History And Prehistory

Generally definition limits and enlightens the scope of the history subject. It sets its boundaries and distinguishes it from other disciplines. In the case of history many definitions have been given by many scholars and men of letters. Although there are numerous definitions of history, the ultimate definition of history is yet to be arrived. Perhaps can never be, the Greeks were the pioneers in defining history. The origin of the word "history" can be traced back to the Greek word 'istoria' meaning 'inquiry' or research or 'knowledge obtained as a result of inquiry'. From the Greeks the Romans came to know the meaning of history. It was then transmitted to the other world languages and assumed greater importance.

In the middle of the 5th century B.C., Herodotus 'The father of History' wrote his monumental work on the wars between the Greeks and the Persians. He called it the "Histories of Herodotus". By this he meant simply the results of his inquiries or researches into the events of the Graeco-Persian war and the events leading up to it.

Oionysius of Halicarnassus was one of the earliest to speak of the essential function of History. He said "History is Philosophy drawn from examples". Of course, by 'example' he meant real ones from life.

Prehistory is derived from the Latin word “Prae”, which means before and Greek word “istoria” which means history, is the period before the recorded history.  The term anté-historique was actually coined by Paul Tournal, in describing the finds which he had made in the caves of the southern France.   In 1830,s it came into use in the France in order to describe writing and the term “prehistoric” which was introduced by Daniel Wilson into English in the year 1851.

Questionnaire:

• What is history?
• What is prehistory?
• Who coined the term prehistoric?