Richard C. Preece

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.

Ecological thresholds and patterns of millennial-scale climate variability: The response of vegetation in Greece during the last glacial period

The regional expression of millennial-scale climate variability during the last glacial is examined with particular reference to the vegetation response in Greece. Inspection of three pollen records from contrasting bioclimatic areas suggests that differences in the magnitude of cold events as recognized in the North Atlantic and western Mediterranean are expressed in terms of tree population changes only in areas with a range of favorable habitats. By contrast, records from sites where populations approach their tolerance threshold do not appear to resolve differences in the amplitude of the climate oscillations. Understanding the importance of local factors in modulating the biological response to climate change is critical when attempting to establish the spatial pattern of millennial variability.

Early and early Middle Pleistocene correlations in the Southern North Sea basin

Abstract On April 8, 1988 a discussion meeting took place at Norwich with the aim of establishing correlations of the Early and Middle Pleistocene stages across the southern North Sea. On the basis of faunal, floral, and palaeoclimatic data the following correlations were considered highly probable. The Pastonian Stage of East Anglia is correlated with the Late Tiglian (TC5) Stage of the Netherlands, and the Bramertonian with the Middle Tiglian (TC1-4b). The possibility that the British Antian and Bramertonian Stages may represent parts of a single climatic event is mentioned. The Ludhamian is probably of Early Tiglian age and the Pre-Ludhamian may equate in part with the Praetiglian Stage. Possible correlation of the Waltonian with part of the Pliocene Reuverian Stage is also suggested. In the later Middle Pleistocene, the Anglian Stage correlates with the continental Elsterian. The precise correlation of the British type Cromerian Stage with part of the ‘Cromerian Complex’ Stage in the Netherlands remains uncertain.

A chronological framework for the British Quaternary based on Bithynia opercula

Marine and ice-core records show that the Earth has experienced a succession of glacials and interglacials during the Quaternary (last ∼2.6 million years), although it is often difficult to correlate fragmentary terrestrial records with specific cycles. Aminostratigraphy is a method potentially able to link terrestrial sequences to the marine isotope stages (MIS) of the deep-sea record. We have used new methods of extraction and analysis of amino acids, preserved within the calcitic opercula of the freshwater gastropod Bithynia, to provide the most comprehensive data set for the British Pleistocene based on a single dating technique. A total of 470 opercula from 74 sites spanning the entire Quaternary are ranked in order of relative age based on the extent of protein degradation, using aspartic acid/asparagine (Asx), glutamic acid/glutamine (Glx), serine (Ser), alanine (Ala) and valine (Val). This new aminostratigraphy is consistent with the stratigraphical relationships of stratotypes, sites with independent geochronology, biostratigraphy and terrace stratigraphy. The method corroborates the existence of four interglacial stages between the Anglian (MIS 12) and the Holocene in the terrestrial succession. It establishes human occupation of Britain in most interglacial stages after MIS 15, but supports the notion of human absence during the Last Interglacial (MIS 5e). Suspicions that the treeless ‘optimum of the Upton Warren interstadial’ at Isleworth pre-dates MIS 3 are confirmed. This new aminostratigraphy provides a robust framework against which climatic, biostratigraphical and archaeological models can be tested.

Molluscan evidence for differentiation of interglacials within the "Cromerian complex"

Abstract Usage of the term ‘Cromerian’ differs between countries. In the Netherlands, four interglacial stages (and associated cold stages) are included within the so-called ‘Cromerian Complex’. In Britain, where the Cromerian stratotype is located, all ‘Cromerian’ sites have, until fairly recently, been attributed to different parts of a single interglacial stage. The first suggestion that this view might over-simplify reality was based on vertebrate evidence, in particular the occurrence of Arvicola terrestris cantiana, rather than Mimomys savini, in some deposits. Molluscan assemblages also exhibit significant differences between sites that have been attributed to the same interglacial stage. Valvata goldfussiana appears to characterize fluvial assemblages in the early part of the Cromerian Complex, whereas Valvata naticina typifies several of those that occur later. Combining molluscan and vertebrate evidence, it seems likely that as many as five distinct stages have been conflated and that the stratotype at West Runton occurs early in the Cromerian Complex, rather than immediately preceding the Anglian Stage.

Mollusca from Last Interglacial fluvial deposits of the River Thames at Trafalgar Square, London

An account is given of the molluscan assemblages recovered from fluvial deposits beneath the ‘Upper Floodplain terrace’ of the River Thames in the vicinity of Trafalgar Square, central London. A total of 37 aquatic and 28 terrestrial taxa have been recorded, a diversity indicative of full interglacial conditions. Palaeobotanical and vertebrate evidence suggests that these fossiliferous sediments belong to the Last (Ipswichian) Interglacial, a conclusion strongly supported by molluscan evidence. The combination of the presence of certain species, such as Belgrandia marginata, Potomida littoralis and Margaritifera auricularia, together with the absence of other taxa that no longer live in Britain, such as Pisidium clessini, Corbicula fluminalis and Unio crassus, imparts a distinctive character to the fauna. These temperate molluscs were not only present in the Trafalgar Square Sands and Silts, but also in the underlying Spring Gardens Gravel, showing the latter to be an interglacial aggradation that did not accumulate during the late Wolstonian, contrary to previous interpretations. Copyright

Climatic and environmental reconstructions based on fossil assemblages from middle devensian (Weichselian) deposits of the river Thames at south kensington, central London, UK

