Man Worked Bones from the Norwich Crag at Easton Bavents

MAN WORKED BONES FROM THE NORWICH CRAG AT EASTON BAVENTS H . D . COLLINGS

A PAPER by Messrs. Larwood and Martin on the Stratigraphy and Fauna of the Easton Bavents cliffs was published in the Transactions for 1953 (1). Since then the sea has swallowed up a great deal more of the cliffs but the sections are still much the same, with the grey Bavents Clay overlaying the Antian beds of the Norwich Crag with its sands, gravels, and shell beds. In the meantime, Dr. R. G. West has studied the fossil pollen and its climatic background in East Anglia (2) and Mr. H. E. P. Spencer, F.G.S., has written a number of most valuable papers for the Transactions on the Villafranchian fauna and notably "The Crag Epochs and their Mammals" (3).

« BJ W

Stages Climate

ri o 9 °

N.W.

3 1

"Cromerian"

CROMERIAN

Menapian

BAVENTIAN

Europe

East

Anglia

Age Millions of years ago

O F-T

0-77

g u o o cn 3 ö s 5

Cool to Sub-Arctic 0-87

Waalian

ANTIAN

T e m p e r a t e with w a r m spell

CO a

09 « ja CO 3 1-60 ° jj. q 1-22

Eburonian

THURNIAN

Cool to Sub-Arctic

Tiglian

LUDHAMIAN

T e m p e r a t e with w a r m spells

Praetiglian

>

O

Sub-Arctic

?

PLIOCENE

Warm

FIG. 1 Correlation of geological stages, climates, and dating.

Dating The East Anglian Crags may in many ways be looked upon as a westerly extension of the deposits of the Netherlands and Belgium where much work has been done on the geology, climates and dating and the recent highly specialised palaeomagnetic researches

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of Dr. H . M. van Montfrans (4) have thrown much light on the subject, not only for North-Western Europe, but for East Anglia as well, since he has studied deposits from Marks Tey, Mundesley, West Runton, Easton Bavents, Sidestrand, and Stradbroke. West's correlation of the climatic stages with those of the Continent and van Montfrans' dating, as understood by me, are shown in FIG. 1.

T w o kinds of fossilisation At Easton Bavents it is only the Antian beds that have yielded any fossil bones and as Mr. Spencer has so often stressed, there are at least two states of fossilisation found in the bones from the Crags: (7) those that are still relatively soft and which belonged to animals that were native to the old land surface at the time the Crag beds were laid down, and (2) the hard, stone-like and dark coloured ones, which were derived from much earlier times.

These two kinds of fossils are found in the man-worked bones of the Antian beds at Easton Bavents and so a very long period of human life in the Lower Pleistocene is thus indicated.

The Finds Whale ribs (Specimen A.) Towards the end of 1969, on the beach of the south cliff near the Royal Observer Corps Post, after a big scourout, I found a well preserved part of a fossil whale rib measuring 5 feet 4 inches along the outer curve. (Specimen B.) A little later a bit of another rib, 30 inches along the outer curve, was found on the beach in about the same area. At that time I only looked upon these bones as "interesting fossils", but on 21st January, 1970, I picked out of freshly fallen scree some way north of the Royal Observer Corps Post, another bit of rib (specimen C) and it was only after it had been washed that it was seen that it had been worked by man. It is 26 inches along the outer curve and has six clear cut hollow "facets" like those worn on an ill-used whetstone, except that on a whetstone the rubbing scratches usually run with the long axis of the stone whereas these are athwart the axis. With two of the facets, one truncates the other and they have been so much used and scooped out that they have cut down into the coarse cancellous tissue of the inner part of the bone. They are each about 4 inches long and 2 to inches wide. On the 14th of March, Mr. Spencer identified it and the other ribs as being those a "a very big whale" and said that the scratches on the worked parts "looked like file marks" but made no further comment.

In February, 1970, I spotted the broken end of a big bone in situ in the Crag sands of the south cliff 677 paces north of the Royal Observer Corps Post. It was 3 feet below the Bavents Clay

MAN WORKED BONES AT EASTON BAVENTS

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and 5 feet above beach level. I did not try to dig it out for fear of a cliff fall. However, on the Ist of March the cliff looked fairly safe and so with my friends Mr. Peter Jenkins and M r . Paul Durbridge, the latter being one of the founders of the Lowestoft Archaeological Society, we set to work and to our amazement, uncovered a neat heap of five big ribs. T h e y lay one on the other lengthwise like a Stack of faggots. It was a most striking sight and all the more so because there were no other bones at all but these five which were later identified by Mr. Spencer as "belonging to a huge whale that presumably got stranded on a shoal between one and two million years ago" (5). I once collected the whole skeleton of a big whale and what impressed m e at the time was the great number of vertebrae, but here at Easton Bavents there were only five neatly stacked ribs. A whale had most certainly stranded itself, but it was man who had gathered the bones he wanted, which were the ribs, and took them away as a stockpile of raw material for later use.

