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Prehistory
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For a timeline of events in the early history of the universe and prehistoric Earth, see Timeline of prehistory.

Göbekli Tepe, in southeast Turkey, erected by early Neolithic people 11,000 years ago. Human history and prehistory | ↑ before Homo (Pliocene epoch) | Prehistory
(three-age system) | Stone AgeLower Paleolithic * Homo * Homo erectusMiddle Paleolithic Early Homo sapiensUpper Paleolithic Behavioral modernityNeolithic Cradle of civilizationBronze Age * China * Europe * India * Near EastIron AgeBronze Age collapse * China * Europe * India * Japan * Korea * Near East * Nigeria | Recorded history | Ancient historyEarliest recordsPostclassical eraModern history * Early * Later * Contemporary | ↓ Future | * v * t * e |
Prehistory means literally "before history", from the Latin word for "before," præ, and historia. Human prehistory is the span of time since behaviorally and anatomically modern humans first appear, and until the appearance of recorded history following the invention of writing systems. Since both the time of settlement of modern humans, and the evolution of human civilisations, differ from region to region, prehistory starts and ends at different moments in time, depending on the region concerned. Sumeria in Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt were the first civilisations to develop their own scripts, and to keep historical records; this took place already during the early Bronze Age. The neighbouring civilisations of the Ancient Middle East were the first to follow. Most other civilisations reached the end of prehistory during the Iron Age.[citation needed]
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efinition: different approaches[edit]
Prehistory refers to the period of human existence before the availability of those written records with which recorded history begins.[1]More broadly, it can refer to all the time preceding human existence and the invention of writing.
The notion of "prehistory" began to surface during the Enlightenment in the work of antiquarians who used the word 'primitive' to describe societies that existed before written records.[2] The first use of the word prehistory in English, however, occurred in the Foreign Quarterly Review in 1836.[3]
The term "prehistory" can refer to the vast span of time since the beginning of the Universe, but more often it refers to the period sincelife appeared on Earth, or even more specifically to the time since human-like beings appeared.[4][5] In dividing up human prehistory, historians typically use the three-age system, whereas scholars of pre-human time periods typically use the well-defined geologic recordand its internationally defined stratum base within the geologic time scale. The three-age system is the periodization of human prehistory into three consecutive time periods, named for their respective predominant tool-making technologies: the Stone Age, Bronze Age, andIron Age. This system emerged during the late nineteenth century in the work of British, German and Scandinavian archeologists, antiquarians and anthropologists.[6] Another division of history and prehistory can be made between those written events that can be precisely dated by use of a continuous calendar dating from current and those that can't. The loss of continuity of calendar date most often occurs when a civilization falls and the language and calendar fall into disuse. The current civilization therefore loses the ability to precisely date events written through primary sources to events dated to current calendar dating.[original research?]
The occurrence of written materials (and so the beginning of local "historic times") varies generally to cultures classified within either the late Bronze Age or within the Iron Age. Historians increasingly do not restrict themselves to evidence from written records and are coming to rely more upon evidence from the natural and social sciences, thereby blurring the distinction between the terms "history" and "prehistory".[7][8][9] This view has been articulated by advocates of deep history.
This article is concerned with human prehistory, or the time since behaviorally and anatomically modern humans first appear until the beginning of recorded history. There are separate articles for the overall history of the Earth and the history of life before humans.
By definition, there are no written records from human prehistory, so dating of prehistoric materials is crucial. Clear techniques for dating were not well-developed until the 19th century.[10]
The primary researchers into human prehistory are prehistoric archaeologists and physical anthropologists who use excavation, geologic and geographic surveys, and other scientific analysis to reveal and interpret the nature and behavior of pre-literate and non-literate peoples.[4] Human population geneticists and historical linguists are also providing valuable insight for these questions.[5] Cultural anthropologists help provide context for societal interactions, by which objects of human origin pass among people, allowing an analysis of any article that arises in a human prehistoric context.[5] Therefore, data about prehistory is provided by a wide variety of natural and social sciences, such aspaleontology, biology, archaeology, palynology, geology, archaeoastronomy, comparative linguistics, anthropology, molecular genetics and many others.
Human prehistory differs from history not only in terms of its chronology but in the way it deals with the activities of archaeological cultures rather than named nations orindividuals. Restricted to material processes, remains and artifacts rather than written records, prehistory is anonymous. Because of this, reference terms that prehistorians use, such as Neanderthal or Iron Age are modern labels with definitions sometimes subject to debate.
The date marking the end of prehistory in a particular culture or region, that is, the date when relevant written historical records become a useful academic resource, varies enormously from region to region. For example, in Egypt it is generally accepted that prehistory ended around 3200 BC, whereas in New Guinea the end of the prehistoric era is set much more recently, at around 1900 AD. In Europe the relatively well-documented classical cultures of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome had neighbouring cultures, including the Celts, and to a lesser extent the Etruscans, with little or no writing, and historians must decide how much weight to give to the often highly prejudiced accounts of these "prehistoric" cultures in Greek and Roman literature.