pre·his·to·ry 
(prē-hĭstə-rē)
(prē-hĭstə-rē)n. pl. pre·his·to·ries
1. History of humankind in the period before recorded history.
2. The circumstances or developments leading up to or surrounding an event or situation; background: "[He] then told me the curious prehistory of his obsessive interest in the seduction theory" (Janet Malcolm).
pre′his·tori·an (-hĭ-stôrē-ən, -stŏr-) n.