The Thames Valley is a rich source of evidence for understanding past climate and environmental change, the effects on plant and animal populations, and the challenges and opportunities these presented for early humans

Thames through Time 1 covers early prehistory to 1500 BC. Part 1 of this volume examines the Pleistocene, the epoch of the Ice Ages, in an integrated review of the geological, palaeontological and archaeological data relating to periodic human activity in the Thames Valley for the last half million years and more.

Part 2 takes up the story from the beginning of the Holocene, the warm period in which we are still living, which began around 11500 years ago. The authors review the evidence for early hunter-gatherer populations in the Mesolithic and the emergence of agriculture and permanent settlement in the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, a time when the landscape became dotted with monumental architecture reflecting the ritual and religious concerns of the population.

The volume can be purchased from Oxbow Books.