Human display and dispersal: A case study from biotidal Britain in the Middle and Upper Pleistocene

The British Lower Palaeolithic of the early Middle Pleistocene

“…Interestingly, the later Middle Pleistocene settlement history models of Ashton and Lewis (2002) and, less clearly, Ashton and Hosfield (in press) suggest an occupation 'peak' between MIS 13-10 before a gradual decline. The richness of that MIS 13-10 record (occurring for the most part despite the inconveniences to movement into Britain introduced by the probable breaching of the Strait of Dover at c. 450kya: Gibbard, 1995) indicates the first significant archaeological presence in Britain, and is perhaps further indirect evidence in support of the major behavioural shifts argued to occur by Gamble (2009) and Roebroeks (2006) around this time. The regionally variable archaeological signature prior to MIS 12 (in particular the apparent paucity of material from the substantial Colchester Formation deposits in the lower reaches of the pre-diversion Thames) would also seem to support a highly sporadic, patchy presence prior to the very end of the early Middle Pleistocene.…”

“…Seasonal movement could/would be a part of such large-scale hunting strategies. Yet while the British record provides probable evidence for hunting (Boxgrove), much of the landscape/raw material evidence are suggestive of locally-focused activities (the 'local hominin network' of Gamble, 1996Gamble, , 1999 and the use of immediately available lithic sources, whether 'good' (Boxgrove) or 'bad' (Kent's Cavern and Pakefield). However simple energy economizing concerns, particularly in a biface-dominated technology, may limit the potential of lithic data for reconstructing the size of hunting areas (i.e.…”

“…Certainly the re-sharpening scatters of Boxgrove and the Valdoe Quarry may be a valuable insight into a world of curated, as opposed to immediately made, used, and discarded (Gamble, 1999), bifaces, and the differential use of micro-habitats across the 'Boxgrove' palaeolandscape. Such a curated technology would logically seem to be a component of a highly mobile hunting strategy, in which the availability of good quality (or indeed any quality) raw materials for tool-making when needed, could not be guaranteed.…”

“…Both Gamble (2009) and Roebroeks (2001) have argued that the post-500kya hominin expansion in Europe, especially northern Europe, involved encephalisation and associated increases in social cognition skills and effective group sizes. Gamble (2009) has emphasised the benefits of larger community sizes in terms of co-operation in subsistence and predator defence, combined with the potential for extended fission-fusion strategies, while Roebroeks (2001) highlighted the implications of brain growth and the need for high quality foods upon subsistence strategies (co-operative hunting of large mammals), male/female relationships, and the wider social contexts of hunting (food exchange, risk sharing, and knowledge transmission). Where such behavioural repertoires present, in whole or in part, amongst those hominins present in the northern latitudes of Europe during the early Middle Pleistocene, and what are their likely 'first appearance dates'?…”

“…Within this framework, research over the last twenty-five years has revealed that the MIS 19-12 period in Britain is characterised by a rich and geographically diverse archaeological record (Table 1). This paper's goal is to provide an overview of the key archaeological materials, followed by an exploration of four behavioural themes (climatic and habitat preferences; subsistence behaviours; material culture variability and patterning; and spatial and landscape behaviours) with reference to the models and predictions of Roebroeks (2001Roebroeks ( , 2006 and Gamble (2009). For comprehensive site-by-site and findspot-by-findspot reviews, see the key site and landscape monographs (Campbell and Sampson, 1971;Roberts and Parfitt, 1999;Roberts and Pope, in press) and papers (Wymer et al, 1991;Shotton et al, 1993;Bridgland et al, 1995;Cook and Jacobi, 1998;Parfitt et al, 2005;Proctor et al, 2005;Keen et al, 2006;Ashton et al, 2008;Parfitt, 2008;Pope et al, 2009), and regional and national overviews (Roe, 1968(Roe, , 1981Woodcock, 1981;Wymer, 1985Wymer, , 1988Wymer, , 1999Wessex Archaeology, 1993, 1996a, 1996bLang and Keen, 2005;Stringer, 2006;McNabb, 2007).…”