prehistoric age
Before recorded history
Prehistoric age refers to the vast span of human existence before the invention of writing, which marks the beginning of recorded history.
This period encompasses millions of years, from the earliest human ancestors through the development of tools, fire, agriculture, and permanent settlements.
The term is also used more loosely to describe anything extremely old or outdated: His views on women belong to the prehistoric age.
Different regions entered recorded history at different times, so the prehistoric age ended earlier in some places than others.
- early humansAncient ancestral primates
- hominidsHuman-like primate family
- cave dwellersThose residing in caverns
- cave paintingsPrehistoric artwork on stone
- rock artImages on natural stone
stone tools · primitive tools · hunter-gatherers · primitive · fossilized bones · woolly mammoth · saber-toothed tiger · stone · animism · paleolithic · stone circles · petroglyphs · nomadic tribes · oral traditions · Bronze Age · pottery shards · burial mounds · Lascaux
- early historygenesis, origin, beginning, ancient times, bronze age
- historical erasStone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age, Middle Ages, Renaissance
prehistoric agemodern era
Current historical period
modern age · recorded history · modern times · the present · digital age
prehistoric, prehistory, prehistorically, history, historic, historical, historically, historian, historians