prehistory

Everyday

1. The very long time in the past before people wrote things down, so we learn about it from things they left behind, like tools, bones and cave paintings. tree →
2. The early beginnings of something: the prehistory of computers. tree →

In the lessons

In history lessons (especially the UK primary curriculum): the Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age are prehistory. Archaeologists study prehistory through Stonehenge, Skara Brae, flint tools and cave art. Dinosaurs lived long before any humans, in the much older past of the Earth.

Examples

• Stonehenge was built in prehistory. tree →
• We are learning about British prehistory, from the Stone Age to the Iron Age. tree →
• Archaeologists dig up tools to learn about prehistory. tree →
• Cave paintings tell us about life in prehistory. tree →
• Prehistory ended at different times in different places. tree →
• The museum has a gallery on prehistory. tree →

Note

Uncountable. Adjective: prehistoric. Prehistory ends when writing begins, which happened at different times around the world (about 5,000 years ago in Mesopotamia, much later in Britain). Myth: cavemen and dinosaurs did not live at the same time; dinosaurs died out about 66 million years before humans.