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Prehistory
*** Shopping-Tip: Prehistory
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'''Prehistory''' (
Greek language Greek words ''Ï€Ï?ο'' = before and ''ιστοÏ?ία'' = history) is a term usually used to describe the period before written
history became available.
Paul Tournal originally coined the term ''Pré-historique'' in describing the finds he had made in the caves of
southern France, and was used in
French language French since the
1830s to describe the time before writing, then introduced into
English language English by
Daniel Wilson in
1851.
The term became less meaningful in the
20th century as the boundary between history (strictly the written record) and other disciplines became less rigid and defined. Indeed today most
historians rely on evidence from multiple sources, and the notion of limiting historical study to a 5000-year span (out of possibly millions of years of human existence) of only those few world cultures that left written records is no longer taken seriously. For example historians study the
Celts,
African civilizations, and
North American civilizations, whose histories were, until recently, mainly oral--"prehistoric".
Prehistory can be said to date back to the beginning of the
universe itself, although the term is most often used to describe periods when there was
life on
Earth;
dinosaurs can be described as prehistoric animals and
caveman cavemen are described as prehistoric people.
Because, by definition, there are no written records from prehistoric times, the information we know about the time period is informed by the fields of
palaeontology,
astronomy,
biology,
geology,
anthropology,
archaeology, indeed all the natural sciences.
Human prehistory differs from
history not only in terms of
chronology but in the way it deals with the activities of
archaeological cultures rather than named
nations or
individuals. Restricted to material remains rather than written records (and indeed only those remains that have survived), prehistory is anonymous. Because of this, the cultural terms used by prehistorians such as
Neanderthal or
Iron Age are modern, arbitrary labels, the precise definition of which are often subject to discussion and argument.
The date marking the end of prehistory, that is the date when written historical records become a useful academic resource, varies from region to region. In
Egypt it is generally accepted that prehistory ended around
3500 BC whereas in
New Guinea the end of the prehistoric era is set much more recently,
1900 AD 1900.
Age systems
Until the arrival of humans, a
geologic time scale defines periods in prehistory. Archaeology has augmented this record and provided more precise divisions during later, human, prehistory.
Human prehistory in the
Old World is often subdivided by the
three-age system. This system of classifying human prehistory creates three consecutive time periods, named for their respective predominant tool-making technologies. In the
New World other naming schemes have been defined such as that listed in
Archeology of the Americas.
These very general systems of dividing up prehistory are being found to be increasingly inapplicable as archaeological discoveries suggest a much more complex view of prehistory.
See also
*
Prehistoric art
*
Prehistoric life
*
Prehistoric music
*
Prehistoric warfare
*
Periodization
*
Archaeology
External links
*The Neanderthal site at [http://www.geocities.com/patrickbringmans/veldwezelt-hezerwater.html Veldwezelt-Hezerwater], Belgium
-
North Pacific Prehistory is an academic journal specialising in Northeast Asian and North American archaeology.
Category:Prehistory
Category:Periods and stages in archaeology
Category:Anthropology
ast:Prehistoria
bn:প�রাক-ইতিহাস
br:Ragistor
ca:Prehistòria
cs:Pravěk
da:Menneskets urhistorie og forhistorie
de:Vorgeschichte
et:Esiaeg
es:Prehistoria
eo:Prahistorio
fr:Préhistoire
ko:ì„ ì‚¬ì‹œëŒ€
ku:Pêşdîrok
id:Prasejarah
it:Preistoria
he:פרהיסטוריה
lv:Aizvēsture
lb:Virgeschicht
hu:Å?skor
nl:Prehistorie
ja:先�時代
no:Oldtiden
pl:Prehistoria
pt:Pré-história
ru:Древний мир
su:Prasajarah
ta:தொல� பழங�காலம�
th:ยุคà¸?่à¸à¸™à¸›à¸£à¸°à¸§à¸±à¸•à¸´à¸¨à¸²à¸ªà¸•à¸£à¹Œ
tr:Prehistorya
zh:���
{{Catmore}}
Category:History by period
Category:Periods and stages in archaeology
Category:Anthropology
ca:Categoria:Prehistòria
cs:Kategorie:Pravěk
da:Kategori:Urhistorie og forhistorie
de:Kategorie:Ur- und Frühgeschichte
eo:Kategorio:Prahistorio
es:CategorÃa:Prehistoria
fi:Luokka:Esihistoria
fr:Catégorie:Préhistoire
it:Categoria:Preistoria
ko:분류:ì„ ì‚¬ 시대
ja:Category:先�時代
nl:Categorie:Prehistorie
pt:Categoria:Pré-história
sl:Kategorija:Prazgodovina
zh:Category:���
*** Shopping-Tip: Prehistory
