Contrary to “defining criteria”, general characteristics of a period can be documented as part of their description. General characteristics are not part of period definition because they cannot change or determine the existence and the identity of a period. There are types of charact eristics, such as technological activities, social-political structures, economy and trading, history of war activities (and sequences/results), patterns of settlements and belief systems, generally different aspects of material culture. They do not define, but simply describe, and interpret a period. They are cultural activities that develop and vary during time- cultural phases, products of past human