The earliest record of human activity in northern Europe

Simon A. Parfitt; René W. Barendregt; Marzia Breda; Ian Candy; Matthew J. Collins; G. Russell Coope; Paul Durbidge; Mike H. Field; Jonathan R. Lee; Adrian M. Lister; Robert Mutch; Kirsty E.H. Penkman; Richard C. Preece; James Rose; Christopher B. Stringer; Robert Symmons; John E. Whittaker; John J. Wymer; Anthony J. Stuart

doi:10.1038/nature04227

The earliest record of human activity in northern Europe

Simon A. Parfitt, René W. Barendregt, Marzia Breda, Ian Candy, Matthew J. Collins, G. Russell Coope, Paul Durbidge, Mike H. Field, Jonathan R. Lee, Adrian M. Lister, Robert Mutch, Kirsty E.H. Penkman, Richard C. Preece, James Rose, Christopher B. Stringer, Robert Symmons, John E. Whittaker, John J. Wymer, Anthony J. Stuart^*

^*Corresponding author af dette arbejde

307 Citationer (Scopus)

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 debate¹. The southern Caucasus was occupied about 1.8 million years (Myr) ago², whereas human remains from Atapuerca-TD6, Spain (more than 780 kyr ago)³ and Ceprano, Italy (about 800 kyr ago)⁴ 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^5,6. Here we report flint artefacts from the Cromer Forest-bed Formation at Pakefield (52° 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.

Originalsprog	Engelsk
Tidsskrift	Nature
Vol/bind	438
Udgave nummer	7070
Sider (fra-til)	1008-1012
Antal sider	5
ISSN	0028-0836
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1038/nature04227
Status	Udgivet - 15 dec. 2005

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Parfitt, S. A., Barendregt, R. W., Breda, M., Candy, I., Collins, M. J., Coope, G. R., Durbidge, P., Field, M. H., Lee, J. R., Lister, A. M., Mutch, R., Penkman, K. E. H., Preece, R. C., Rose, J., Stringer, C. B., Symmons, R., Whittaker, J. E., Wymer, J. J., & Stuart, A. J. (2005). The earliest record of human activity in northern Europe. Nature, 438(7070), 1008-1012. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature04227

Parfitt, SA, Barendregt, RW, Breda, M, Candy, I, Collins, MJ, Coope, GR, Durbidge, P, Field, MH, Lee, JR, Lister, AM, Mutch, R, Penkman, KEH, Preece, RC, Rose, J, Stringer, CB, Symmons, R, Whittaker, JE, Wymer, JJ & Stuart, AJ 2005, 'The earliest record of human activity in northern Europe', Nature, bind 438, nr. 7070, s. 1008-1012. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature04227

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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 debate1. The southern Caucasus was occupied about 1.8 million years (Myr) ago2, whereas human remains from Atapuerca-TD6, Spain (more than 780 kyr ago)3 and Ceprano, Italy (about 800 kyr ago)4 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 ago5,6. Here we report flint artefacts from the Cromer Forest-bed Formation at Pakefield (52° 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.",

author = "Parfitt, {Simon A.} and Barendregt, {Ren{\'e} W.} and Marzia Breda and Ian Candy and Collins, {Matthew J.} and Coope, {G. Russell} and Paul Durbidge and Field, {Mike H.} and Lee, {Jonathan R.} and Lister, {Adrian M.} and Robert Mutch and Penkman, {Kirsty E.H.} and Preece, {Richard C.} and James Rose and Stringer, {Christopher B.} and Robert Symmons and Whittaker, {John E.} and Wymer, {John J.} and Stuart, {Anthony J.}",

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AU - Durbidge, Paul

AU - Field, Mike H.

AU - Lee, Jonathan R.

AU - Lister, Adrian M.

AU - Mutch, Robert

AU - Penkman, Kirsty E.H.

AU - Preece, Richard C.

AU - Rose, James

AU - Stringer, Christopher B.

AU - Symmons, Robert

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AU - Stuart, Anthony J.

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AB - 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 debate1. The southern Caucasus was occupied about 1.8 million years (Myr) ago2, whereas human remains from Atapuerca-TD6, Spain (more than 780 kyr ago)3 and Ceprano, Italy (about 800 kyr ago)4 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 ago5,6. Here we report flint artefacts from the Cromer Forest-bed Formation at Pakefield (52° 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.

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The earliest record of human activity in northern Europe

Abstract

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