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Hoxnian Stage

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Hoxnian
0.424 – 0.374 Ma
Usage information
Celestial bodyEarth
Regional usageRegional
Used byUnited Kingdom
Definition
Chronological unitAge
Stratigraphic unitStage

The Hoxnian Stage was a middle Pleistocene stage of the geological history of the British Isles. It was an interglacial which preceded the Wolstonian Stage and followed the Anglian Stage. It is equivalent to Marine Isotope Stage 11 (MIS 11).[1][2][3][4] Marine Isotope Stage 11 started 424,000 years ago and ended 374,000 years ago.[5][6] The Hoxnian is divided into sub-stages Ho I to Ho IV.[7] It is equivalent to the Holstein interglacial in Central Europe.

Archaeologically, the beginning of the period consists of an earlier Clactonian industry, characterised by a lack of hand axes, which was then replaced about 415,000 years ago with an Acheulean industry using hand axes.[8] The period is also known from the remains of "Swanscombe Man", the partial skull of an early Neanderthal.[9]

History

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The Hoxnian Stage is named after Hoxne in the English county of Suffolk where some of the deposits created were first found. It was identified and dated with palynology or pollen evidence in the biostratigraphy and later updated with aminostratigraphic techniques.[10] Based on stratigraphic information the Hoxnian happened after the Anglian glacial as Anglian soil is frequently found underneath Hoxnian deposits.[11]

Similarly timed interglacials

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The Hoxnian stage has often been correlated to the Holstein Interglacial of northern Continental Europe and the Mindel-Riss Interglacial of the Alps. However, there was historically ambiguity regarding the correlation of these two interglacials to either MIS 11 or MIS 9, which is related to the MIS 12 / MIS 10 ambiguity described in more detail in the article 'Elster glaciation'.[12] Recent research has strongly supported both the Hoxnian and Holsteinian occurring during Marine Isotope Stage 11, c. 425-375,000 years ago.[13][14]

The Hoxnian stage has also been equated to the Yarmouthian (Yarmouth) Stage in North America. However, the Yarmouthian Stage, along with the Kansan, Nebraskan, and Aftonian stages, have been abandoned by North American Quaternary geologists and merged into the Pre-Illinoian Stage.[15][16] At this time, the Hoxnian and Holstein stages are correlated with a brief part of the Pre-Illinoian Stage lying between the Pre-Illinoian A and Pre-Illinoian B glaciations of North America.[4][16]

Humans

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Archaeologically, the beginning of the period consists of an earlier Clactonian industry, characterised by a lack of hand axes, which was then replaced about 415,000 years ago with an Acheulean industry using hand axes.[8] During the Hoxnian human activity was constrained by the dense forests so humans travelled along rivers and created settlements in valleys.[11] The Beeches Pit site revealed humans possibly selected sites rich with flint for toolmaking.[11] The oldest clear evidence of deliberate firemaking dates to around 400,000 years ago at the Hoxnian-aged Barnfield site in England, where pyrite appears to have been struck against flint to create fire.[17] At the Hoxian site of Ebbsfleet in Kent, remains of a straight-tusked elephant (dubbed the "Ebbsfleet elephant") have been found with Clactonian stone tools that are thought to have been used to butcher it.[18] Multiple distinct cultural groups appear to have existed contemporaneously in different parts of Britain during the handaxe-producing part of the Hoxnian, as evidenced by distinct regional handaxe shape traditions in the Thames Basin and East Anglia, which also varied between the early and late parts of the period.[14] Near Swanscombe in Kent, "Swanscombe Man", the partial skull of an early Neanderthal, has been found.[9]

Environment

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The Hoxnian is an interglacial phase, meaning a warm period in between glacial periods. Interglacial phases are heavily vegetated with woodlands interspersed with open areas.[19] Site deposits are often found over Anglian soil which dates to MIS 12.[11] Most sites have been found in valleys with signs of river deposits.[11] During the interglacial the valleys would have been surrounded by dense forests.[20]

Fauna

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Animals found in Britain during the Hoxnian include the straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus), Irish elk (Megaloceros giganteus), the extinct fallow deer species Dama clactoniana, red deer (Cervus elaphus), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) aurochs (Bos primigenius), Merck's rhinoceros (Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis), the narrow-nosed rhinoceros (Stephanorhinus hemitoechus), Barbary macaque (Macaca sylvanus), wild boar (Sus scrofa), Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber), European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus),[21][22][23] wild horse (Equus ferus), European wild ass (Equus hydruntinus), cave bear (Ursus spelaea), the grey wolf ancestor Canis mosbachensis, the large lion Panthera fossilis,[22] and the European jaguar (Panthera gombaszogensis).[24]

