prehistory
Americannoun
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human history in the period before recorded events, known mainly through archaeological discoveries, study, research, etc.; history of prehistoric humans.
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a history of the events or incidents leading to a crisis, situation, or the like.
noun
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the prehistoric period
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the study of this period, relying entirely on archaeological evidence
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of prehistory
Explanation
Prehistory refers to the period of time before civilization and writing. We don't know a lot about prehistory. Since pre means "before," and history is the record of human events, prehistory refers to the time before human civilization developed and started writing things down. Scientists often speculate about what happened in prehistory, which is also known as prehistoric times. When did spoken language develop? What was the first tool? What were families like? Scientists study fossils and artifacts to help them theorize about prehistory, because people weren’t writing things down during that time.
Vocabulary lists containing prehistory
The Origins of Civilization, Lessons 1–2
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The Stone Age - Middle School and High School
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: pre-
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A study published in the Journal of World Prehistory suggests that some of the earliest known images of plants created by humans served a deeper purpose than decoration.
From Science Daily • Dec. 16, 2025
During their research at the city’s Museum of Prehistory and Early History, scientists examined 1,135 skulls.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 18, 2023
A master fundraiser, Leakey raised money for a proper research museum and Institute of African Prehistory.
From Science Magazine • Jan. 2, 2022
It belongs to Germany's State Museum of Prehistory in Halle but is being loaned to the British Museum - the first time it has been loaned abroad in 15 years.
From BBC • Oct. 17, 2021
Prehistory was a phase of evolution during which humans learned how to maintain themselves against a hostile environment.
From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
