Lower and Early Middle Palaeolithic of Southern Britain: the Evidence from the River Test

Abstract

Fluvial terrace sequences of Pleistocene rivers provide a chronological framework for examining broad patterns of change in the Palaeolithic record. Collections of artefacts recovered from individual terraces represent a time-averaged sample of the range of lithic technology discarded in a river valley over thousands of years. These can be compared and contrasted with other terraces to identify the timing of the appearance of key technological innovations and chronological variation in lithic technology. In Britain, the punctuated nature of human presence during the Pleistocene means that archaeological variation across a river terrace sequence is likely to relate in part to successive phases of occupation by human groups derived from populations in mainland Europe. This paper presents an analysis of the Lower and early Middle Palaeolithic record of the River Test, Hampshire, which was a tributary river of the former River Solent. The timing of the first appearance of handaxes and Levallois technology is established, and chronological patterning in handaxe typology and technology is identified. The Test record is placed in its regional context, and its implications for understanding the human occupation history of northwest Europe during the Middle Pleistocene are discussed.

Acheulean Diversity in Britain (MIS 15-MIS11): From the Standardization to the Regionalization of Technology

“…They tend towards refined ovate forms with soft hammer flaking, marginal trimming of the middle and butt portions, and are also characterised by frequent use of tranchet sharpening. Similar handaxes have been noted from Corfe Mullen (Roe, 2001;McNabb et al, 2012;Davis, 2013) and Ridge Gravel Pit (Davis, 2013;Davis et al, 2021b) in the Solent Basin, where the terrace gravels have been tentatively attributed to MIS 13. The Boxgrove assemblage was excavated after Roe's (1968) analysis, but Corfe Mullen and High Lodge were both placed in his Group VII.…”

Pleistocene environments, climate, and human activity in Britain during Marine Isotope Stage 7: insights from Oak Tree Fields, Cerney Wick, Gloucestershire

“…Evidence from Harnham (Wiltshire) is argued to show the late persistence of handaxe technology into later MIS 8, possibly early MIS 7 and, notably, without any signs of Levallois technology (Bates et al 2014). Reappraisal of museum collections from the Solent region indicates that while Levallois technology is only sparsely recorded it may coincide with the major phase of Early Middle Palaeolithic occupation inferred from the middle and upper Thames during late MIS 8 or early MIS 7, although handaxes may persist into MIS 8 (Davis 2013, Davis et al 2016, 2021). Further west in the Axe Valley, Broom (Devon and Dorset) has yielded significant handaxe‐dominated assemblages (~1800 artefacts), with only limited evidence of the Levallois (two flakes and one core), while associated OSL dates indicate deposition during late MIS 9, MIS 8 and MIS 7 (Hosfield 1999, Hosfield and Chambers 2002, 2009, Toms et al 2005).…”

Middle Palaeolithic occupation of the southern North Sea Basin: evidence from the Sandscaping sediments emplaced on the beach between Bacton and Walcott, Norfolk, UK

“…The exception is Botany Pit, Purfleet, where ‘Proto Levallois’ artefacts were recovered with several handaxes from deposits correlated with late MIS 9/early MIS 8 (Schreve et al, 2002; White & Ashton, 2003; Bridgland et al, 2013; Rawlinson et al, 2021). The EMP record is much more limited outside the Thames valley (Ashton et al, 2018) but, where contextual and/or dating information is available, it conforms to the patterning of the Thames record (Scott, 2011; Davis et al, 2016, 2021b; Rawlinson et al, 2021).…”