Hoxnian sites

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Beeches Pit, West Stow, Suffolk is a site dated to MIS 11 and under 40 km from other sites for the Lower Paleolithic and Middle Paleolithic.[25] Beeches Pit is considered a site of special interest because not only were shells and plant remains found but animal bones that were burnt.[25] The sites around Hitchin, Hertfordshire are associated with lakes caused by the melting of glaciers that settled in holes.[11] When archaeologists dug up the sites they found dense soil full of gravel.[20] The gravel is hypothesized to come from the creation of hand axes.[20] At Marks Tey, Essex the lake soil was rich with pollen spanning all of the Hoxnian and remnants of gravel and artefacts.[20]

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ Stringer, Chris (2006). Homo Britannicus: The incredible story of human life in Britain. London: Penguin. ISBN 978-0-14-101813-3.
  2. ↑ McMillan, A. A. (2005). "A provisional Quaternary and Neogene lithostratigraphic framework Great Britain". Netherland Journal of Geosciences. 84 (2): 87–107. doi:10.1017/S0016774600022988.
  3. ↑ Walker, M. (2005). Quaternary Dating Methods. Chichester UK: Wiley. ISBN 0-470-86927-5.
  4. 1 2 Gibbard, P. L.; Boreham, S.; Cohen, K. M. & Moscariello, A. (2007). "Global chronostratigraphical correlation table for the last 2.7 million years v. 2007b" (jpg version 844 KB). Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy. Cambridge, England: Department of Geography, University of Cambridge.
  5. ↑ Lisiecki, L. E. (2005). Ages of MIS boundaries.LR04 Benthic Stack Boston University, Boston, MA
  6. ↑ Lisiecki, L. E. & Raymo, M. E. (2005). "A Pliocene-Pleistocene stack of 57 globally distributed benthic δ18
    O     records"     (PDF). Paleoceanography. 20: PA1003. Bibcode:2005PalOc..20.1003L. doi:10.1029/2004PA001071. hdl:2027.42/149224. S2CID 12788441.
  7. ↑ Pettitt, Paul; White, Mark (2012). The British Palaeolithic: Human Societies at the Edge of the Pleistocene World. Abingdon, UK: Routledge. p. 79. ISBN 978-0-415-67455-3.
  8. 1 2 Parfitt, Simon A.; Lewis, Mark D.; Bello, Silvia M. (2022-11-23). "Taphonomic and technological analyses of Lower Palaeolithic bone tools from Clacton-on-Sea, UK". Scientific Reports. 12 (1). doi:10.1038/s41598-022-23989-x. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 9684524. PMID 36418870.
  9. 1 2 Bird, Emma E.; Stringer, Chris (2026-06-03). "The Swanscombe fossil at 90: revisiting its phylogeny, taxonomy, and place in human origins". Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute. doi:10.1111/1467-9655.70142. ISSN 1359-0987.
  10. ↑ Roe, Helen M.; Coope, G. Russell; Devoy, Robert J. N.; Harrison, Colin J. O.; Penkman, Kirsty E. H.; Preece, Richard C.; Schreve, Danielle C. (2009-11-01). "Differentiation of MIS 9 and MIS 11 in the continental record: vegetational, faunal, aminostratigraphic and sea-level evidence from coastal sites in Essex, UK". Quaternary Science Reviews. 28 (23): 2342–2373. Bibcode:2009QSRv...28.2342R. doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2009.04.017. ISSN 0277-3791. PMC 2806946. PMID 20119485.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Preece, R. C.; Gowlett, J. A. J.; Parfitt, S. A.; Bridgland, D. R.; Lewis, S. G. (2006–2007). "Humans in the Hoxnian: habitat, context and fire use at Beeches Pit, West Stow, Suffolk, UK". Journal of Quaternary Science. 21 (5): 485–496. Bibcode:2006JQS....21..485P. doi:10.1002/jqs.1043. ISSN 0267-8179.
  12. ↑ Böse et al. (2012), Quaternary Glaciations of Northern Europe, Quaternary Science Reviews 44, page 17-22.
  13. ↑ Fernández Arias, Sophie; Förster, Michael W.; Sirocko, Frank (August 2023). "Rieden tephra layers in the Dottinger Maar lake sediments: Implications for the dating of the Holsteinian interglacial and Elsterian glacial". Global and Planetary Change. 227 104143. doi:10.1016/j.gloplacha.2023.104143.
