Taphonomic resolution and hominin subsistence behaviour in the Lower Palaeolithic: Differing data scales and interpretive frameworks at Boxgrove and Swanscombe (UK)

Journal of Archaeological Science

Volumn 40, Issue 10, 2013, Pages 3754-3767

  Smith, Geoff M ^a  

^a Archaeological Research Centre and Museum for the Evolution of Hominin Behaviour   (Germany)

Author keywords

Boxgrove; Homo heidelbergensis; Lower Palaeolithic; Meat procurement behaviour; Swanscombe; Taphonomy

Indexed keywords

DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENT; EXCAVATION; FAUNA; FOSSIL ASSEMBLAGE; HOMINID; PALEOLITHIC; TAPHONOMY;

HOMO HEIDELBERGENSIS;

EID: 84879341465     PISSN: 03054403     EISSN: 10959238     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2013.05.002     Document Type: Article

References (80)

1. Excavations at the Lower Palaeolithic Site at East Farm, Barnham, Suffolk 1989-94. British Museum Occasional Paper 125 1998, London. N. Ashton, S.G. Lewis, S. Parfitt (Eds.).
2. Ashton N., McNabb J. The flint industries from the Waechter excavations. British Museum Occasional Paper 125 1996, London. B. Conway, J. McNabb, N. Ashton (Eds.).
3. Austin L.A., Bergman C.A., Roberts M.B., Wilhelmsen K.H. Archaeology of excavated areas. Boxgrove: a Middle Pleistocene Hominid Site at Eartham Quarry, Boxgrove, West Sussex 1999, English Heritage, London. M.B. Roberts, S. Parfitt (Eds.).
4. Bailey G. Concepts of time in Quaternary Prehistory. Annual Review of Anthropology 1983, 12:165-192.
5. Bailey G. Time perspectives, palimpsests and the archaeology of time. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 2007, 26:198.
6. Barnes R.S.K. Coastal Lagoons 1980, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
7. Behrensmeyer A. Taphonomic and ecologic information from bone weathering. Palaeobiology 1978, 42:150-162.
8. Behrensmeyer A.K. Taphonomic and Ecologic Information from Bone Weathering 1978.
9. Binford L.R. Nunamiut Ethnoarchaeology 1978, Academic Press, New York.
10. Binford L.R. Bones: Ancient Men and Modern Myths 1981, Academic Press, New York.
11. Binford L.R. Human Ancestors: changing views of their behaviour. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 1985, 4:292-327.
12. Blumenschine R.J. Early Hominid Scavenging Opportunities: Implications of Carcass Availability in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Ecosystems. BAR International Series 1986, vol. 283.
13. Blumenschine R.J. An experimental model of the timing of hominid and carnivore influence on archaeological bone assemblages. Journal of Archaeological Science 1988, 15:483-502.
14. Blumenschine R.J., Marean C.W., Capaldo S.D. Blind tests of inter-analyst correspondence and accuracy in the identification of cut marks, percussion marks, and carnivore tooth marks on bone surfaces. Journal of Archaeological Science 1996, 23:493-507.
15. Brain C.K. The Hunters or the Hunted? An Introduction to African Cave Taphonomy 1981, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
16. Bridgland D.R. Quaternary of the Thames 1994, Chapman and Hall, London.
17. Conway B. The stratigraphy and chronology of the Pleistocene deposits of Barnfield Pit, Swanscombe. British Museum Occasional Paper 125 1996, London. B. Conway, J. McNabb, N. Ashton (Eds.).
18. Conway B., McNabb J., Ashton N. Excavations at Barnfield Pit, Swanscombe, 1968-72. British Museum Occasional Paper 125 1996, London.
19. Currant A. Notes on the mammalian remains from the Barnfield Pit. British Museum Occasional Paper 125 1996, London. B. Conway, McNabb, N. Ashton (Eds.).
