Ashton / Lewis / Stringer The Ancient Human Occupation of Britain

1. Auflage 2010
ISBN: 978-0-444-53598-6
Verlag: Elsevier Science & Techn.
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 6 - ePub Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, Band Volume 14, 322 Seiten

Reihe: Developments in Quaternary Science

The Ancient Human Occupation of Britain Project (AHOB) funded by the Leverhulme Trust began in 2001 and brought together researchers from a range of disciplines with the aim of investigating the record of human presence in Britain from the earliest occupation until the end of the last Ice Age, about 12,000 years ago. Study of changes in climate, landscape and biota over the last million years provides the environmental backdrop to understanding human presence and absence together with the development of new technologies. This book brings together the multidisciplinary work of the project. The chapters present the results of new fieldwork and research on old sites from museum collections using an array of new analytical techniques. - Features an up-to-date treatment of the record of human presence in the British Isles during the Palaeolithic period (700,000 - 10,000 years before present) - Takes multidisciplinary approach that includes archaeology, geochemistry, geochronology, stratigraphy and sedimentology - Coincides with the culmination of the AHOB project in 2010, providing a benchmark statement on the record of human occupation in Britain that can be utilized and tested by future research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Ashton, Nick

Lewis, Simon

Stringer, Chris

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1;Front Cover;1
2;The Ancient Human Occupation of Britain;4
3;Copyright Page;5
4;Contents;6
5;Contributors;8
6;Preface;10
7;Acknowledgements;12
8;Chapter 1: The Changing Landscapes of the Earliest Human Occupation of Britain and Europe;14
8.1;Acknowledgements;21
8.2;References;21
9;Chapter 2: Climates of the early Middle Pleistocene in Britain: Environments of the Earliest Humans in Northern Europe;24
9.1;2.1. Introduction;24
9.2;2.2. Climate Change During the early Middle Pleistocene;25
9.3;2.3. Reconstructing British Climates for the early Middle Pleistocene;26
9.4;2.4. Climates and Environments of the British early Middle Pleistocene;27
9.5;2.5. Climate Cyclicity During the early Middle Pleistocene;31
9.6;2.6. Significance of early Middle Pleistocene Climates to the Earliest Humans in Northern Europe and Britain;32
9.7;2.7. Summary;32
9.8;Acknowledgements;33
9.9;References;33
10;Chapter 3: Palaeoenvironments of Ancient Humans in Britain: The Application of Oxygenand Carbon Isotopes to the Reconstruction of Pleistocene Environments;36
10.1;3.1. Introduction;36
10.2;3.2. Oxygen and Carbon Stable Isotopes in Quaternary Studies;37
10.3;3.3. Modern Carbonates in Britain;40
10.4;3.4. The Oxygen and Carbon Isotopic Record of British Interglacials;42
10.5;3.5. Carbonates from the Cromerian Complex;43
10.6;3.6. Carbonates from the Hoxnian Interglacial;45
10.7;3.7. Summary and Conclusions;47
10.8;Acknowledgements;48
10.9;References;48
11;Chapter 4: Mapping the Human Record: Population Change in Britain During the Early Palaeolithic;52
11.1;4.1. Introduction;52
11.2;4.2. Previous Studies;53
11.3;4.3. The Solent River and its Tributaries;54
11.4;4.4. The Middle Thames Reconsidered;56
11.5;4.5. The early Middle Palaeolithic in Britain;56
11.6;4.6. The Palaeogeography of Britain;58
11.7;4.7. Conclusions;61
11.8;Acknowledgements;61
11.9;References;61
12;Chapter 5: The Emergence, Diversity and Significance of Mode 3 (Prepared Core) Technologies;66
12.1;5.1. Introduction;66
12.2;5.2. Diversity and Unity in Mode 3 Technologies;67
12.3;5.3. Mode 3 Technology in Time and Space;70
12.4;5.4. Roots and Developments;71
12.5;5.5. Conclusions;75
12.6;Acknowledgements;75
12.7;References;75
