The early modern period lasted from about 1500 to 1800 CE. The 15th-century introduction of movable type printing in Europe revolutionized communication and facilitated widespread dissemination of information, hastening the end of the Middle Ages and ushering in the Scientific Revolution. Post-classical history (the ' Middle Ages' from about 500 to 1500 CE) witnessed the rise of Christianity, the Islamic Golden Age, and the Renaissance (from around 1300 CE). With civilizations flourishing, ancient history saw the rise and fall of empires. Hinduism developed in the late Bronze Age on the Indian subcontinent, while the Axial Age witnessed the introduction of religions such as Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, and Jainism. The growing complexity of human societies necessitated systems of accounting and writing.

Labor divisions led to the rise of a leisured upper class and the development of cities, which provided the foundation for civilization. As farming developed, grain agriculture became more sophisticated and prompted a division of labor to store food between growing seasons.

The earliest complex societies appeared in fertile river valleys. The relative security and increased productivity provided by farming allowed communities to expand into increasingly larger units, fostered by advances in transportation. As agriculture advanced, most humans transitioned from a nomadic to a settled lifestyle as farmers in permanent settlements. During this period, humans began the systematic husbandry of plants and animals. This was followed by the Neolithic ('New Stone Age') era, which saw the Agricultural Revolution begin in the Near East's Fertile Crescent between 10,000 and 5,000 BCE. Humanity's written history was preceded by its prehistory, beginning with the Paleolithic ('Old Stone Age') era. Since the invention of writing, human history has been studied through primary and secondary source documents. It is understood and studied through archaeology, anthropology, genetics, and linguistics. Human history, also called world history, is the narrative of humanity's past.

Humankind civilizations