Robert Hosfield

Bio: Robert Hosfield is an academic researcher from University of Reading. The author has contributed to research in topics: Pleistocene & Archaeological record. The author has an hindex of 14, co-authored 63 publications receiving 749 citations.

Walking in a Winter Wonderland? Strategies for Early and Middle Pleistocene Survival in Midlatitude Europe

Abstract: Any occupation of northern Europe by Lower Paleolithic hominins, even those occurring during full interglacials, must have addressed the challenges of marked seasonality and cold winters. These would have included the problems of windchill and frostbite; duration, distribution, and depth of snow cover; reduced daylight hours; and distribution and availability of animal and plant foods. Solutions can essentially be characterized as a “stick or twist” choice, that is, year-round presence on a local scale versus extensive annual mobility. However, these options—and the interim strategies that lie between them—present various problems, including maintaining core body temperature, meeting the energetic demands of mobility, coping with reduced resource availability and increasing patchiness, and meeting nutritional requirements. The feasibility of different winter survival strategies are explored with reference to Lower Paleolithic paleoenvironmental reconstructions and on-site behavioral evidence. Emphasis is ...

Mapping the human record in the British early Palaeolithic: evidence from the Solent River system†

Abstract: The lithic record from the Solent River and its tributaries is re-examined in the light of recent interpretations about the changing demography of Britain during the Lower and early Middle Palaeolithic. Existing models of the terrace stratigraphies in the Solent and its tributary areas are reviewed and the corresponding archaeological record (specifically handaxes) for each terrace is assessed to provide models for the relative changes in human occupation through time. The Bournemouth area is studied in detail to examine the effects of quarrying and urbanisation on collection history and on the biases it introduces to the record. In addition, the effects of reworking of artefacts from higher into lower terraces are assessed, and shown to be a significant problem. Although there is very little absolute dating available for the Solent area, a cautious interpretation of the results from these analyses would suggest a pre-Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 12 date for the first appearance of humans, a peak in population between MIS 12 and 10, and a decline in population during MIS 9 and 8. Owing to poor contextual data and small sample sizes, it is not clear when Levallois technology was introduced. This record is compared and contrasted to that from the Thames Valley. It is suggested that changes in the palaeogeography of Britain, in particular land connections to the continent, might have contributed to differences in the archaeological records from the Solent and Thames regions. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Mapping the Human Record: Population Change in Britain During the Early Palaeolithic

Abstract: This chapter examines the changing human demography of Britain during the Lower and early Middle Palaeolithic using Palaeolithic handaxe densities in the Middle Thames and Solent rivers as proxies for relative population. Peak populations are suggested for Marine Isotope Stages (MISs) 13 and 11, and population decline is indicated after MIS 10. This data is compared to the individual site records for the early Middle Palaeolithic, where a similar pattern of decline in the number of sites is discernible. Differences between the British and mainland northwest European records may be explained by the changing palaeogeography of Britain. In particular, the progressive subsidence of the floor of the North Sea Basin made recolonisation of Britain during warm events increasingly difficult. Finally, models are put forward for interpreting population change in relation to the climatic record, the subsidence of the North Sea Basin and the changing ability of humans to withstand cold conditions.

How to learn about teaching: An evolutionary framework for the study of teaching behavior in humans and other animals.

Abstract: The human species is more reliant on cultural adaptation than any other species, but it is unclear how observational learning can give rise to the faithful transmission of cultural adaptations. One possibility is that teaching facilitates accurate social transmission by narrowing the range of inferences that learners make. However, there is wide disagreement about how to define teaching, and how to interpret the empirical evidence for teaching across cultures and species. In this article I argue that disputes about the nature and prevalence of teaching across human societies and nonhuman animals are based on a number of deep-rooted theoretical differences between fields, as well as on important differences in how teaching is defined. To reconcile these disparate bodies of research, I review the three major approaches to the study of teaching – mentalistic, culture-based, and functionalist – and outline the research questions about teaching that each addresses. I then argue for a new, integrated framework that differentiates between teaching types according to the specific adaptive problems that each type solves, and apply this framework to restructure current empirical evidence on teaching in humans and nonhuman animals. This integrative framework generates novel insights, with broad implications for the study of the evolution of teaching, including the roles of cognitive constraints and cooperative dilemmas in how and when teaching evolves. Finally, I propose an explanation for why some types of teaching are uniquely human, and discuss new directions for research motivated by this framework.

The origin of early Acheulean expansion in Europe 700 ka ago: new findings at Notarchirico (Italy).

Abstract: Notarchirico (Southern Italy) has yielded the earliest evidence of Acheulean settlement in Italy and four older occupation levels have recently been unearthed, including one with bifaces, extending the roots of the Acheulean in Italy even further back in time. New 40Ar/39Ar on tephras and ESR dates on bleached quartz securely and accurately place these occupations between 695 and 670 ka (MIS 17), penecontemporaneous with the Moulin-Quignon and la Noira sites (France). These new data demonstrate a very rapid expansion of shared traditions over Western Europe during a period of highly variable climatic conditions, including interglacial and glacial episodes, between 670 and 650 (i.e., MIS17/MIS16 transition). The diversity of tools and activities observed in these three sites shows that Western Europe was populated by adaptable hominins during this time. These conclusions question the existence of refuge areas during intense glacial stages and raise questions concerning understudied migration pathways, such as the Sicilian route.