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Home / Periods / Ancient World / Prehistory

Period

Prehistory

c. 3.3 million BCE–43 CE; ending varies by region

Prehistory covers the immense span of human experience before surviving written records. It includes human evolution, hunter-gatherer societies, changing climates, migrations, early technologies, ritual practices and the gradual development of settled communities.

This umbrella context groups prehistoric fiction without forcing Ice Age environments, archaeological cultures and early human encounters to appear as separate top-level categories. More precise settings remain available as child contexts.

Related people for Prehistory

Boudica30–61 Ötzi3276 BCE–3231 BCE

Series

Series about Prehistory (1 series)

Earth’s Children in Order

by Jean M. Auel 6 books 4.0(675,263)

Earth’s Children follows Ayla, a Cro-Magnon girl raised by Neanderthals, as she moves through Ice Age Europe and encounters communities with different customs, technologies and beliefs. Across six novels, Jean M. Auel combines survival, migration, medicine, hunting and social conflict with a speculative reconstruction of life during the…

Books

30 Best Novels About Prehistory

Non-Fiction

2 Best Non-Fiction Books About Prehistory

Histories, biographies and reference works are listed separately from the historical novels above.