Prehistory Index

Prehistory Overview

Prehistory studies the human past prior to written documentation through archaeological, anthropological, and material evidence. The field examines technological, social, and cultural development across early human societies from the earliest stone tools through the rise of literate civilizations.

Disciplines

• Bronze Age

  Study societies characterized by bronze metallurgy and early complex civilization.

• Iron Age

  Examine societies marked by iron metallurgy and expanding state systems.

• Mesolithic

  Study transitional hunter-gatherer cultures between Paleolithic and Neolithic periods.

• Neolithic

  Explore the agricultural revolution and emergence of settled societies.

• Paleolithic

  Study earliest human societies and Stone Age hunter-gatherer cultures.