What does “prehistoric” mean?
“Prehistoric” refers to the very long span of human history before (“pre”) written records were kept. Some Native Americans and archeologists prefer the term “precontact” to describe the 1000’s of years of Native American history prior to contact with Europeans. However, the terms “prehistoric” and “precontact” are interchangeable and using one or the other is a personal preference. Sites that pertain to the “historic period” refer to those that date after 1609, often described in Vermont as the beginning of recorded history when Samuel de Champlain explored and wrote about the lake he named after himself.
