A thematic collection

Culture & Ideas

Every event in the Terralore archive tagged culture and ideas — art, language, science and learning. 255 of them, drawn from 125 nations, running from 1,800,000 BCE to 2022. Indexed below by period; each period opens the full text, with the sources every entry was verified against and a link back to the chronicle it came from.

Events
255
Nations
125
Earliest
1,800,000 BCE
Latest
2022
Densest period
The 16th century20 events
Asia
81
Europe
72
Africa
58
North America
19
South America
17
Oceania
8

Each period below opens a page holding those events in full — summary, era and citations. Every entry is the same record, with the same sources, as the one on its nation’s chronicle.

3 events · 3 nations

Deep prehistory

Every theme in deep prehistory →

  1. c. 1.8 million years ago

    Homo habilis and Oldowan tools at OlduvaiTanzania

  2. c. 40,000 years ago

    The rock art of GobustanAzerbaijan

  3. c. 24,000 BP

    Rock art at Tsodilo HillsBotswana

All 3 events in deep prehistory →

1 event · 1 nation

The 8th millennium BCE

Every theme in the 8th millennium BCE →

  1. for millennia

    San rock art of the Maloti-DrakensbergLesotho

All 1 events in the 8th millennium BCE →

6 events · 5 nations

The 4th millennium BCE

Every theme in the 4th millennium BCE →

  1. Holocene

    Rock art of a green SaharaNiger

  2. c. 3600 BCE

    The temples of Ggantija raised on GozoMalta

  3. c. 3600–2500 BCE

    The Maltese temple culture flourishesMalta

  4. c. 3500–2700 BCE

    The megaliths of Bouar are raisedCentral African Republic

  5. c. 3500 BCE

    The Valdivia ceramic cultureEcuador

  6. c. 3200 BCE

    The Sumerians invent cuneiform writingIraq

All 6 events in the 4th millennium BCE →

7 events · 5 nations

The 3rd millennium BCE

Every theme in the 3rd millennium BCE →

  1. 3rd millennium BCE

    Beehive tombs and towers at BatOman

  2. c. 3rd millennium BCE

    Hafit-period tombs near Jebel HafitUnited Arab Emirates

  3. c. 2630 BCE

    Djoser's Step Pyramid at SaqqaraEgypt

  4. c. 2600 BCE

    Mohenjo-daro flourishesIndia

  5. c. 2600 BCE

    Mohenjo-daro flourishesPakistan

  6. c. 2560 BCE

    Great Pyramid of Khufu at GizaEgypt

  7. c. 2500 BCE

    The Umm an-Nar culture flourishesUnited Arab Emirates

All 7 events in the 3rd millennium BCE →

6 events · 6 nations

The 2nd millennium BCE

Every theme in the 2nd millennium BCE →

  1. c. 2000 years ago

    The engravings of TwyfelfonteinNamibia

  2. before European contact

    Hundreds of nations and languagesAustralia

  3. c. 1450 BCE

    Linear B and Mycenaean control of CreteGreece

  4. c. 1400 BCE

    The Ugaritic alphabetSyria

  5. c. 13th century BCE

    Troy of the IliadTürkiye

  6. c. 1200 BCE

    Oracle-bone divination recordsChina

All 6 events in the 2nd millennium BCE →

4 events · 4 nations

The 10th century BCE

Every theme in the 10th century BCE →

  1. c. 1000 BCE

    Olorgesailie tool traditions and the Stone AgeKenya

  2. early 1st millennium BCE

    The Phoenician alphabet at ByblosLebanon

  3. before European contact

    More than 800 languages emergePapua New Guinea

  4. c. 1000 BCE

    The Teouma cemetery on EfateVanuatu

All 4 events in the 10th century BCE →

1 event · 1 nation

The 9th century BCE

Every theme in the 9th century BCE →

  1. c. 9th century BCE

    The Mesha Stele of MoabJordan

All 1 events in the 9th century BCE →

1 event · 1 nation

The 8th century BCE

Every theme in the 8th century BCE →

  1. 776 BCE (traditional)

