Talk: Exploring Early Human Life in Britain
Event, Exhibitions, Free, In Person, Talks
Thursday 1st May 2025 6:00pm - 8:00pm
God's House Tower, Town Quay Road, Southampton, SO14 2NY
Join Professor William Davies, Professor of Palaeoanthropology, and Rebecca Ferreira, Post-Graduate Researcher, for two talks exploring human adaptation and survival across distinct periods and environments in prehistoric Britain.
Neanderthals and modern humans in North West Europe with William Davies
This talk will explore the world of late Neanderthals and early modern humans in North West Europe from around 60,000 – 30,000 years ago.
At that time, what is now Britain was an upland area overlooking (now-submerged) lowlands. How different were Neanderthals and early modern humans in the region north of the great Channel river from those living to the south? This talk will explore the human responses to very variable climates and environments, including habitats with no modern analogues. Very large animals, such as mammoths and woolly rhinos appear to have played a major role in the lives of humans at this period, including being represented in many artworks.
The Mesolithic in the South with Rebecca Ferreira
The Mesolithic, around 11,700 to 6,000 years ago, of what is now Britain was a period of great environmental change, with rising sea-levels instigating the submergence of large areas of landscape.
The ways in which Mesolithic populations engaged with and lived within these landscapes in terms of land available for occupation, the plant and animal species available, and the material culture would have been greatly impacted by these changes. This talk takes a more focused regional view, exploring the evidence for patterns of human activity and behaviour in the south during this 6000-year timespan, and placing these in context of the environmental and palaeogeographic changes of the region.
Each talk will last around 45 minutes, with a short time for questions as well as a break.
About this Event
Please note that this event will take place in the Crawford Room which does not have step free access.
This event is one in a series of events as part of our exhibition Hidden in Stone.
Hidden in Stone is a collaboration between scientists, artists, museums and galleries, to bring you our latest understanding of the evolution of the South Coast of England, through changing climates and with a cast of prehistoric creatures and the arrival of humankind.
This exhibition is brought to you by ‘a space’ arts, The Gostling Evolution and Palaeobiology Lab (UoS), the Department of Archaeology (UoS) including the Centre for the Archeology of Human Origins and Centre for Maritime Archeology, Karen Fawcett Studios and Winchester School of Art (UoS) in partnership with Dinosaur Isle, Friends of Dinosaur Isle, The Etches Collection, The Hastings Museum and Gallery and Southampton City Council Culture and Tourism Service.