Knowra Prehistory Prehistory Prehistory is the human past before written records. It is reconstructed from material remains, environmental evidence, and biological traces rather than contemporary texts.
Archaeology : The study of human societies through the recovery and analysis of material remains. Its excavations and artifacts provide the central evidence for periods without texts.
Three-age system : A classification of prehistory into Stone Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age. It divides long sequences by major changes in tool materials.
Göbekli Tepe : A prehistoric monumental site in southeastern Anatolia, built beginning in the tenth millennium BCE. Its stone enclosures complicate simple accounts linking monumental building to farming.
History : The study and account of the human past, often based on written records and other evidence. Its conventional boundary with prehistory begins where written records become available.
Human migration : The movement of people between regions, communities, or habitats. Archaeology and genetics trace migrations long before written accounts.
Paleoanthropology : The study of human evolution through fossils, ancient environments, and archaeological evidence. Fossils and ancient environments extend prehistory beyond surviving artifacts.
Stone Age : The broad prehistoric period characterized by stone tools, preceding widespread metalworking. It covers the earliest and longest portion of many regional prehistories.
Çatalhöyük : A large Neolithic settlement in Anatolia, occupied from about 7100 to 6000 BCE. Its houses and wall paintings preserve evidence of settled community life.
Protohistory : A period known partly from written accounts by neighboring literate societies, alongside archaeological evidence. It occupies a boundary zone where texts exist but do not come from the society studied.
Neolithic Revolution : The transition in several regions from foraging toward food production and more settled life. It transformed subsistence and settlement across many prehistoric societies.
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