    Traditional first Olympic GamesGreece

All 1 events in the 8th century BCE →

3 events · 3 nations

The 6th century BCE

Every theme in the 6th century BCE →

  1. c. 575 BCE

    Babylon at its height under Nebuchadnezzar IIIraq

  2. 551 BCE

    Lifetime of ConfuciusChina

  3. c. 518 BCE

    Darius I builds PersepolisIran

All 3 events in the 6th century BCE →

2 events · 2 nations

The 4th century BCE

Every theme in the 4th century BCE →

  1. 4th–3rd c. BCE

    Thracian royal tombs of Kazanlak and SveshtariBulgaria

  2. c. 4th century BCE

    The Saka 'Golden Man' of IssykKazakhstan

All 2 events in the 4th century BCE →

2 events · 2 nations

The 3rd century BCE

Every theme in the 3rd century BCE →

  1. c. 3rd century BCE

    Megalith-building begins along the riverGambia

  2. 210 BCE

    Death of the First Emperor and the terracotta armyChina

All 2 events in the 3rd century BCE →

2 events · 2 nations

The 2nd century BCE

Every theme in the 2nd century BCE →

  1. from c. 2nd century BCE

    Hydraulic civilisation and South Indian invasionsSri Lanka

  2. 2nd century BCE

    Royal city of NisaTurkmenistan

All 2 events in the 2nd century BCE →

3 events · 3 nations

The 1st century BCE

Every theme in the 1st century BCE →

  1. c. 1st century BCE

    Petra reaches its golden ageJordan

  2. c. 1st century BCE

    The Nabataeans make Hegra their southern capitalSaudi Arabia

  3. 1st-8th c. CE

    San Agustin megalithsColombia

All 3 events in the 1st century BCE →

4 events · 4 nations

The 1st century

Every theme in the 1st century →

  1. Diaguita and Guarani societiesArgentina

  2. Settlement and iron-working at Lopé-OkandaGabon

  3. Baalbek becomes Roman HeliopolisLebanon

  4. Completion of the ColosseumItaly

All 4 events in the 1st century →

9 events · 9 nations

The 2nd century

Every theme in the 2nd century →

  1. Trajan founds TimgadAlgeria

  2. Hatra, capital of an Arab kingdomIraq

  3. Jerash flourishes as a Roman cityJordan

  4. Teotihuacan, city of the godsMexico

  5. Moche and Nazca culturesPeru

  6. Trajan's Column commemorates the conquestRomania

  7. The Kushan empire and Gandhara artAfghanistan

  8. Kanishka and the Gandhara golden agePakistan

All 9 events in the 2nd century →1 more not shown here

3 events · 3 nations

The 3rd century

Every theme in the 3rd century →

  1. Volubilis flourishes as a Roman cityMorocco

  2. Amphitheatre of El DjemTunisia

  3. Classic Maya civilisationMexico

All 3 events in the 3rd century →

2 events · 2 nations

The 4th century

Every theme in the 4th century →

  1. Diocletian's Palace at SplitCroatia

  2. Gupta golden ageIndia

All 2 events in the 4th century →

1 event · 1 nation

The 5th century

Every theme in the 5th century →

  1. Mesrop Mashtots creates the Armenian alphabetArmenia

All 1 events in the 5th century →

3 events · 3 nations

The 6th century

Every theme in the 6th century →

  1. Diquis chiefdoms and the stone spheresCosta Rica

  2. Licchavi stone inscriptionsNepal

  3. Sogdian merchants dominate the Silk RoadTajikistan

All 3 events in the 6th century →

4 events · 4 nations

The 7th century

Every theme in the 7th century →

  1. Tierradentro tombsColombia

  2. Tikal at its heightGuatemala

  3. The monastic golden ageIreland

  4. Tang dynasty and a cosmopolitan golden ageChina

All 4 events in the 7th century →

4 events · 4 nations

The 8th century

Every theme in the 8th century →

  1. Height of the Classic Maya citiesBelize

