The objective of the Pathways to Ancient Britain project is to arrive at a better understanding of the the human colonisation, extinction and recolonisation events of Britain between 1 Ma and 300 ka (Nick Ashton, Rob Davis, Simon Lewis, Simon Parfitt, Chris Stringer). Through new fieldwork and study of existing collections the project aims to build a firm chronology for the different human population expansions and retreats from Britain during the Lower Palaeolithic, relating this to changes in climate and palaeogeography. The focus is on:
- The introduction and development of new technologies such as bifaces, hunting and fire-use;
- The identification of regional and short-term cultural signatures;
- Better understanding of how the British evidence relates to that of mainland Europe. The project is working closely with teams in France, Spain and Italy.