Stepping into Britain: the early human occupation of Europe

Recent fieldwork on the coast of East Anglia has pushed back the evidence of humans in northern Europe to almost a million years ago. The talk will discuss the new evidence from Happisburgh in Norfolk, including the rich fauna, flora, stone tools and the remarkable survival of footprints. The research will be placed in the context of Europe and discusses how humans adapted to the long, cold winters of northern latitudes, perhaps with the help of clothing shelter and fire.

Nick Ashton has been a curator at the British Museum for over 30 years, specialising in Lower and Middle Palaeolithic archaeology. He has directed and published major excavation projects in Britain and is currently Co-Director of the Pathways to Ancient Britain Project. His work focuses on the earliest occupation of northern Europe, the early human adaptation to northern environments and the investigation of when Britain first became an island.