  2. Quseir Amra is builtJordan

  3. Bulguksa and Seokguram builtSouth Korea

  4. Hieroglyphic Stairway completedHonduras

All 4 events in the 8th century →

9 events · 8 nations

The 9th century

Every theme in the 9th century →

  1. Somapura Mahavihara built at PaharpurBangladesh

  2. The House of Wisdom and the Golden AgeIraq

  3. Rise of the Swahili coastKenya

  4. Rise of the Swahili coastTanzania

  5. Samarra becomes the Abbasid capitalIraq

  6. The bronzes of Igbo-UkwuNigeria

  7. Samanid Bukhara, a centre of the Islamic Golden AgeUzbekistan

  8. Cyrillic and the Preslav and Ohrid schoolsBulgaria

All 9 events in the 9th century →1 more not shown here

5 events · 5 nations

The 10th century

Every theme in the 10th century →

  1. A sacred landscape of more than a thousand monumentsGambia

  2. Transmission of the epic of ManasKyrgyzstan

  3. Birth of the Maltese languageMalta

  4. Rudaki and the rebirth of Persian poetryTajikistan

  5. Ani becomes the Bagratid capitalArmenia

All 5 events in the 10th century →

6 events · 5 nations

The 11th century

Every theme in the 11th century →

  1. Complex Amazonian societiesBrazil

  2. The moai of Rapa NuiChile

  3. Persia at the heart of the Islamic golden ageIran

  4. The Chewa rock-painting tradition at ChongoniMalawi

  5. Ferdowsi completes the ShahnamehIran

  6. The Tale of GenjiJapan

All 6 events in the 11th century →

7 events · 7 nations

The 12th century

Every theme in the 12th century →

  1. Height of the Sao city-statesCameroon

  2. The painted churches of the TroödosCyprus

  3. Foundation of the caravan ksourMauritania

  4. Cahokia at its heightUnited States

  5. Golden age under Parakramabahu ISri Lanka

  6. Mausoleum of Sultan SanjarTurkmenistan

  7. Snorri Sturluson and the sagasIceland

All 7 events in the 12th century →

3 events · 3 nations

The 13th century

Every theme in the 13th century →

  1. Rustaveli's national epicGeorgia

  2. The frescoes of the Boyana ChurchBulgaria

  3. Creation of the Thai scriptThailand

All 3 events in the 13th century →

9 events · 8 nations

The 14th century

Every theme in the 14th century →

  1. The Durbar squares and Newar artNepal

  2. Compilation of the Kebra NagastEthiopia

  3. Timbuktu and Djenné flourishMali

  4. Ibn Battuta visits MogadishuSomalia

  5. Foundation of Charles UniversityCzechia

  6. The Māori world takes shapeNew Zealand

  7. Building of Charles Bridge and Gothic PragueCzechia

  8. Timur makes Samarkand his capitalTajikistan

All 9 events in the 14th century →1 more not shown here

13 events · 13 nations

The 15th century

Every theme in the 15th century →

  1. Northern peoples and the BatammaribaTogo

  2. Competition for the Florence Baptistery doorsItaly

  3. Herat, capital of the Timurid renaissanceAfghanistan

  4. The Palace of the ShirvanshahsAzerbaijan

  5. Ulugh Beg builds his observatoryUzbekistan

  6. Creation of hangulSouth Korea

  7. The stećci tombstonesBosnia and Herzegovina

  8. Building of Machu PicchuPeru

All 13 events in the 15th century →5 more not shown here

20 events · 14 nations

The 16th century

Every theme in the 16th century →

  1. Some thousand nations at contactBrazil

  2. The Dalmatian towns under VeniceCroatia

  3. First stone of the new Saint Peter'sVatican City

  4. Origins of the Vatican MuseumsVatican City

  5. Michelangelo paints the Sistine Chapel ceilingItaly

  6. Michelangelo paints the Sistine ceilingVatican City

  7. Skaryna prints the first East Slavic bookBelarus

