Prehistory

Prehistory Basics

Human prehistory is a time between when writing systems and the first stone tools were developed by hominids.

The earliest writing systems appeared 5,300 years ago. In some cultures, writing systems were not used until the 19th century.

Full writing systems have been shown to have been invented independently at least 4 times in history.

First in Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq) where cuneiform was used between 3400 and 3300 BC.
Shortly afterwards in Egypt at around 3200 BC.
By 1300 BC we have evidence of a fully operational writing system in late Shang-dynasty China.
And, sometime between 900 and 600 BC writing also appears in the cultures of Mesoamerica.
A Cave Painting from the Lascaux Cave in Southwest France, created 17,000 years ago. avidat found the cave when his dog, Robot, chased a rabbit into a hole.
When the cave was discovered in 1994, many scholars initially assumed that they must have been made around the same time as those at Lascaux, around 17,000 or 21,000 years ago. But the first radiocarbon dates showed that Chauvet Cave had been occupied twice starting about 35,000 years ago.
local
people had been known about the paintings for a long time, but since they were so detailed and in such remarkably pristine condition, everyone assumed the paintings had been made relatively recently. But in 2017, a team of archaeologists discovered a massive 16-foot hunting scene. When the previously unknown scene was dated, it ended up being the oldest painting in the world. The results were published in the well known journal, Nature as the earliest figurative art (anything more than just squiggles and scribbles) known to humanity.
Here's where this cave is located:

Ancient Polynesia

Wade Davis has studied various cultures around the world and has highlighted gifts and talents of each.

Polynesia is a group of islands that make up a nation. In Wade’s book Wayfinders these people sailed the waters 2,500 miles without modern equipment and did this 2000 years.

The sailors travelled in open catamarans, all built with tools made from coral, stone, and human bone. Clouds provide clues to the wayfinder — their shape, color, character, and place in the sky. Brown clouds bring strong winds; high clouds no wind but lots of rain. Their movements reveal the strength and direction of winds, the stability of the sky, the volatility of storm fronts. There is an entire nomenclature to describe the distinct patterns clouds form as they gather over islands or sweep across the open ocean. Clouds help wayfinders by showing wind, weather, and sky conditions. Brown clouds mean strong winds, while high clouds bring rain but no wind. Their movement shows wind direction, sky stability, and storms. Different cloud patterns have names to describe their shapes over islands and the ocean.