Would you have anyway of finding out when "prehistoric" or 
"prehistory" or similarly related words were used for the 
first time or when the first came into usage/vogue?

I think it was around the time of Darwin, but if you have
any specific info, I would be most appreciative.

God bless you to know and do His will!
John P.

Hi, John!

At times like this, I am very glad to have invested in a copy of the
unabridged Oxford English Dictionary, which is one of the best places
to trace a word's origins. The huge, heavy volumes make great
doorstops, too. ;-)

According to the OED, the first use in print of the word "prehistoric"
was in 1851, in a book entitled "The Archaeology and Prehistoric
Annals of Scotland," written by Sir Daniel Wilson. In 1863, in the
second edition of this book, the author said this: "The application of
the term 'prehistoric' -- introduced, if I mistake not, for the first
time in this work."

The word "prehistory" was first used in print in 1871, in "Primitive
Cultures," by Sir Edward Burnett Tylor, in this sentence: "The history
and pre-history of man take their proper places in the general scheme
of knowledge."

Source: Oxford English Dictionary, 1971.

Here's a bit of info about Sir Daniel Wilson and the word "prehistoric":

"[Sir Daniel Wilson] wrote several important books including The
Archaeology and Prehistoric Annals of Scotland, which not only laid
the foundation for the scientific study of archaeology in Scotland but
also introduced the word 'prehistoric' to the English language."

UTP Publishing
http://www.utppublishing.com/detail.asp?TitleID=1864

"A polymath of the best Victorian type, Wilson was responsible for the
introduction of the word 'prehistoric' to the English language, was a
gifted watercolourist and wrote prolifically."

University of Toronto
http://www.utoronto.ca/president/past.htm#wilson 

"If Wilson's public reputation depends on a single matter it is his
minting in English (it had been circulated earlier in French) of the
word 'prehistoric.' It was, though, a word awaiting coinage when, as
Van Riper has explained, awareness of humankind?s antiquity exploded
in the middle of the nineteenth century."

University of Western Ontario
http://www.edu.uwo.ca/HSE/01hull2.html

Search strategy:

Google Web Search: "word prehistoric" + "daniel wilson"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22word+prehistoric%22+%22daniel+wilson

I hope this helps! Please let me know if anything is unclear, or if a
link doesn't work.

Best wishes always,
pinkfreud

pinkfrued-ga  Hello again and thanks for your excellent answer. I am
glad too that you own an Oxford English Dictionary!!!!

Just what I wanted. I have already shared your great and thorough
answer with some of my friends on a forum I am a member of.

John