G. Russell Coope

The earliest record of human activity in northern Europe

The colonization of Eurasia by early humans is a key event after their spread out of Africa, but the nature, timing and ecological context of the earliest human occupation of northwest Europe is uncertain and has been the subject of intense debate. The southern Caucasus was occupied about 1.8 million years (Myr) ago, whereas human remains from Atapuerca-TD6, Spain (more than 780 kyr ago) and Ceprano, Italy (about 800 kyr ago) show that early Homo had dispersed to the Mediterranean hinterland before the Brunhes–Matuyama magnetic polarity reversal (780 kyr ago). Until now, the earliest uncontested artefacts from northern Europe were much younger, suggesting that humans were unable to colonize northern latitudes until about 500 kyr ago. Here we report flint artefacts from the Cromer Forest-bed Formation at Pakefield (52° N), Suffolk, UK, from an interglacial sequence yielding a diverse range of plant and animal fossils. Event and lithostratigraphy, palaeomagnetism, amino acid geochronology and biostratigraphy indicate that the artefacts date to the early part of the Brunhes Chron (about 700 kyr ago) and thus represent the earliest unequivocal evidence for human presence north of the Alps.

Early Pleistocene human occupation at the edge of the boreal zone in northwest Europe

The dispersal of early humans from Africa by 1.75 Myr ago led to a marked expansion of their range, from the island of Flores in the east to the Iberian peninsula in the west. This range encompassed tropical forest, savannah and Mediterranean habitats, but has hitherto not been demonstrated beyond 45° N. Until recently, early colonization in Europe was thought to be confined to the area south of the Pyrenees and Alps. However, evidence from Pakefield (Suffolk, UK) at ∼0.7 Myr indicated that humans occupied northern European latitudes when a Mediterranean-type climate prevailed. This provided the basis for an ‘ebb and flow’ model, where human populations were thought to survive in southern refugia during cold stages, only expanding northwards during fully temperate climates. Here we present new evidence from Happisburgh (Norfolk, UK) demonstrating that Early Pleistocene hominins were present in northern Europe >0.78 Myr ago when they were able to survive at the southern edge of the boreal zone. This has significant implications for our understanding of early human behaviour, adaptation and survival, as well as the tempo and mode of colonization after their first dispersal out of Africa.

Last Interglacial and Devensian deposits of the River Great Ouse at Woolpack Farm, Fenstanton, Cambridgeshire, UK

Abstract This paper describes Pleistocene fluvial deposits of the River Great Ouse at Woolpack Farm, Fenstanton, Cambridgeshire, UK. These sediments consist of a basal gravel, fossiliferous fluviatile muds, sands and gravels later disturbed and formed into a diamicton, and overlying gravels. The regional climate inferred from palaeobotany, Mollusca, Coleoptera and vertebrates from the diamicton indicates temperate conditions. Coleopteran evidence suggests a mean July temperature of ca . 21°C, 4°C warmer than today in eastern England, and winter temperatures a little colder than at present. Molluscan assemblages indicate a slight brackish influence during deposition of the muds which form the diamicton. The gravel succession is represented by three members which have a broad distribution in the Great Ouse Valley, and which were laid down in a braided river under periglacial conditions. The occurrence of permafrost is indicated by the presence of ice wedge casts in the gravels. The pollen and macrofossil evidence from the diamicton suggests correlation with Ipswichian substage IpII ( Pinus – Quercetum mixtum – Corylus phase). The basal gravel is of pre-Ipswichian age. A Devensian age is proposed for the overlying gravels and their attendant periglacial phenomena.

