Protohistory

Protohistory
Protohistory refers to a period between prehistory and history, during which a culture or civilization has not yet
developed writing, but other cultures have already noted its existence in their own writings. For example, in Europe,
the Celts and the Germanic tribes may be considered to have been protohistoric when they began appearing in Greek
and Roman texts.
Protohistoric may also refer to the transition period between the advent of literacy in a society and the writings of the
first historians. The preservation of oral traditions may complicate matters as these can provide a secondary
historical source for even earlier events. Colonial sites involving a literate group and a non-literate group are also
studied as protohistoric situations.
It can also refer to a period in which fragmentary or external historical documents, not necessarily including a
developed writing system, have been found. For instance, the ProtoThree Kingdoms of Korea, the Yayoi[1] and the
Mississippian groups recorded by early European explorers are protohistoric.

Usage of the term

In The Oxford Illustrated History of Prehistoric Europe,[2] an article[3] by Timothy Taylor says,
Because of the existence in some but not all societies of historical writing during the first millennium BC, the period has often been termed
'protohistoric' instead of prehistoric. Of course, the understanding of the past gained through archaeology is broadly different in nature to
understanding derived from historical texts. Having both sorts of evidence is a boon and a challenge.

In the abstract of a later paper on "slavery in the first millennium Aegean, Carpatho-Balkan and Pontic regions",[4]
Taylor, who is primarily an archaeologist, says,
I have taken the rather unusual step of trusting what the classical authors tell us they knew.

For other examples, see also the writings of Brian Fagan on the protohistory of North America[5] and the work of
Muhammed Abdul Nayeem on that of the Arabian Peninsula[6]

Chronology
As with prehistory, determining when a culture may be considered prehistoric or protohistoric is sometimes difficult
for the archaeologist. Data vary considerably from culture to culture, region to region, and even from one system of
reckoning dates to another.
In its simplest form, protohistory follows the same chronology as prehistory, based on the technological
advancement of a particular people with regard to metallurgy:
The Copper Age or Chalcolithic
The Bronze Age
The Iron Age

Protohistory

Civilizations and peoples

The best known protohistoric civilizations and ethnic groups are those for whom the term was originally coined: the
barbarian tribes mentioned by European and Asian writers. Many of these peoples of course also experienced periods
of prehistory and history.

Alans

Numidians

Bulgars

Parthians

Celts or Gauls

Sarmatians

Dacians

Scythians

Germans

Slavs

Huns

Thracians

Kofun

Three Kingdoms of Korea

Magyars

References
[1] Bahn, Paul (ed.) The Penguin Archaeology Guide Penguin Books Ltd (29 Nov 2001) ISBN 978-0-14-029308-1 p. 368

Article Sources and Contributors

Article Sources and Contributors

Protohistory Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=539787614 Contributors: Alfonso Mrquez, Amcaja, Borgx, Brunnock, CRGreathouse, Cyrusc, DerechoReguerraz, Diotti,
Dmitri Lytov, Dougweller, Dulcem, Florian Blaschke, Grafen, Heironymous Rowe, J04n, JLaTondre, Joudnf, Kozuch, Kwamikagami, ML, Marcok, Nigelj, Pequod76, Reddi, RekishiEJ,
Sendelbach, Silentghost, Sperril, Spettro9, VoomZoom, 13 anonymous edits

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