title: The earliest record of human activity in northern Europe.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Archaeology, University College London, London WC1H 0PY, UK.
authors.forename: Simon A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Parfitt
authors.forename: René W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Barendregt
authors.forename: Marzia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Breda
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Candy
authors.forename: Matthew J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.forename: G Russell
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Coope
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Durbidge
authors.forename: Mike H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Field
authors.forename: Jonathan R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Adrian M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Lister
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mutch
authors.forename: Kirsty E H
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Penkman
authors.forename: Richard C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Preece
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rose
authors.forename: Christopher B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Stringer
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Symmons
authors.forename: John E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Whittaker
authors.forename: John J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Wymer
authors.forename: Anthony J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Stuart
mesh_terms: 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