The environment of Upper Palaeolithic (Magdalenian and Azilian) hunters at Hauterive-Champrveyres, Neuchtel, Switzerland, interpreted from coleopteran remains

An excavation primarily intended to investigate the Bronze Age deposits at Hautrive-Champreveyres, Neuchâtel, Switzerland, encountered beneath the Bronze Age levels a sequence of Late-glacial sediments that were deposited between about 13000 yr BP and 11800 yr BP. Within these deposits Upper Palaeolithic hearths, bones and flint implements were found in a context that left no doubt that they accumulated on the actual living floors. Two separate cultures were involved; an earlier Magdalenian one overlain by a rather later Azilian assemblage. Coleoptera from the associated organic silts and sands provide detailed ecological and climatic information about the time when these people lived in the area. Radiocarbon dates indicate that the Magdalenians lived in the area at about 13000 yr BP. The Coleoptera show that the mean July temperature at this time was about 9°C and mean temperature of the coldest month was about −25°C. The landscape was bare of trees with an open patchy vegetation. Shortly after the area was abandoned by the Magdalenian hunters, the climate became suddenly warmer and mean July temperatures rose abruptly to at least 16°C and winter temperatures rose to levels not much different from those of the present day. There is evidence that at this time, intense slope instability and mud flows may have rendered the locality unsuitable for human occupation. About seven centuries after the episode of sudden climatic warming, namely at about 12300 yr BP, palaeolithic Azilian hunters occupied the area at a time when the climate was thoroughly temperate and the landscape was clothed in birch and willow woodland. This was gradually replaced by pine forest at the top of the sequence and Late-glacial deposition ceased by about 11800 yr BP. Copyright

The fauna, flora and palaeoenvironmental significance of deposits beneath the low terrace of the River Great Ouse at Radwell, Bedfordshire, England

Pits in the lowest terrace of the Great Ouse near the village of the Radwell, Bedfordshire exposed sections in sand and gravel together with channel fills of organic mud. This fill contains remains of molluscs, ostracods, insects and plant macro-fossils. Interpretation of the remains suggest environmental change under interstadial conditions, probably in the Mid-Devensian sub-stage. Problems of interpreting local and regional environments from faunal and fossil indicators contained within fluviatile deposits are discussed.

Middle Devensian deposits of the Ivel Valley at Sandy, Bedfordshire, England

Fluvial gravels exposed beneath the surface of the low terrace of the River Ivel have been investigated in a quarry south of Sandy, Bedfordshire. Sedimentological investigations suggest that deposition occurred as bars and sheets in a braided river regime. Fossiliferous silt lenses occur within the gravel and their contents indicate deposition under slow moving or still water conditions in abandoned small channels. The palaeontological data from plant macrofossil remains, Mollusca and Coleoptera present a consistent picture of a harsh climate similar to that of the tundra areas of arctic Russia at the present day. Mutual Climatic Range (MCR) estimates based on Coleoptera indicate a mean temperature of the warmest month between +8°C and +11°C, and a mean temperature of the coldest month between -10°C and -28°C. Radiocarbon ages of 34 055+330-310 (Q-2936) and 29 250+460-420 (Q-2935) yrs BP suggest dates for the lower part of the gravelly sequence, in the Middle Devensian, at the end of the Upton Warren Interstadial Complex.

Cambering and valley bulging, periglacial solifluction and LateglacialColeoptera at Dowdeswell, near Cheltenham

Engineering works at Dowdeswell Dam, Gloucestershire, where the River Chelt emerges from the Cotswold scarp, enabled investigation of some of the local Quaternary features. The log of the dam cut-off trench (1884) shows the presence of a hitherto unreported valley bulge. It is of the type known as a crumple, exhibiting two sharp anticlinal folds superimposed upon a much gentler valley anticline. The former bulge had, as usual, been eroded away by the river. A trial pit at the foot of the northern valley side showed 2.86 m of silty clay head over a thin Oolitic breccia resting on the eroded surface of the Charmouth Mudstone Formation. Resting on the breccia was a thin discontinuous layer of organic clay. This was found to contain 19 taxa of Coleoptera, of which 11 could be identified to species or species group. The assemblage indicates that cold conditions obtained, with an open, barren landscape and a mean annual air temperature of −3°C. The deposit is assigned to the Younger Dryas period. The head mantling the valley slopes, at least in the area of Trial Pit 1, was probably emplaced predominantly during this cold period. The valley bulging was much earlier, evidence from other sites indicating an age of about oxygen isotope Stage 12.

