Bontnewydd Palaeolithic site
The Bontnewydd Palaeolithic site is an archaeological site in Wales which has yielded the earliest known remains of Neanderthals in the region. It is located on the River Elwy, near the hamlet of Bontnewydd, Denbighshire.
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[edit] Palaeolithic site
Bontnewydd was excavated from 1978 by a team from the University of Wales, led by Dr Stephen Aldhouse Green. Teeth and part of a jawbone excavated in the cave in 1981 were dated to 230,000 years ago. The bone is from a Neanderthal boy approximately eleven years old.[1] The site is the most north-western site in Eurasia for remains of early hominids and is considered of international importance. Based on the morphology and age of the teeth, particularly the evidence of taurodontism, the teeth are believed to belong to a group of Neanderthals who hunted game in the vale of Elwy in an interglacial period. The other key paleolithic sites in the UK are Happisburgh, Pakefield, Boxgrove, Swanscombe, Kents Cavern, Paviland, and Gough's Cave.
[edit] Naming
The site is sometimes referred to as Pontnewydd, meaning 'Newbridge' in English.
[edit] See also
- Boxgrove
- Gough's Cave
- Genetic history of the British Isles
- Happisburgh
- Kents Cavern
- List of human evolution fossils
- List of Neanderthal sites
- List of prehistoric structures in Great Britain
- Pakefield
- Prehistoric Britain
- Paviland
- Swanscombe
[edit] Notes
- ^ "Gathering the Jewels". Early Neanderthal jaw fragment, c. 230,000 years old. Culturenet Cymru. 2008. http://www.gtj.org.uk/en/small/item/GTJ27306/. Retrieved 2008-09-25.
[edit] References
- Dr Chris Stringer Homo Brittanicus 319 pages, publisher: Allen Lane (5 Oct 2006) ISBN 0713997958, ISBN 978-0713997958
- National Museum of Wales article
- Ancient Burial practice article- British Archeology.
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