protohistory: Meaning and Definition of

pro•to•his•to•ry

Pronunciation: (prō"tō-his'tu-rē, -his'trē), [key]
— pl. -ries.
  1. a branch of study concerned with the transition period between prehistory and the earliest recorded history.
  2. the period in a culture immediately before its recorded history begins.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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