Paper short abstract:

There is now widespread agreement on the contrasting scale of the early Palaeolithic record pre/post-600kya in northern Eurasia. We explore two explanations for this change in archaeological density: a reduction in the scale of the environmental challenges; the role of hominin behaviour plasticity.

Paper long abstract:

The last twenty years have seen the sustained recognition of a marked pre- and post-600kya difference in the scale and distribution of the earliest Palaeolithic archaeology in northern Eurasia (e.g. Roebroeks & van Kolfschoten 1994; Dennell 2003; Parfitt et al. 2010). Over the same period there has been an enhanced understanding of Early and Middle Pleistocene environments (e.g. Agustí et al. 2009; Kahlke et al. 2011; Leroy et al. 2011; Ashton & Lewis 2012) and an increasing resolution in Pleistocene climate data. The latter are particularly relevant for understanding the first hominin dispersals into northern Eurasia (above 45°N) and the impacts of northern seasonality on the behaviour and survival of groups.

We will explore two different explanations for the apparent changes in the density of the archaeological signature. Firstly, were environmental challenges easier to navigate after c. 600kya than previously? Palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental reconstructions will be reviewed in terms of their robustness and what they mean for the day-to-day hominin living experience. How did hominin groups respond to climate change at local and high-resolution scales - e.g. through extirpation or re-location?

Secondly, we assess the potential role of behavioural plasticity as a means by which hominins (H. antecessor, H. heidelbergensis or some other archaic hominin) met the challenges of the north. This is explored with reference to technological and dietary behaviours in two sections: how hominins overcame environmental/climatic differences during initial range expansion; and how those difficulties were overcome in the sustained manner suggested by the post-600kya archaeological record.