Prehistory is the period of the human past before writing was invented. The word means "before history" — but it does not mean nothing happened. It simply means there are no written records from that time to read. History in the usual sense begins when people started to keep written records, but prehistory came long before that and lasted far longer. During prehistory people lived, moved, made tools and slowly changed their way of life, even though they left us no words to read.
How we learn about it
Because there are no books or documents, we learn about prehistory through archaeology — the study of the things people left behind. Historians and archaeologists dig up artefacts such as stone tools, bones, pottery and cave paintings at old sites. These objects are primary sources that tell us how people lived long ago.
Divided into stages
Prehistory is so long that it is divided into stages, named after the tools people used:
- Palaeolithic (Old Stone Age) — rough stone tools; hunting and gathering.
- Neolithic (New Stone Age) — polished stone tools; farming and settlements.
- Metal Age — tools and weapons made of metal.
Key idea
Prehistory is the time before writing. We learn about it not from written records but from artefacts found by archaeology.
Remember
- Prehistory = the past before writing.
- We study it through archaeology and artefacts.
- Stages: Palaeolithic, Neolithic, Metal Age.