EARLY MAN 



NO account of the story of Buckinghamshire could be con- 

 sidered complete which did not include particulars of the 

 prehistoric antiquities found from time to time within its 

 borders. In these relics we find the only existing traces of 

 periods and peoples that have long since passed away ; and, fragmentary 

 and partial as this species of evidence might at first appear, it is remark- 

 able to find how important and how precise are the conclusions to which 

 it leads. 



The prehistoric antiquities of Buckinghamshire cannot, it is true, 

 be accurately described as of first-rate interest in point of numbers or 

 special importance, but it would obviously be unfair to judge of the 

 richness of this or any other county by the number of recorded antiqui- 

 ties found in it. The simple fact is that many of the English counties 

 have been practically neglected as far as their prehistoric remains are 

 concerned, and it is only in quite recent years that scientific methods 

 have been applied to the deciphering and illustrating of some of the most 

 interesting phases of the early history of mankind. 



Yet if the prehistoric remains of this county are numerically few, 

 they are characteristic of each of the various periods into which 

 archaeologists divide the prehistoric past. 



Following the plan already adopted in these volumes, it is proposed 

 to describe and figure the more important of these remains under their 

 respective heads, prefixing to each section a few introductory remarks in 

 order to give to the general reader an intelligible idea of the succession 

 and relation of the stages or phases of human culture. 



The main divisions of prehistoric civilization have received the 

 designations: (i) palaeolithic age, (2) neolithic age, (3) bronze age, and 

 (4) prehistoric iron age. It is proposed to adhere to this method of 

 division on the present occasion, but it must be confessed that the use 

 of precise terms of this kind is not entirely convenient and is not with- 

 out its dangers. There is constant need to remember, when using these 

 terms, that they apply, not to definite periods of time, but to stages of 

 culture and progress, usually regular as to succession, but very irregular 

 as to chronology, and, except in the division between the palaeolithic 

 and neolithic stages, largely represented by periods of transition and 

 overlapping. 



THE PALEOLITHIC AGE 



The materials for the reconstruction of the story of Buckingham- 

 shire in palaeolithic times are few and not particularly important. They 

 i i 77 23 



