Discontinuity in the record for hominin occupation in South-western Europe: implications for occupation of the middle latitudes of Europe

Abstract

Recent discoveries of evidence for hominin activity in Britain before MIS 13 challenge previous understanding of the nature of the earliest colonization of NW Europe. Insights into the nature of colonization in this region may be obtained by examining the much richer fossil and archaeological record from Iberia. It has generally been assumed that southern Europe was permanently occupied after the first appearance of hominins in the region, and that it provided a reliable source for populations re-colonizing areas further north. However, continuity of occupation in these southern areas is still to be demonstrated. This paper provides an outline of the palaeoenvironmental, archaeological and fossil evidence from Iberia during the Early Pleistocene and early Middle Pleistocene. This evidence is used to argue that hominin occupation in this region and time period was discontinuous. This may help to address a number of questions about the earliest occupation history of NW Europe: who were the colonists and where did they come from? Were they strongly limited by climatic conditions? Were source populations always available in nearby areas, and did this influence the permanency of occupation in this region?