Britain: One Million Years of the Human Story Paperback – Illustrated, May 1, 2014

good for the coffee table, and gives the overview, general idea, good to see all the pictures. It is quite small, i thought it would be bigger.

Recorded British history has been quite rich for a long time. And yet, this book tells the story of an island that has always been subject to ice age glaciation, but nonetheless had quite the long hominid history as well. Four different human species (including our own) had the honor of at least stumbling upon Britain within the span of 900,000 years. This is a book, overall written for a wider audience--professional and lay, that carries many pictures to help the reader progress. It is quite a good book with only few controversial viewpoints, such as how humans and neanderthals interacted. Early in the book, the authors explain the topic of the marine isotope stages quite well, even for the average layperson. It is important to know how MISs operate because it has helped us today understand how many times and when Britain had undergone glaciations. Almost needless to say, glaciations forced humans and other animals away. Yet, during warm periods, humans and animals could visit, remain and at some cases thrive. We know that Britain can be very easily reached on foot because during glaciations, Britain is not an island but a European peninsula.Now, this is a short summary of British archaeology, found and discussed in the book. At c.900KBP, we find stone tools at what is now Happisburgh, Norfolk, as well as in Pakefield, Suffolk. These tools are flint flakes--probably handaxes. However, no fossils were found. Yet, the species who made these was likely "Homo antecessor". Then, at c.500KBP, we find the earliest fossil of "Homo heidelbergensis" (a tibia) in Britain along with some of their handaxes along with the remains of butchered animals in Boxgrove, West Sussex. Then, we come to "Homo neanderthalensis"--the neanderthals--who first arrived in Britain c.400KBP and who were the longest-present hominid in British history. (It is no surprise that the homonid man on the front cover is a neanderthal). At Swanscombe, Kent, we find neanderthal fossils (skull fragments) along with their Levallois-technological flint blades in Baker's Hole in Kent. In Beeches Pit, Suffolk, we have found the earlist use of fire by neanderthals c.400KBP. We also find neanderthal handaxes along with some neanderthal teeth in Pontnewydd Cave in Wales c.230KBP. Then for some 120,000 years, Britain is fully devoid of homonids due to the effects of glaciation. Neanderthals return at c.65KBP, and we know this from a flint handaxe, found in Lynford, Norfolk. Then from c.45KBP, in Kent's Cavern, Devon we find remains of a maxilla of a modern human "Homo sapiens". We also find a knapped flint spearpoint, which was very likely made by modern humans, whom we know were also prolific in making artifacts, made from bone, antlers and ivory; in their throwing capabilities; and in domesticating the wolf into the dog. Humans however could not make permanent settlements in Britain until after the LGM during the Magdalenian Epoch. In Gough's Cave in Cheddar, Somerset, we have found artifacts made from antlers, such as a baton. In Creswell Crags in Derbyshire, we have found needles, made from bone, which indicate the manufacture of clothing c.14.5KBP. In Robin Hood Cave within Creswell Crags, we have found an engraved horse drawing in a rib fragment. In Church Hole, also within Creswell Crags, we have found on a cave wall, line-engravings of what appears to be drawings of stylized women. However, these are the only known found artworks from this period in British human history. Finally, at c.11KBP, at the start of the Holocene Period, we have found harpoons, made from antlers in North Yorkshire. By c.6KBP, agriculture reached Britain, with the cultivation of various grains. Agriculture likely stemmed from weather patterns that favored the proliferation of continued plant growth. Megafauna was once quite richer in Britain in the distant past. Straight-tusked elephants once roamed c.500KBP. Lions, hyenas and hippopotamuses once roamed and prowled the area c.120KBP. Even mammoths and horses roamed Britain as late as c.15KBP. Later, roe deer and elk thrived.I would not call the book perfect, but I overall recommend it.

I forgot I had sent this as a gift. It's a great book.

