Ancient tools found in Britain show that humans lived in northern Europe 200,000 years earlier than was thought. At that time, the climate was warm enough for the lions, elephants and saber-toothed tigers, also found in what is now England.
Scientists have reported that 32 black flint tools found in river sediments in Pakefield, eastern England are 700,000 years old and represent the earliest clear evidence of a human presence north of the Alps.
For a long time, scientists were of the opinion that people did not move north from the relatively warm zones of the Mediterranean earlier than half a million years ago. “The discovery that early humans may have settled in these distant northern lands for so long is overwhelming,” said Professor Chris Stringer, a paleontologist at the Natural History Museum and one of four British scientists involved in the study.
Commenting on research findings in Nature magazine, Wil Rabrax of Leiden University in the Netherlands said the evidence for human activity at Peakefield is "rock solid." Rabrax, who was not personally involved in the study, suggests on the basis of it that "early humans apparently roamed the banks of these rivers … much earlier than has hitherto been claimed for this part of Europe."
But another outside expert called for caution: “One needs to be more critical when one considers that previous statements about the early human presence in northern Europe had problems with the dating or authenticity of the artifacts found. If subsequent evidence does support this discovery, it will be excitingly interesting and change our understanding of the ability of ancient humans to adapt,”said Alison Brooks, an anthropologist at George Washington University.
Stringer said that now scientists can search for the remains of the person himself. Perhaps they will show that humans settled in this region even earlier than 700,000 years ago. “A new area of research is opening up before us,” the scientist believes.
Another contributor, Professor Jim Rose of the University of London, believes that 700,000 years ago England was connected to the European mainland and enjoyed short-term favorable climatic periods between eras, when massive glaciers passed through here, freezing and transforming landscapes. During such thaws, early humans could migrate to England from the Mediterranean and enjoy mild winters, flat landscapes, and deep rivers.
Rhinos, elephants, saber-toothed tigers, lions, hippos and bears lived here at that time. Scientists do not know if humans used the discovered sharp-edged tools to hunt animals or simply to scrape off the remains of meat from the bones left by predators after their meals.
Promotional video:
Judging by the finds, the early people did not colonize the northern regions of Europe, but simply expanded the area of settlement, as far as the climate allowed, scientists say.
Pakefield, a coastal settlement 120 miles (190 kilometers) northeast of London, is one of the few areas where glaciers have not destroyed but preserved sedimentary rocks containing ancient tools, Rose said. Now erosion is eating away at the coastal slopes around Pakefield, revealing fossils and ancient artifacts.
Before the discovery was made, the earliest definite human footprints in Europe north of the Alps were dated to about 500,000 years ago. Such traces included processed pieces of flint, mammalian bones and even human remains found at Bosgrove on the south coast of England. And the earliest traces of human presence in southern Europe are at least 800,000 years old and include materials found at Atapuerca in Spain.