13;Chapter 6: Technology and Landscape Use in the Early Middle Palaeolithic of the Thames Valley;80
13.1;6.1. Introduction;80
13.2;6.2. The Upper Thames;81
13.3;6.3. The Middle Thames;82
13.4;6.4. The Lower Thames;86
13.5;6.5. Discussion;95
13.6;6.6. Conclusions;99
13.7;Acknowledgements;99
13.8;References;99
14;Chapter 7: The Early Middle Palaeolithic: The European Context;104
14.1;7.1. Introduction;104
14.2;7.2. The Environmental Structure of the Early Middle Palaeolithic (MIS 8-6);105
14.3;7.3. Early Middle Palaeolithic of Northwest Europe;107
14.4;7.4. MIS 7;109
14.5;7.5. Discussion;113
14.6;7.6. Conclusion;121
14.7;Acknowledgements;121
14.8;References;122
15;Chapter 8: Continuities and Discontinuities in Neandertal Presence: A Closer Look at Northwestern Europe;126
15.1;8.1. Introduction;126
15.2;8.2. An Ecological Perspective: Definitions and Comparative Data;128
15.3;8.3. Neandertal Ecology;129
15.4;8.4. Three Data Sets: Archaeology, Genetics and Comparative Studies;131
15.5;8.5. Discussion;132
15.6;Acknowledgements;133
15.7;References;133
16;Chapter 9: Testing Human Presence During the Last Interglacial (MIS 5e): A Review of the British Evidence;138
16.1;9.1. Introduction;138
16.2;9.2. Stratigraphic Frameworks;139
16.3;9.3. Geochronology;142
16.4;9.4. Biostratigraphy;142
16.5;9.5. Testing Human Presence and Absence;145
16.6;9.6. Conclusion;149
16.7;Acknowledgements;169
16.8;References;169
17;Chapter 10: The Mammal Faunas of the British Late Pleistocene;178
17.1;10.1. Introduction;178
17.2;10.2. The Beginning of the Late Pleistocene Record;178
17.3;Acknowledgements;191
17.4;References;191
18;Chapter 11: The British Earlier Upper Palaeolithic: Settlement and Chronology;194
18.1;11.1. Introduction;194
18.2;11.2. The British Earlier Upper Palaeolithic: Limitation of the Database and Questions;194
18.3;11.3. Leaf-Point Industries;197
18.4;11.4. Human Maxilla from Kent's Cavern;202
18.5;11.5. Evolved Aurignacian Presence in England and Wales;207
18.6;11.6. Context of the Paviland Burin from Kent's Cavern;210
18.7;11.7. The 'Red Lady of Paviland';217
18.8;11.8. The Early Gravettian;220
18.9;11.9. Bone Pin from Kent's Cavern;224
18.10;11.10. Later Gravettian Human Presence in the British Isles;225
18.11;11.11. Possible Long Hiatus in the British Sequence?;227
18.12;11.12. Conclusions;228
18.13;Acknowledgements;229
18.14;References;230
19;Chapter 12: The Later Upper Palaeolithic Recolonisation of Britain: New Results from AMS Radiocarbon Dating ;236
19.1;12.1. Introduction;236
19.2;12.2. Technological Considerations;237
19.3;12.3. Localities with Chronological Information About Later Upper Palaeolithic Recolonisation of the British Isles;241
19.4;12.4. Concluding Observations;255
19.5;Acknowledgements;257
19.6;References;257
20;Chapter 13: New Results from the Examination of Cut-Marks Using Three-Dimensional Imaging;262
20.1;13.1. Introduction;262
20.2;13.2. Methods;263
20.3;13.3. Case Studies;264
20.4;13.4. Discussion and Conclusion;272
20.5;Acknowledgements;273
20.6;References;273
21;Chapter 14: Pleistocene Hyaena Coprolite Palynology in Britain: Implications for the Environments of Early Humans;276
21.1;14.1. Introduction;276
21.2;14.2. Hyaenas and Coprolites;277
21.3;14.3. Palynological Method;279
21.4;14.4. Case Studies;281
21.5;14.5. Discussion and Taphonomic Considerations;284
21.6;14.6. Conclusions;287
21.7;Appendix A. Calcium and Phosphorous Determinations and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD);288
21.8;Acknowledgements;289
21.9;References;289
22;Chapter 15: Mammal Associations in the Pleistocene of Britain: Implications ofEcological Niche Modelling and a Method for Reconstructing Palaeoclimate;292
22.1;15.1. Introduction;292
22.2;15.2. Materials and Methods;293
22.3;15.3. Results;296
22.4;15.4. Discussion;301
22.5;15.5. Conclusions;309
22.6;Appendix;311
22.7;Acknowledgements;314
22.8;References;314
23;Subject Index;318

