 Clactonian Flake Tool from Rickson’s Farm pit, Swanscombe, Kent, UK. | |
| Geographical range | England |
|---|---|
| Period | Lower Paleolithic |
| Dates | c. 424,000 – c. 415,000 BP |
| Type site | Clacton-on-Sea |
| Major sites | Barnham,Swanscombe Heritage Park |
| Preceded by | Acheulean |
| Followed by | Mousterian |
TheClactonian is the name given byarchaeologists to anindustry of European flint tool manufacture that dates to the early part of theHoxnian Interglacial (corresponding to the globalMarine Isotope Stage 11 and the continentalHolstein Interglacial) around 424–415,000 years ago.[1] Clactonian tools were made byHomo heidelbergensis.[2] The Clactonian is primarily distinguished from the (globally) contemporaneousAcheulean industry by its lack of use ofhandaxe tools.[3]
It is named after finds made by Samuel Hazzledine Warren in apalaeochannel atClacton-on-Sea in theEnglish county ofEssex in 1911. Theartefacts found there included flintchopping tools, flintflakes and the tip of a worked wooden shaft, theClacton Spear. Further examples of the tools have been found at sites includingBarnfield Pit and Rickson's Pit,[4] nearSwanscombe inKent andBarnham inSuffolk; similar industries have been identified acrossNorthern Europe. The Clactonian industry involved striking thick, irregular flakes from a core of flint, which was then employed as achopper. The flakes would have been used as crude knives or scrapers. Unlike theOldowan tools, some were notched, implying that they were attached to a handle or shaft.Retouch is uncommon and the prominentbulb of percussion on the flakes indicates use of ahammerstone.
Although in modern literature the term almost exclusively refers to finds in Britain,[5] the term was historically used broadly for finds across much of the Old World.[6] The distinctiveness of the Clactonian industry has been questioned, because its techniques are very similar to those of the Acheulean industry, and the use of handaxes is known in Britain both before (such as at theBoxgrove site) and after the Clactonian, with handaxes also suggested to be found at a number of Clactonian sites.[5]
The Clactonian is described as a "flake andcore" industry distinguished from theAcheulean from its lack of use ofhandaxes. The cores were used aschoppers. The shapes of the lithic flakes do not follow a standard pattern.[3] While historically the Clactonian industry was thought to have used stone only to create lithic artefacts, recent evidence has been found supporting the use of animal bones as soft hammers forstone knapping.[1]
The industry was first defined by Samuel Hazzledine Warren in 1926 based on finds at Clacton-on-Sea, England. In the early 20th century, the Clactonian and Acheulean industry were thought to be produced by two different lineages of humans, due to the perceived primitive nature of Clactonian stoneknapping. While some authors in the 1950s connected the Clactonian to the AfricanOldowan industry, this was later discarded once radiometric dating made it clear that Oldowan was far older than the Clactonian. 1950s authors suggested that the Clactonian may have been ancestral to the Acheulean industry in Britain. While some modern authors have supported this assertion, this has been disputed by other authors, who suggest that end of the Clactionian in Britain and the return of the use of handaxes was the result of a migration of a new population of hominins from the continent replacing the Clactonian producing hominins.[5] It has been suggested by some authors that Clactonian may have originated from populations of hominins in the adjacentRhineland area, who also did not use handaxes.[7] Some authors have regarded the Clactonian as simply a regional variant of the Acheulean.[8]
The Clactonian dates to the early part of theHoxnian Interglacial (which correlates with the mainland EuropeanHolstein interglacial and the globalMarine Isotope Stage 11), when Britain had atemperate deciduous forest environment and climate similar to that of Britain during the contemporaryHolocene period.[8][9] One of the most important Clactonian sites was found near Ebbsfleet, Kent, where a largestraight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus) skeleton was found associated with Clactonian stone tools, which are suggested to have been used to butcher the elephant. Evidence has also been found for the Clactonian butchery offallow deer (Dama clactoniana).[5]
| ThePaleolithic |
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| ↑Pliocene (beforeHomo) |
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| ↓Mesolithic |
