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Cueva Fell

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Cueva Fell or Fell's Cave is a natural cave and archaeological site in southern Patagonia . Cueva Fell is in proximity to the Pali Aike Crater , another significant archaeological site. Cueva Fell combined with the nearby Pali Aike site have been submitted to UNESCO as a possible World Heritage Site .

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65-645: Fell's Cave was discovered by Junius Bird . It came to his attention because arrow points and flakes were found on the surface. The cave was originally called the Río Chico shelter , but was later renamed by Bird to Fell's Cave in honor of the Fell family who owned the Estancia Brazo Norte, the North Arm Station, where the cave is located. Excavation of the site began in 1936. Fell's Cave

130-536: A change in the use of coastal resources and advancements in marine technology. The reasons for these changes have not been confirmed; various triggering mechanisms have been theorized such as climate change , the arrival of new people, or the struggle for resources. The South American land mammal age , the Lujanian , corresponds with the late Pleistocene. The Lujanian is a geologic period from 0.8 - 0.11Ma specifically for prehistoric South American fauna. There

195-533: A couple of circular rubbing stones, and bone tools . Perhaps the most significant find in the 1936 excavation was the fishtail projectile point . All of the fishtail points were associated with large mammals including: extinct horses, giant ground sloths , and guanacos. Fifteen fishtail projectile points were recovered from Layer V which is the oldest layer that dates back to 11,000 +-170 and 10,080 +-160 years BP. These fishtail point have been radiocarbon dated to be ca. 11,000 years old. Discoidal stones, referred in

260-408: A notable distinction between the two. Layer III is approximately 12 to 15 in (30 to 38 cm) thick and consists of compacted dark earth. The thickness of this layer varies from 13 to 17 in (33 to 43 cm) and consists of firmly packed dark earth. This layer dates from c. 10,000 to 8,500 years BP. After the earliest layer, Layer V, had accumulated, sandstone slabs fell from the roof of

325-424: A shelter 28 ft (8.5 m) deep and 38 ft (12 m) wide. The erosion formed a smooth floor of hard clay. Remnants of sandstone still clinging to the conglomerate roof eventually fell to the floor, forming an archaeologically sterile layer that separated later human occupation periods. Junius Bird labelled the occupational sediment layers of the site from top to bottom, the top layer directly under

390-547: A slightly different location of the cave. During this excavation 415 artifacts were found; various points , knives, scrapers, cores , bolas, and bone tools. The colonization of the Americas may be one of the most contentious archaeological debates today. The issue involves a large body of research and numerous theories as to how and when this event began. For decades, the Clovis-first model trumped all other theories for

455-576: A true domestic dog have been dated to 14,200 years ago. Domestication first happened in Eurasia but could have been anywhere from Western Europe to East Asia. Domestication of other animals such as cattle, goats, pigs, and sheep did not begin until the Holocene when settled farming communities became established in the Near East. The cat was probably not domesticated before c.  7500 BC at

520-421: A warming trend. These two thousand years in question marked a fitful end to the last ice age, one marked by high environmental variability. While this produced significant changes in some taxa , humans, at this time, were already becoming adept at adjusting to new environments and appear not to have been deleteriously affected by the changeable and unpredictable climate. As the Holocene warming trend persisted, so

585-563: Is conducive for preserving fossils . Neanderthal hominins ( Homo neanderthalensis ) inhabited Eurasia until becoming extinct between 40 and 30 ka, towards the end of the Pleistocene and possibly into the early Holocene and were replaced with modern humans ( Homo sapiens ) who emerged from East Africa about 195,000 years ago. Neanderthals co-existed with the Homo sapiens until they died out. In Eurasia, extinction happened throughout

650-682: Is currently in use as a provisional or "quasi-formal" designation by the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS). Although the three oldest ages of the Pleistocene (the Gelasian , the Calabrian and the Chibanian ) have been officially defined, the late Pleistocene has yet to be formally defined. Following the brief Last Interglacial warm period (~130–115,000 years ago), where temperatures were comparable to or warmer than

715-400: Is dominated by guanaco bone fragments. Period IV is characterized by the presence of stone tools such as stemmed or legged stone points, knives, and small thumb-nail scrapers as well as a bone tool assemblage. Large bolas , various beads and other ornaments are also present. This Period can also be distinguished by the building of structures including extended burials and rock cairns. Again,

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780-610: Is due to the lack of chronological information. The resemblance of Late Pleistocene species in Northern Africa to modern animals is the same as in Southern Africa but it's extremely difficult to date when these fauna came into place because of the lack of reliable samples from the mid-Pleistocene. Most of the significant fossil records are from the Maghreb because of its geology which helps to create deep caves which

845-499: Is evidence of human habitation in mainland Australia , Indonesia , New Guinea and Tasmania from c. 45,000 BC. The finds include rock engravings, stone tools and evidence of cave habitation. In Australia, there are sites which show evidence of pollen records from the Late Pleistocene and they are mostly found in more temperate regions of the continent. Some megafauna decreased in size over time, while others remained

