| Summary: | "The Chalk Downlands of southern England, which are capped with deposits mapped as Clay-with-flints, have remained untouched by direct glacial activity since at least the late Cromerian, around 500,000 BP. During the past 100 years or so many Lower and Middle Palaeolithic artefacts have been found on the highest Downland hill-tops and plateaux, yet the British Lower and Middle Palaeolithic archaeological record is based almost exclusively on material recovered from low-level sites such as riverine locations, beaches and caves. Arguably, the Lower and Middle Palaeolithic artefacts found in relation to deposits mapped as Clay-with-flints on the Downlands of southern England represent the most neglected realm of British Palaeolithic research. This book records the first attempt using rigorous modern scientific methods to address the fundamental questions and hypotheses posed by the surviving presence of the Lower and Middle Palaeolithic stone tools on the highest Downland hill-tops and plateaux." "Although this book provides detailed guidance and ideas for the specialist, it is nevertheless written for the general reader who has a grounding in archaeology or earth sciences. It will be of the greatest value to the Palaeolithic field archaeologist as the emphasis is on the application of new detailed methodologies and geologically-founded techniques to solve the archaeological problems associated with these high-level artefacts. However, it also provides important theoretical frameworks for the analytical archaeologist or prehistorian specialising in the Palaeolithic. Many of the recommendations and practices set out here would also be applicable to excavations and investigations in a different geological context or later periods where the need for meticulous detailed recording may still be critical."--BOOK JACKET.
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