This is the first book to appear which correlates within a single volume the relevant data for both archeological and geological dating of human fossil remains. The author was trained both as a geologist and as a prehistorian, and has written this book first to meet the needs of archeologists wishing to learn the stratigraphical frameworks now applied to Quaternary deposits, and second to meet the needs of geologists requiring to know the terminology of Paleolithic and Mesolithic cultures.

In this book the author makes use of the results obtained from the latest dating techniques, both relative and absolute. Charts give the latest radiocarbon datings of Middle and Upper Paleolithic sites and cultures in Europe, the Near East and Africa. In an appendix all the most important human fossil remains are listed by name, with dates of discovery, stratigraphical and cultural datings, and absolute ages where known.

When this book was first released Science magazine called it "A most significant milestone for the study of early man . . . brings together for the first time the results obtained from the relative and absolute dating techniques in use today . . . The book presents this evidence with a clarity that makes it indispensable to all concerned with the research and teaching of paleoanthropology." While the American Anthropologist commented "Kenneth Oakley's book is a splendid and unique contribution to the temporal aspect of paleoanthropological studies."

Kenneth Oakley (1911-1981) was best known for his work in relative dating with fossils. He graduated from University College in Geology and Anthropology, and worked for the British Museum. He had an international reputation in his field and was particularly well known for his part in exposing the Piltdown fraud. His publications include Man the Tool-Maker, and over 100 papers, many of them on analytical methods of dating bones, particularly the fluorine-dating method.