ABSTRACT
ARCHAEOLOGICALDATING-'theuseofimplementsas zonefossils'-hasbeencriticizedandneglectedbysomestudents ofthePleistoceneonthegroundsthatpalaeolithiccultureshave usuallybeenrelativelydatedinthefirstplaceonthebasisof geological(orpalaeontological)evidence,andthatitisthereforeillogicaltouseculturalmaterialinturntodatefossilsor geologicaldeposits.Tothepresentauthorthisseemstoinvolve nomore'circularreasoning'thanthetime-honouredmethod ofdatinggeologicalformationsbytheircontainedfossils,which wasintroducedbyWilliamSmiththeFatherofEnglish Geology.Aswithfossils,sowithartifacts,thereareboundtobe occasionaldiscoveriesprovingtheunexpectedlyearlyappearanceorlatesurvivalofaparticulartype;butbyandlarge bothhaveinvaluableapplicationsintherelativedatingof Quaternarydeposits.Indeed,atcertainlevelsandinsome regionsStoneAgeindustriesprovidetime-linesthatwould otherwisebelacking.Byusingthespreadofpalaeolithictraditionsastime-linesitcanbeshownthatthereisprobablyno simpleequivalencebetweentheAfricanpluvialsandEuropean glacials,andmoreoverthattheonsetandcessationofpluvial conditionswerealmostcertainlynotsynchronousthroughout theContinent.
