The history of history—as the objectified study of past human events in the Occidental world—is probably best traced back to the ancient Greek general and author Thucydides, who wrote the definitive and exhaustive history of the Pelloponesian War (431 to 403 BC) between the rival Greek cities of Athens and Sparta.

One could also trace the history of history all the way back to cave paintings. Perhaps the events depicted in the paintings were quite significant (like a very important hunt, perhaps even the first hunt, which was painted to remind future generations of cavemen how to hunt buffalos). See: historiography