Prehistorian

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An expert or scholar who studies human history before written records existed
2. A researcher focused on the analysis of artifacts, fossils, and other evidence from periods prior to documented history
3. A specialist in ancient cultures and civilizations that predate recorded events and texts

Etymology: The word "prehistorian" is a modern formation, built from the prefix "pre-" ("before") and "historian," a person who studies the past through records. It is a compound of the kind English has produced freely, so its history is largely its construction. The "historian" part traces back through Old French "historien" to Latin "historia," which itself came from Greek "historia," meaning inquiry or knowledge gained by investigation. The prefix does the key work. Because "historian" presupposes written sources, adding "pre-" marks the study of periods that left no writing behind. This is why the term is closely tied to archaeology and the study of early human societies, and why it sits in tension with the older word "historian," which by definition depends on documents.

Synonyms: archaeologist, anthropologist, historian, paleontologist, researcher