Definition of "prehistory" [prehistory]

• History of humankind in the period before recorded history. (noun)
• The circumstances or developments leading up to or surrounding a situation, event, or development; background: "[He] then told me the curious prehistory of his obsessive interest in the seduction theory” ( Janet Malcolm). (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "This work looked at periods in prehistory when the Sahara region was green – covered with grassland."
• "A socialistic parable set in prehistory, "The Strength of the Strong" (Hampton's Magazine, March, 1911), was composed in January, 1909, in Tasmania."
• "Born and raised amongst the rich geological history of Ontario, Canada, Laura has held a lifelong interest in prehistory and how past peoples adapted to their environments."