20. Davies P., Walker A. The footprint surfaces at Barnfield Pit, Swanscombe. British Museum Occasional Paper 125 1996, London. B. Conway, J. McNabb, N. Ashton (Eds.).
21. Dibble H.L., McPherron S.P., Sandgathe D., Goldberg P., Turq A., Lenoir M. Context, curation, and bias: an evaluation of the Middle Paleolithic collections of Combe-Grenal (France). Journal of Archaeological Science 2009, 36:2540-2550.
22. Dobney K., Rielly K. Amethod for recording archaeological animal bones: the use of diagnostic zones. Circaea 1988, 5:79-96.
23. Dominguez-Rodrigo M. Distinguishing between apples and oranges: the application of modern cut-mark studies to the Plio-Pleistocene (a reply to Monahan). Journal of Human Evolution 1999, 37:793-800.
24. Dominguez-Rodrigo M. Hunting and Scavenging by Early Humans: the state of the debate. Journal of World Prehistory 2002, 16:1-54.
25. Dominguez-Rodrigo M. Bone surface modifications, power scavenging and the "display" model at early archaeological sites: a critical review. Journal of Human Evolution 2003, 45:411-415.
26. Dominguez-Rodrigo M. On cut marks and statistical inferences: methodological comments on Lupo & O'Connell (2002). Journal of Archaeological Science 2003, 30:381.
27. Dominguez-Rodrigo M., Piqueras A. The use of tooth pits to identify carnivore taxa in tooth-marked archaeofaunas and their relevance to reconstruct hominid carcass processing behaviours. Journal of Archaeological Science 2003, 30:1385-1391.
28. Fisher J.W. Bone surface modifications in zooarchaeology. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 1995, 2:7-68.
29. Gamble C. The Palaeolithic Societies of Europe 1999, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
30. The Hominid Individual in Context: Archaeological Investigations of Lower and Middle Palaeolithic Landscapes, Locales and Artefacts 2005, Routledge, London. C. Gamble, M. Porr (Eds.).
31. Gibbard P. The Pleistocene History of the Middle Thames Valley 1985, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
32. Gifford-Gonzalez D. Ethnographic analogues for interpreting modified bones: some cases from East Africa. Bone Modification 1989, Centre for the Study of the First Americans, Orono. R. Bonnichsen, M. Sorg (Eds.).
33. Gifford-Gonzalez D. Overview - modern analogues: developing an interpretive framework. Bone Modification 1989, Centre for the Study of the First Americans, Orono. R. Bonnichsen, M. Sorg (Eds.).
34. Gifford-Gonzalez D. Shipman's Shaky Foundations. American Anthropologist 1989, 91:180-186.
35. Gifford-Gonzalez D. Bones are not enough: analogues, knowledge, and interpretive strategies in zooarchaeology. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 1991, 10:215-254.
36. Isaac G.L. Bones in contention: competing explanations for the juxtaposition of Early Pleistocene artefacts and faunal remains. Hunters and Their Prey 1983, vol. 1. BAR International Series, Oxford. J. Clutton-Brock, C. Grigson (Eds.).
37. Isaac G.L., Crader D.C. To what extent were early hominids carnivorous? An archaeological perspective. Omnivorous Primates: Gathering and Hunting in Human Evolution 1981, Columbia University Press, New York. R.S.O. Harding, G. Teleki (Eds.).
38. Lewis S.G., Roberts C.L. Location of buried cliff-line using resistivity methods. Boxgrove: a Middle Pleistocene Hominid Site at Eartham Quarry, Boxgrove, West Sussex 1999, English Heritage, London. M.B. Roberts, S. Parfitt (Eds.).
39. Lupo K.D., O'Connell J.F. Cut and tooth mark distributions on large animal bones: ethnoarchaeological data from the Hadza and their implications for current ideas about Early Human carnivory. Journal of Archaeological Science 2002, 29:85-109.
40. Lyman R. Vertebrate Taphonomy 1994, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
