Question

What is the prehistoric period?
A) The period for which written records are available using which we can write history.
B) The period for which no written records are available using which we can write its history.
C) The period after the first AD.
D) The period before the first AD.

Answer 1

Hint: The entire human existence is divided into 5 historical eras, namely Prehistory, Classical era, The Early Modern, Middle Age, and the Modern era. The prehistoric period includes 5 periods, namely Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Iron Age.

Complete answer:
The word ‘History’ is derived from the Greek word – Historia that means “inquiry”, knowledge acquired by investigation, and refers to the study of the past. It is a broad term that relates to past events along with the discovery, collection, organisation, presentation and interpretation of information about these events.

It is classified into Pre-history, Proto-history, and History.
Option A) Historic period starts with the advent of writing. Historians rely on written records and archaeological evidence found at the sites to develop a greater understanding of the history and existence of humans. The sources that help in reconstructing history are Non-Literary sources like coins, inscriptions, archaeological remains, and Literary sources which include religious literature & secular literature. Thus, it is an incorrect option.

Option B) Traditionally Prehistoric period or prehistory refers to the time span prior to recorded history, ending with the invention of writing systems. Scholars define prehistory as events that took place before the existence of written records in a given culture or society. It includes 5 periods, namely Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Iron Age. Thus, it is the correct option.

Option C) A.D. stands for “Anno Domini” which is Latin for “in the year of the lord,” and refers specifically to the birth of Jesus Christ. A.D. 1 is immediately preceded by 1 B.C., with no zero years in between them. B.C. stands for “Before Christ”. What makes this system a little confusing is that in the B.C. era the events are dated in descending order, while the events in the A.D. era happens in ascending order. Thus, it is an incorrect option.

Option D) The period before the first A.D is indicated with B.C. which is Before Christ. This includes all the time period from prehistory to the common era. Therefore, it is a mixture of many historic periods and it cannot be classified as just prehistory. Therefore, this option is incorrect.

Thus, the correct answer is Option B i.e, the Prehistoric period refers to the period for which no written records are available using which we can write its history.

Note: The period between prehistory and history is referred to as the Protohistoric period, during which the development of a culture or organisation had not yet completed but is still mentioned in the written records of literate civilisation. For example, the scripts of the “Indus Valley Civilization'' remains undeciphered, however since its existence is noted in Mesopotamian writing, it is considered to be a part of proto-history.