Prehistory

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Human history
and prehistory
↑ before Homo   (Pliocene epoch)
Prehistory
Stone Age
Lower Paleolithic
Middle Paleolithic
Early Homo sapiens
Upper Paleolithic
Behavioral modernity
Neolithic
Cradle of civilization
Protohistory
Copper Age
Bronze Age
Bronze Age collapse
Iron Age
Recorded history
Ancient history
Post-classical history
Modern history
↓ Future   (Holocene epoch)

Prehistory, also called pre-literary history,

hominins c. 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems
. The use of symbols, marks, and images appears very early among humans, but the earliest known writing systems appeared c. 5,200 years ago. It took thousands of years for writing systems to be widely adopted, with writing spreading to almost all cultures by the 19th century. The end of prehistory therefore came at different times in different places, and the term is less often used in discussing societies where prehistory ended relatively recently.

In the early Bronze Age, Sumer in Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley Civilisation, and ancient Egypt were the first civilizations to develop their own scripts and keep historical records, with their neighbours following. Most other civilizations reached their end of prehistory during the following Iron Age. The three-age division of prehistory into Stone Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age remains in use for much of Eurasia and North Africa, but is not generally used in those parts of the world where the working of hard metals arrived abruptly from contact with Eurasian cultures, such as Oceania, Australasia, much of Sub-Saharan Africa, and parts of the Americas. With some exceptions in pre-Columbian civilizations in the Americas, these areas did not develop complex writing systems before the arrival of Eurasians, so their prehistory reaches into relatively recent periods; for example, 1788 is usually taken as the end of the prehistory of Australia.

The period when a culture is written about by others, but has not developed its own writing system is often known as the protohistory of the culture. By definition,[2] there are no written records from human prehistory, which can only be known from material archaeological and anthropological evidence: prehistoric materials and human remains. These were at first understood by the collection of folklore and by analogy with pre-literate societies observed in modern times. The key step to understanding prehistoric evidence is dating, and reliable dating techniques have developed steadily since the nineteenth century.[3] Further evidence has come from the reconstruction of ancient spoken languages. More recent techniques include forensic chemical analysis to reveal the use and provenance of materials, and genetic analysis of bones to determine kinship and physical characteristics of prehistoric peoples.

Definition

Massive stone pillars at Göbekli Tepe, in southeast Turkey, erected for ritual use by early Neolithic people 11,000 years ago
An early sketch imagining an adult and a juvenile from prehistoric times making a stone tool
A nineteenth century concept of early humans in a wilderness

Beginning and end

The beginning of prehistory is normally taken to be marked by human-like beings appearing on Earth.

written historical record.[6][7]

Both dates consequently vary widely from region to region. For example, in

Nicholai Miklukho-Maklai spent several years living among native peoples, and described their way of life in a comprehensive treatise. In Europe the relatively well-documented classical cultures of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome had neighbouring cultures, including the Celts[10] and the Etruscans, with little writing.[11] Historians debate how much weight to give to the sometimes biased accounts in Greek and Roman literature, of these protohistoric cultures.[10]


Time periods

Main articles: Three-age system and Geologic time scale

In dividing up human prehistory in Eurasia, historians typically use the three-age system, whereas scholars of pre-human time periods typically use the

time periods, named for their predominant tool-making technologies: Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age.[12] In some areas, there is also a transition period between Stone Age and Bronze Age, the Chalcolithic or Copper Age.[13]

For the prehistory of the Americas see Pre-Columbian era.

History of the term

The notion of "prehistory" emerged during the Enlightenment in the work of antiquarians who used the word "primitive" to describe societies that existed before written records.[14] The word "prehistory" first appeared in English in 1836 in the Foreign Quarterly Review.[15]

The geologic time scale for pre-human time periods, and the three-age system for human prehistory, were systematized during the late nineteenth century in the work of British, German, and Scandinavian anthropologists, archeologists, and antiquarians.[12]

Means of research

The main source of information for prehistory is archaeology (a branch of anthropology), but some scholars are beginning to make more use of evidence from the natural and social sciences.[16][17][18]

The primary researchers into human prehistory are archaeologists and

physical anthropology
, 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 or individuals. Restricted to material processes, remains, and artefacts 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.

Stone Age

Main article: Stone Age

The concept of a "Stone Age" is found useful in the archaeology of most of the world, although in the archaeology of the Americas it is called by different names and begins with a Lithic stage, or sometimes Paleo-Indian. The sub-divisions described below are used for Eurasia, and not consistently across the whole area.