It was thought too dangerous to dig further into the cliff to get out the fĂźll length of the bones so we had to break off what we had uncovered and leave the ends where they were. T h e big hole attracted curio hunters who risked their lives to get out a few bits.

Later, when the cliff had settled down, Mr. Ian Cruikshank| Reydon, who has found some important fossils, was able to get out what was left and has now most kindly given them to me.

On the 24th November, 1971, the last 8 inches of the distal end of a rib was found on the scree near where the stacked ribs were found. It is heavily marked with facets and the tip is rounded and worn down to the cancellous tissue (specimen D). It was then seen that it was the missing end of specimen " B " and was a perfect fit, making an overall length along the outer surve of 37 inches. T h e longer and first found bit was rather weathered but some facets and Scratches can be seen on it.

T h e reason why twenty-two months had gone by between the finding of these two bits was because there was no scour-out in the latter part of 1970 or in the spring of 1971 and it was only the November high tide that brought specimen " D " to light.

Mr. Spencer's suggestion of the date of the stranding of the whale was a happy one, for on van Montfrans' reckoning, the only mild spell of the Antian period was about 1,100,000 years ago and it may have been warm enough for folk, presumably without fire or clothing, to rear their children. About the 18th March, 1970, Mr. W . J. Dawson, then on holiday in Southwold, got a big bit of rib out of the cliff at a spot that seems to have been roughly where the Stack of ribs was found and he took it home with him to

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Newbury in Berkshire. Happily, the rib is back here once more as Mr. Dawson has now settled in Southwold.

T h e hard question is how the whale ribs stayed undisturbed and stacked together while yet becoming embodied in a sea bed that was later to be Easton Bavents clitfs, for one would think that the usual pounding of waves upon a beach would have scattered them far and wide, but we do know that this did not happen. A possible answer is as follows: Early Man found a stranded whale, took away the ribs that he wanted and stacked them up at his Camping site among sand dunes on the edge of a sheltered river mouth or bay that was backed by salt marshes. There are sites like this in East Anglia today. When man moved away, leaving the heavy bones behind, they became covered up with drifting sand and because the sub-soil was wet and alkaline, the bones did not rot. There is good evidence for wetness since the cliff section showed that although the bone Stack was in the midst of sand, there were streaks of dark grey clay beside and above it, which are sure marks of wet conditions. In the meantime the land was sinking and later became a sea-bed below the reach of scour.

T h e n the sea-bed rose up to become dry land once more in postAntian times and the bone site most luckily escaped all damage until the present day.

Other worked bones (FIG. 2) (a) Early in 1972, Mr. T . H. Gardner, Reydon, who has made many other notable finds in the cliffs, got out of the Upper Stone Layer, north cliff, which is roughly 6 inches thick and lies about 15 inches below the Bavents Clay, the artefact shown in (a) FIG. 2. It is a bit of the tine of an antler, 2\ inches long, fairly hard and heavy, of light brown colour and with a slight polish.

T h e natural pointed tip having been done away with, the distal end has been made round and smooth by scraping with a stone tool that has left the typical unevenesses of surface of that kind of work and also partly, it would seem, by grinding. It also looks as if a hole has been bored from the end into the cancellous tissue.

T h e hole is of an inch deep, but it may have come about naturally (?). T h e proximal end has been broken off seemingly in a recent cliff fall, the outcome, may be, of the weakening of the bone from the two holes that have been bored in it from opposite sides. Before breaking, the holes would seem to have been conical and about \ an inch in diameter at the top. Their edges show scraping marks and also a polish as if from use and which can also be seen on the shaft of the artefact. One cannot make a guess at the use of these thing and only the holed-bones of the art mobilier of the European Upper Palaeolithic come to mind.

Most likely a contemporary fossil.

M A N W O R K E D B O N E S AT EASTON BAVENTS

313

INCHES

FIG. 2

Fossil bone Artefacts f r o m Easton Bavents.

(b) Inner view of a sliver of split bone, 3|- inches long, fairly hard and heavy and of dark brown colour, found by Mr. Gardner in the U p p e r Stone Layer. T h e point has been made, or at least finished off, by grinding. T h e walls of the shaft have also been smoothed by grinding and the tool shows polish from use. Most likely a contemporary fossil. (c) Outer view of a sliver of bone nearly 5 inches long with four notches along one edge. Found by Mr. Gardner on the beach by the Upper Stone Layer. T h e notches are highly polished from wear, as is also the whole length of the edge and the tip as well. T h e tool seems to have been well hand-rubbed. T h e bone

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is hard and heavy and greyish brown and has a metallic clink and gives the impression that, as raw material, it may have already been an old fossil before use as a tool. (d) Inner view of flake of bone found by M r . Gardner in the Upper Stone Layer. T h e tip and one side have been made by grinding, the Scratch marks being clearly seen. An interesting feature is the Shoulder that has been made by this grinding and the tool has been much used. Dark brown, hard and heavy. Derived from an earlier period? (e) Scoop made from the humerus of a deer (determined by H. E. P. Spencer) found by Mr. I. Cruikshank in the Upper Stone Layer. T h e long split was made when the bone was fresh.

