ABSTRACT
Palaeolithic Man.—In the lands which now compose the British Isles human history goes back for at least 30,000 years. Even earlier than this a species with human characteristics, though distinctly inferior to homo sapiens, left behind traces of its existence. 1 For these early ages, of course, written evidence is entirely lacking, and our knowledge is derived from the researches of archaeologists and anthropologists. The racial character of the first inhabitants of Britain cannot now be determined and all trace of their speech has utterly vanished. We only know them by the material remains they left behind. These consist chiefly of tools and weapons of stone or chipped flint. Hence the name given to this period, the Palaeolithic or Old Stone Age. 2