Palaeolithic

millennia
before the present (its accuracy is disputed)

"Palaeolithic" means "Old Stone Age", and begins with the first use of stone tools. The Paleolithic is the earliest period of the Stone Age. It extends from the earliest known use of stone tools by hominins c. 3.3 million years ago, to the end of the Pleistocene c. 11,650 BP (before the present period).[19]

The early part of the Palaeolithic is called the

Bnot Ya'akov Bridge, Israel. The use of fire enabled early humans to cook food, provide warmth, have a light source, deter animals at night and meditate.[22][23]

music, prehistoric art
, and the use of increasingly sophisticated multi-part tools are highlights of the Middle Paleolithic.

The Upper Paleolithic extends from 50,000 and 12,000 years ago, with the first organized settlements and blossoming of artistic work.

Throughout the Palaeolithic, humans generally lived as

songlines.[29]

Mesolithic

Dugout canoe

The Mesolithic, or Middle Stone Age (from the Greek mesos, 'middle', and lithos, 'stone'), was a period in the development of human technology between the Palaeolithic and Neolithic.

The Mesolithic period began with the retreat of glaciers at the end of the

glacial impact, the term "Epipalaeolithic" is preferred.[30]

Regions that experienced greater environmental effects as the

Maglemosian and Azilian cultures. These conditions also delayed the coming of the Neolithic until as late as 4000 BCE (6,000 BP
) in northern Europe.

Remains from this period are few and far between, often limited to middens. In forested areas, the first signs of deforestation have been found, although this would only begin in earnest during the Neolithic, when more space was needed for agriculture.

The Mesolithic is characterized in most areas by small composite

Kebaran culture of the Levant
. However, independent discovery is not ruled out.

Neolithic

Entrance to the Ġgantija phase temple complex of Ħaġar Qim, Malta, 3900 BCE[31]
An array of Neolithic artefacts, including bracelets, axe heads, chisels, and polishing tools – Neolithic stone artefacts are by definition polished and, except for specialty items, not chipped

"Neolithic" means "New Stone Age", from about 10,200 BCE in some parts of the Middle East, but later in other parts of the world,

technological and social developments which established most of the basic elements of historical cultures, such as the domestication of crops and animals, and the establishment of permanent settlements and early chiefdoms. The era commenced with the beginning of farming, which produced the "Neolithic Revolution". It ended when metal tools became widespread (in the Copper Age or Bronze Age; or, in some geographical regions, in the Iron Age). The term Neolithic is commonly used in the Old World; its application to cultures in the Americas and Oceania is complicated by the fact standard progression from stone to metal tools, as seen in the Old World, does not neatly apply.[34]

Early Neolithic farming was limited to a narrow range of plants, both wild and domesticated, which included

dogs, sheep, and goats. By about 6,900–6,400 BCE, it included domesticated cattle and pigs, the establishment of permanently or seasonally inhabited settlements, and the use of pottery. The Neolithic period saw the development of early villages, agriculture, animal domestication, tools, and the onset of the earliest recorded incidents of warfare.[35]

The monumental building at Luni sul Mignone in Blera, Italy, 3500 BCE

Settlements became more permanent, some with circular houses made of

ancestor cult with preserved skulls of the dead. The Vinča culture may have created the earliest system of writing.[36] The megalithic temple complexes of Ġgantija are notable for their gigantic structures. Although some late Eurasian Neolithic societies formed complex stratified chiefdoms or even states, states evolved in Eurasia only with the rise of metallurgy, and most Neolithic societies on the whole were relatively simple and egalitarian.[37] Most clothing appears to have been made of animal skins, as indicated by finds of large numbers of bone and antler pins which are ideal for fastening leather. Wool cloth and linen might have become available during the later Neolithic,[38][39] as suggested by finds of perforated stones that (depending on size) may have served as spindle whorls or loom weights.[40][41][42]

Chalcolithic

Main article: Chalcolithic
Iberia

In Old World archaeology, the "Chalcolithic", "Eneolithic", or "Copper Age" refers to a transitional period where early copper metallurgy appeared alongside the widespread use of stone tools. During this period, some weapons and tools were made of copper. This period was still largely Neolithic in character. It is a phase of the Bronze Age before it was discovered that adding tin to copper formed the harder bronze. The Copper Age is seen as a transition period between the Stone Age and Bronze Age.[43]

Negev Desert, Israel

An archaeological site in

4th millennium BCE (the traditional view), although finds from the Vinča culture in Europe have now been securely dated to slightly earlier than those of the Fertile Crescent. Timna Valley contains evidence of copper mining 7,000 years ago.[45] The process of transition from Neolithic to Chalcolithic in the Middle East is characterized in archaeological stone tool assemblages by a decline in high quality raw material procurement and use. North Africa and the Nile Valley imported its iron technology from the Near East and followed the Near Eastern course of Bronze Age and Iron Age
development.

