BEFORE the days of written history positive chronology is to some extent a matter of speculation, and until the beginning of this century it was little more than guesswork. But the discoveries of Cnossos provided synchronisms between the archÆological remains of Egypt and Europe, and since then rival systems have arisen, all of which approximate more or less nearly to the truth. The palÆolithic age, however, still remained in the region of guesswork, and wild and very discrepant attempts have been made to estimate its length. It is still the fashion for some writers to use inflated dates and to count years in hundreds of thousands, but the trend of the evidence produced of late is to encourage moderation, and it seems to me possible that the men responsible for the Fox Hall flints, if indeed they are of human workmanship, may not have been separated from their discoverer by a period of time exceeding 150,000 years. When matters are so problematical, cautious writers are prone to be content with a comparative chronology, or to speak in terms of millennia. This method has advantages, for such writers run little risk of having to confess that they have made miscalculations. On the other hand, the use of actual dates leads to clear thinking, and to gaining a vivid impression of the story, and since we have now good grounds for estimating such dates, (and I shall not be ashamed to own up if later discoveries prove my estimates to be incorrect), I have adopted positive dates throughout, indicating where special uncertainty exists and the direction in which modification may be expected. While the early palÆolithic age is still a hazy past, and the middle palÆolithic is not in much better case, the later palÆolithic or reindeer age can now be shown to The later dates depend, by a series of synchronisms, on those ascertained from the Egyptian monuments, and it is unfortunate that on this point authorities differ. The difference between the various schools of thought has been well and fairly summarised by Dr. Hall; Since so many great authorities, well acquainted with the facts and well able to interpret them, differ as to the result, one, who is not an Egyptologist, can decide between them only by testing the application of both systems in his own field of study. Having applied this test to both schemes, I have no hesitation in accepting the latter or shorter chronology, for by the former I find that the earlier periods would be more prolonged than the evolution of the culture warrants. I have therefore, throughout this work used dates based on those given for Egypt by Professor Breasted. This, of course, does not apply to Mesopotamian dates. Dr. Hall would like to add another century or two to this shorter chronology, |