Early Neanderthal social and behavioural the evidence from the stone tool record.

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The Purfleet Interglacial (Marine Isotope Stage 9, c. 350-290,000 years) arguably saw several transformations in archaic human technology, behaviour and social life, a series of thresholds that ultimately led to the 'classic' Neanderthal way of life.Sites belonging to the Purfleet Interglacial have, however, only recently been recognised within the British Pleistocene record. As a result, beyond a few 'flagship' sites that have helped define (or indeed create) our impression of the period, the archaeology of MIS9 is very poorly understood. It is, however, a very rich archive, with over 192 sites and find-spots in the middle Thames Valley alone (most in the BM). Attempts to write a cogent history of the period have therefore been based on the small and limited sample of the 'best sites' that may not be representative. This project aims to examine a series of key yet under-researched set of materials, mostly held in the British Museum, to gain a better understanding of human groups during this period and to develop a more nuanced and fuller picture of the transformations that took place, in both space and time.