For some reason, the mention of prehistory brought Manfred Klein's vast array of stuff to mind. Dunno why... *tries to look innocent and saint-like*

Prehistory is kind of a tough nut. By definition, anything prehistoric predates written records, and so predates any identifiable script. Ignoring this minor detail, one might choose something on the cusp, like cuneiforms, but that choice is historically incorrect and at least a tad intellectually dishonest. So, if you really want to be prehistoric, you might devise rebuses based on cave paintings: that would be stylistically and factually accurate.

And, FWIW: the Modern Age is dead. We're all Postmodern now, hurling headlong into the Future…

1: Lithos
2: Trajan
3. Blackletter
4. Didone

1. Neuland
2. Trajan
3. A Unical
4. Helvetica

Will this be for body copy or just headlines / display use?

Also, since 3 is mediaeval, is 4 'modern' the end of the middle ages and renaissance onwards?

Thanks everybody for your contributions, much appreciated.

Sko - yes, it's just for main titles. For body copy I will use the same font across the 4 sections.
Section 4, "Modern Age", describes the historical timeline after the Middle Ages, including also the contemporary history and historic events that are immediately relevant to the present time.

I am still exploring but so far I am trying to adopt a different style per each section:

1- Prehistory: Handwriting
2- Civilization: Calligraphy
3- Middle Ages: Serif
4- Modern Age: San Serif

/or

1- Prehistory: Script
2- Civilization: Slab serif (or Egyptian)
3- Middle Ages: Blackletter (Based on Gothic type and late mediaeval calligraphy)
4- Modern Age: Serif

any opinions?

Cheers

If Modern is post Middle ages, I would personally choose a serif (something like a Caslon perhaps, which is bang in the middle of the eras the section represents).

Egyptians are rather 1800s rather than the ancients. What do you mean by Calligraphy? If it's something like a Chancery script I wouldn't put it with ancients either. Trajan says 'Ancient Rome' though if there are any suitable roman rustic style lettering might be more interesting?

IMO, both handwriting and script would be poor choices for Prehistory. What we normally identify as the initial forays into writing—cuneiforms and hieroglyphics—were rigidly formal and, initially, also limited in their use to an educated elite class, whether administrative or executive. Scripts tend to reflect a democratization of the process. IMO…

If your intended audience is ghe general public, then I wouldn't bother trying for authenticity, but instead would cater to what would immediately give the desired impression; particularly if only used for major section headings.

Prehistory: The Jurassic Park title font (Africa, others)
A Flintstones/Bedrock/ style face

Civilization: Roman (a la Trajan or a 3D-incised face)
Faux Greek

Middle Ages/Medieval: Blackletter or Uncial

Modern: Some current Sci-Fi-ish face

- Herb

Cave paintings are the earliest artwork that has survived, but probably long before cave paintings were simple symbols made with a finger or stick in the dirt to mark a spot, indicate direction of travel, etc.