Devensian organic interstadial deposits and ice sheet extent in Buchan, Scotland

Pre-Late Devensian organic deposits in the Buchan area of northeast Scotland were investigated for their geomorphological and palaeoecological (pollen, plant macrofossils, coleoptera) properties. Close ecological agreement exists between fossil indicators and allows the inference that the environment in the vicinity of the deposits was a dwarf shrub tundra of the type met today in high latitude areas of Scandinavia and arctic Russia. The latest in a series of radiocarbon dates from the site produced determinations beyond the limits of the method, although the geomorphological and fossil evidence appears to point to an interstadial date within Oxygen Isotope Stages 5a or 5c. The site has special significance for arguments concerning the much-debated concept of ‘Moraineless Buchan’; indeed, evidence is presented which supports the concept of extensive ice sheet glaciation during the Late Devensian for this crucial geographical area. If Buchan is to be seen as a further casualty amongst other disputed ice-free enclaves, then a return to earlier models of extensive ice sheet glaciation in the Late Devensian of Scotland would seem to be necessary.

Holocene environmental changes in the Lower Thames Valley, London, UK: Implications for understanding the history of Taxus woodland

A radiocarbon-dated multiproxy palaeoenvironmental record from the Lower Thames Valley at Hornchurch Marshes has provided a reconstruction of the timing and nature of vegetation succession against a background of Holocene climate change, relative sea level movement and human activities. The investigation recorded widespread peat formation between c. 6300 and 3900 cal. yr BP (marine ‘regression’), succeeded by evidence for marine incursion. The multiproxy analyses of these sediments, comprising pollen, Coleoptera, diatoms, and plant and wood macrofossils, have indicated significant changes in both the wetland and dryland environment, including the establishment of Alnus (Alder) carr woodland, and the decline of both Ulmus (Elm; c. 5740 cal. yr BP) and Tilia (Lime; c. 5600 cal. yr BP, and 4160–3710 cal. yr BP). The beetle faunas from the peat also suggest a thermal climate similar to that of the present day. At c. 4900 cal. yr BP, Taxus (L.; Yew) woodland colonised the peatland forming a plant community that has no known modern analogue in the UK. The precise reason, or reasons, for this event remain unclear, although changes in peatland hydrology seem most likely. The growth of Taxus on peatland not only has considerable importance for our knowledge of the vegetation history of southeast England, and NW Europe generally, but also has wider implications for the interpretation of Holocene palaeobotanical records. At c. 3900 cal. yr BP, Taxus declined on the peatland surface during a period of major hydrological change (marine incursion), an event also strongly associated with the decline of dryland woodland taxa, including Tilia and Quercus, and the appearance of anthropogenic indicators.

Palaeotemperatures and palaeoenvironments during the Younger Dryas: arthropod evidence from Croftamie at the type area of the Loch Lomond Readvance, and significance for the timing of glacier expansion during the Lateglacial period in Scotland

Synopsis This paper reports the results of a study of arthropod remains from an organic deposit located between tills of the Last Glacial Maximum and the Younger Dryas glaciations, at Croftamie in the type area of the Loch Lomond Readvance in western central Scotland. The arthropod fauna shows that the organic deposit was laid down in a shallow freshwater pool surrounded by moss and leaf debris. Quantified palaeotemperature estimates made using the Mutual Climatic Range method on the coleopteran assemblage show that the climate was severe with mean annual temperatures of about −5°C, and by reference to a previously derived radiocarbon date, this temperature is ascribed to the period around 10 560 ± 160 14C years bp. The results from Croftamie are compared with other sites from Britain and Ireland and it is demonstrated that the Loch Lomond glacier reached its limit at about the middle of the Younger Dryas cold period. The age estimates derived by calibration of the radiocarbon ages may suggest earlier glacier expansion and that the lower boundary of the Younger Dryas in Britain may have been misplaced in the radiocarbon timescale.