How do historians divide the past into periods?Do they face any problem in doing so?
Historians divide the past into periods through following considerations:
a. Historians divide the past into periods by taking into account social, cultural, religious and economic factors.
b. For example historians have divided Indian history into three distinct phases like Hindu, Muslim and British period taking religion into account.
However, there are certain problems which historians face in doing such a division:
a. At times they may focus on one exclusive factor like religion ignoring other social and cultural factors.
b. Describing one period as one historical unit is also a problem.
c. For instance, historians have generally regarded medieval period as the dark period in contrast with the modern period which was characterised by technological advancements, material progress etc. This however was not the case as medieval witnessed architectural growth and progress, rise of Islam as major religion etc.