When one thinks of paperbacks, it is not normally with pleasure at their physical appearance and feel. This book is different. It is beautifully composed and printed and it is filled with stunning illustrations and photographs. The photographs in particular add to the knowledge to be gained from the text: They are so good that one can almost feel the heft and texture of the stone tools and other artifacts.The book describes the evidence for human activity in Britain starting from the earliest signs almost a million years ago and ending with the repopulation of Britain by Homo sapiens following the most recent glaciation. It is a story of a series of colonizations of the land interspersed with long periods of human withdrawal, and of periods of almost subtropical warmth when hippopotamus dwelt in the lakes and rivers alternating with massive glaciations in which only musk ox could survive, and then only in some regions. It is a fascinating tale, beautifully presented.The book is quite short, 150 pages, and profusely illustrated but it contains a wealth of information. If you have read Chris Stringer’s earlier (and longer) 2006 book Homo Britannicus, Britain is still well worth reading as a refresher, for the discoveries since 2006, and for the pleasure of the book itself.

A slim volume, not too academic so an easy but informative read. Also colorful but as always lacking in sufficient maps. What is it about anthropologists that makes them so reluctant to include maps in their books. A map, showing the movements and origins of our earliest ancestors, even if it's educated conjecture, is worth a thousand words and helps a layperson immensely. We don't all have these pre-historic peoples, animal migrations and climatic events etc, burnt into our brains by endless years of repetitive study.

interesting book, very informative, at first I was disappointed because some of the information was about other areas of Europe, but then I realized that our ancestors had done a great deal of migrating and that the information was relevant to our British ancestors.

I truly enjoyed this- up to date and vivid in depicting the impact of past climate change on human existence in Britain. Everything Chris Stringer is involved in is worth reading

This is a fine new addition to the bookshelf of anyone interested in the very earliest history of the British Isles. Very meticulously done, finely edited, and great illustrations. Goes very nicely with anyone studying the entry of human kind into the Islands.

This is a great little book on the ebb and flow of human existence in Britain detailing the climatic changes which have had a major affect on how and when homo sapiens, Neanderthals and previous incarnations of "our" species have sporadically settled on (what is now) our Island. Using a great range of photos, illustrations, maps and diagrams for evidence of the unfolding story of occupation.

The NHM never puts its name to a poor publication and this concise, colourful book is no exception. It uses the latest data on new and reviewed finds to add to the story of humans in Britain. The date of first habitation, even if by nomadic small groups has been pushed back to beyond 800,000 years and shows that Homo erectus and H. heidelbergensis can be added to Neanderthals and modern humans as once having trodden our land. It clearly explains the effects of the ice ages and the regular differences in sea levels isolating and reconnecting Britain from the continent.There are still answers to be sought, but generally this brings the interested reader up to speed on the latest finds. It is not meant to be a scientific tome of great complexity, rather it sets out where we have reached in our understanding today and keeps ones attention by means of fine photographs and illustrations. It deserves a place on ones bookshelf.

I needed a reference book on early human occupation of Britain and I chose this book chiefly because of its NHM accreditation. I was not disappointed. It is a model of clarity and takes the reader concisely through all the key British archaeological finds and sets them in the context of ancient climate cycles affecting northern Europe and, where applicable, parallel evolutionary development in Europe and beyond. I learned a lot from this book after the first read and I am still reviewing the content.It is interesting that the authors gave pretty equal weight to all the time periods covered - I was expecting the last 10,000 years to receive undue emphasis on account of our more detailed knowledge of the Meso- and Neolithic, but I think it was right to avoid the temptation to write a text book about 'recent prehistory'.

I attended a day's lectures on the same topic (courtesy of Wuffing Education). This book is a great adjunct to that. I never realised that we had Neanderthal people in the British Isles before.It is clearly written and nicely illustrated on an engaging topic.Highly recommneded.

Excellent for the layman and the more experienced person ,well designed ,easy to follow and very informative . Regards Dave T .