early settlers to britain
By zteve t evans
The question of when Britain was first settled by humans has been the subject of ongoing debate and research for many years. Exciting new discoveries have changed the assumptions of experts leading them to conclude that Britain was possibly settled much earlier than had previously been thought.
Along the coasts of Norfolk and Suffolk ongoing investigations into an extraordinary cluster of Palaeolithic sites has revealed evidence of human activity going back to around 900,000 years. This is nearly double the earlier estimates and new research is beginning to shed new light on these early settlers.
Along the coasts of Norfolk and Suffolk ongoing investigations into an extraordinary cluster of Palaeolithic sites has revealed evidence of human activity going back to around 900,000 years. This is nearly double the earlier estimates and new research is beginning to shed new light on these early settlers.
The peninsula of Britain
Although Britain is famous for being an island today it has not always been one. In fact until about 8,500 years ago it was a part of a wide peninsula jutting out of the north-west of Europe. During this time migrating animals and humans had easy access to it. Even so, it was not an easy place for humans to settle. At that time the local climate swung from being warm and Mediterranean-like to cold polar conditions. Warm periods when humans could gain a foothold on the peninsula were followed by ice ages that forced them off. There were 8 - 9 periods of warmth where humans settled on the peninsula but each period was followed by an ice age which forced them to abandon it. About 12,500 years ago the ice finally receded and waves of pioneering settlers moved onto the peninsula establishing permanent colonies.
The Boxgrove discoveries
The earliest known fossils of hominin remains found in Britain are two teeth and a tibia found at a quarry in Boxgrove, Sussex. These were dated to about 500,000 years ago and thought to have belonged to Homo heidelbergensis, a species that researchers know from other places in Europe and further a field.
Professor Chris Stinger from the Natural History Museum, leads an interdisciplinary team called the Ancient Human Occupation of Britain (AHOB) with members from Britain, Europe and North America. He believes that human occupation of Britain can now be traced back further.
He believes sets of fossilized footprints found along the seashore will rewrite the timeline of British Palaeolithic period which are not only the earliest evidence of human activity in Britain but also the earliest in Europe, and the earliest found outside of Africa.
Although Britain is famous for being an island today it has not always been one. In fact until about 8,500 years ago it was a part of a wide peninsula jutting out of the north-west of Europe. During this time migrating animals and humans had easy access to it. Even so, it was not an easy place for humans to settle. At that time the local climate swung from being warm and Mediterranean-like to cold polar conditions. Warm periods when humans could gain a foothold on the peninsula were followed by ice ages that forced them off. There were 8 - 9 periods of warmth where humans settled on the peninsula but each period was followed by an ice age which forced them to abandon it. About 12,500 years ago the ice finally receded and waves of pioneering settlers moved onto the peninsula establishing permanent colonies.
The Boxgrove discoveries
The earliest known fossils of hominin remains found in Britain are two teeth and a tibia found at a quarry in Boxgrove, Sussex. These were dated to about 500,000 years ago and thought to have belonged to Homo heidelbergensis, a species that researchers know from other places in Europe and further a field.
Professor Chris Stinger from the Natural History Museum, leads an interdisciplinary team called the Ancient Human Occupation of Britain (AHOB) with members from Britain, Europe and North America. He believes that human occupation of Britain can now be traced back further.
He believes sets of fossilized footprints found along the seashore will rewrite the timeline of British Palaeolithic period which are not only the earliest evidence of human activity in Britain but also the earliest in Europe, and the earliest found outside of Africa.
Discoveries at Happisburgh
In the year 2000 a man walking his dog along the beach at Happisburgh, Norfolk had a lucky find. Half buried in the peaty ground was a black flint handaxe, which was dated as being about 500,000 years old, about the same age as the Boxgrove finds.
The length of the footprints was between 140 to 260 mm indicating that they were made by several people of different age groups.
The researchers think they were made by a group of five people, possibly a family.
Since that lucky find at Happisburgh a further six sites from the Palaeolithic Period have been found. Flints and animal bones found at the sites have been dated as even older than the first find.
The Cromer Forest Bed
Furthermore in a thick layer of sediment known as the Cromer Forest Bed dozens of stone implements used for piercing or cutting were discovered. The dating of these took the dates back even further. Some of the deposits in the Cromer Forest Bed are thought to be 840,000 to 950,000 old. This makes the artefacts found the oldest known in Britain and Northern Europe.
