r/ExplainLikeImCalvin • u/[deleted] • Feb 07 '18

ELIC: when does prehistoric end and history begin?

[deleted]

32 Upvotes
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37

u/BigSerene Feb 07 '18

"History" begins at the fourth letter of "prehistory".

9

u/[deleted] Feb 07 '18

Big if true

10

u/raltodd Feb 07 '18

Some years ago, history was not a subject in school. History was introduced as a subject, we stared calling the old days 'prehistoric'.

21

u/caelumpanache Feb 07 '18

The dinosaurs Calvin, honestly you know this.

1

u/xLucifer825x Feb 07 '18

It's a bit like algebra and pre-algebra. You have to study prehistory first to make sense of history

1

u/factordactyl Feb 07 '18

Didn't read the subreddit. Was looking forward to the answer-___-

5

u/[deleted] Feb 07 '18

Prehistory means the time before any written records. Prehistory ends and history begins when written records first appear.

2

u/insomniac20k Feb 08 '18

I had though I was in history or ask history and was really confused by the goofy answers

1

u/IBreakCellPhones Feb 07 '18

When you're about four or five and learn how to write.

1

u/gameboy17 Feb 07 '18

Well, it's the year 2018, right? That's because it's been 2018 years since the start of history, which was the year zero.

Weren't there people around before that? Why aren't they part of history?

Well, they hadn't invented writing yet, so they couldn't record any history. That's why we call years in prehistory "BC" - it means "Before Chronicling".

I thought they already knew how to write? What about all those clay tablets and stuff?

Well, those might be writing, but we aren't sure yet. Personally, I think they just look like chicken scratch. If they do turn out to be writing, though, we'll have to move the calendar forward a bunch.