Early hominins in north­west Europe: a punctuated long chronology?

15 In light of changing views regarding the identity and evolutionary positions of Europe’s Lower 16 Palaeolithic hominins, a re-consideration of the hominin occupation of North-West Europe from c . 1 17 million years ago (mya) to c . 400 thousand years ago (kya) is timely. A change in the scale and 18 character of the overall European Palaeolithic record around c . 800-600 kya has been well 19 documented and argued over since the mid-1990s. Hominin expansion into the European north- 20 west, potentially from southern Europe, Africa or south-western Asia, has been linked to the 21 introduction of a new lithic technology in the form of the biface. We evaluate three potential drivers 22 for this northern range expansion: changing palaeo-climatic conditions, the emergence of an 23 essentially modern human life history, and greater hominin behavioural plasticity. Our evaluation 24 suggests no major changes in these three factors during the c . 800-600 kya period other than 25 enhanced behavioural plasticity suggested by the appearance of the biface. We offer here a model 26 of hominin occupation for north-west Europe termed the ‘punctuated long chronology’ and suggest 27 that the major changes in the European Lower Palaeolithic record that occur at a species wide level 28 may post-date, rather than precede, the Anglian Glaciation (marine isotope stage (MIS) 12).


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The hominin occupation of North-West Europe is a complex and important story for understanding 38 hominin abilities to adapt to novel environments and the implementation of the plastic behaviours 39 that were first developed on the savannahs of Africa and Eurasia (Dennell, 2003;     food resources, and more dispersed and clustered animal food resources (Gamble, 1986; 82 2016; Kelly, 1995;Roebroeks, 2001Roebroeks, , 2006

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care practices that are critical to success in adulthood. Bogin and Smith (1996) have similarly

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We can discuss life history and its evolution amongst extinct hominins ( Fig. 1)

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It has been suggested for some time that organisms that are both mobile and long-lived are less 191 likely to adapt to local conditions through the selection of genetically based traits (Potts, 1998(Potts, , 2013 192 van Schaik, 2013). In effect, the suggestion is therefore that when such organisms encounter

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Indeed, if behavioural plasticity and brain size are linked then there is a possibility that a more 220 sustained hominin presence in north-west Europe may require a threshold level of both plasticity 221 and brain size. Therefore, examining the fossil and behavioural signatures of Pleistocene hominin 222 activity in north-west Europe against the context of changing environmental conditions should 223 provide some insight as to the degree of plasticity present, and whether an increase in behavioural 224 plasticity coinciding with an increase in brain size is significant enough of an advantage to lead to a 225 more sustained hominin presence after c. 600kya.

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Following the three broad themes presented above, we will now examine and review the evidence 229 for each. perspective of hominin distribution and dispersal, these changes were accompanied by regional 248 shifts in characteristic habitat types (Table 3).    298

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European elder, raspberry, and leaves of Ranunculus and Chenopodium) and seasonal needs ( Figure   306 3). Evidence of animal butchery also suggests few changes in preferred prey across the c. 800-600kya 307 boundary, or in comparison between northern and southern Europe (Table 7).  Hoxne (Stopp, 1993) 314     sustained behavioural plasticity as brain sizes increase (Fig. 2)

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When looking at the early biface assemblages of north-west Europe (Table 8) it can be seen that 401 there is a diversity of biface form within the assemblages and the sites tend to cluster around fluvial 402 locations, often at the convergence of ecological zones (Table 6). This is perhaps not surprising as

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The biface itself has often been seen to represent something more than just a functional tool with 2004; White, 1998;Wynn, 1995). We agree with aspects of the above and emphasise again that it is 470 not the biface per se that allowed hominins to have a more sustained presence in north-west

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Europe, but perhaps the full behavioural package that accompanied biface manufacture.

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Why then did it take so long for biface makers to enter north-west Europe when there is clearly includes) but you also need a threshold level of behavioural plasticity that is tied to a brain size of 478 over 1100cm 3 at a sustained species level for hominin populations to persistently survive the 479 difficulties of the European north-west. Since Moncel et al. (2015) and Table 8

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However, there may be a subtler and more nuanced pattern to the archaeological record, reflecting 497 a multi-phased hominin occupation of north-west Europe, which we dub here the 'punctuated long 498 chronology' (Table 9), which builds on the modified short chronology (Dennell and Roebroeks, 1996).

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The first phase, contemporary with the pre-1 million year flake and core occupations of the southern 500 European zone exemplified by Dmanisi, Orce and Atapuerca, is characterised by northern absence.   Cambridge. 610