Definition of Periodization and Chronology in Complete History

Definition of Periodization and Chronology in Complete History

Periodization and Chronology in History

1. Periodization of History

The definition of periodization is defined as the time frame used for various events. The complexity of events that occur in human life at any time requires a classification based on the form and type of these events. The events that have been classified are arranged chronologically based on the order in which they occurred.

The span of time or time since humans existed until now is a very long span, so that historians often have difficulty understanding and discussing problems that have arisen in the history of human life. In order to make it easier to describe human life, experts arrange historical periodization.

Periodization is used to facilitate understanding and discussion of the history of human life. Periodization made by many researchers results in differences in views so that historical periodization is subjective in nature which is influenced by the subject matter and the personality of the researcher. In Indonesian history, the periodization is divided into two, namely the prehistoric era and the historical era.

Periodization of history

a. The pre-literate era, namely the era before humans knew writing. History can be studied based on the remains of ancient objects in the form of artifacts, features, ecofacts, and sites. Artifacts are all objects that clearly show the results of cultivation in part or in whole as the alteration of natural resources by human hands. Features are artifacts that cannot be moved without destroying their place. Ecofacts are objects made up of abiotic or biotic environmental elements. Sites are plots of land that contain ancient relics.

b. Historical era, namely the era in which humans are familiar with writing. The historical era is divided into three as follows.

1) Antiquity, which talks from the oldest kingdom to the 14th century. At this time, Indonesian culture developed which was influenced by Hinduism and Buddhism.

2) The New Indonesian Age, starting from the 15th century which talks about the period of development of Islamic culture until the 18th century.

3) The Modern Indonesian Era, since the reign of the Dutch East Indies (1800), the movement for independence from Indonesia to independence until now or the contemporary period.

There are several elements that often influence the composition of historical periods, one of which is geography, because changes in boundaries, changes in river flow, old buildings are rehabilitated, even changes in flora and fauna can obscure historical traces.

The theoretical concept of periodization of Indonesian history was discussed in the First National History Seminar in 1957, which resulted in the following results.

a. The concept of periodization from Prof. Dr. Soekarno

In the opinion of Dr. Soekanto, periodization should be based on state administration, meaning it is political. The distribution of periodization based on facts should be as precise and practical as possible. According to him, the periodization of Indonesian history is proposed chronologically as follows.

1) Historical origins ............................................... . – 0

2) Kutai-Tarumanegara Period ................................. 0 – 600

3 ) Sriwijaya-Medang-Singosari Period ......................... 600 – 1300

4) Majapahit Period ........... ............................................ 1300 – 1500

5) Mass The Islamic Empire................................................... 1500 – 1600

6) Aceh Period, Mataram, Makassar ............................ 1600 – 170

7) Period of foreign government ............................................... 1700 – 1945

a) Company Age (1800 – 1808)

b) Daendels Age (1808 – 1811)

c) British Government Period (1811 – 1816)

d) Nederlands – India Period (1816 – 1942)

e) Nippon Period (1942 – 1945)

8) The Period of the Republic of Indonesia ............................................... 1945 – present

b. Periodization according to Prof. Dr. Sartono Kartodirdjo

According to Prof. Dr. Sartono Kartodirdjo, as the basis for periodization, is the degree of integration achieved in Indonesia in the past. In his opinion, economic factors greatly influence social, political and cultural developments in Indonesia. Economic factors influence Indonesia's contacts with foreign countries which bring influences from foreign cultures, both Hindu culture from India, Islamic culture from West Asia, as well as western culture both from Europe and other countries.

Thus it is possible to distinguish two major periods, namely Hindu influence and Islamic influence. The designation from that period uses the name of the kingdom because the nature of society at that time was still homogeneous and centered on the king (palace centric). The periodization proposed by Prof. Dr. Sartono is as follows.

1) Prehistory

2) Ancient Era

a) Period of the oldest kingdoms

b) Sriwijaya Period (from VII – XIII or XIV centuries).

c) Majapahit Period (from XIV – XV century).

3) New Age

a) Aceh, Mataram, Makassar/Ternate/Tidore period (since the XVI century).

b) The period of resistance to Western Imperialism (XIX century).

c) The period of the national movement (XX century).

4) Period of the Republic of Indonesia (since 1945).

From this presentation, it can be seen that there are many views about the periodization period, as proposed by Prof. Dr. Soekanto and Prof. Dr. Sartono, compiled by:

a. using the basis of the development of civilization (civilization),

b. the period sequence is based on the cultural aspect, and

c. period chapters on the basis of religion that entered Indonesia.

The conclusion is that the basic framework of the theory of time or periodization in history shows different ideas. However, the most important thing in the preparation of periodization is the principle of continuity.

