Happisburgh footprints: they will make us rethink what we know about early humans.



In 2005 we found evidence of humans in Suffolk that dated from 700,000 years ago. That was during a period when Britain had a much warmer environment than we have today – more like the Mediterranean today.

Our argument was that these people could get up into Britain because it was so warm. But now we have evidence that is even older than that and at a time that was when the climate was beginning to cool down.

This was an environment that was colder than it is today – comparable with southern Scandinavia. The vegetation was changing from the woodland and forest we are familiar with to the kind of coniferous forests you see in Scandinavia.

So we would have expected to see humans in Britain a few thousand years earlier when it was warmer, but we don’t have evidence for that yet.

To see early humans living in Britain, coping with conditions that were somewhat colder than the present day, makes us rethink the capacities of these early people.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/archaeology/10625386/Happisburgh-footprints-they-will-make-us-rethink-what-we-know-about-early-humans.html

And associated :

Palaeolithic Handaxes from the North Sea http://www.wessexarch.co.uk/book/export/html/722