T 



EARLY MAN 



f ^HE story of Surrey before the period of written history may 

 be pronounced as interesting, in every sense, as that which 

 has been recorded on paper or parchment. Nor is the general 

 trend of the evidence less certain ; for whilst some details are 

 indefinite, the chief facts relating to early man are founded upon grounds 

 as indisputable as are those of geological science. The human elements, 

 such as misleading chroniclers and the untrustworthy scribes who often 

 copied incorrectly, are wanting, and the student of prehistoric times is 

 guided by the actual objects which show traces of man's handiwork. 



Every particle of human workmanship of that early period becomes 

 therefore of great importance, and every indication of its association 

 with or relationship to other remains deserves the most careful attention 

 of those who wish to obtain a fairly complete idea of the conditions 

 under which prehistoric man lived. 



The various ages into which antiquaries have almost unanimously 

 divided the prehistoric period will be followed in this account as being 

 the most convenient. The remains of this period in Surrey will there- 

 fore be considered in the following order : palaeolithic age, neolithic age, 

 bronze age, and prehistoric iron age or Late Celtic period. 



THE PALEOLITHIC AGE 



It must be remembered, in considering the earlier stone or palaeo- 

 lithic age, that at that time what is now Great Britain and Ireland was 

 united to the continent of Europe, and as a consequence the climate was 

 subjected to greater variations than those which our present insular 

 situation gives us. Man's status too in the scale of civilization was 

 lower than that with which we are now familiar. It would be difficult 

 from the available data to describe it accurately, but it may be in- 

 ferred from the following facts. He did not possess the knowledge 

 of making pottery, neither did he know how to work metals, nor to 

 shape flints or stone by means of grinding. He had no domesticated 

 animals, and he did not till the soil ; but his means of subsistence con- 

 sisted of such food as hunting and fishing were capable of furnishing. 

 Yet it must not be inferred from these circumstances that the men of 

 the palaeolithic age were animals of such a low type as some authorities 

 would have us believe. Abundant evidences of their artistic abilities 



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