We can consider the concept of prehistory the time that precedes the historical records, that is, before the emergence and development of writing. Some historians criticize this term, because in their view there is no precedence to the history of the world or man, and this is prior to writing.
History as a science, is supported by many other sciences in order to seek a greater understanding about the issues related to the evolution of man, one of these sciences is biology that helps us to rationally understand the emergence and evolution of man on the face of the earth. Among all the scientists who aimed to understand this evolution, the English biologist Charles Darwin stands out, who elaborated the theory of the “evolution of species”.
According to this theory, all beings that exist and that existed on earth are the result of numerous changes suffered over time, the result of two factors that Darwin highlights as being fundamental for the evolution of beings: Mutation and natural selection. If, as Darwin defends, all beings evolve, man would be no exception, going through various stages of development and adapting to the circumstances and realities that appeared on the way. According to the traditional foundations of science, human evolution has been divided into:
Australopithecus: Its name means southern monkey, as its bone was confused with that of an ape, but it was found that the fossil had hominid characteristics; semi-upright biped, height between 1m and 1.5m, hands free that allowed them to use objects.
Homo Habilis: With arms somewhat disproportionate to the size of the rest of its body, Homo Habilis had a much smaller cranial cavity than its ancestors. Its name derives from the conception that according to some scholars, this distant relative was the first to make stone and wood tools labeling him as being skillful.
Homo erectus: Characterized as being the first hominid species to dominate fire. Like the Homo Habilis, they were excellent builders, however, their tools and utensils differed in terms of quality and elaboration; they were much more sophisticated. It is believed that this species that started the migratory process. homo sapiens
Neanderthalensis: They lived approximately 200,000 years ago having evolved from homo erectus by adapting to the cold climate of Europe. They are the first to practice the burial of their dead, they were intelligent and made their tools out of bones, horns and stones; they wore more appropriate clothing and had their own language.
Homo sapiens sapiens: This is what we know as the current human being, has a gestation of nine months intrauterine and is characterized as sapiens because it is a species that uses reasoning to make decisions and not only instincts as its ancestors .
Scholars usually divide Prehistory into 3 distinct periods: the Paleolithic, or the chipped stone age, the Neolithic, or the polished stone age and the age of metals.
Paleolithic: The society was basically composed of nomadic hunter-gatherers, who built their tools using bones, animal horns and stones, it is at this time that fire begins to be manipulated and the first signs of their own language appear.
Neolithic: During this period, man stopped wandering through the regions and started to settle in certain locations, thus dominating the art of agriculture and livestock. Clusters appear in these regions that over time make the population grow, thus resulting in the organization of the division of tasks.
Age of metals: Named like that, because at this time the development of metallurgy begins, bronze, copper and iron began to be used in the manufacture of the most varied and complex objects and tools, making a revolution in primitive society.
Clark, G., & Clark, J. G. D. (1977). World prehistory: in new perspective. Cambridge University Press.
Gamble, Clive. Timewalkers: the prehistory of global colonization. Penguin Books, 1993.
Fiedel, Stuart J. Prehistory of the Americas. Cambridge University Press, 1992.