mirrored file at http://SaturnianCosmology.Org/ For complete access to all the files of this collection see http://SaturnianCosmology.org/search.php ========================================================== Wolstonian Glaciation Named after Wolston in Warkwickshire the Wolstonian Glacial period commenced about 330,000BP and ended about 135,000BP. It was typified by the presence of three lemmings, two hamsters, Mountain Hare, Wolf, Red Fox, Wolverine, Clawless Otter (Aonyx antiqua), Badger, Brown Bear, Spotted Hyaena, Lion, Bison (Bison priscus), Aurochs, Reindeer, Woolly Mammoth, Woolly Rhinoceros and Horse. The faunal assemblage is indicative of steppe environment with grasses and sedges, but possibly also some woodland. Pollen analysis for the end of the Wolstonian Glaciation reveals an open late glacial tundra landscape, with some birch, willow and juniper also present. There is increasing evidence that there was an additional interglacial period in the middle of the Wolstonian Glaciation. The remains of animals and plants that now live in southern Europe and the Near East have been discovered at Stanton Harcourt, Oxfordshire. About 200,000BP they lived in association with a river that flowed through the region. The river is thought to be the former course of the Thames, which has gradually moved southwards to its present position. Large mammals such as Woolly Mammoth, Straight-tusked Elephant, Horse, Red Deer, Bison, Brown Bear, Lion and Spotted Hyaena have been recorded, as have Freshwater Mussels and snails (50 species), insects (nearly 90 species), the bones (and even the scales) of fish, and also those of small vertebrates such as rodents, frogs, and birds. The Mammoths are significantly smaller than Mammoths from British cold-climate deposits. Other sites, probably of comparable age, also have this small Mammoth. Wood and other vegetation such as seeds and nuts, and roots and branches of such trees as oak, hornbeam, alder and willow have been found. Fully temperate (interglacial) conditions are indicated by the trees (which include oak, hornbeam, alder and hazel) and other plants; as a community they are believed to represent temperatures more like those of central or southern France. Evidence for this interglacial has also been found in Worcestershire, at Upper Strensham. Here a the remains of at least two Mammoths, a Red Deer, 119 species of beetle, 28 species of mollusc and 40 plant species, dating to 180,000 years ago, have been indentified. Most of the Mammoth bones belonged to a female who perished, aged about 30, after becoming stuck in a pond. The picture that is emerging is of a landscape with rivers bordered by grasslands with forested areas nearby. Herds of grazing animals such as Horse, Bison and Mammoth moved about the grasslands, while the trees provided shelter for other species such as Red Deer and Straight-tusked Elephant. Brown Bears, Lions and Spotted Hyaenas hunted these and smaller creatures, or scavenged carcasses that lay about. The discovery of a number of stone tools at Stanton Harcourt indicated that early man may have killed or butcher animals on-site or nearby. A wooden spear and mixture of flint chopping tools recovered from an older (250,000BP) site in Clacton testifies to the use of hunting weapons. Evidence of early humans, probably archaic Homo sapiens, dating to about 320,000 years ago has been found at Hoxne, Suffolk. Two or three periods of occupation have been identified during which groups made brief halts beside a lake or slowly moving body of water. They made handaxes and other flint implements and used them to butcher the carcasses of Horses or Red Deer they had either scavenged or hunted. Hoxne also showed that technological change in the Palaeolithic did not follow a simple trajectory of progress from simpler to more sophisticated forms of tool. Instead, finely made ovate handaxes were found to predate more crudely made triangular handaxes. This may reflect the presence at the site of social groups with different technological traditions. Groupings of stones at Hoxne were interpreted as `structures' - the earliest yet found in Britain. Their function was unclear, but they may have been platforms used to consolidate the muddy, trampled ground surface by the shore of the lake. In addition to the large mammals mentioned above a number of additional species occurred during the Wolstonian. These included various Merck?s Rhinoceros (Stephanorinus kichbergensis), Narrow-nosed Rhinoceros (S. hemitoechus), Fallow Deer and Irish Elk. *Previous Chapter* *Next Chapter* * * *Natural History Home Page * * * *Local History Home Page* * * *Site Home Page* * E-mail *