The earliest Europeans : a year in the life : survival strategies in the Lower Palaeolithic / Robert Hosfield.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hosfield, Robert, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Paleolithic period, Lower--Europe.

Paleolithic period, Lower.

Prehistoric peoples--Europe, Northern.

Prehistoric peoples.

Northern Europe.

Europe.

Physical Description:

xiv, 369 pages : illustrations (come color) ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Oxford ; Havertown, PA : Oxbow Books, 2020.

Summary:

"The Earliest Europeans explores the early origins of man in Europe through the perspective of 'a year in the life': how hominins in the Lower Palaeolithic coped with the year-round practical challenges of mid-latitude Europe with its distinctive temperatures, seasonality patterns, and available resources. Current research has provided increasingly robust archaeological and Quaternary Science records, but there are ongoing uncertainties as to both the earliest Europeans' specific survival strategies and behaviours, and the character of their dispersals into Europe. In short, how sustained and 'successful' were the individual phases of European occupation by Lower Palaeolithic hominins and what sorts of 'human' were they? Using a season-by-season chapter structure to explore, for example, the contrasting demands and opportunities of winter versus summer survival, Hosfield explores how foods and other resources would vary across the four seasons in quantity and quality, and the resulting implications for hominin behaviours. Text boxes provide the background on key issues, and the book draws on a range of supporting evidence including technology (e.g. the nature of Lower Palaeolithic stone tools; the evidence for organic tools), hominin life history (e.g. the length of infant dependency; the nature of 'parenting'; the implications of different mating models; the Social Brain Hypothesis), cognitive studies (e.g. brain scanning research into possible planning capabilities) and potential bias in the archaeological record (e.g. in terms of what is and isn't preserved). By testing the likelihood of different scenarios by comparing short-term, site-based insights with long-term, regional trends, Hosfield is able to put forward ideas on how our earliest European ancestors survived and what their lives were like"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

1 A seasonal approach p. 1

A seasonal perspective: a Palaeolithic 'just so' story? p. 1

Fundamentals of seasonality p. 3

2 Lower Palaeolithic Europe p. 15

The Pleistocene world p. 15

Glacial and interglacial cycles p. 15

Long-term Pleistocene change p. 28

The woods and the trees p. 33

Nature of the Lower Palaeolithic record p. 56

The earliest occupations of Europe p. 60

Outstanding questions ... and a seasonal approach p. 69

3 A winter wonderland? p. 73

It's grim in Europe: a winter challenge p. 73

Cold, dark and short days ... everywhere? p. 74

Surviving winter p. 79

Built for the cold? p. 81

A hairy hominin? p. 84

Put the heating on ... p. 87

Clothing, or I can't feel my fingers p. 97

Shelters? p. 107

Winter is coming, the deer aren't getting fat p. 112

Winter plants? p. 124

Scavenging as a strategy: shovelling revisited p. 126

'Every mile is two in winter ...' p. 131

Conclusion: a winter's tale p. 139

4 Springtime - a land awakening p. 143

Spring renewal p. 143

Spring relocations? p. 143

Spring resources: plant and animal foods p. 150

Animals and plants in the diet ... but how? p. 160

European Homo: always a hunter? p. 165

Food, and other stresses? p. 169

Who were the foragers...? p. 173

Food sharing ... or, where is everyone else? p. 181

Springtime babies? p. 189

Childbirth and demanding infants: energetics and social costs p. 191

Daily living: local spring lives? p. 200

Spring: breathing new life p. 202

5 Summertime ... was the living easy? p. 207

Hot days ... and dry days? p. 207

Water ... and wildfires? p. 209

Summer foods p. 211

Long days, not lazy days p. 219

Learning in a Lower Palaeolithic childhood p. 229

Childs' play ...? p. 243

A world beyond the horizon? p. 246

Summer conception: hunting with benefits? p. 249

Long days ... and dry days p. 250

6 Autumn - rich in food and colour p. 253

Wild harvests ... and shorter days p. 253

Ruts and nuts p. 253

Autumn migrations and winter in the sun? p. 256

How far do we have to go ...? p. 263

Are we nearly there yet? p. 267

Preparing for winter? p. 270

Other sorts of stockpiling? p. 282

An ability to plan? Preparing clothing p. 285

An ability to plan? A lithic perspective p. 292

Autumn: season of mists and mellow fruitfulness? p. 301

7 A year in a supremely skilled life? p. 303

The hominin year: a seasonal perspective p. 303

Adapting to a seasonal Europe? p. 303

Continuity in a seasonal world p. 310

Coping with seasonal Europe: biology and technology p. 311

How different were H. heidelbergensis and H. antecessor? A seasonal perspective p. 312

A seasonal world: hominins on the edge? p. 313

Benefits of a seasonal perspective p. 315.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

9781785707612

1785707612

OCLC:

1004719722