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~50,000 BCE to 4000 BCE

Prehistory

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Prehistory: Stories before 4000 BCE

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PREHISTORY
Featured Story
Updated This Week
Critical Thinking
Story
7000 BCE
Neolithic Symbols: China
7000-6001 BCE
Journalism
A healthy society needs more than opinions. It needs people and institutions willing to ask hard questions, verify claims, and document events while they are still unfolding. That is the strength of journalism. At its best, it does not merely pass along claims. It tests them in public. Think well by respecting journalism most when it shows its sources, checks its facts, and corrects its errors.
Featured QUOTE
History
Quote
“Natural selection acts solely by the preservation and accumulation of small inherited modifications, each profitable to the preserved being.”
Evolution
Evolution is not about desire, nor is it a contest of strength, or intellect. It’s about reproductive success. The individuals, and species, that possess traits best suited for the current environment are more likely to survive, and to pass on those traits. Over millennia, these traits accumulate, leading to races, sub-species, and eventually separate species unable to interbreed.
Featured FAQ
Updated This Week
Critical Thinking
FAQ
What is the difference between anthropology and paleontology?
Philosophy of Science
Anthropology studies humans and their cultures, paleontology uncovers ancient life through fossils, and archaeology explores past human societies through material remains—all piecing together the story of life and humanity.
Prehistory
The last period of the paleolithic.
50,000 BCE to 4000 BCE

Prehistory begins when our current cognitive abilities had largely settled, around 50,000 BCE—a date that will move as science refines our understanding. This period tells the early modern human story before written records. It ends at 4000 BCE, a deliberate marker placed near the midpoint of major creation narratives, separating mythic origin stories from recorded history.

Deep-Dive Articles
Ancient HumansPhilosophy of HistoryPrehistory

Holistic Paleolithic Framework: A New Look at Prehistory

A new look at dividing up the paleolithic era switches from lower, middle, and upper to Stone, Fire, Cultural, Symbolic, Cognitive, and prehistory ending specifically at 4,000 BCE.
Ancient HumansPhilosophy of MindPrehistory

The Evolution of Vocabulary in Ancient Humans

The evolution of language is the evolution of communication. From touch which evolved about 800 million years ago to human words. Along the journey, communication included things like gestures, postures, and grunts.
Ancient Humans

The Evolution of Vocabulary in Ancient Humans

The evolution of language is the evolution of communication. From touch which evolved about 800 million years ago to human words. Along the journey, communication ...
Ancient Humans

Dawn of Humanity: Sapiens in Their First Millennia

Our first 1,000 years as Homo sapiens were not crude half-humans waiting to become us. From the beginning, we were already remarkably capable, adaptable people ...
Ancient Humans

Human Extinction: A New Look From Homo habilis to the Neanderthals

Human extinction is not the story of one straight line leading neatly to us. It is the story of many ancient human species living at ...
Must-Reads
Ancient Humans

The Evolution of Vocabulary in Ancient Humans

The evolution of language is the evolution of communication. From touch which evolved about 800 million years ago to human words. Along the journey, communication ...
Ancient Humans

Neanderthal Clue: Reassessing Intelligence Beyond Human Bias

Neanderthals were not dim, brutish failures of human evolution. Growing evidence shows they were intelligent ancient humans with symbolic thought, culture, and abilities that challenge ...
New Ideas
Ancient Humans

Holistic Paleolithic Framework: A New Look at Prehistory

A new look at dividing up the paleolithic era switches from lower, middle, and upper to Stone, Fire, Cultural, Symbolic, Cognitive, and prehistory ending specifically ...
Ancient Humans

EQ: The Story of Ancient Human Brains

Ancient human brains evolved gradually over millions of years, with important bursts of change, producing minds that were often far more capable than traditional stories ...
Updated Articles
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