Leseproben

2 Climates of the early Middle Pleistocene in Britain: Environments of the Earliest Humans in Northern Europe
Ian Candy1,*; Barbara Silva1; Jonathan Lee2    1 Department of Geography, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX, United Kingdom
2 British Geological Survey, Keyworth, Nottingham, NG12 5GG, United Kingdom
* Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to Ian Candy email address: [e-mail] Abstract
Long-term climate records such as SPECMAP and EPICA imply that the early Middle Pleistocene (Marine Isotope Stages 19–13, 780–450 ka) was characterised by low magnitude climate cycles relative to the extreme glacial/interglacial cycles of the last 450 ka. As the early Middle Pleistocene is the period during which the first known occupation of Britain occurred, understanding the nature of climate cycles in northwest Europe during this period is important. In order to develop a clearer understanding of the pattern of climate change during the early Middle Pleistocene, deposits of this period are divided into four groups that are based on the climatic proxy data they contain. Group 1 deposits are characterised by evidence for interglacial climates that were warmer than the present day. Group 2 deposits are characterised by evidence for interglacial climates that were consistent with the present day with respect to their degree of warmth. Group 3 deposits contain evidence for temperate climates that were cooler than the present day; such deposits possibly reflect the end of an interglacial or interstadial. Group 4 deposits record evidence for extreme climate cooling and widespread permafrost development. This categorisation indicates that during multiple glacial/interglacial cycles the climate of eastern England oscillated between periods that were warmer than the present day, sometimes ‘Mediterranean’ in character, through to periods that were characterised by extreme climate cooling and widespread periglaciation. Despite the climate patterns suggested in the SPECMAP and EPICA records, there is no recognisable difference between the pattern of climate forcing observed in Britain during the early Middle Pleistocene relative to that which occurred during the late Middle and Late Pleistocene. Early human colonisers in Britain during the early Middle Pleistocene were, therefore, subjected to the same extremes of climate as humans during the last 450 ka. Consequently, it is probable that the pattern of depopulation during glacials and recolonisation during interglacials, proposed for the last four glacial cycles, is also likely to be true for the period 780–450 ka. It is also important to recognise that lithic artefacts are found in association with all four climatic groups, indicating that the presence of humans during the early Middle Pleistocene was not restricted to the climatic peaks of interglacials. Keywords early Middle Pleistocene Interglacials Mid-Brunhes Event 2.1 Introduction
Research over the past 10 years, much of it as part of the AHOB project, shows there is abundant evidence for a human presence in Britain during the early Middle Pleistocene, 780–450 ka (Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 19–13) (Parfitt et al., 2005; see Preece and Parfitt, 2008 and Rose, 2008 for reviews). Numerous sites have now been identified which suggest human occupation in Britain pre-450 ka (Ashton et al., 1992, 2008; Roberts et al., 1994; Roberts and Parfitt, 1999). However, the lithostratigraphy and biostratigraphy of the archaeological horizons at some sites indicate human occupation in Britain prior to 650 ka, during either MIS 17 or 19 (Parfitt et al., 2005). The relative age of such sites means that they not only preserve evidence for the earliest humans in Britain but also for the earliest humans in Europe north of the Alps (Parfitt et al., 2005; Preece and Parfitt, 2008; Rose, 2008). Fundamental to our understanding of the earliest humans in northern Europe is the climatic context of the earliest occupation events. Under what climatic conditions did these periods of occupation occur? What environmental conditions did humans inhabit? To what climatic fluctuations were they exposed? Addressing these questions is not straightforward because no long, continuous climate record exists for northwest Europe. Despite the absence of such a record, it is still possible to reconstruct the range of climate conditions that occurred in Britain