Claim: The Anupiṭaka, the extra-canonical Pāli literature of Buddhism, falls into three historical periods (classical, commentarial and modern) beginning from about the 3rd century BC.
Evidence: The Anupitaka (Pāli, literally, meaning "after piṭaka") is the collected non-canonical or extra-canonical Pāli literature of Buddhism. The non-canonical or extra-canonical Pāli literature can be regarded as falling into three historical periods. The first ("classical") period stretches from about the 3rd century BC to about the 5th century AD. The second ("commentarial") period extends from the 5th century to the 11th century, and the third ("modern") period begins with the 12th century.