Bronze Age

Main article: Bronze Age
Painting of an ox-drawn plough, accompanied by script, Egypt, c. 1200 BCE

The Bronze Age is the earliest period in which some civilizations reached the end of prehistory, by introducing written records. The Bronze Age, or parts thereof, are thus considered to be part of prehistory only for the regions and civilizations who developed a system of keeping written records during later periods. The invention of writing coincides in some areas with the beginnings of the Bronze Age. After the appearance of writing, people started creating texts including written records of administrative matters.[46]

The Bronze Age refers to a period in human cultural development when the most advanced

Western Asia before 3000 BCE. The Bronze Age forms part of the three-age system for prehistoric societies.[47] In this system, it follows the Neolithic
in some areas of the world.

While copper is a common ore, deposits of tin are rare in the

Indian copper hoards, to European hoards
of unused axe-heads.

By the end of the Bronze Age large states, whose armies imposed themselves on people with a different culture, and are often called empires, had arisen in Egypt, China, Anatolia (the Hittites), and Mesopotamia, all of them literate.

Iron Age

Further information: Protohistory and Ancient history
Main articles: Iron Age and Classical antiquity

The Iron Age is not part of prehistory for all civilizations who had introduced written records during the Bronze Age. Most remaining civilizations did so during the Iron Age, often through conquest by empires, which continued to expand during this period. For example, in most of Europe conquest by the

Gallo-Roman", and similar terms after the conquest. Even before conquest, many areas began to have a protohistory, as they were written about by literate cultures; the protohistory of Ireland
is an example.

In archaeology, the Iron Age refers to the advent of ferrous metallurgy. The adoption of iron coincided with other changes, often including more sophisticated agricultural practices, religious beliefs and artistic styles, which makes the archaeological Iron Age coincide with the "Axial Age" in the history of philosophy. Although iron ore is common, the metalworking techniques necessary to use iron are different from those needed for the metal used earlier, more heat is required.[48] Once the technical challenge had been solved, iron replaced bronze as its higher abundance meant armies could be armed much more easily with iron weapons.[49]

Timeline

Further information: Timeline of human evolution and Timeline of prehistory

All dates are approximate and conjectural, obtained through research in the fields of

Before Common Era
".

Paleolithic

Lower Paleolithic
Middle Paleolithic
Upper Paleolithic

Epipaleolithic

Neolithic

Neolithic migrations in Europe c. 5000–4000 BC. The people of the Proto-Indo-European Sredny Stog culture were the result of a genetic admixture between the Eastern hunter-gatherers and Caucasus hunter-gatherers.

Chalcolithic

  • c. 3,700 BCE – Pictographic proto-writing, known as proto-cuneiform, appears in Sumer, and records begin to be kept. According to the majority of specialists, the first Mesopotamian writing (actually still pictographic proto-writing at this stage) was a tool for record-keeping that had little connection to the spoken language.[72]
  • c. 3,300 BCE – Approximate date of death of "Ötzi the Iceman", found preserved in ice in the Ötztal Alps in 1991. A copper-bladed axe, which is a characteristic technology of this era, was found with the corpse.
  • c. 3,100 BCE – Skara Brae is constructed. This stone-built village consisted of ten clustered houses with stone hearths, beds, cupboards, and an ancient sewer system. This village occupied for 600 years before being abandoned in c. 2,500 BCE.
  • c. 3,000 BCE – Stonehenge construction begins. In its first version, it consisted of a circular ditch and bank, with 56 wooden posts.[73]
  • c. 3,000 BCE – The Yamnaya expansions from the Pontic–Caspian steppe into Europe and Asia. These migrations are thought to have spread Yamnaya Steppe pastoralist ancestry and Indo-European languages across large parts of Eurasia.[74]

By region

Homo sapiens
for the last two million years
Map of Europe during the Würm glaciation 70–20 thousand years ago
Global sea level during the Last Glacial Period
Map of the world in 2000 BC showing the bronze working area
Old World
New World

See also

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External links

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