Challenges to the occupation of North-West Europe during the late Middle Pleistocene

Abstract

This thesis examines the challenges and human responses to changes in climate and environment in occupying north-west Europe from MIS 11 to MIS 5e (c. 420__125 ka). The first part studies human habitats and environments in Britain during MIS 11 and concludes that humans were attracted to the more dynamic, open river valleys in temperate climates, which provided a greater variety of resources. Part 2 examines population change in Britain from MIS 13 __ MIS 5e using the archaeology from the different terraces of the Thames and Solent rivers. Using artefacts as a proxy for population, both river systems suggest peak populations in MIS 13 and 11, with low populations or human absence from MIS 6 to MIS 4. Part 3 examines the reasons for this probable absence of humans. The major differences between the archaeological records from Britain and continental Europe suggests that it was the island status of Britain that controlled population, largely governed by the progressive subsidence of the floor of the North Sea Basin