5.5 Summary

The prior knowledge and particular interests of the authors will inevitably bias any overview of the archaeology within a specific region. We are conscious that we might be guilty of a biased focus on those areas of Argyll where we have undertaken fieldwork ourselves, while it is always difficult to fully escape from one's own interpretations of the data to provide an objective account. Similarly we have stressed certain research themes while neglecting others that are nevertheless of considerable importance, such as the analysis of lithic assemblages to exploring technological and typological change through time. We have also avoided the more speculative matters, such as relating to the social organisation and ideology of the Mesolithic and Late Glacial hunter-gatherers. What we have attempted, however, is to provide a chronologically- driven overview of the early prehistoric period within its environmental context, highlighting what we believe to be the most important topics for future research. The Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and earliest Neolithic periods in Argyll are of national importance with considerable potential for contributing to international debates about the human-environment relationships within early prehistory.