Early Humans in Britain: Cultural Adaptations from Coastal to Inland Occupation

该项目将主要通过现有的石器收藏，研究800,000至500,000多年前北欧第一批人类居住者的技术和栖息地。由于最近在东英吉利海岸发现的遗址(可追溯到80多万年前)，出现了两个关键问题：最初的殖民是否取决于沿海地区更海洋的气候和更广泛的可收集的食物资源(例如贝类)？内陆占领是否依赖更先进的技术(例如服装、住所、火)、更好的食物获取技术(例如狩猎)和隐含的改善的社会合作？这些问题可以通过研究最早的内陆遗址的年代来解决，并通过确定它们是与简单的核心和片状技术(如在沿海遗址发现的)有关，还是与手斧的引入相对应。后者被认为不仅反映了一套新的技术系统，而且反映了更复杂的社会行为。为了解决这些问题，这名学生将研究雷丁和毕肯斯菲尔德之间的地区，那里有泰晤士河以前的河道，那里有很好的博物馆收藏的石器文物。以前的河道可以追溯到50多万年前，可以按地层顺序进行放置，为检查最早收藏品的地层背景和年代并确定手斧技术的引入提供了一个理想的位置。该项目将使用四种主要方法：记录和研究来自旧河道的现有博物馆文物收藏品。审查档案和历史制图以改善文物收藏品的背景信息。利用现有的地质钻孔数据重新评估旧河道的制图。挖掘旧河道中的部分路段，建立人工制品的存在/缺失，如果有的话，(S)类型的技术。项目将由一个强大的监督团队管理，他们所有人都曾在过去的项目上合作过，包括雷丁大学、波士顿大学和伦敦玛丽女王大学之间成功的CDA合作(两名博士)(Solent旧石器项目)。索伦特项目中使用的方法已经过试验和测试，对于拟议的研究来说是理想的。该提议的一个重要方面是学生的职业发展。将在以下方面培养技能：岩屑分析；钻孔数据和绘图；现场记录和采样技术；实验室分析以及使用诸如地理信息系统和假山工程等软件包。此外，还将在雷丁大学和BM为博士生组织更广泛的培训方案，包括通过会议和海报演示以及外联方案，与专业和非专业受众进行书面和口头沟通。

This project will examine the technologies and habitats of the first human occupants of northern Europe between over 800,000 to 500,000 years ago primarily through existing stone tool collections. Due to recently discovered sites on the coast of East Anglia (dating to over 800,000 years ago) two key questions have emerged:Was initial colonisation dependent on the more oceanic climates and wider, collectable food resources (e.g. shellfish) found in coastal areas?Was inland occupation dependent on more advanced technologies (e.g. clothing, shelter, fire), better food acquisition techniques (e.g. hunting), and implicitly improved social cooperation?The questions can be addressed by examining the age of the earliest inland sites, and by determining whether they are associated with a simple core and flake technology (as found on coastal sites) or correspond with the introduction of handaxes. The latter have been argued to reflect not only a suite of new technological systems, but also more complex social behaviours.To address the questions, the student will study the area between Reading and Beaconsfield that contains former courses of the River Thames, from which there are good museum collections of stone artefacts. The former river courses date to over 500,000 years ago and can be placed in stratigraphic order, providing an ideal location to examine the stratigraphic context and age of the earliest collections and identify the introduction of handaxe technology.The project will use four main methods:Record and study existing museum artefact collections from the older river courses.Examine archives and historic mapping to improve the contextual information for the artefact collections.Use existing geological borehole data to reassess the mapping of the older river courses.Excavate sections in the older river courses and establish artefact presence/absence and if present, type(s) of technology.The project will be managed by a strong supervisory team, all of whom have worked together on past projects, including a successful CDA collaboration (2 PhDs) between the University of Reading, the BM and Queen Mary University of London (The Solent Palaeolithic Project). The methods that were used on the Solent project have been tried and tested, and are ideal for the proposed research.An important aspect of the proposal is the career development of the student. Skills will be developed in: lithic analysis; borehole data and mapping; field recording and sampling techniques; laboratory analyses as well as the use of software packages such as GIS and Rockworks. These will be complemented by broader training programmes organised for doctoral students at the University of Reading and the BM, including developing written and verbal communication to both specialist and non-specialist audiences through conference and poster presentations and outreach programmes.