a--db-o-ut the development of prehistoric European cul-

tures is brought into serious question by the recent

dramatic revision of radiocarbon dating. And in this

highly original and important book the distin-

guished British archaeologist-anthropologist Colin

Renfrew considers the revolutionary implications

of the new knowledge--a breakthrough that has

made obsolete the formerly accepted theory that

prehistoric culture began in the Near East and was

only later diffused into "barbarian" Europe.

Demonstrating that we have completely under-

valued the originality and creativity of the prehis-

toric societies of Europe and England, Professor

Renfrew gives us the first full account of the new

techniques through which their cultures have been

discovered to be as much as 800 years older than

previously thought possible. He makes clear how,

on the evidence of radiocarbon dating methods

when calibrated with tree-ring dates, it becomes

apparent that: