User:TLHami26/Hoxnian Stage

History
The Hoxnian Stage is named after Hoxne in the English county of Suffolk where some of the deposits created were first found. It was identified and dated with palynology or pollen evidence in the biostratigraphy and later updated with aminostratigraphic techniques. Based on stratigraphic information the Hoxnian happened after the Anglian glacial as Anglian soil is frequently found underneath Hoxnian deposits.

Humans
During the Hoxnian human activity was constrained by the dense forests so humans traveled along rivers and created settlements in valleys. Settlements were selected based on location, resources, and vegetation. The Beeches Pit site revealed humans possibly selected sites rich with flint for toolmaking.

Environment
The Hoxnian is an interglacial phase meaning the warm periods in between glacial periods. Interglacial phases are typically heavily vegetated with woodlands interspersed by open areas. Site deposits are often found over Anglian soil which dates to MIS 12. Most sites have been found in valleys with signs of river deposits. During the interglacial the valleys would have been surrounded by dense forests.

Hoxnian Sites
Beeches Pit, West Stow, Suffolk is a site dated to MIS 11 and under 40km from other sites for the Lower Paleolithic and Middle Paleolithic. Beeches Pit is considered a site of special interest because not only were shells and plant remains found but animal bones that were burnt. The site is surrounded by an eroded subglacial valley with deposits of flint throughout the entire area. The sites around Hitchin, Hertfordshire are associated with lakes caused by the melting of glaciers that settled in holes. When archaeologist dug up the sites they found dense soil full of gravel. The gravel is hypothesized to come from the creation of hand axes. At Marks Tey, Essex the lake soil was rich with pollen spanning all of the Hoxnian and remnants of gravel and artifacts.