Environmental heterogeneity of the Lower Palaeolithic land surface on the Goodwood‐Slindon Raised Beach: comparisons of the records from Boxgrove and Valdoe, Sussex, UK

Abstract

The buried soil above the Goodwood-Slindon Raised Beach running along the foot of the South Downs (Sussex) is one of the most extensive Lower Palaeolithic land surfaces known. It extends for 16 km but exposures are limited to Boxgrove, the focus of archaeological excavations since the 1980s, and Valdoe, 4.8 km to the west. The palaeosol yielded vertebrates suggesting attribution to Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 13 and land snails important in the reconstruction of local environments. Important differences exist between the molluscan assemblages from Valdoe and Boxgrove. An extinct land snail Retinella (Lyrodiscus) elephantium, previously known in Britain only from MIS 11, occurred at Valdoe at unusually high frequencies in assemblages poor in woodland species, prompting a reappraisal of its stratigraphical and ecological significance. Conversely, Spermodea lamellata, a woodland species present at Boxgrove, was absent at Valdoe. This lateral variability results both from the original heterogeneity of the environment, and from differential preservation resulting from decalcification and erosion. Calcitic slug plates are over-represented (>50% of the molluscan fauna) in decalcified sediments where shells composed of aragonite are rare. These considerations, and comparisons with modern and fossil assemblages, have led to more nuanced reconstructions of the landscape occupied by early humans in southern England ~500 ka ago.

Quaternary sea level landforms and sediments in southern England: Description of Geological Conservation Review sites

“…This is supported by the sporadic presence of shade-demanding Spermodea lamellata and Acanthinula aculeate (Preece and Bates, 1999). More recent detailed analysis by Preece and Parfitt (2022) from sequences both here and at the Valdoe state that the presence of Spermodea lamellata also suggests that the land surface (unit 4c) was exposed for longer than the 20-100 years previously suggested and that woodland conditions persisted into units 5a and 5b.…”

“…The thin organic horizon which overlies the palaeosol developed in the uppermost part of the Slindon Member has also been traced over 15 km between Adsdean Farm and Slindon Park suggesting widespread preservation of this palaeo landsurface (Roberts and Pope, 2009;. Excavations in 2006 and 2007 at The Valdoe, a quarry 6 km to the west of the Boxgrove site confirmed an essentially similar stratigraphy and archaeology (Pope et al 2009;Pope and Roberts, 2011;Preece and Parfitt, 2022), but recent investigations of molluscan asemblages suggest significant differences between Boxgrove and the Valdoe, much of which reflects true environmental heterogeneity (Preece and Parfitt, 2022). Foraminiferal analysis of the Chalk at the base of the cliff and from a chalk raft or debris flow 30-40 m south of the cliff, interpreted as a cliff collapse episode, suggest a minimum of 60 m for the original height of the cliff (Roberts and Parfitt, 1999).…”

Bone tools, carnivore chewing and heavy percussion: assessing conflicting interpretations of Lower and Upper Palaeolithic bone assemblages

“…The significance of the Boxgrove handaxes lies in the exceptional abundance of well-preserved specimens found at the site, combined with the burial conditions that have preserved a succession of archaeological horizons deposited within relatively short time frames. These assemblages encompass various contexts, ranging from the rapid burial of single butchery sites, like the HBS, incorporated in the intertidal muds to the development of landsurfaces and waterholes over a span of possibly no more than a few hundred years [ 135 ]. The Boxgrove handaxes are now being used as a ‘standard’ for comparisons and discussions on the meaning of morphological variation and standardization in Acheulean handaxes.…”

The VR digital media visual design system based on the ecological environment characteristics of Yanyu in the south of the Yangtze River

“…The natural productive capacity of the ecological environment is limited, but with the uncontrolled exploitation and utilization of material materials and energy by human beings, the ecological environment itself has suffered serious damage [17]. Since human beings entered the industrialized society, in pursuit of the satisfaction of material life, people have used the environment far beyond the extent that they can recover, and when people overused the environment, they did not consider its ecological value at the beginning [18].…”