910-580: Is known as the Fuego-Patagonia steppe environment. The area receives less than 400 mm (16 in) annual precipitation (typical for the Patagonia region but much drier than neighbouring coastal or mountain terrains) and is dominated by bunch grasses from the genera Festuca and Stipa , along with a variety of herbaceous vegetation. Cueva Fell is notable for the range of now-extinct faunal finds excavated from within it. Notable among these are

975-610: Is located in the Río Chico canyon, Chile , near the Straits of Magellan and the Argentine border. This area is known as the Southern Patagonian Basalt Plateaus . Situated on the southeast side of what was once a river bank, it is more accurately described as a rock shelter. It was formed by river water wearing away at the sandstone bank, leaving behind a canopy of lava conglomerate and thus creating

1040-619: Is made about Monte Verde , which may be the best known and most widely accepted of these sites and which pre-dates Clovis by approximately 1,000 years. Although site discovery and excavation were not recent, Cueva Fell is representative of occupation of southern South America. The earliest occupation at Cueva Fell, between 11,000 +-170 and 10,080 +-160 years BP, does not pre-date but is coeval with Clovis. Other Late Pleistocene sites in Argentina, such as Cerro Tres Tetas, Cueva Casa del Minero and Piedra Museo are also contemporaneous with Clovis and

1105-443: Is now widely accepted that a pre-Clovis culture colonized the Americas via a Pacific coastal route sometime between 14,000 and 12,000 years BP. Some of the evidence supporting the coastal theory comes from the southernmost portions of South America . Many researchers now agree that occupation of Tierra del Fuego , between 11,000 and 10,500 years ago, simply does not provide enough time for mid-continental migration. A similar argument

1170-545: Is still heavily debated what caused the extinctions. Bison occidentalis and Bison antiquus , an extinct subspecies of the smaller present-day bison, survived the late Pleistocene period, between about 12 and 11 ka ago. Clovis people depended on these bison as their major food source. Earlier kills of camels, horses, and muskoxen found at Wally's beach were dated to 13.1–13.3 ka B.P. Over 50 genera (~ 83%) of megafauna in South and North America went extinct during

1235-477: Is the oldest and is associated with Layer V, while Period V is the latest and is associated with Layer I. This period (layer I) is typified by a tool assemblage containing small arrow points and various bone tools , as well as such cultural materials as combs and beads. Based on the style of the arrow points, it is likely that this period is associated with the Ona Indians. The faunal assemblage of this period

1300-669: The Bering land bridge which joined Alaska to Siberia . The last Ice Age was followed by the Late Glacial Interstadial , a period of global warming to 12.9 ka, and the Younger Dryas , a return to glacial conditions until 11.7 ka. Paleoclimatology holds that there was a sequence of stadials and interstadials from about 16 ka until the end of the Pleistocene. These were the Oldest Dryas (stadial),

1365-881: The Bølling oscillation (interstadial), the Older Dryas (stadial), the Allerød oscillation (interstadial) and finally the Younger Dryas. The end of the Younger Dryas marks the boundary between the Pleistocene and Holocene Epochs. Hominids in all parts of the world were still culturally and technologically in the Palaeolithic (Old Stone) Age . Tools and weapons were basic stone or wooden implements. Nomadic tribes followed moving herds. Non-nomadics acquired their food by gathering and hunting . Its present physical geography and climate have changed over time caused by

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1430-693: The Japanese archipelago has been traced to prehistoric times between 40,000 BC and 30,000 BC. The earliest fossils are radiocarbon dated to c. 35,000 BC. An archeological record of Neanderthals has been found in Asia along with records of two other hominin populations, the Denisovans and Homo floresiensis . Japan was once linked to the Asian mainland by land bridges via Hokkaido and Sakhalin Island to

1495-535: The Nile Valley as the Sahara was transformed from grassland to desert. The Nazlet Khater skeleton was found in 1980 and has been radiocarbon dated to between 30,360 and 35,100 years ago. Most of the knowledge of the Late Pleistocene is obtained from regions like Morocco , Algeria , Tunisia , some coastal regions of Maghreb , Libya and Egypt . The only issue with interpreting the data from this region

1560-850: The North American land mammal age scale, the Rancholabrean spans the time from c. 240,000 years ago to c. 11,000 years ago. It is named after the Rancho La Brea fossil site in California , characterized by extinct forms of bison in association with other Pleistocene species such as the mammoth . During the Late Pleistocene about 35 genera of megafauna went extinct including species such as mastodons , saber-toothed cats and giant ground sloths . Some other species went extinct in North America but not globally. it

1625-585: The Settlement of the Americas . This theory basically holds that the Clovis culture constituted the earliest peoples to arrive in and inhabit North America. Entering the Americas from Asia via the Bering Land Bridge and migrating south through the ice free corridor, the Clovis people populated southern North America. This population spread through Central America and finally South America. At

