Overview
The Earliest Europeans explores a fundamental question: how did Europe’s first hominin occupants cope with the year-round practical challenges of life. To do so, the book adopts a ‘year in the life’ perspective that draws on the increasingly rich and robust archaeological and Quaternary Science records for the European Lower Palaeolithic, combined with insights from modern ethnography and zoological studies. By exploring potential survival strategies and behaviours, Hosfield offers new insights into the character of Europe’s earliest occupations across more than 1 million years, and ultimately asks: what sorts of ‘humans’ were these hominins? The innovative season-by-season structure of the book explores cyclical fluctuations in resources and weather conditions. From the depths of cold winters to the bountiful foods of late summer, it considers the implications of these variations for hominin behaviours. Hosfield draws on a range of supporting examples and evidence from Lower Palaeolithic sites across Europe, spanning technology, palaeoenvironmental reconstructions, hominin life history, and plant and animal food resources. In doing so, The Earliest Europeans highlights both the current and future potential of Europe’s earliest archaeological record.
Full Product Details
Author: Robert Hosfield
Publisher: Oxbow Books
Imprint: Oxbow Books
Volume: 6
ISBN: 9781785707612
ISBN 10: 1785707612
Pages: 416
Publication Date: 01 May 2020
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
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Reviews
...this is an excellent book that represents a long-overdue approach to understanding the Lower Palaeolithic archaeological record. * Antiquity *
...this is an excellent book that represents a long-overdue approach to understanding the Lower Palaeolithic archaeological record. * Antiquity * This book will be of interest to students of Palaeolithic archaeology and human origins, and Quaternary scientists with an interest in the hominin part of the faunal community. It would make a comprehensive, up-to-date textbook for final year undergraduate or postgraduate teaching. * The Holocene *
Author Information
Rob Hosfield is Associate Professor of Palaeolithic Archaeology at the Department of Archaeology, University of Reading. His recent research has concentrated on global patterns in early Palaeolithic technology and the challenges of Palaeolithic survival in mid-latitudes. His publications include Settlement, Society and Cognition in Human Evolution: Landscapes in Mind (co-edited, 2015), and Quaternary History and Palaeolithic Archaeology in the Axe Valley at Broom, South West England (co-authored and co-edited, 2013).
