The phrase "earlier time" refers to a previous point in history or a past moment. It means something that happened before the present or a moment that came before the current one. Full definition
They are smart and excel at the sporting and hunting activities they were bred for in earlier times. (training-dogs.com)
Finally, I got my breakfast time at earlier time so I won't push off my eating schedule like yesterday again. (delightfultastebuds.com)
(8) This finding indicated that samples from earlier time periods could be combined with more recent samples to derive carbon dioxide emission factors. (eia.gov)