Abstract Fossiliferous silts within the Late Pleistocene Kempton Park Gravel, of the River Thames Valley, were exposed in 1980 during foundation works for the Ismaili Centre in South Kensington, London. The results of a multidisciplinary study of the geomorphology, sediments, fossil plants, vertebrates, molluscs, ostracods and insects are reported. The silts were deposited under two distinct climatic regimes; a lower unit accumulated when the climate was arctic and an upper when the temperatures were at least as warm as those of the present day. Both these units occupy the same channel system and are separated from one another by less than a metre of sediment, implying that the climatic change was probably sudden and intense. The strongest evidence for this climatic difference comes from a study of the Coleoptera, which show an almost complete replacement of the arctic element in the fauna by a suite of temperate species. Palaeotemperature reconstructions using the Mutual Climatic Range method, based on the coleopteran assemblages from the lower unit, suggest that the mean temperature of the warmest month was 9±2 °C and that of the coldest month −22±10 °C. For the upper unit the mean temperature of the warmest month had risen to about 17 °C and that of the coldest month to about −4 °C. The episode represented by the lower unit, with its arctic climate, had not previously been recognized in the Thames Valley. The fauna from the upper, temperate, unit is very similar to that from other sites in the Kempton Park Gravel, such as that from Isleworth, 10 km upriver, which, like the upper unit at the Ismaili Centre, was characterized by the virtual absence of trees. It would appear that in such cases this treelessness does not indicate cold conditions, equivalent to those of the modern tundra, but may instead result from a combination of ecological and temporal factors. The value of multidisciplinary studies in reaching such conclusions is emphasized. The temperate episode described here is correlated with the thermal maximum at the early part of the Upton Warren Interstadial Complex. An earlier suggestion, based on amino acid epimerization ratios, that the Upton Warren Interstadial correlates with Oxygen Isotope Sub-stage 5a is not supported by the data, which show no evidence of the forested environments that characterized this period in both Britain and the adjacent Continent. It is thought that the temperate deposits at the Ismaili Centre belong to the Middle (Pleniglacial), rather than the Early, Devensian (Weichselian) and are equivalent to Oxygen Isotope Stage 3.

An aminostratigraphy for the British Quaternary based on Bithynia opercula

Aminostratigraphies of Quaternary non-marine deposits in Europe have been previously based on the racemization of a single amino acid in aragonitic shells from land and freshwater molluscs. The value of analysing multiple amino acids from the opercula of the freshwater gastropod Bithynia, which are composed of calcite, has been demonstrated. The protocol used for the isolation of intra-crystalline proteins from shells has been applied to these calcitic opercula, which have been shown to more closely approximate a closed system for indigenous protein residues. Original amino acids are even preserved in bithyniid opercula from the Eocene, showing persistence of indigenous organics for over 30 million years. Geochronological data from opercula are superior to those from shells in two respects: first, in showing less natural variability, and second, in the far better preservation of the intra-crystalline proteins, possibly resulting from the greater stability of calcite. These features allow greater temporal resolution and an extension of the dating range beyond the early Middle Pleistocene. Here we provide full details of the analyses for 480 samples from 100 horizons (75 sites), ranging from Late Pliocene to modern. These show that the dating technique is applicable to the entire Quaternary. Data are provided from all the stratotypes from British stages to have yielded opercula, which are shown to be clearly separable using this revised method. Further checks on the data are provided by reference to other type-sites for different stages (including some not formally defined). Additional tests are provided by sites with independent geochronology, or which can be associated with a terrace stratigraphy or biostratigraphy. This new aminostratigraphy for the non-marine Quaternary deposits of southern Britain provides a framework for understanding the regional geological and archaeological record. Comparison with reference to sites yielding independent geochronology, in combination with other lines of evidence, allows tentative correlation with the marine oxygen isotope record.

New faunal analyses and amino acid dating of the Lower Palaeolithic site at East Farm, Barnham, Suffolk

Rich assemblages of non-marine molluscs are described from the Lower Palaeolithic site at East Farm, Barnham, Suffolk. The assemblages from the upper levels of a channel infill (Unit 5c) reflect both aquatic and terrestrial habitats and indicate temperate conditions throughout the fossiliferous sequence. The land snail fauna contains Discus ruderatus , which allows correlation with the lower part of the molluscan succession at the nearby Lower Palaeolithic site at Beeches Pit, West Stow. Palaeontological evidence from both sites suggests attribution to the Hoxnian Stage, broadly equivalent to part of MarineOxygen Isotope Stage (MIS) 11. A tooth of pipistrelle bat ( Pipistrellus pipestrellus ) from the same deposits represents its only known occurrence from the British Hoxnian. The molluscan assemblages from certain levels at Barnham had clearly suffered considerable post-mortem sorting and diagenesis. Not only were there huge differences in the representation of Bithynia shells and their opercula but the apertures of some shells showed evidence of significant recrystallization. Moreover, some of the opercula were slightly folded or even crumpled, indicating that they must once have been soft and deformable rather than hard and brittle. Such diagenetic, effects are likely to have compromised their suitability for amino acid dating. New amino acid analyses were therefore undertaken of the intra-crystalline component of both pristine and distorted opercula. The results indicated that, of 12 opercula analysed, only one showed any serious anomaly, underlining the importance of careful sample selection. The new data from these calcitic opercula support earlier conclusions, based on D-alloisoleucine/L-isoleucine ratios from aragonitic shells, that the fossiliferous sediments at Barnham accumulated during MIS 11.