Prehistoric man

The work examines human development before written records by comparing material remains and cultural practices across the Old and New Worlds. It surveys geological and fossil evidence for ancient habitation, discusses Stone‑age and early metallurgical technologies, and describes toolmaking, bone and shell crafts, and primitive watercraft and navigation. Chapters address fire use, quarrying and flint industries, burial and shell‑mound archaeology, and regional case studies drawn from American and European remains. Throughout, the author presents archaeology as a record of innate human capacities that led to similar social and technological trajectories in different continents.