When did prehistoric times begin?

Answer 1

It is a period of time when written histories were not yet being made. An example would be 10,000 years ago. There are basically no documents surviving from that far back in time; it would therefor be considered prehistoric.

Answer 2

The period of "recorded history" (concurrent mostly with "written history") is only about 6000 to 7000 years (to 4000-5000 BC). So "prehistory" would stretch about 190,000 to 200,000 years for Homo sapiens, and even longer for his predecessors including Homo erectus, among the first to use fire.

The term "prehistoric" in some cases can refer farther back, to the period before any humans, or even any mammals, existed on Earth.

Answer 3

Prehistory is any time before writing began about 6,000 years ago. Hence, prehistory began 13.8 billion years ago, with the Big Bang.

Answer 4

approximately 5,500 years ago