Prehistory: what it was and what were its stages

We explain what prehistory is and its main characteristics. We also explain its stages, prehistoric art and more.

Prehistory includes the history of humanity prior to the invention of writing.

What is prehistory?

Prehistory is known as the period of history that It spans from the appearance of the first human beings, 2.5 million years ago, to the invention of writing, around 3000 BC. c. This concept belongs to a traditional periodization that divides the history of humanity into different ages (Ancient, Middle, Modern and Contemporary) and considers “prehistoric” all peoples who do not have a writing system.

Prehistory covers the Stone Age and includes the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods. During the Paleolithic period, the process of hominization (the evolution of man) took place and the appearance of the first human beings as we know them today.

The human species expanded across different continents, the first forms of social organization appeared and the first stone-working techniques were developed to create tools.

During the Neolithic period, Some human societies developed agriculture and livestockwhich led to the appearance of the first sedentary settlements and the first more complex forms of social organization.

Specialists no longer use the name “prehistory” to refer to this period, because the term implies that the history of people cannot be known without writing and, therefore, the idea that they are not the object of study by the historians. Currently, historians prefer to use the name “unwritten stage”, since civilizations that did not leave written testimonies are also part of the history of humanity and can be known through various types of sources.

Age of metals. The Age of Metals is a form of historical dating that archaeologists use to chronologically categorize societies that developed complex working techniques to manipulate metals such as copper, bronze, and iron. This ability generated other social, economic and cultural changes, which differentiated them from the rest of contemporary societies.
The Metal Age is only used to describe some societies in Europe, Asia and Africa. The dating overlaps with the Neolithic period of the Stone Age (the last period of prehistory) and the Ancient Age (the first period of “history”).

Features of prehistory

The human evolutionary process is studied from different disciplines on fossil remains and materials.

The main characteristics of human life during prehistory were the evolution of the species, nomadism, the invention of stone tools, the development of different hunting techniques and the appearance of increasingly complex forms of social organization.

• During prehistory, the process of human evolution included biological and cultural changes that led to the emergence of the current human species.
• Different working techniques were developed on natural resources, for the creation of tools, weapons and utensils: wood, stone, bones and metals.
• There was a shift from simple social organizations based on a subsistence economy (nomadism, hunting and gathering) to more complex social organizations linked to a productive economy (sedentary lifestyle, livestock farming and agriculture).

Stages of prehistory

The periods of prehistory are differentiated by the techniques used to work stone.

Prehistory corresponds to the Stone Age, which, in turn, is divided into the Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic periods. These periods are linked to the historical development of each human society, so the temporal division of these stages is not exact.

The main characteristics of these periods are:

• Paleolithic. It corresponds to the oldest stage of prehistory, from approximately 2,500,000 to 35,000 BC. Its name comes from the Greek meaning “ancient stone”. During this period, the process of human evolution took place until the appearance of the human being as we know it. Towards the end of this period, human societies were organized into bands, were nomadic and their economy was based on hunting and gathering.
• Mesolithic. It corresponds to the period that goes from 10,000 to 6,000 BC. It was characterized by advances in the work of polished stone and by the appearance of some changes in the way of hunting and gathering, which allowed the gradual development of the transition from a subsistence economy to an economy of agricultural and livestock production. In addition, the first seasonal settlements appeared during this period.
• Neolithic. It corresponds to the period that goes from 6000 to 3000 BC. It was characterized by the work of molded and polished stone, the advance in agricultural practices and the domestication of some animals. These changes consolidated the sedentary way of life and the appearance of settlements with a larger population. With this process, human organizations became more complex and the first forms of social hierarchy appeared.

Human evolution in prehistory

During the Paleolithic period, the process of human evolution took place (also called the process of hominization) through which the different biological and cultural changes occurred that led to the appearance of the current human being. In a simplified way, the hominization process can be organized into:

• Homo habilis. They are the oldest hominids and date back 2.5 million years. They inhabited Africa, measured 1.40 meters and had a cranial capacity of 700 cm³. They are the genre Homo who developed speech, made the first stone tools and built temporary shelters.
• Homo erectus. They are hominids that migrated through different regions of Africa, Europe, Asia and Oceania. The oldest ones appeared 1.5 million years ago. They reached heights of 1.60 meters and a cranial capacity of 1000 cm³. They learned to hunt small animals and control fire.
• Homo sapiens. The oldest fossil remains of this genus Homo They date back 200,000 years, but it is believed that their evolution from Homo erectus It started 500,000 years ago. They reached a height of 1.70 meters and a cranial capacity of 1500 cm³. Some specialists believe that his intellectual potential was equivalent to that of today’s human being. They developed a complex language, improved their tool-making techniques, and were the first hominids to bury their dead.
• Homo neanderthalensis. These hominids only lived in Europe and Asia and existed between 230,000 and 30,000 years ago. They are currently considered a subspecies of the Homo sapiens and the reasons for their extinction are unknown. In recent times, they coexisted with the Homo sapiens sapiensanother subspecies of the genus Homo.
• Homo sapiens sapiens. It is the species to which modern humans belong. The oldest remains date back 200,000 years. They are the only species of the genus Homo that managed to populate all the continents. They improved hunting techniques, created religious rites and developed complex forms of social organization.

Human life during prehistory

One of the oldest and best preserved permanent settlements is Çatalhöyük, in Türkiye.

During the Paleolithic, hominid and human populations were nomadic. This means that they did not live in a specific place, but rather migrated constantly. They moved in small groups. They had a subsistence economy based on hunting and gathering..

They lived in natural shelters such as caves and also built temporary shelters. Paleolithic humans They created tools from different work techniques on stone, wood and bone.

During the Mesolithic some human societies developed selective hunting and the first agricultural practices. This led to the modification of migration rhythms. The first semi-nomadic societies appeared that built seasonal settlements. This generated a demographic increase, the emergence of larger societies and a more complex social organization.

During the Neolithic Societies that developed agriculture and livestock began to build permanent settlements and turned to a sedentary lifestyle. This led to the development of a productive economy that increased the availability of goods.

During this period demographic density increased and societies were organized in a more complex way, with forms of social hierarchy. The first cities appearedwith constructions made of durable materials and technology for the production and accumulation of goods.

The age of metals

The Age of Metals is a periodization that is used to chronologically date some societies in Europe, Asia and Africa that developed metal manipulation techniques. This periodization overlaps with the Neolithic period (last stage of prehistory) and the Ancient Age (first stage of “history”).

Societies developed metalworking techniques at different times in history, so the chronological division of the Metal Age is a form of relative dating. An absolute periodization is not determined, but rather its different periods are identified in relation to each society.

The Age of Metals is divided into the following stages:

Copper Age

During the Copper Age, some societies…