1. of, relating to, or existing in a period or culture before the development of writing or written language
Usage: often used in anthropology, linguistics, and history

Examples

• Preliterary societies relied on oral traditions to preserve their history and knowledge.
• Scholars study preliterary cultures through archaeological evidence and anthropological research.
• The preliterary period of human civilization lasted thousands of years before the invention of writing systems.
• Preliterary peoples developed complex social structures and artistic traditions without written records.
• Many preliterary languages were eventually documented by linguists in the modern era.