during the early Middle Pleistocene through an examination of the environmental record of the fragmented terrestrial sequences of eastern and southern England. Although these sequences are discontinuous, it is still possible to use them as a framework for climate change during the early Middle Pleistocene because (1) the Quaternary stratigraphy of Britain is robust enough to allow a reliable correlation between terrestrial deposits and the period 780–450 ka, that is, the early Middle Pleistocene (Preece and Parfitt, 2000; Rose et al., 2001; Lee et al., 2004a,b, 2006) and (2) deposits of this period contain a wide range of palaeoenvironmental indicators which allows the climatic conditions to be reconstructed (Gibbard et al., 1996; Parfitt et al., 2005; Coope, 2006). In this chapter, we review the record of early Middle Pleistocene environmental change in Britain as preserved in the long sediment sequences of eastern, midland and southern England. The majority of this evidence is found within the ‘Crag Basin’ which represents the western extension of the southern North Sea Basin (Fig. 2.1). This sedimentary basin extended across the area broadly occupied by the present southern North Sea and the Rhine Graben. The Crag sediment sequence spans the Early Pliocene (5 Ma) to the end of the early Middle Pleistocene (450 ka), and records patterns of terrestrial landscape evolution, sea-level and climate change. Fig. 2.1 A map showing the location of the main early Middle Pleistocene sites discussed within the text. Br = Brooksby, Bx = Boxgrove, CC = Corton Cliffs, Hg = Hengrave, Hp = Happisburgh I, LO = Little Oakley, NSc = Norton Subcourse, Os = Ostend, Pk = Pakefield, Sg = Sugworth, Si = Sidestrand, WH = Warren Hill, WR = West Runton, W-S-M = Westbury-sub-Mendip, WW = Waverley Wood. The stippled regions represent the location of major accumulations of early Middle Pleistocene sediments both fluvial (associated with the Bytham and proto-Thames river systems) and terrestrial/shallow marine (associated with the Crag Basin). 2.2 Climate Change During the early Middle Pleistocene
In marine and ice-core records, the early Middle Pleistocene is characterised by a different pattern of climate forcing to that which operated during the past 450 ka (Imbrie et al., 1984; Flower et al., 2000; EPICA, 2004; Lisiecki and Raymo, 2005; Fig. 2.2). In marine isotope records of global ice volume, such as SPECMAP, interglacial peaks over the last 450 ka are characterised by global ice volumes comparable to that which occurred during the Holocene (Imbrie et al., 1984; Flower et al., 2000; Lisiecki and Raymo, 2005). Glacial stage troughs during the same period are, with the exception of MIS 8, characterised by global ice volumes comparable to that of MIS 2, the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The last 450 ka is, therefore, a period of extreme climate oscillations during glacial and interglacial cycles, which were driven by the 100 ka Milankovitch (eccentricity) cycle. Fig. 2.2 Proxy records of environmental change spanning the last 800,000 years and recording climatic fluctuations within the early Middle Pleistocene; (A) is a record of d18O variations within benthic foraminifera from North Atlantic core 980/981 (Flower et al., 2000). This record is primarily driven by changes in global ice volume which are, in turn, predominantly driven by fluctuations in the Laurentide ice sheet. The peak numbers correspond to MIS numbers for warm stages; (B) is the deuterium record from Dome C, Antarctica and reflects changes in high latitude southern hemisphere air temperature (EPICA, 2004). The mid-Brunhes Event, or MBE, occurs at around 450,000 years B.P. and can be observed in the greater amplitude of warm climate peaks after MIS 13, relative to those that occur between MIS 19 and 13. Although the frequency of climate fluctuations during the early Middle Pleistocene is also driven by a 100 ka periodicity, the magnitude of climate change, as preserved in records such as SPECMAP, appears to be much more moderate when compared to the last 450 ka (Imbrie et al., 1984; Lisiecki and Raymo, 2005). In marine isotope records of global ice volume, no early Middle Pleistocene interglacial (MIS 13, 15, 17 and 19) is characterised by a reduction in global ice volume that is even remotely comparable to the Holocene. Equally, glacial stages of the early Middle Pleistocene are mostly characterised by only...