2. Chronology of History

Chronology is a record of events sorted according to the time they occurred. Chronology in historical events can help reconstruct an event based on the order of time

precise, besides that it can also help to compare historical events at the same time in different places related to the event.

To know the chronology of Indonesian history, we need to know the development of life and culture from the past to Indonesia in the present.

a. Pre-literacy Indonesia

In pre-literate Indonesia, people's lives were still simple. We can know this from the remains of the tools of life which are made of stone, so it is called the stone age. Through the cultural objects left behind, we can reconstruct the history of past lives.

Based on the basic material, cultural development is divided into two.

1) Stone Age, divided into old stone age, middle stone, new stone and large stone.

2) Metal Age, divided into the Copper Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age. In Indonesia, the metal age began with the discovery of bronze tools.

b. Indonesia entered a historical era

The history of Indonesia begins with the discovery of the first written source, namely the Kutai inscription around the 5th century. This shows the development of people's lives from not knowing writing to being able to write an inscription. Means, there is a certain influence that is able to advance the culture of the archipelago. This influence is none other than the Hindu-Buddhist influence.

This influence is related to Hinduism and Buddhism. This influence gave rise to a new system of government, namely the form of a kingdom that imitated the Indian model. The king is hereditary, not the people's choice and is surrounded by nobles. The development of life and human interaction then gave rise to the relationship between Indonesia and Gujarat traders. Later, this had an impact on the entry of Islamic influence into the archipelago through shipping and trade.

The rapid development of Islamic influence eventually formed the first Islamic empire in the archipelago, namely Samudra Pasai, followed by other Islamic kingdoms in Java and outside Java. This Islamic progress brought the progress of the culture of the Archipelago with the emergence of Islamic-characteristic buildings such as mosques. The development of interaction between nations made it impossible for the Indonesian people to resist the arrival of western nations who eventually colonized the archipelago, such as the arrival of the Dutch, Portuguese and British.

The Dutch colonialists brought socio-cultural and political influences to the Indonesian nation, even the oppression by the Dutch gave birth to a regional movement which developed into a national movement marked by the birth of Budi Utomo. The culmination of this national movement was the Proclamation of August 17, 1945 which gave birth to the Indonesian state with a new pattern in the form of a republic. But before that, Indonesia fell into the hands of Japan (1942 – 1945). During the Japanese occupation it was full of tribulations, such as romusha. The Japanese occupation ended with the end of World War II.

Japan surrendered to the Allies on August 15, 1945 which meant that Indonesia was entering a new era in a situation of independence, namely a situation that encouraged the creation of a just and prosperous nation. The Indonesian nation experienced ups and downs due to the situation and developments of the times, one of which was the national tragedy of the G-30-S/PKI (1965), namely the PKI's attempt to establish a communist state in Indonesia, but failed.

This was one of the reasons for the fall of power from President Soekarno into the hands of President Soeharto, which automatically ended the Old Order period and turned into the New Order. In its development, the New Order era was tainted by increasingly rampant acts of corruption, collusion and nepotism. As a result, various demands and demonstrations erupted everywhere. The climax occurred on 16, 17 and 18 May 1998 when mass riots occurred in various cities in Indonesia.

This situation eased after President Soeharto resigned from office on May 21, 1998. Since then the New Order period ended, after +32 years of dominating the government system. Since then our nation has entered the era of reform, in which the order of life is sought to achieve a just and prosperous civil society in accordance with national development goals.

The development of Indonesian history should be arranged based on sequences of events from the past to the present, so that the chronology of Indonesian history can be clearly understood. Chronology is the only objective norm that must be considered in compiling historical chronology.

3. Chronicles in historical science

Chronicles are chronological facts that provide materials for researchers to obtain interrelated interpretations. The chronicle in this case is a list of year numbers with a statement of events. Historians will receive historical sources, such as inscriptions, manuscripts, records, fossils, artifacts, stone tools, statues which will be scientifically examined using certain tools and chemicals to determine their authenticity. From this data, it will become history after it is properly arranged to become a story.

Chronicles can be used as historical sources of a nation that travelers or priests have passed through. This is because usually the traveler or priest records all the events that have happened and seen or experienced in the area/country he has passed or visited. also Indonesia has a good wind to act immediately and proclaim Indonesia's independence.

The stipulation of travelers or priests in an area/country that is traversed has different purposes, some of them stay for a while, some of them stay for so long, so those who stay longer can record the events and life of the people of the archipelago in a record on At that time, therefore, chronicles can become one of the written sources in Indonesia, but it should be remembered that the materials referred to in the chronicles are loose materials, which still need to be harmoniously arranged into a historical story.

That is why many Chinese chronicles write about the existence of the Indonesian kingdom in various aspects, social, economic, political and belief, even the religions adopted by the Indonesian people, for example the religion adopted by the people of Tarumanegara and the Buddhist religion adhered to in Sriwijaya.

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