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.

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;
• and the Iron Age.

Civilizations and peoples

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

• Alans
• Bulgars
• Celts or Gauls
• Dacians
• Germans
• Helvetii
• Huns
• Magyars
• Numidians
• Parthians
• Sarmatians
• Scythians
• Slavs
• Thracians

See also

• Ancient history
• Protohistoric archaeology

Frühgeschichte Prahistorio | Protohistoire | Ókori történelem | Protogeschicht | Historia starożytna | Proto-História | Древний мир | 古代史

Prehistory