史前时代是指人类进入文明门槛以前的历史时代。所谓文明,是个相对的概念。美国民族学家摩尔根把人类社会划分为蒙昧时代、野蛮时代、文明时代。文明时代又分为古代文明与现代文明。恩格斯在《家庭、私有制和国家的起源》中沿用了文明时代的概念,强调文明时代的重要标志是国家的产生,文字与金属工具也是文明出现的标志。夏朝是中国可考的第一个国家,夏朝以前的历史即史前时代。史前时代包括旧石器时代和新石器时代,人们不是与青铜、铁器打交道,而是与石器为伍,这是它 Prehistoric era refers to the historical era before humanity entered the threshold of civilization. The so-called civilization is a relative concept. American ethnologist Morgan divided human society into periods of ignorance, barbarism and civilization. Civilization era is divided into ancient civilizations and modern civilization. Engels used the concept of civilized age in “the origins of family, private ownership and state”, emphasized that the important symbol of the civilization era was the emergence of a nation, and the writing and metal tools were also signs of civilization. The Xia Dynasty is the first country China can test, the history before the Xia Dynasty is the prehistoric era. Prehistoric era, including Paleolithic and Neolithic, people do not deal with bronze, iron, but with the stone, which is it