Early Pleistocene human occupation at the edge of the boreal zone in northwest Europe

Northern Europeans in the early Pleistocene Early humans colonized Eurasia fairly swiftly after they left Africa more than 1.8 million years ago, occupying tropical and Mediterranean habitats from Flores in the east to present-day Spain in the west. The prevailing view from sparse fossil and archaeological evidence has been that humans were still largely adapted to warm climates, and penetrated more than 45° north only in exceptionally warm intervals. New findings of artefacts, fauna and flora from a river deposit in Norfolk, UK, dating back more than 780,000 years, will change that perception. Excavations at the eroding coastal site of Happisburgh uncovered 78 flint artefacts, including flint tools, from what was a forest habitat in a climate resembling that of southern Britain today. This suggests that humans were capable of living in northern Europe in cooler intervals much earlier than was thought. Hominins colonized Eurasia fairly swiftly after they left Africa around 1.75 million years ago, although it had been thought that they did not penetrate beyond 45° N except in very warm intervals. Now, however, artefacts, fauna and flora dating back more 0.78 million years have been found in a river deposit in Norfolk, England. The findings show that humans were capable of penetrating northern Europe in cooler intervals, and will prompt a re-evaluation of the adaptations and abilities of humans at this early date. The dispersal of early humans from Africa by 1.75 Myr ago led to a marked expansion of their range, from the island of Flores in the east to the Iberian peninsula in the west 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 . This range encompassed tropical forest, savannah and Mediterranean habitats, but has hitherto not been demonstrated beyond 45° N. Until recently, early colonization in Europe was thought to be confined to the area south of the Pyrenees and Alps. However, evidence from Pakefield (Suffolk, UK) at ∼0.7 Myr indicated that humans occupied northern European latitudes when a Mediterranean-type climate prevailed 6 . This provided the basis for an ‘ebb and flow’ model, where human populations were thought to survive in southern refugia during cold stages, only expanding northwards during fully temperate climates 5 . Here we present new evidence from Happisburgh (Norfolk, UK) demonstrating that Early Pleistocene hominins were present in northern Europe >0.78 Myr ago when they were able to survive at the southern edge of the boreal zone. This has significant implicati