What does the term "prehistory" mean?
Q: What does the term "prehistory" mean?
A: Prehistory is the time before people began to write. It is usually used to refer to the period from 4.5 billion BC – 3000 BC, roughly speaking, the Neolithic.
Q: Who first used the French word Préhistorique?
A: Paul Tournal first used the French word Préhistorique.
Q: How did prehistoric people live?
A: In the more ancient stone age pre-history, people lived in tribes and lived in caves or tents made from animal skin. They had simple tools made from wood and bones, and cutting tools from stone such as flint which they used to hunt and make simple things. They also made fire for cooking and warmth, and clothing out of animal skins.
Q: What are some important sciences that help us learn about pre-history?
A: Some important sciences that are used to find out more about pre-history are palaeontology, astronomy, biology, geology, anthropology, and archaeology. Archaeologists study things left over from prehistory while anthropologists study traces of human behavior to learn what people were doing and why.
Q: When did history start?
A: After people started recording events by drawing symbols (called pictographs) or writing down information it became much easier to tell what happened so history started at this point in time when records were kept safe or found later on. This varies depending on when different places began writing down their records but generally dates back around 3200 BC in Ancient Egypt for example.
Q: What led to more complex civilizations during pre-historic times?
A: Society started when people began doing specialized jobs which is called division of labour - this made people depend on one another leading to more complex civilizations during prehistoric times.
