The missing hominin - A palynological investigation of the habitability of Beeston, England, during the Pleistocene

Pollen from pre-Anglian sediments at Beeston, Norfolk, UK, were investigated to reconstruct the palaeoenvironment and climate at the locality during the time of deposition. The results of the environmental reconstruction are integrated in the debate on hominin presence in northwest Europe during the Pleistocene, their dispersal, biogeography, and the understanding of their ecological tolerances. Based on the pollen assemblages identified from the sediment sequence the presence of an infilling fresh water river channel in a river plain could be reconstructed. The presence of aquatic plants suggest a permanent wet locality. An increase in waterside and damp ground plants towards the upper part of the sampled sequence together with an increase in sedimentation indicate the infilling of the channel. In the river plain both back waters, pools and slow-flowing streams were probably present. The water was bordered by waterside and damp ground vegetation. The river plain formed an open area...Show morePollen from pre-Anglian sediments at Beeston, Norfolk, UK, were investigated to reconstruct the palaeoenvironment and climate at the locality during the time of deposition. The results of the environmental reconstruction are integrated in the debate on hominin presence in northwest Europe during the Pleistocene, their dispersal, biogeography, and the understanding of their ecological tolerances. Based on the pollen assemblages identified from the sediment sequence the presence of an infilling fresh water river channel in a river plain could be reconstructed. The presence of aquatic plants suggest a permanent wet locality. An increase in waterside and damp ground plants towards the upper part of the sampled sequence together with an increase in sedimentation indicate the infilling of the channel. In the river plain both back waters, pools and slow-flowing streams were probably present. The water was bordered by waterside and damp ground vegetation. The river plain formed an open area where various animals may have roamed. In the vicinity the river plain was bordered by a coniferous forest with some deciduous elements. The climate and ecological habitat reconstructed from the pre-glacial sediments at Beeston, resemble that of known archaeological sites in the region. The age of the sediments, based on lithostratigraphy and biostratigraphy, could be constrained to between ~0.6 and ~1 Ma. This possible age range covers the period to which the now known earliest hominin occupation and subsequent hominin presence in Britain is dated. Based on this environmental reconstruction the locality of Beeston would have formed a habitable niche for hominins during the time of deposition. Up to today no indications of hominin presence are found near Beeston. Although excavations of the pre-glacial sediments at Beeston is today impossible, the environmental reconstruction and the apparent absence of archaeology from Beeston can be used for reconstructing the wider context of hominins in northwest Europe and form a basis for further inferences on hominin dispersal, biogeography and ecological tolerances.Show less

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The missing hominin - A palynological investigation of the habitability of Beeston, England, during the Pleistocene