BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Talks.cam//talks.cam.ac.uk//
X-WR-CALNAME:Talks.cam
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Reconstructing late Middle Pleistocene human environments using ev
 idence from land and freshwater molluscs - Tom S. White\, Department of Zo
 ology
DTSTART:20100527T120000Z
DTEND:20100527T130000Z
UID:TALK24300@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Dr James Kirkbride
DESCRIPTION:The late Middle Pleistocene period is characterized by signifi
 cant climatic fluctuations\, alternating between glacial conditions (ice a
 ges) and interglacial periods similar to the present day.  Four distinct i
 nterglacials are apparent within the British late Middle Pleistocene geolo
 gical record\; early human populations were able to colonize Britain durin
 g three of these temperate periods\, but were conspicuously absent during 
 the most recent\, the Ipswichian interglacial.  \n\nThe deposits preserved
  in the famous gravel pits around Swanscombe\, Kent\, have yielded some of
  the most important evidence for hominin occupation during the Hoxnian int
 erglacial (~440 ka)\, the temperate period that immediately followed the m
 ajor Anglian glaciation.  The site is most notable for the discovery of a 
 human skull\, a rarity within the British Palaeolithic record.  Furthermor
 e\, two distinct assemblages of stone tools suggest that separate groups o
 f early humans colonized the Thames valley.\n\nThe fossiliferous sediments
  at Swanscombe have preserved rich molluscan and vertebrate assemblages wh
 ich allow reconstructions of the prevailing climatic and environmental con
 ditions.  They also allow inferences about sea level and palaeogeography t
 o be made.  An important element of the molluscan succession at Swanscombe
  is the so-called ‘Rhenish suite’ of aquatic snails\, now found in cen
 tral and southern Europe\, which suggest that the Thames was confluent wit
 h continental rivers during the early part of the interglacial.  The onset
  of estuarine conditions in the Lower Thames\, implying a rise in sea-leve
 l in the North Sea\, is indicated by the appearance of ostracod and fish s
 pecies that inhabit brackish water.\n\nThese data have important implicati
 ons for understanding the palaeoenvironmental conditions under which human
 s were able to colonized Britain and northwest Europe.  \n
LOCATION:Entertaining Room\, Darwin College
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR