dávnovek

Dávnovek is a term used in Czech and Slovak to refer to the distant past, generally translated as antiquity or the age of antiquity. The word combines dávno (long ago) with vek (age), reflecting its meaning as an era long past.

In historical and archaeological writing, dávnovek covers periods before the Middle Ages. In practice, it can include both prehistoric eras—such as the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, and the Bronze and Iron Ages—and, in some contexts, classical antiquity as well as other ancient civilizations, depending on national tradition and scholarly convention.

The exact start and end points vary by country and field; some definitions place the end of dávnovek at the transition to the medieval period, while others extend it into the early medieval era.

In education and popular history, the term is used to frame discussions of early human societies, technologies, settlement patterns, and state formation before medieval Europe.

See also: Prehistory, Antiquity, Bronze Age, Iron Age, Classical antiquity, Middle Ages.