antecedent
Meaning: something that came before
Usage: The great tradition of Western culture had its antecedent in the culture of Ancient Greece.
etymology
Meaning: the history of words, their origin and development
Usage: From the study of etymology, I know that the word “quixotic” derives from Don Quixote and the word “gaudy” refers to the Spanish architect Gaudí.
primeval
Meaning: original, ancient
Usage: The museum displayed fossils from primeval forests that existed long before modern cities.
seminal
Meaning: original, important, creating a field
Usage: Stephen Greenblatt’s essays on Shakespeare proved to be seminal, because they initiated the critical school of New Historicism.
vestige
Meaning: a mark or trace of something lost or vanished
Usage: Do you know if the Mexican tortilla is a vestige of some form of Aztec corn-based flat bread?