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 degrees 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 approximately 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.
In 1998 a circle of timber posts within the intertidal zone on the north Norfolk coast was brought to the attention of the Norfolk County Council Archaeological Service. A subsequent programme of archaeological recording and dating revealed that the structure was constructed in the spring or early summer of 2049 BC, during the Early Bronze Age. Because of the perceived threat of damage and erosion from the sea a rescue excavation was undertaken during the summer months of 1999. The structure was entirely excavated, involving the removal of the timbers and a programme of stratigraphic recording and environmental analysis. A survey was also undertaken within the environs of the site which has identified further timber structures dating from the Bronze Age. Detailed examination of the timber from the circle has produced a wealth of unexpected information which has added greatly to our understanding of Early Bronze Age woodworking, organisation of labour and the layout and construction of timber ritual monuments.
Chronological evidence for the Iberomaurusian is currently very limited and there are problems with some of the published radiocarbon dates. In this paper we present new AMS dating results from well-stratified cave sequences at Ghar Cahal, Kehf el Hammar and Taforalt in northern and eastern Morocco. The longest of these sequences, from Taforalt, shows an intermittent occupation history spanning the period ca. 18,000-11,000 bp (radiocarbon determinations presented in this paper are expressed as ka bp or bp, whilst approximate calendar ages are expressed as Cal bp) with a marked intensification of cave use soon after ca. 13,000 bp. Using Afr Archaeol Rev (
New work at Kehf el Hammar Cave provides the first well-dated palaeoenvironmental sequence for the Late Upper Palaeolithic in this region of the northwestMaghreb. The archaeological layers are dated via a combination of AMS radiocarbon and luminescence dating methods. The sequence contains charcoal-rich occupation layers with faunal, human and lithic finds. Local vegetational patterns are reconstructed on the basis of preliminary analysis of the charcoal evidence. Using standard calibration curves the AMS radiocarbon dates are compared with proxy evidence for climatic change from sea core records in the Alborán Sea. These appear to show that the Late Upper Palaeolithic occupation of the region coincides closely with Heinrich Event 1, a period marked by intense aridification and dating to ca. 16,700-17,250 calendar years ago. Les nouvelles recherches dans la grotte de Kehf el Hammar ont permis d'obtenir la première séquence paléoenevironnementale bien datée du Paléolithique supérieur tardif au Nord Ouest du Maghreb. En effet, les niveaux archéologiques ontété 77 0263-0338/05/0600-0077/0 C 2005 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc. 78 Barton et al. datés par le radiocarbone par accélérateur (AMS) et des méthodes radiométriques basées sur la luminescence. En revanche, les paléoenvironnements végétaux ont eté partiellement reconstituésà base des premières analyses des charbons de bois. Les dates AMS calibrées ontété comparées aux données climatiques is-sues des carottes marines dans la mer Alborán. Ainsi, les occupations humaines du Paléolithique supérieur tardif dans la région ont sensiblement coïncidé avec l'événement climatique Heinrich 1. Celui-ci correspondà une période qui aété marquée par une aridification intense entre 16.700 et 17.250 ans (cal.).
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