The Time Ribbon

A timeline of the world’s heritage.

Twelve thousand years of building, worship, trade and farming — grouped into eras so you can compare what was happening across continents at the same time.

before 3000 BCE

Prehistoric

From Ice Age cave painters to the first farmers and monument builders.

Budj Bim Cultural Landscape Göbekli Tepe Lascaux Cave Mehrgarh Skara Brae Stonehenge Çatalhöyük

3000–1200 BCE

Bronze Age

The first cities, writing systems and states — from the Indus to the Nile.

Harappa Knossos Lothal Mohenjo-daro Pyramids of Giza

1200–500 BCE

Iron Age

Iron tools, new empires and the great capitals of Mesopotamia and Persia.

Babylon Persepolis

500 BCE – 500 CE

Classical

Empires that linked continents: Greece, Rome, Gandhara, Qin China and the Nabataeans.

Acropolis of Athens Petra Pompeii Sigiriya Taxila Teotihuacan Terracotta Army

500–1500 CE

Medieval

Temple cities, trading kingdoms and mountain estates across every inhabited continent.

Angkor Wat Borobudur Chichén Itzá Great Zimbabwe Hampi Lalibela Rock-Hewn Churches Machu Picchu Mesa Verde Rapa Nui

1500–1800 CE

Early Modern

Gunpowder empires, global trade and the forts and palaces they built.

Lahore Fort