The Maori people emerge in modern day New Zealand
Over several centuries in isolation, the Polynesian settlers developed a unique culture, with their own language, a rich mythology, and distinctive crafts and performing arts.
Post-classical (500 - 1500 C.E.)
Celtic mythology compiled in The Mabinogion
The Mabinogion are the earliest prose stories of the literature of Britain. They were created by various narrators over time.
The Jolof Empire comes to power in modern-day Senegal
The Jolof Empire, also known as the Wolof or Wollof Empire, was a West African state that ruled parts of Senegal from 1350 to 1549.
The Mexica people found Tenochtitlan
Eventually, Tenochtitlan came to be the capital of the vast Aztec Empire. At its peak, it was likely home to more than 200,000 people, making it one of the largest cities in the world at the time.
The Majapahit Empire flourishes on Java
The Majapahit Empire was a Hindu Empire and thalassocracy in Southeast Asia, based on the island of Java, that existed from 1293 to circa 1527.
The Tonga people settle in modern-day Zambia
In the 12th century, waves of Bantu-speaking immigrants arrived during the Bantu expansion. Among them, the Tonga people (also called Ba-Tonga, “Ba-” meaning “men”) were the first to settle in Zambia and are believed to have come from the east near the “big sea”.
Humans discover the islands currently known as New Zealand
An international team of researchers spent 4 years on a study which shows conclusively that the earliest evidence for human colonization is about 1280-1300 C.E.
Humans of Holland invent wooden clogs
Wooden clogs originated in Holland, eventually spreading to France, England and Scandinavia. The clog shoe became the most common work shoe in Europe throughout the Industrial Revolution era.
The Ottoman Empire begins in modern-day Turkey
During the 16th and 17th centuries, at the height of its power under the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, the Ottoman Empire was a multinational, multilingual empire controlling most of Southeast Europe, parts of Central Europe, Western Asia, parts of Eastern Europe and the Caucasus, North Africa, and the Horn of Africa.
Marco Polo publishes his tales of his journey to China
The Travels of Marco Polo, is a 13th-century travelogue describing Polo’s travels through Asia between 1271 and 1295, and his experiences at the court of Kublai Khan.