ABSTRACT
Any attempt to discuss the debt which the present Scottish landscape owes to events in prehistory is fraught with problems. To provide a comprehensive view of prehistoric human activity presupposes an encyclopaedic knowledge and almost certainly demands at the very least an acquaintance with the subject-matter and findings of a large number of academic disciplines, each of which has its own methodology and aim. In writing about prehistoric landscape there must be a total reliance on evidence derived from other than literary sources. Paramount among the sources will be the records produced by the archaeologist. During the sixth millenium BC the Scottish climate underwent a fundamental change. The continental conditions which had prevailed hitherto gave way to a maritime climate in which there were increasing rainfall totals and a high incidence of westerly winds.