41. Macphail R. Sediment micromorphology. Boxgrove: a Middle Pleistocene Hominid Site at Eartham Quarry, Boxgrove, West Sussex 1999, English Heritage, London. M.B. Roberts, S. Parfitt (Eds.).
42. McNabb J. The British Lower Palaeolithic: Stones in Contention 2007, Routledge, London.
43. The Swanscombe Skull: a Survey of Research on a Pleistocene Site. Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland Occasional Paper 1964, C.D. Overy (Ed.).
44. Parfitt S. Mammalia. Boxgrove: a Middle Pleistocene Hominid Site at Eartham Quarry, Boxgrove, West Sussex 1999, English Heritage, London. M.B. Roberts, S. Parfitt (Eds.).
45. Parfitt S. Palaeontology. Boxgrove: a Middle Pleistocene Hominid Site at Eartham Quarry, Boxgrove, West Sussex 1999, English Heritage, London. M.B. Roberts, S. Parfitt (Eds.).
46. Parfitt S.A., Ashton N.M., Lewis S.G., Abel R.L., Coope G.R., Field M.H., Gale R., Hoare P.G., Larkin N.R., Lewis M.D., Karloukovski V., Maher B.A., Peglar S.M., Preece R.C., Whittaker J.E., Stringer C.B. Early Pleistocene human occupation at the edge of the boreal zone in northwest Europe. Nature 2010, 466:229-233.
47. Parfitt S.A., Barendregt R.W., Breda M., Candy I., Collins M.J., Coope G.R., Durbidge P., Field M.H., Lee J.R., Lister A.M., Mutch R., Penkman K.E.H., Preece R.C., Rose J., Stringer C.B., Symmons R., Whittaker J.E., Wymer J.J., Stuart A.J. The earliest record of human activity in northern Europe. Nature 2005, 438:1008-1012.
48. Pope M. The Significance of Biface-rich Assemblages: an Examination of the Behavioural Controls on Lithic Assemblage Formation in the Lower Palaeolithic 2002, Unpublished Ph.D., University of Southampton.
49. Pope M., Roberts M.B. Observations on the relationship between Palaeolithic individuals and artefact scatters at the Middle Pleistocene site of Boxgrove, UK. The Hominid Individual in Context: Archaeological Investigations of Lower and Middle Palaeolithic Landscapes, Locales and Artefacts 2005, Routledge, London. C. Gamble, M. Porr (Eds.).
50. Island Britain: a Quaternary Perspective 1995, The Geological Society, London. R.C. Preece (Ed.).
51. Preece R.C., Bates M.R. Mollusca. Boxgrove: a Middle Pleistocene Hominid Site at Eartham Quarry Boxgrove, West Sussex 1999, English Heritage, London. M.B. Roberts, S. Parfitt (Eds.).
52. Roberts M.B. Excavation of a Lower Palaeolithic site at Amey's Eartham Pit, Boxgrove, West Sussex: a preliminary report. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 1986, 52:215-245.
53. Roberts M.B. Flintwork from other contexts. Boxgrove: a Middle Pleistocene Hominid Site at Eartham Quarry, Boxgrove, West Sussex 1999, English Heritage, London. M.B. Roberts, S. Parfitt (Eds.).
54. Roberts M.B., Parfitt S. Boxgrove: a Middle Pleistocene Hominid Site at Eartham Quarry, Boxgrove, West Sussex 1999, English Heritage, London.
55. Roberts M.B., Parfitt S. Human modification of faunal remains. Boxgrove: a Middle Pleistocene Hominid Site at Eartham Quarry, Boxgrove, West Sussex 1999, English Heritage, London. M.B. Roberts, S. Parfitt (Eds.).
56. Roberts M.B., Parfitt S.A., Pope M., Wenban-Smith F.F. Boxgrove, West Sussex: rescue excavations of a Lower Palaeolithic landsurface (Boxgrove Project B, 1989-91). Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 1997, 63:303-358.
57. Roberts M.B., Pope M. The archaeological and sedimentary records from Boxgrove and Slindon. The Quaternary of the Solent Basin and West Sussex Raised Beaches Field Guide 2009, Quaternary Research Association, London. R.M. Briant, M.R. Bates, R.T. Hosfield, F.F. Wenban-Smith (Eds.).
