PREHISTORY
prehistory, prehistoric culture
(noun) the time during the development of human culture before the appearance of the written word
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
prehistory (countable and uncountable, plural prehistories)
(properly) History before written records, inclusive of both
The time before written records in any area of the world; the events and conditions of those times.
The study of those times.
(jocular, hyperbole) Any past time (even recent) treated as such a distant, unknowable era.
(often as pre-history) The history leading up to some event, condition, etc.
Synonyms
• (time before written records): prehistoric age, prehistoric times
Antonyms
• posthistory
Source: Wiktionary