The Cromer Forest Bed is made up of layers of mud, sand and gravel and is evidence that Happisburgh, although now on the coast was situated about 15 miles inland in the Palaeolithic Period than it is now. In those days it was located next to an estuary formed where two rivers emptied into the sea. These were the Thames and the Bytham.
The Bytham no longer exists but it once flowed across the midlands and East Anglia and emptied into what is now called the North Sea. The River Thames once ran about 100 miles to the North of its present course. In those days the area was more like a large bay connected to what is present day Holland on the far side. Studies of the sediments by AHOB, left by these two rivers have revealed a wealth of evidence about the local environment and ecology of the area in Palaeolithic times.
The Pakefield discoveries
Proof that human activity in Britain may be older than the evidence obtained from the Boxgrove bones was discovered in Pakefield, Suffolk. An important goal for the AHOB team was to determine if other sites may exist. In the past there had been rumours of stone implements being found but nothing substantiated. However, on the last day of a dig a worked flint was found and the team decided the site was worth further investigation.
New excavations were undertaken and 32 worked flints were uncovered. As these implements were found in clear stratified geological deposits it is believed these implements to be about 700,000 years old, the same age as the deposits.
Magnetic signature
The discoveries at Pakefield were exciting and pushed back the timeline of human activity in Britain but the AHOB team were to make an even more remarkable find thanks to the British weather. Storms and tides had caused a great deal of erosion along the north Norfolk coastline and caused the collapse of many sea defences.
Discoveries near Happisburgh revealed that there had been considerable human activity in the area in very early times. Six sites of potential were identified and of those Sites 3, discovered in 2005, has given up around 80 flint tools that were found in layers of sediment believed to be about 950,000 years old.
When the magnetic signature of the deposits were analysed it was found that were from a period when the magnetic poles of the Earth were reversed with the South Pole being the magnetic pole. The last time the magnetic poles were known to have switched was around 780,000 years ago. This suggests the flint tools were at least the same age. Furthermore, analysis of plant, pollen and remains of animal species found living at the time indicate that the climate was warm but beginning to cool to an ice age. Collectively these factors point to a date from 950,000 to 840,000 years ago.
Surprises
These discoveries were surprising as they did not fit into the assumptions made by experts about human activity during this period. It was assumed that humans needed a mild Mediterranean climate to live in. According to the evidence they uncovered they get a picture of Site 3 being situated in a valley of grass enclosed by pine trees. The environment and climate were very similar to areas in present day southern regions of Scandinavia.
Questions
It had been previously believed that humans needed a warm Mediterranean type of climate but these discoveries contradict this thinking. Somehow humans had found a way to adapt to living in a cold climate much earlier that had been thought and these discoveries proved it. Many questions arise as to how they managed this. Did they know how to control the use of fire to keep warm and to cook? Did they know how to make and wear clothing? Did they know how to make shelters?
In the year 2000 a man walking his dog along the beach at Happisburgh, Norfolk had a lucky find. Half buried in the peaty ground was a black flint handaxe, which was dated as being about 500,000 years old, about the same age as the Boxgrove finds.
The length of the footprints was between 140 to 260 mm indicating that they were made by several people of different age groups.
The researchers think they were made by a group of five people, possibly a family.
Since that lucky find at Happisburgh a further six sites from the Palaeolithic Period have been found. Flints and animal bones found at the sites have been dated as even older than the first find.
The Cromer Forest Bed
Furthermore in a thick layer of sediment known as the Cromer Forest Bed dozens of stone implements used for piercing or cutting were discovered. The dating of these took the dates back even further. Some of the deposits in the Cromer Forest Bed are thought to be 840,000 to 950,000 old. This makes the artefacts found the oldest known in Britain and Northern Europe.
The Cromer Forest Bed is made up of layers of mud, sand and gravel and is evidence that Happisburgh, although now on the coast was situated about 15 miles inland in the Palaeolithic Period than it is now. In those days it was located next to an estuary formed where two rivers emptied into the sea. These were the Thames and the Bytham.
The Bytham no longer exists but it once flowed across the midlands and East Anglia and emptied into what is now called the North Sea. The River Thames once ran about 100 miles to the North of its present course. In those days the area was more like a large bay connected to what is present day Holland on the far side. Studies of the sediments by AHOB, left by these two rivers have revealed a wealth of evidence about the local environment and ecology of the area in Palaeolithic times.
