The bronze age and the Celtic world - Universal History Library

BEFORE
Appendix I
CHRONOLOGY
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 archaeological remains of Egypt and Europe, and since then rival systems
have arisen, all of which approximate more or less nearly to the truth. The palseoHthic
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 miUenia. This method has
advantages, for such writers run Uttle 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 palaeolithic age is still a hazy past, and the middle palaeolithic
is not in much better case, the later palaeolithic or reindeer age can now be shown to
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