58. Roberts, M.B., Pope, M.I., 2013. Mapping the Middle Pleistocene Sediments of the Slindon Formation Across the Coastal Plain of West Sussex and Eastern Hampshire, UK. English Heritage Monograph Series. English Heritage.
59. Schreve D.C. The mammalian fauna from the Waechter excavations, Barnfield Pit Swanscombe. British Museum Occasional Paper 125 1996, London. B. Conway, N. Ashton, J. McNabb (Eds.).
60. Schreve D.C. The mammalian fauna of Barnfield Pit, Swanscombe, Kent. The Quaternary Mammals of Southern and Eastern England 2004, Quaternary Research Association, London. D.C. Schreve (Ed.).
61. Selvaggio M.M. Concerning the three stage model of carcass processing at FLK Zinjanthropus: a reply to Capaldo. Journal of Human Evolution 1998, 35:313-315.
62. Selvaggio M.M. Evidence for a three-stage sequence of hominid and carnivore involvement with long bones at FLK Zinjanthropus, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. Journal of Archaeological Science 1998, 25:191-202.
63. Shephard-Thorn E.R., Kellaway G.A. Quaternary deposits at Eartham, West Sussex. Brighton Polytechnic Geographical Society Magazine 1978, 4:1-8.
64. Smith G.M. AContextual Approach to the Study of Faunal Assemblages from Lower and Middle Palaeolithic Sites in the UK 2010, PhD, University College London.
65. Smith G.M. Middle Palaeolithic subsistence: the role of hominins at Lynford, Norfolk, UK. Quaternary International 2012, 252:68-81.
66. Smith G.M. The Palaeolithic poor relation? Taphonomic approaches to archaeofaunas and their implication for the study of European Lower Palaeolithic subsistence. McDonald Institute Monographs 2012, 39-52. McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, Cambridge. K. Seetah, B. Gravina (Eds.).
67. Stiner M.C. Honor Among Thieves: a Zooarchaeological Study of Neanderthal Ecology 1994, Princeton University Press, Princeton.
68. Stopp M. Early Human Adaptation in the Northern Hemisphere and the Implications of Taphonomy. BAR International Series 1997.
69. Stringer C., Gamble C. In Search of the Neanderthals 1993, Thames and Hudson, London.
70. Stringer C., Trinkaus E. The human tibia from Boxgrove. Boxgrove: a Middle Pleistocene Hominid Site at Eartham Quarry, Boxgrove, West Sussex 1999, English Heritage, London. M.B. Roberts, S. Parfitt (Eds.).
71. Stringer C.B., Trinkaus E., Roberts M.B., Parfitt S.A., Macphail R.I. The Middle Pleistocene human tibia from Boxgrove. Journal of Human Evolution 1998, 34:509.
72. Thieme H. Lower Palaeolithic hunting spears from Germany. Nature 1997, 385:807-810.
73. Trinkaus E., Stringer C.B., Ruff C.B., Hennessy R.J., Roberts M.B., Parfitt S.A. Diaphyseal cross-sectional geometry of the Boxgrove 1 Middle Pleistocene human tibia. Journal of Human Evolution 1999, 37:1.
74. Vaquero M. The history of stones: behavioural inferences and temporal resolution of an archaeological assemblage from the Middle Palaeolithic. Journal of Archaeological Science 2008, 35:3178.
75. Villa P. Torralba and Aridos: elephant exploitation in the Middle Pleistocene Spain. Journal of Human Evolution 1990, 19:299-309.
76. Villa P., Soto E., Santonja M., Perez-Gonzalez A., Mora R., Parcerisas J., Sese C. New data from Ambrona: closing the hunting versus scavenging debate. Quaternary International 2005, 126-128:223.
77. Waechter J. Swanscombe 1968. Proceedings of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland for 1968 1968, 53-61.
78. Waechter J. Swanscombe 1969. Proceedings of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland for 1969 1969, 83-95.
79. Waechter J. Man Before History 1976, Elsevier, London.
80. Woodcock A. The Lower and Middle Palaeolithic Periods in Sussex 1981, BAR, Oxford.