what is history and prehistory?
Answers
Answer:
Prehistory, the vast period of time before written records or human documentation, includes the Neolithic Revolution, Neanderthals and Denisovans, Stonehenge, the Ice Age and more.
History can be generally defined as the past, and how past relates to the human lives. The main difference between history and prehistory is the existence of records; history is the recorded events of the past whereas Prehistory is the time before writing was introduced.
Answer:
The major differences between History vs Prehistory are:
History Prehistory
The study of time period succeeding prehistory is called history The study of the time period preceding history is called prehistory.
History is the study of the past starting from the time period when the writing system was introduced and written records were maintained. Prehistory is the study of the past, even before writing was invented and written records were maintained. It is the study of the time period between the usage of stone tools and the invention of the writing system.
Written records of the past events are the source of information. Artifacts, Carvings on rocks etc are the sources of information while studying prehistory.
Research on History is carried out by historians. Rare manuscripts written on leaves, dried animals skins, and papers are some of the sources used to study history. Research on prehistory is carried out by archaeologists and anthropologists who use excavation, geology, molecular genetics, palaeontology etc. Hence a wide variety of social and natural sciences are used to study prehistory.
Study of History can be classified into different domains like Ancient History, Contemporary History, Modern History, Political History, Military History, Cultural History, Economic History, Environmental History, History based on different Geographical locations, People’s history, Intellectual history etc. Prehistory studies 3 different time periods – stone age, bronze age and iron age.