preliterate

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

This is not to say that there isn’t anything valuable to be found in the oral histories of preliterate societies, or in prehistoric cave paintings and archaeological artifacts.

From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023

Myths themselves commonly embody the religious beliefs of ancient or preliterate peoples, but Philip Ball suggests that we are still generating them.

From Washington Post • Aug. 18, 2021

The most puzzling part of the whole civilisation-to-the-rescue proposal is that whenever modern-day explorers have encountered preliterate people, the violent ones have invariably been the explorers.

From The Guardian • Mar. 12, 2019

The same gestures can be identified as prideful by 4-year-old children, and by people in preliterate societies throughout the world.

From Slate • Apr. 3, 2015

While all those types of information were also transmitted by other means in preliterate societies, writing made the transmission easier, more detailed, more accurate, and more persuasive.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond