus.
The end of the 9th - beginning of the 10th century. Formation of the Czech state.
X century Formation of the Old Polish state.
1054 The gap between Orthodoxy and Catholicism.
1096-1099 First Crusade.
1136-1478 Novgorod feudal republic.
1147 First mention of Moscow.
1206-1227 The reign of Genghis Khan. The emergence of the Mongol state.
1236-1242 Tatar-Mongol invasion of Rus' and European countries.
1242 Alexander Nevsky defeats the German knights on Lake Peipsi.
Ser. X century - 1569 Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Russia.
1325 Founding of the Aztec kingdom in Mexico.
1348-1349 Plague kills half the population of England.
1370-1405 The reign of the great emir Timur the conqueror.
1378 Victory of the Moscow army over the Tatars on the Vozha River.
1380 Battle of Kulikovo - defeat of the Tatars under the leadership of Dmitry Donskoy.
1389 Battle of Kosovo (defeat of the Serbs by the Turks).
1410 Defeat of the Teutonic Order by the Polish-Lithuanian-Russian army (Grunwald).
1431 Burning of Joan of Arc according to the verdict of the Inquisition.
1445 Gutenberg Bible. The beginning of book printing in Europe.
1453 Fall of Constantinople and Byzantium under the attacks of the Turks.
1478 The Inquisition begins in Spain.
1480 “Standing on the Ugra”. The end of the Tatar-Mongol yoke.
1492 Expulsion of the Arabs from Spain. Discovery of America by Columbus.
1517 Martin Luther opposes the power of the popes. Beginning of the Reformation.
1531-1533 Pizarro's conquest of the Inca state.
1533-1584 The reign of Ivan the Terrible.
August 24, 1572 St. Bartholomew's Night (massacre of the Huguenots in France).
1588 The death of the “Invincible Armada” (Spanish fleet).
1596 Union of Brest. Formation of the Greek Catholic (“Uniate”) Church. 1604-1612 "Time of Troubles".
The liberation of Moscow by the militia of Minin and Pozharsky.
d. Election of Mikhail Romanov to the throne.
1620 The Pilgrim Fathers establish a colony overseas in New England.
The beginning of the bourgeois revolution in England is considered the beginning of the New Age.
1640 Beginning of the bourgeois revolution in England. 1644 Manchus take control of China.
1654 Decision on the transition of Ukraine to the rule of the Tsar of Russia (Pereyaslav Rada).
1667-1671 Peasant war under the leadership of Stepan Razin.
1682-1725 Reign of Peter I.
1701-1703 War of the Spanish Succession. Strengthening England at sea.
June 27, 1709 Battle of Poltava.
1762-1796 Reign of Catherine I.
1773-1775 - Peasant war under the leadership of Emelyan Pugachev.
1775-1783 The War of Independence of the American Colonies. USA education.
July 24, 1783 Treaty of Georgievsk on the transfer of Georgia under the protection of Russia.
July 14, 1788 The storming of the Bastille and the beginning of the French Revolution.
1793-1795 Accession of Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia to Russia.
1812 Invasion of Napoleon's army into Russia. Battle of Borodino.
1815 Napoleon's defeat at the Battle of Waterloo.
1837 Accession of Queen Victoria to England.
1853-1856 Crimean War. Defense of Sevastopol.
February 19, 1861 Abolition of serfdom in Russia.
1861-1865 American Civil War between North and South. Abolition of slavery.
1862 Unification of Germany by Bismarck.
1867 Creation of the dual Austro-Hungarian Empire.
1877-1878 - Russian-Turkish war, liberation of the Bulgarians, Serbs, Romanians.
1896 Coronation of Nicholas P. Disaster on the Khodynka Field.
1904-1905 Russo-Japanese War. The death of the Varyag, the fall of Port Arthur.
g. "Bloody Sunday". The beginning of the revolution in Russia. Manifesto October 17.
The First State Duma.
1911-1913 Revolution in Imperial China.
1914 Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and outbreak of the First World War.
1917 February revolution in Russia, overthrow of the autocracy.
1917 Victory of the October Revolution in Petrograd. Education of the RSFSR.
1417 Formation of the Ukrainian People's and Soviet Republics.
1918 Revolution in Germany, formation of independent Poland and Czechoslovakia.
1918 End of the First World War. The beginning of the Civil War in Russia.
1919 Treaty of Versailles between the Allies and Germany.
1919-1923 Kemalist revolution in Turkey, collapse of the Ottoman Empire.
December 30, 1922 Formation of the USSR.
1929 Beginning of collectivization in the USSR. World economic crisis.
1931-1933 The Great Famine in the USSR.
January 30, 1933 Establishment of the Nazi dictatorship in Germany.
1436-1939 The rebellion of General Franco and the Spanish Civil War.
1437-1938 Mass repressions in the USSR.
Kristallnacht (massacre of Jews in Germany).
g. Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Beginning of World War II.
June 22, 1941 German attack on the USSR.
The Battle of Moscow - the first defeat of the Wehrmacht
d. Signing of the declaration of 26 states on the struggle against Germany.
1442-1943 Battle of Stalingrad. Fighting in North Africa.
Battle of Kursk. The landing of allied troops in Italy.
The landing of allied forces in Normandy.
May 8-9, 1945 Unconditional surrender of Germany.
1945 Japan surrenders. The end of World War II.
1445-1946 Nuremberg trials of Nazi war criminals.
1947 US adoption of the Marshall Plan.
1448 Proclamation of the State of Israel.
1949 NATO is formed. Proclamation of the GDR, Germany, China.
1950-1953 War in Korea.
1955 Conclusion of the Warsaw Pact.
October 4, 1957 Launch of the first artificial Earth satellite in the USSR.
April 12, 1961 The first manned space flight. Yu. A. Gagarin (USSR).
1961-1973 The Vietnam War.
1966-1976 "Cultural Revolution" in China.
1968 Warsaw Pact troops invade Czechoslovakia.
July 21, 1969 The first man on the moon (N. Armstrong, USA).
1975 Helsinki Agreement on Security and Cooperation in Europe.
1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war.
1985 The beginning of “perestroika” in the USSR.
April 26, 1986 Accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
1991 Referendum on the fate of the USSR (70% - for preserving the Union). State Emergency Committee putsch.
The Belovezhskaya Accords and the collapse of the USSR.
1991-1992 Collapse of Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia.
d. The beginning of “shock therapy” in Russia.
1994 Beginning of the war in Chechnya.
The Union of Russia and Belarus. Withdrawal of Russian troops from Chechnya.
g. The collapse of the ruble (default) in Russia.
g. Bombing of Yugoslavia by NATO aircraft. Operation Desert Storm.
Resignation of B. N. Yeltsin. His successor is V.V. Putin.
d. Election of V.V. Putin as President of the Russian Federation.
September 11, 2001 A major terrorist attack in New York. Thousands of dead.
d. Invasion of US and allied troops into Iraq. The fall of Hussein's regime.
"Orange Revolution" in Ukraine.
d. Catastrophic tsunami in Indonesia. Hurricane Katrina in the USA.
d. Crisis of power in Ukraine.

Some historical dynasties
Starting with the legendary Jimmu, a descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu, who ascended the throne on February 11, 660 BC. e., Japan had 134 emperors.
Beginning with the Apostle Peter, the first bishop of Rome, who was executed around 65, there have been 344 popes on the Holy See, of which 39 are not recognized (“antipopes”).