  8. Mir Castle and the Radziwiłł magnatesBelarus

All 20 events in the 16th century →12 more not shown here

10 events · 10 nations

The 17th century

Every theme in the 17th century →

  1. The Quito school of artEcuador

  2. Gaspar Bocarro crosses the regionMalawi

  3. Islamic monuments of Bukhara and KhivaUzbekistan

  4. The Royal Palaces of AbomeyBenin

  5. Founding of the University of TartuEstonia

  6. Punakha Dzong foundedBhutan

  7. Rembrandt paints The Night WatchNetherlands

  8. Reign of King Narai and the French embassiesThailand

All 10 events in the 17th century →2 more not shown here

6 events · 6 nations

The 18th century

Every theme in the 18th century →

  1. First written record of the women warriorsBenin

  2. Magtymguly Pyragy and Turkmen poetryTurkmenistan

  3. Paisius of Hilendar and the National RevivalBulgaria

  4. House of Slaves built on GoréeSenegal

  5. Bernolák's first written SlovakSlovakia

  6. Espejo founds Quito's first newspaperEcuador

All 6 events in the 18th century →

2 events · 2 nations

The 1810s

Every theme in the 1810s →

  1. Ottoman towns of Berat and GjirokastraAlbania

  2. The Struve Geodetic ArcBelarus

All 2 events in the 1810s →

1 event · 1 nation

The 1820s

Every theme in the 1820s →

  1. Fourah Bay College foundedSierra Leone

All 1 events in the 1820s →

5 events · 5 nations

The 1830s

Every theme in the 1830s →

  1. Rule of Petar II Petrovic-NjegosMontenegro

  2. Invention of the Vai scriptLiberia

  3. The Illyrian movement and national revivalCroatia

  4. Darwin reaches the GalapagosEcuador

  5. Elias Lonnrot publishes the KalevalaFinland

All 5 events in the 1830s →

9 events · 9 nations

The 1840s

Every theme in the 1840s →

  1. The Krio community takes shapeSierra Leone

  2. Shevchenko publishes 'Kobzar'Ukraine

  3. Štúr codifies literary SlovakSlovakia

  4. The Rilindja national awakeningAlbania

  5. Preseren writes ZdravljicaSlovenia

  6. The Danish Golden AgeDenmark

  7. Croatian made the official languageCroatia

  8. Publication of The Mountain WreathMontenegro

All 9 events in the 1840s →1 more not shown here

4 events · 4 nations

The 1850s

Every theme in the 1850s →

  1. The First National AwakeningLatvia

  2. Livingstone reaches Victoria FallsZambia

  3. Livingstone reaches Lake NyasaMalawi

  4. Dunant at the Battle of SolferinoSwitzerland

All 4 events in the 1850s →

4 events · 4 nations

The 1860s

Every theme in the 1860s →

  1. Founding of the Red Cross (ICRC)Switzerland

  2. The Lithuanian press banLithuania

  3. Romantic nationalism and a national cultureNorway

  4. The first Estonian Song FestivalEstonia

All 4 events in the 1860s →

2 events · 2 nations

The 1870s

Every theme in the 1870s →

  1. The founding of BudapestHungary

  2. Jakobson and the national pressEstonia

All 2 events in the 1870s →

2 events · 2 nations

The 1890s

Every theme in the 1890s →

  1. The book smugglers (knygnesiai)Lithuania

  2. King Njoya devises the Bamum scriptCameroon

All 2 events in the 1890s →

1 event · 1 nation

The 1900s

Every theme in the 1900s →

  1. Nasha Niva and the national awakeningBelarus

All 1 events in the 1900s →

2 events · 2 nations

The 1920s

Every theme in the 1920s →

  1. Nok terracottas first recognisedNigeria

  2. The alphabet and language reformsTürkiye

All 2 events in the 1920s →

1 event · 1 nation

The 1930s

Every theme in the 1930s →

  1. The morna and Creole lettersCape Verde

All 1 events in the 1930s →

