Nick Ashton

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.

Deserted Britain: declining populations in the British Late Middle Pleistocene

This paper defines the potential reasons for low population levels in Oxygen Isotope Stages 6–4: climate, habitat preferences and sea level.

Hominin footprints from early Pleistocene deposits at Happisburgh, UK.

Investigations at Happisburgh, UK, have revealed the oldest known hominin footprint surface outside Africa at between ca. 1 million and 0.78 million years ago. The site has long been recognised for the preservation of sediments containing Early Pleistocene fauna and flora, but since 2005 has also yielded humanly made flint artefacts, extending the record of human occupation of northern Europe by at least 350,000 years. The sediments consist of sands, gravels and laminated silts laid down by a large river within the upper reaches of its estuary. In May 2013 extensive areas of the laminated sediments were exposed on the foreshore. On the surface of one of the laminated silt horizons a series of hollows was revealed in an area of ca. 12 m2. The surface was recorded using multi-image photogrammetry which showed that the hollows are distinctly elongated and the majority fall within the range of juvenile to adult hominin foot sizes. In many cases the arch and front/back of the foot can be identified and in one case the impression of toes can be seen. Using foot length to stature ratios, the hominins are estimated to have been between ca. 0.93 and 1.73 m in height, suggestive of a group of mixed ages. The orientation of the prints indicates movement in a southerly direction on mud-flats along the river edge. Early Pleistocene human fossils are extremely rare in Europe, with no evidence from the UK. The only known species in western Europe of a similar age is Homo antecessor, whose fossil remains have been found at Atapuerca, Spain. The foot sizes and estimated stature of the hominins from Happisburgh fall within the range derived from the fossil evidence of Homo antecessor.

Contemporaneity of Clactonian and Acheulian flint industries at Barnham, Suffolk

New field evidence challenges an old-established fundamental of the Lower Palaeolithic sequence in Britain.

The Early Middle Palaeolithic: The European Context

Abstract This chapter explores the regional context of Early Middle Palaeolithic Britain as the northwesternmost edge of the European landmass between Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 8 and 6. During this period, Levallois flaking became favoured as a problem-solving strategy in northwest Europe, and handaxes were not routinely manufactured in most areas. Here we explore the relationships between the British and mainland European records, in order to consider how and why Levallois flaking became so widely practised in northwest Europe at this time. We consider the environmental succession of MIS 8–6 and its likely impact upon human behaviour, concentrating on age-constrained archaeological assemblages from the ‘northwest region’ of Europe which have some indications of local environment. These data are used to investigate patterns of human habitat preference, colonisation and abandonment in relation to environmental and palaeogeographic change, and technological practice.

Mapping the human record: population change in Britain during the Early Palaeolithic

Abstract This chapter examines the changing human demography of Britain during the Lower and early Middle Palaeolithic using Palaeolithic handaxe densities in the Middle Thames and Solent rivers as proxies for relative population. Peak populations are suggested for Marine Isotope Stages (MISs) 13 and 11, and population decline is indicated after MIS 10. This data is compared to the individual site records for the early Middle Palaeolithic, where a similar pattern of decline in the number of sites is discernible. Differences between the British and mainland northwest European records may be explained by the changing palaeogeography of Britain. In particular, the progressive subsidence of the floor of the North Sea Basin made recolonisation of Britain during warm events increasingly difficult. Finally, models are put forward for interpreting population change in relation to the climatic record, the subsidence of the North Sea Basin and the changing ability of humans to withstand cold conditions.

Technology and landscape use in the Early Middle Palaeolithic of the Thames Valley.

Abstract This chapter re-examines key assemblages from the Thames Valley which can confidently be assigned to the early Middle Palaeolithic (Marine Isotope Stages 8–6). The assemblages are characterised in terms of human activity at each place, in order to understand patterns of adaptation, technological practice, demography and landscape use in different parts of the Thames catchment. Contrasts are apparent between the Middle and Lower Thames in terms of available raw material and site location, technological strategies and curation practices, which require consideration when constructing demographic models for Britain during this period.

Testing Human Presence During the Last Interglacial (MIS 5e): A Review of the British Evidence

Abstract This chapter reviews the archaeological evidence for human presence and absence in Britain during the last interglacial Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e (Ipswichian) compared with the evidence for occupation during MIS 7. An inventory of 139 sites provides the basis for this review. The data are evaluated using current stratigraphic and biostratigraphic frameworks together with geochronology to provide a much reduced list of sites which can be attributed with greater confidence to MIS 5e and a further list of sites that can be reasonably assigned to MIS 7. A comparison of these enables an assessment of whether biases in the nature of the sites, type of investigations, collection history or other factors are responsible for the discovery of archaeological evidence from these sites. This review of the data supports the interpretation that humans were absent from Britain or that there was only a very sparse presence during MIS 5e. This model, however, should be subjected to further systematic testing as sites become available. Finally, ideas are discussed as to why humans should have been absent or scarce in Britain at this time, concluding that the island status of Britain and the low population of Neanderthals in northwest Europe are contributory factors.

Choppers and the Clactonian: A Reinvestigation

Choppers and chopping tools have long been associated with the Clactonian industries of Britain. They have either been dismissed as cores, or often described as woodworking tools, but have rarely been studied from a functional perspective. The purpose of this paper is to publish the results of a series of experiments which has been carried out to investigate the functional efficiency of choppers or chopping tools as compared to other alternative tools. These results are then reviewed in the light of the archaeological information from Clactonian and other Lower and Middle Pleistocene sites. Due to the problems of definition, for the purposes of the experiments both chopping tools and choppers have been taken to be small nodules of pebbles which have had several flakes removed bifacially along at least one edge. The morphology of the working edge is identical to that found on the edges of many of the Clactonian cores. For this reason, chopping tools, choppers and cores are regarded as artefacts with potentially an identical function. In the experiments they are termed simply as chopping tools.

From 800 to 500 ka in Western Europe. The Oldest Evidence of Acheuleans in Their Technological, Chronological, and Geographical Framework

This paper focuses on the early evidence of assemblages with bifacial tools, in particular their technology within the context of chronology and geography, focusing on the sites of La Noira, Arago levels P and Q and Cagny-la-Garenne I–II in France, Brandon Fields, Maidscross Hill, High Lodge and Boxgrove in the UK, and Notarchirico in Italy. Assemblages with bifacial tools, including Large Cutting Tools (LCTs), demonstrate a high diversity of technological and morphological features as early as 700 ka and are contemporary with non-handaxe assemblages. They also show specific features that contrast between northern and southern Europe, such as the use of large flakes for bifacial manufacture, or the presence of cleavers on flakes. Lack of data regarding a local origin and more elaborate bifaces in these sites indicate an early arrival of new traditions in western and southern Europe on a pre-existing hominin presence. The assemblages are compared to those without LCTs such as Happisburgh Site 3 and Pakefield in UK, Isernia La Pineta in Italy, Atapuerca Gran Dolina TD6 and Vallparadis in Spain, Pradayrol and Soleihac in France. Hypotheses on factors behind the variation, such as function, type of site, raw material constraint, and traditions of manufacture, are discussed. The period 800–500 ka is a key episode for examining behavioral changes which occurred in Europe. The discovery of hominin fossils such as the Mauer mandible in Germany led to the definition of Homo heidelbergensis. The emergence of new behaviors such as the ability to produce large flakes and/or large bifacial tools (handaxes, cleavers and others) leads to discussion about new skills, new social organizations, and the arrival or in situ evolution of hominins.