The Palaeolithic covers some 99% of humanity’s past, beginning with the earliest hominids about 3.4 million years ago. This period bears evidence to the rise of anatomically modern humans. Archaeological sites from the Palaeolithic range from ephemeral habitation sites to burials of individuals in caves to spectacular cave art.

The nature and dates of the Mesolithic period vary throughout the world. Generally this period marks the end of nomadic groups that lived by hunting and gathering during the Palaeolithic and the start of settled, farming communities in the Neolithic. Mesolithic sites have the first substantial evidence for more settled communities.

The Neolithic records the development of farming in prehistory. People began domesticating plants and animals at different times in different areas, which is why the Neolithic is defined less by date and more by cultural traits. It is during the Neolithic that we see the emergence of large stone monuments.

During the Chalcolithic period, also called the Copper Age, prehistoric people began mining in earnest, both stone and metal. Early metal tools, mostly made of copper, were used alongside stone tools. In some areas this is a transitional period between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age; in other areas it is entirely absent.

The Bronze Age marks a period in time (which differs regionally across Europe, the Middle East, the Far East, and parts of Africa) when prehistoric people stopped using stone tools and started smelting copper and tin ores to produce bronze for a wide range of artefacts, from axe-heads and swords to sculptures and other ritual objects.

In some regions (for example, parts of Europe) the Iron Age, in which iron became the favoured metal, developed out of the Bronze Age; in Africa there was no Bronze Age. Besides the frequent use of iron at this time, the Iron Age heralds many other significant social changes across Africa, Europe and much of Asia.

The ancient Greek period lasted from the 8th century BC to the Roman conquest of Greece in 146 BC. This ancient civilization flourished during the 5th and 4th centuries BC, termed Classical Greece. It was at this time that the Greeks established cities and colonies in other parts of southern Europe, north Africa and south-east Asia.

The Roman civilization developed out of a farming community centred around what is now the city of Rome and went on to dominate much of the Mediterranean region, including north Africa, as well as southeastern and southwestern Europe. This was one of the largest empires in the ancient world.

With the breakdown in the 5th century AD of the Roman Empire's centralised government, powerful individuals filled the political voids across Europe. This resulted in the divided and decentralized kingdoms, each with its own cultural values, that characterise Medieval Europe, Asia and Africa.

Norse archaeological sites are associated with the Scandinavian Vikings from the end of the 8th century until the middle of the eleventh century AD. Using their famed longships, Norsemen raided, traded, explored and settled their way across Europe and the north Atlantic islands, from Constantinople in the east to Iceland and Greenland in the west.

Museums and archaeological theme parks are another way to experience the archaeology of a given area or period in the past. Excavated artefacts are more often than not housed in museums and form the basis of the exhibitions there. Theme parks present the knowledge gained from archaeological sites in a more accessible way.

UNESCO identifies sites that are of outstanding cultural or natural significance. By 2010, 911 sites from 151 countries were included on the list. Of these, over 500 are archaeological sites, from the Palaeolithic caves in the Dordogne area of France to the wall built by the Romans under Hadrian's orders in the north of England.