Clactonian and Acheulian Industries in Britain—their chronology and significance: The Henry Stopes Memorial Lecture 1974

Abstract

Three sites are considered, where controlled archaeological excavations have been conducted of levels containing both Clactonian and Acheulian flint industries in primary contexts. The sites are Clactonon-Sea, Essex; Hoxne, Suffolk; and Swanscombe, Kent. All are on the fringes or just within the area covered by the till of the Anglian Stage. The sedimentary record at each of these sites is complex, and it is stressed that at none of them can it be certain that there is a complete record of any one period of time; in fact, discontinuities can be demonstrated. In spite of this it seems likely that the three sequences do overlap in time somewhere and correlations are possible. The Anglian till is used as a marker horizon and the pollen profile of the Hoxnian interglacial is regarded as the best available method for correlating some of the post-Anglian deposits at all three sites. The pollen profile at Clacton has been equated with that from Hoxne, and if this is accepted, it raises important archaeological implications concerning the relationship of the Clactonian and Acheulian industries. The conclusion is that the Clactonian has a long history, dating back in time to the latter part of the Anglian, and continued to at least the Early-temperate zone of the Hoxnian, Ho. IIb. Both the Acheulian and Clactonian industries were produced by people with preference for occupying river, marsh or lake environments. The Acheulian first appears at Hoxne in zone Ho. IIc, close in time to the Clactonian. Coupled with the disappearance from the archaeological record of the Clactonian after this period, it is suggested that there may have been territorial infringements to cause this disappearance. New evidence from Hoxne also demonstrates that different traditions of hand-axe manufacture existed side by side in Britain during the Hoxnian and Wolstonian stages. The Swanscombe sequence cannot be fitted with much certainty into the framework suggested by Clacton and Hoxne, but new pollen evidence from the Lower Loam suggests that either the Lower Gravel and Lower Loam are pre-Hoxnian, or the Middle Gravels belong to the Wolstonian.