This textbook is intended for students of pedagogical institutes. It contains the history of pre-capitalist formations and is brought to the middle of the 19th century. The textbook gives a summary of the history of the primitive communal system and slave-owning society in the USSR; on some topics, a small theoretical introduction is also included, which is necessary for a more in-depth understanding of these topics. The authors of the textbook sought to highlight as fully as possible the range of issues that make up the main content of the school curriculum in order to practically make it easier for future history teachers to prepare for teaching history at school. Somewhat more attention is paid to issues of economic history and cultural history, since the history teacher often has difficulty teaching these topics.