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

Simon A. Parfitt, Nick M. Ashton (), Simon G. Lewis, Richard L. Abel, G. Russell Coope, Mike H. Field, Rowena Gale, Peter G. Hoare, Nigel R. Larkin, Mark D. Lewis, Vassil Karloukovski, Barbara A. Maher, Sylvia M. Peglar, Richard C. Preece, John E. Whittaker and Chris B. Stringer
Additional contact information
Simon A. Parfitt: Institute of Archaeology, University College London, 31–34 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PY, UK
Nick M. Ashton: British Museum, Franks House, 38–56 Orsman Road, London N1 5QJ, UK
Simon G. Lewis: Queen Mary University of London
Richard L. Abel: The Natural History Museum
G. Russell Coope: School of Earth Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
Mike H. Field: Leiden University, P.O. Box 9515, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
Rowena Gale: Jodrell Laboratory, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond TW9 3AB, UK
Peter G. Hoare: School of Geosciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
Nigel R. Larkin: Norfolk Museums and Archaeology Service, The Shirehall
Mark D. Lewis: The Natural History Museum
Vassil Karloukovski: Centre for Environmental Magnetism and Palaeomagnetism, Lancaster Environment Centre, University of Lancaster
Barbara A. Maher: Centre for Environmental Magnetism and Palaeomagnetism, Lancaster Environment Centre, University of Lancaster
Richard C. Preece: University of Cambridge
John E. Whittaker: The Natural History Museum
Chris B. Stringer: The Natural History Museum

Nature, 2010, vol. 466, issue 7303, 229-233

Abstract: Northern Europeans in the early Pleistocene Early humans colonized Eurasia fairly swiftly after they left Africa more than 1.8 million years ago, occupying tropical and Mediterranean habitats from Flores in the east to present-day Spain in the west. The prevailing view from sparse fossil and archaeological evidence has been that humans were still largely adapted to warm climates, and penetrated more than 45° north only in exceptionally warm intervals. New findings of artefacts, fauna and flora from a river deposit in Norfolk, UK, dating back more than 780,000 years, will change that perception. Excavations at the eroding coastal site of Happisburgh uncovered 78 flint artefacts, including flint tools, from what was a forest habitat in a climate resembling that of southern Britain today. This suggests that humans were capable of living in northern Europe in cooler intervals much earlier than was thought.

Date: 2010
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DOI: 10.1038/nature09117

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