The earliest record of human activity in northern Europe.
The colonization of Eurasia by early humans is a key event after their spread out of Africa, but the nature, timing and ecological context of the earliest human occupation of northwest Europe is uncertain and has been the subject of intense debate. The southern Caucasus was occupied about 1.8 million years (Myr) ago, whereas human remains from Atapuerca-TD6, Spain (more than 780 kyr ago) and Ceprano, Italy (about 800 kyr ago) show that early Homo had dispersed to the Mediterranean hinterland before the Brunhes-Matuyama magnetic polarity reversal (780 kyr ago). Until now, the earliest uncontested artefacts from northern Europe were much younger, suggesting that humans were unable to colonize northern latitudes until about 500 kyr ago. Here we report flint artefacts from the Cromer Forest-bed Formation at Pakefield (52 degrees N), Suffolk, UK, from an interglacial sequence yielding a diverse range of plant and animal fossils. Event and lithostratigraphy, palaeomagnetism, amino acid geochronology and biostratigraphy indicate that the artefacts date to the early part of the Brunhes Chron (about 700 kyr ago) and thus represent the earliest unequivocal evidence for human presence north of the Alps.
Parfitt
Simon A
SA
Institute of Archaeology, University College London, London WC1H 0PY, UK.
Barendregt
René W
RW
Breda
Marzia
M
Candy
Ian
I
Collins
Matthew J
MJ
Coope
G Russell
GR
Durbidge
Paul
P
Field
Mike H
MH
Lee
Jonathan R
JR
Lister
Adrian M
AM
Mutch
Robert
R
Penkman
Kirsty E H
KE
Preece
Richard C
RC
Rose
James
J
Stringer
Christopher B
CB
Symmons
Robert
R
Whittaker
John E
JE
Wymer
John J
JJ
Stuart
Anthony J
AJ
D000818:Animals; D001106:Archaeology; D002980:Climate; D005060:Europe / Q000208:ethnology; D005580:Fossils; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry; D049690:History, Ancient; D006802:Human Activities / Q000266:history*; D006801:Humans; D007313:Insecta / Q000502:physiology; D008322:Mammals / Q000502:physiology; D011891:Rain; D012621:Seasons; D013696:Temperature; D013997:Time Factors