Name: New Technologies and Lifestyles
Uploaded: 2019-07-19
Duration: 5 min 44 s
Description: From the Persian wheel and firearms to tea and potatoes, new social relations formed with the introduction of the new technology into India. Learn how!

Question

How do historians divide the past into different periods? Do they face any problems in doing so?

Accepted Answer

Historians divide the past into different periods on the basis of social, cultural, and economic factors to characterise the major elements of different moments of the past:

Historians categorize the past based on social, cultural, and economic factors, recognizing the challenges in characterizing entire periods as cohesive historical units. The term 'medieval' is often juxtaposed with 'modern,' emphasizing intellectual and technological advancements.

The concept of 'modernity' is intricately linked with understanding a civilization's past and present without bias. Historians grapple with numerous challenges due to temporal variations in social and economic factors, requiring careful observation, comparison, and data collection.

The transitional phase in Indian history underscores the significant differences between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries and earlier periods like the eighth or eleventh centuries.

How do historians divide the past into different periods? Do they face any problems in doing so?

Important Questions on Tracing Changes Through a Thousand Years

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