Periodization of Origins
It is easy to confuse the origins of periodization with the periodization of origins. The periodization of origins is an attempt to classify time periods in the distant past for which there is no direct record. As stated above, any sort of periodization is subject to qualifications and contentions that should not be taken lightly. Periodization of origins has its own challenges apart from, say, periodizations that rely on text, which are subtle and philosophically complex.
One method for periodization of the distant past, as in Anthropology, is to rely on events, such as the invention of some tool or the origins of language, which are known to exist, but about which little is known in detail.
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Famous quotes containing the word origins:
“Compare the history of the novel to that of rock ‘n’ roll. Both started out a minority taste, became a mass taste, and then splintered into several subgenres. Both have been the typical cultural expressions of classes and epochs. Both started out aggressively fighting for their share of attention, novels attacking the drama, the tract, and the poem, rock attacking jazz and pop and rolling over classical music.”
—W. T. Lhamon, U.S. educator, critic. “Material Differences,” Deliberate Speed: The Origins of a Cultural Style in the American 1950s, Smithsonian (1990)