Do you think the Stone Age, the Bronze Age,the Iron Age can coherently chart changes/achievements in the human history? Well, the terminologies were coined to stress archaeological findings. Thus dividing our history with finds of artifacts may not incorporate the true division. But SPEED, in literal meaning, could outline the leaps of humanity.
If you look at the last 50,000 years of humanity, about 41,000 of which were spent in caves. Classify, categorize, sort or do whatever is pleasing to you with the 41,000 years but it will not reveal meaningful information.
Where we could get started is 6000B.C. Then the fastest means of transportation over long distances was camel caravan traveling at almost 13 km/h. It took nearly 4400 years to exceed that speed, when the chariot was invented mustering 32 km/h.
It was not until the 1880’s, that man with the help of steam locomotive reached a speed of 160 km/h. It took 58 more years to quadruple the limit and by the 1960’s the rockets were flying 6400 km/h and space capsules circling the earth with almost 29,000 km/h.
Maybe speed that could better portray the great divisions in the history.
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