  14. 1 2 White, Mark; Foulds, Frederick; Rawlinson, Aaron; Shipton, Ceri; Davis, Rob; Ashton, Nick (May 2026). ""Two tribes": Handaxe shape variation shows distinct regional cultural groups in southeastern Britain between 424 000 and 374 000 BP". Journal of Quaternary Science. 41 (4): 602–621. Bibcode:2026JQS....41..602W. doi:10.1002/jqs.70063. ISSN 0267-8179.
  15. ↑ Hallberg, G. R. (1986). "Pre-Wisconsin glacial stratigraphy of the Central Plains region in Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri". Quaternary Science Reviews. 5: 11–15. Bibcode:1986QSRv....5...11H. doi:10.1016/0277-3791(86)90169-1.
  16. 1 2 Richmond, G. M. & Fullerton, D. S. (1986). "Summation of Quaternary glaciations in the United States of America". Quaternary Science Reviews. 5: 183–196. Bibcode:1986QSRv....5..183R. doi:10.1016/0277-3791(86)90184-8.
  17. ↑ Davis, Rob; Hatch, Marcus; Hoare, Sally; Lewis, Simon G.; Lucas, Claire; Parfitt, Simon A.; Bello, Silvia M.; Lewis, Mark; Mansfield, Jordan; Najorka, Jens; O’Connor, Simon; Peglar, Sylvia; Sorensen, Andrew; Stringer, Chris; Ashton, Nick (2026-01-15). "Earliest evidence of making fire". Nature. 649 (8097): 631–637. doi:10.1038/s41586-025-09855-6. ISSN 0028-0836.
  18. ↑ Wenban-Smith, F. F.; Allen, P.; Bates, M. R.; Parfitt, S. A.; Preece, R. C.; Stewart, J. R.; Turner, C.; Whittaker, J. E. (July 2006). "The Clactonian elephant butchery site at Southfleet Road, Ebbsfleet, UK". Journal of Quaternary Science. 21 (5): 471–483. Bibcode:2006JQS....21..471W. doi:10.1002/jqs.1033. ISSN 0267-8179.
  19. ↑ Ashton, Nick; Lewis, Simon G.; Parfitt, Simon; White, Mark (2006). "Riparian landscapes and human habitat preferences during the Hoxnian (MIS 11) Interglacial". Journal of Quaternary Science. 21 (5): 497–505. Bibcode:2006JQS....21..497A. doi:10.1002/jqs.1032. ISSN 1099-1417.
  20. 1 2 3 4 Ashton, Nick; Lewis, Simon G.; Parfitt, Simon; White, Mark (2006–2007). "Riparian landscapes and human habitat preferences during the Hoxnian (MIS 11) Interglacial". Journal of Quaternary Science. 21 (5): 497–505. Bibcode:2006JQS....21..497A. doi:10.1002/jqs.1032. ISSN 0267-8179.
  21. ↑ Smith, Geoff M. (October 2013). "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. 40 (10): 3754–3767. Bibcode:2013JArSc..40.3754S. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2013.05.002.
  22. 1 2 Kahlke, Ralf-Dietrich; García, Nuria; Kostopoulos, Dimitris S.; Lacombat, Frédéric; Lister, Adrian M.; Mazza, Paul P.A.; Spassov, Nikolai; Titov, Vadim V. (June 2011). "Western Palaearctic palaeoenvironmental conditions during the Early and early Middle Pleistocene inferred from large mammal communities, and implications for hominin dispersal in Europe". Quaternary Science Reviews. 30 (11–12): 1368–1395. Bibcode:2011QSRv...30.1368K. doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2010.07.020.
  23. ↑ Ashton, Nick (July 2016). "The human occupation of Britain during the Hoxnian Interglacial". Quaternary International. 409: 41–53. Bibcode:2016QuInt.409...41A. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2015.11.055.
  24. ↑ Marciszak, Adrian; Bower, Alfie (2025-11-05). "New Records of Panthera gombaszoegensis (Kretzoi, 1938) from Europe". Quaternary. 8 (4): 65. doi:10.3390/quat8040065. ISSN 2571-550X.
  25. 1 2 Preece, R.C.; Parfitt, S.A.; Bridgland, D.R.; Lewis, S.G.; Rowe, P.J.; Atkinson, T.C.; Candy, I.; Debenham, N.C.; Penkman, K.E.H.; Rhodes, E.J.; Schwenninger, J.-L. (2005–2007). "Terrestrial environments during MIS 11: evidence from the Palaeolithic site at West Stow, Suffolk, UK". Quaternary Science Reviews. 26 (9–10): 1236–1300. doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2006.11.016.

Further reading

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  • Bowen, D.Q. (1978). Quaternary geology: a stratigraphic framework for multidisciplinary work. Oxford UK: Pergamon Press. ISBN 978-0-08-020409-3.
  • Ehlers, J.; Gibbard, P.L.; Rose, J., eds. (1991). Glacial deposits in Great Britain and Ireland. Rotterdam: Balkema. ISBN 978-90-6191-875-2.
  • Mangerud, J.; Ehlers, J.; Gibbard, P. (2004). Quaternary Glaciations: Extent and Chronology 1: Part I Europe. Amsterdam: Elsevier. ISBN 0-444-51462-7.
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