2 events · 2 nations

The 1940s

Every theme in the 1940s →

  1. Birth of the steelpanTrinidad and Tobago

  2. Socialist Republic of Macedonia and the codified languageNorth Macedonia

All 2 events in the 1940s →

6 events · 6 nations

The 1950s

Every theme in the 1950s →

  1. The Bengali Language MovementBangladesh

  2. Rainier III marries Grace KellyMonaco

  3. Code of Personal StatusTunisia

  4. Garcia Marquez and MacondoColombia

  5. Galapagos National ParkEcuador

  6. Mary Leakey finds the Zinjanthropus skullTanzania

All 6 events in the 1950s →

5 events · 5 nations

The 1960s

Every theme in the 1960s →

  1. Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in spaceRussia

  2. Chingiz Aitmatov wins the Lenin PrizeKyrgyzstan

  3. A new national flag and a maturing identityCanada

  4. National Palace Museum opens in TaipeiTaiwan

  5. Apollo 11 Moon landingUnited States

All 5 events in the 1960s →

6 events · 6 nations

The 1970s

Every theme in the 1970s →

  1. A Greek inscription confirms IkarosKuwait

  2. Neruda wins the Nobel PrizeChile

  3. Somali written in Latin scriptSomalia

  4. Reggae goes globalJamaica

  5. Discovery of the Laetoli footprintsTanzania

  6. Plitvice Lakes inscribed by UNESCOCroatia

All 6 events in the 1970s →

11 events · 9 nations

The 1980s

Every theme in the 1980s →

  1. Aldabra Atoll inscribed by UNESCOSeychelles

  2. Shibam, the 'Manhattan of the desert', is listedYemen

  3. Vallée de Mai inscribed by UNESCOSeychelles

  4. Sarajevo Winter OlympicsBosnia and Herzegovina

  5. Upper Volta renamed Burkina FasoBurkina Faso

  6. Vatican City inscribed as a World Heritage SiteVatican City

  7. Petra inscribed as a World Heritage SiteJordan

  8. Old City of Sanaa joins the World Heritage ListYemen

All 11 events in the 1980s →3 more not shown here

8 events · 8 nations

The 1990s

Every theme in the 1990s →

  1. Joya de Ceren named World HeritageEl Salvador

  2. UNESCO World Heritage recognitionNew Zealand

  3. Cultural kingdoms restoredUganda

  4. Zabid recognised as a centre of Islamic learningYemen

  5. Luang Prabang inscribed by UNESCOLaos

  6. Colonia listed by UNESCOUruguay

  7. Barrier Reef made a World Heritage siteBelize

  8. Al Jazeera launchedQatar

All 8 events in the 1990s →

12 events · 11 nations

The 2000s

Every theme in the 2000s →

  1. Discovery of ToumaïChad

  2. Paramaribo named World HeritageSuriname

  3. Kunta Kinteh Island recognisedGambia

  4. Madriu-Perafita-Claror Valley inscribed by UNESCOAndorra

  5. Cesária Évora and morna go globalCape Verde

  6. Nisa inscribed by UNESCOTurkmenistan

  7. Bolt's sprinting dynastyJamaica

  8. Melaka and George Town inscribed by UNESCOMalaysia

All 12 events in the 2000s →4 more not shown here

10 events · 9 nations

The 2010s

Every theme in the 2010s →

  1. The Burj Khalifa opens in DubaiUnited Arab Emirates

  2. Fort Jesus inscribed by UNESCOKenya

  3. Manas trilogy recognized by UNESCOKyrgyzstan

  4. Agadez inscribed by UNESCONiger

  5. Tajik National Park inscribed by UNESCOTajikistan

  6. UNESCO World Heritage inscriptionCosta Rica

  7. Diquis spheres named World HeritageCosta Rica

  8. World Heritage inscriptionJamaica

All 10 events in the 2010s →2 more not shown here

3 events · 3 nations

The 2020s

Every theme in the 2020s →

  1. France returns the Abomey treasuresBenin

  2. The Hope probe reaches MarsUnited Arab Emirates

  3. Qatar hosts the FIFA World CupQatar

All 3 events in the 2020s →