The age-old measure that humans used for eras was the 'Withdrawal Method', during which the male removed penis from vagina just before ejaculation. Though, this method came to be as a big failure often due to lack of understanding the situation.
Soon after as per their own understanding humans avoided having sex with their partners during few days of the month to avoid any chances of pregnancy. Even this method was not a success as, no one ever succeeded to get a breakthrough to point out those 'Few Days'.