T h e scoop part was finished off by scraping and or grinding and the whole tool shows signs of long use. Dark brown, hard and heavy. Derived? (f) Scoop made from the humerus of a deer (determined by H. E. P. Spencer) found by Mr. Gardner in the Lower Shell Bed in 1968. T h e breaking of the epicondylar processes most likely came about by the use of that end for smashing or pounding.

This kind of breaking is commonly found in the bone tools of the Australopithecines of South Africa and is also known from Roumania. T h e tip of the scoop is smoothed and rounded from long use. Dark brown, hard and heavy. Derived? (g) Pounder made from the tibia of a horse (determined by H. E. P. Spencer) found by Mr. I. Cruikshank in the Upper Stone Layer. All the breaks and cracks were made when the bone was fresh. Much worn by use. Dark brown, hard and heavy.

With the exception of specimen " a " all the above types can be compared with those found in the Australopithecine "Apem e n " culture of South Africa by Professor R. A. Dart (6) excepting only that those made or finished off by grinding may be of a more advanced and later date than the South African ones.

A comparable bone culture of Lower Pleistocene (Villafranchian) age has been described from Roumania by C. S. and Dr. Dardu Nicolaescu-Plopsor (7) and in the south of France in the same period, Messrs. de Lumley, Gagniere, and Pascal have found stone tools of which one is a "Rostrocarinate", and a probably manworked bone ("MM OS vraisemblablement taille") (8).

Stone tools Besides the bone artefacts described above, a good number of stone tools, some contemporary and some older and derived, have also been found in the Crag at Easton Bavents, which it is not the purpose of this paper to describe. Nevertheless, in March, 1970,

MAN WORK ED BONES AT EASTON BAVENTS

315

t h e late D r . L . S . B. L e a k e y e x a m i n e d t h e flakes a n d later w r o t e t o m e " s o m e of t h e flakes w e r e m o s t e m p h a t i c a l l y m a d e b y m a n , and no one could doubt they were m a n - m a d e ! You m a y quote m e as s a y i n g s o " a n d also " t h e s e large flakes a r e n o t of t h e t y p e nature produces".

T h u s it s h o u l d b e clear t h a t E a r l y M a n w a s living o n a n old l a n d s u r f a c e at t h e t i m e t h a t u p p e r p a r t of t h e C r a g w a s b e i n g laid d o w n as a b e a c h o r s e a - b e d at w h a t is n o w c a l l e d E a s t o n B a v e n t s a n d it is t h e r e f o r e p r o p o s e d t h a t t h i s b o d y of a r t e f a c t s of b o n e a n d s t o n e , as a w h o l e , s h o u l d b e called " T H E E A S T O N BAVENTS C U L T U R E COMPLEX".

M y s i n c e r e t h a n k s t o all t h o s e w h o h a v e in a n y w a y h e l p e d in this research.

References 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Larwood, G . P. and Martin, A. J. (1953). Stratigraphv and Fauna of the Easton Bavents cliff sections, near Southwold, Suffolk.

Trans. Suffolk Nat. Soc. 8, 157.

West, R. G. (1961). Vegetational history of the Early Pleistocene of the Royal Society Borehole at L u d h a m , Norfolk. Proc. Roy. Soc. B.155, 437.

West, R. G . (1963). Problems of the British Quaternary.

Proc.

Geologists' Assoc. 74, 147.

Spencer, H . E. P. (1970). A Contribution to the Geological History of Suffolk, Part 5. T h e Early Pleistocene. T h e Crag Epochs and their Mammals. Suffolk Natural History 15, 279.

Montfrans, H . M . van (1971). Palaeomagnetic Dating in the N o r t h Sea Basin. Doctorial Thesis. Univ. of Amsterdam.

(Princo N.V./Rotterdam.)

Spencer, H . E. P. (1970) loc. cit. 299 Dart, Raymond A. (1955). T h e Makapansgat Australopithecine Osteodontokeratic Culture. Proc. Third Pan-African Congress on Pre-history, 1955, 161.

Dart, Raymond A. (1960). T h e bone tool-manufacturing ability of Australopithecus prometheus. Amer. Anthropologist 62, 134.

Nicolaescu-Plopsor, C. S. and Dr. D a r d u (1963). T h e Possible Existance of the Proto-Hominids in Rumania's Villafranchean.

DACIA. 7, 9.

Lumley, Henri de, Gagniere, Sylvain and Pascal, Rene (1963).

D i c o u v e r t e d'outils prehistoriques, d'äge villafranchien dans la grotte du Vallonnet (Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, Alpes-Maritimes).

Comptes rendus. Acad. des Sciences 256, 4261.

II. D. Gottings,

B.A.,

23 Station

Road,

Southuold,

Suffolk.