Short answers, pulled from the story.
Prehistory begins with the first use of stone tools by hominins millions of years ago and ends when writing systems appear. In Egypt, this span ended around 3100 BCE while in New Guinea it lasted until the 1870s.
Russian anthropologist Nicholai Miklukho-Maklai documented native life in New Guinea until the 1870s. This documentation marked the end of prehistory for that specific region compared to earlier dates elsewhere on Earth.
Homo sapiens originated approximately 300,000 years ago ushering in the Middle Paleolithic period. Genetic markers like M130 on the Y chromosome indicate a single population migration out of Africa between 80,000 and 50,000 years ago.
Farming began in the Neolithic period starting around 10,200 BCE in parts of the Middle East. Figs of a parthenocarpic type were cultivated in Gilgal I village located 13 km north of Jericho before wheat or barley domestication.
Radiocarbon dating allows researchers to assign ages to organic materials up to about 50,000 years old. Genetic analysis of ancient bones reveals kinship patterns and physical traits of long-dead populations while forensic chemical studies identify where raw materials originated.