The Pakefield discoveries
Proof that human activity in Britain may be older than the evidence obtained from the Boxgrove bones was discovered in Pakefield, Suffolk. An important goal for the AHOB team was to determine if other sites may exist. In the past there had been rumours of stone implements being found but nothing substantiated. However, on the last day of a dig a worked flint was found and the team decided the site was worth further investigation.
New excavations were undertaken and 32 worked flints were uncovered. As these implements were found in clear stratified geological deposits it is believed these implements to be about 700,000 years old, the same age as the deposits.
Magnetic signature
The discoveries at Pakefield were exciting and pushed back the timeline of human activity in Britain but the AHOB team were to make an even more remarkable find thanks to the British weather. Storms and tides had caused a great deal of erosion along the north Norfolk coastline and caused the collapse of many sea defences.
Discoveries near Happisburgh revealed that there had been considerable human activity in the area in very early times. Six sites of potential were identified and of those Sites 3, discovered in 2005, has given up around 80 flint tools that were found in layers of sediment believed to be about 950,000 years old.
When the magnetic signature of the deposits were analysed it was found that were from a period when the magnetic poles of the Earth were reversed with the South Pole being the magnetic pole. The last time the magnetic poles were known to have switched was around 780,000 years ago. This suggests the flint tools were at least the same age. Furthermore, analysis of plant, pollen and remains of animal species found living at the time indicate that the climate was warm but beginning to cool to an ice age. Collectively these factors point to a date from 950,000 to 840,000 years ago.
Surprises
These discoveries were surprising as they did not fit into the assumptions made by experts about human activity during this period. It was assumed that humans needed a mild Mediterranean climate to live in. According to the evidence they uncovered they get a picture of Site 3 being situated in a valley of grass enclosed by pine trees. The environment and climate were very similar to areas in present day southern regions of Scandinavia.
Questions
It had been previously believed that humans needed a warm Mediterranean type of climate but these discoveries contradict this thinking. Somehow humans had found a way to adapt to living in a cold climate much earlier that had been thought and these discoveries proved it. Many questions arise as to how they managed this. Did they know how to control the use of fire to keep warm and to cook? Did they know how to make and wear clothing? Did they know how to make shelters?
Who were they?
Although no human remains were found the experts think it highly likely that these early settlers were a species of man known as Homo antecessor or Pioneer Man. In the Atapuerca region of Spain the remains of this species have been found dating to around 800,000 to 1.2 million years old.
With Britain still connected to Europe by a land bridge it is possible Pioneer Man could have been living in Britain during this period. Pioneer Man had many similarities to Homo sapiens our own species of human. Like us they were hunter gathers who walked upright and could make and use tools. They differed from us physically having smaller brains and slightly different shaped heads, faces and chins.
Pushing back the boundaries
These discoveries have pushed back the boundaries of what we know about the early settlers of Britain and much of this was uncovered by chance. With a little more luck and some patient and skilled field work and research more knowledge still may be discovered about the early pioneers who settled Britain.
© 04/09/2014 zteve t evans
Although no human remains were found the experts think it highly likely that these early settlers were a species of man known as Homo antecessor or Pioneer Man. In the Atapuerca region of Spain the remains of this species have been found dating to around 800,000 to 1.2 million years old.
With Britain still connected to Europe by a land bridge it is possible Pioneer Man could have been living in Britain during this period. Pioneer Man had many similarities to Homo sapiens our own species of human. Like us they were hunter gathers who walked upright and could make and use tools. They differed from us physically having smaller brains and slightly different shaped heads, faces and chins.
Pushing back the boundaries
These discoveries have pushed back the boundaries of what we know about the early settlers of Britain and much of this was uncovered by chance. With a little more luck and some patient and skilled field work and research more knowledge still may be discovered about the early pioneers who settled Britain.
© 04/09/2014 zteve t evans
References and Attributions
Copyright September 4, 2014 zteve t evans
Copyright September 4, 2014 zteve t evans
- UK Happisburgh c. 800000 BP EN CC BY 4.0 - by Philg88
- Happisburgh handaxe CC BY-SA 3.0 - Portable Antiquities Scheme
- Homo antecessor male CC BY-SA 2.0 - Jose Luis Martinez Alvarez from Asturias, España - Homo antecessor macho II - Cropped image
- BBC News - Humans' early arrival in Britain
- Happisburgh footprints - Wikipedia
- Homo antecessor From Wikipedia
- Natural History Museum - Homo antecessor