Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (571 page)

Generally referring to the time before written history assists understanding of the past. The term ‘prehistory’ was first introduced into the English language in 1851 by Daniel
WILSON
in the title of his book
The prehistoric annals of Scotland
(London: Macmillan). The French term
préhistorique was in use from the 1830s to refer to the time before the appearance of writing.

 
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An archaeological site dating to the period before literary, historical, archival, or recorded oral documentation for the period of use or the material culture it contains.

 
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Membership organization founded in 1935 devoted entirely to the study of prehistory. The society aims to advance education and promote interest in all branches of prehistory and allied subjects, and to promote the conservation of the archaeological heritage for the benefit of the public. Publications include the
Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society
.

 
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See
PREHISTORIC
.

 
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A nodule of flint, chert, obsidian, or other flakable stone that is deliberately shaped in order to allow the easy production of flakes or blades of a desired shape or size.

 
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A term developed by Kathleen Kenyon during her excavations at Jericho, Israel, and subsequently widely used to refer to the earliest phase of the Neolithic in the Near East when agriculture was practised but pottery was not produced. Kenyon divided the early Jericho pre-pottery Neolithic into two phases: PPNA, broadly 8500–7600 bc, and PPNB, 7600–6000 bc. During the later of these, domesticated animals began to appear. Excavations at ‘Ain Ghazal, Jordan, suggests that a third and final pre-pottery Neolithic can be defined, PPNC, at about 6200–5900 bc.

 
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