1690-539: The Upper Pleistocene from a stratigraphic perspective. It is intended to be the fourth division of the Pleistocene Epoch within the ongoing Quaternary Period. It is currently defined as the time between c. 129,000 and c. 11,700 years ago. The late Pleistocene equates to the proposed Tarantian Age of the geologic time scale , preceded by the officially ratified Chibanian (commonly known as

1755-460: The giant sloth and the horse . The horse was to become extinct and absent in the Americas through most of the Holocene until it was imported by Europeans. In fact the evidence of the ancient horse Cueva Fell was the first proof that horses occupied the Americas before being reintroduced from the Old World. The stratified remains of both human and animals provides evidence that human occupation of

1820-526: The mammoth , mastodon , and Irish elk became extinct. Upper Paleolithic people also made paintings and engravings on walls. Cave paintings have been found at Lascaux in the Dordogne which may be more than 17,000 years old. These are mainly buffalo , deer , and other animals hunted by humans. Later paintings occur in caves throughout the world, including Altamira , Spain, and in India, Australia, and

1885-520: The megafaunal extinctions in North America. Analysis of pollen extracted from Cueva Fell suggested a substantial reduction in grassland in southern Patagonia in the period just preceding these extinctions, and was an early piece of evidence in the mounting argument against hunting as the primary cause of species collapse. Large quantities of guanaco (lama) were also found in the older depositional layers. Where other large grazing fauna died out in

1950-482: The Alps and interglacials (temperate phase). The evidence of the changes in climatic conditions was from fragmentary sequences in formerly glaciated areas in northern Europe . The only domesticated animal in the Pleistocene was the dog , which evolved from the grey wolf into its many modern breeds . It is believed that the grey wolf became associated with hunter-gatherer tribes around 15 Ka. The earliest remains of

2015-539: The El Jobo point (Venezuela), and the Paijan point (Peru and Ecuador), all of which dating to Clovis times. The fluted stone tool variants of South America represent regional adaptations to the procurement of Pleistocene megafauna that contrasts with the continent-wide use of Clovis points in North America. Such regional technological adaptations seem to reflect the initial dispersal of small paleoindian groups throughout

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2080-469: The Fell's Tradition. Thus, Fell's Cave is the type site for the Fell's Tradition. This tradition is characterized most notably by fishtail points as well as various stone scrapers, choppers, stone discs and bone tools. Several hearths were also excavated from this level which produced three radiocarbon dates between c.11,000 and 10,000 years BP. In the Late Pleistocene , prior to 12,500 years BP,

2145-506: The Holocene, the Late Pleistocene was dominated by the cool Last Glacial Period , with temperatures gradually lowering throughout the period, reaching their lowest during the Last Glacial Maximum around 26-20,000 years ago. Most of the world's large ( megafaunal ) animals became extinct during the Late Pleistocene as part of the Late Pleistocene extinctions , a trend that continued into the Holocene. In palaeoanthropology ,

2210-603: The Late Pleistocene. Some species which went extinct at the end of the Late Pleistocene in Southern Africa are the giant warthog , long-horn buffalo, Southern springbok , etc. These species were common because their distribution changed in response to climatic influences on vegetation. Carnivores were more widespread due to their varying habitat requirements. In Egypt , the Late (or Upper) Palaeolithic began sometime after 30,000 BC. People in North Africa had relocated to

2275-704: The Middle Pleistocene). The beginning of the Late Pleistocene is the transition between the end of the Penultimate Glacial Period and the beginning of the Last Interglacial around 130,000 years ago (corresponding with the beginning of Marine Isotope Stage 5 ). The Late Pleistocene ends with the termination of the Younger Dryas , some 11,700 years ago when the Holocene Epoch began. The term Upper Pleistocene

2340-673: The Pleistocene but those that happened during the Later Pleistocene were of megafauna and there were no replacements for the extinct species. Some Molluscan species went extinct but not on the same scale as the mammals living during the time. Some examples of species which extinct without replacements include the Straight-tusked elephant ( Palaeoloxodon antiquus ), Giant deer ( Megaloceros giganteus ), cave bear ( Ursus spelaeus ) and woolly rhinoceros ( Coelodonta antiquitatis ). Several large mammalian species including

2405-430: The Pleistocene. most mega mammals (>1000kg) and large mammals (>40kg) went extinct by the end of the Late Pleistocene. During this period there was a major cooling event called the Younger Dryas and the Clovis culture of capturing game became more prominent. Diverse factors such as climate change may have triggered this extinction but it's still in debate what the major factors were. The Late Pleistocene saw

2470-680: The Sahara. Magdalenian hunter-gatherers were widespread in western Europe about 20 -12.500 cal BP years ago until the end of the Pleistocene. An example of this is the antler-working done by the human groups who lived in the Santimamine cave in the Magdalenian. They invented the earliest known harpoons using reindeer horn. Climatic conditions during the Late Pleistocene in Eurasia were predominantly cold with glaciation events happening in northern Europe , northwest Siberia and

2535-541: The archaeological integrity. Many of these sites, Cueva Fell included, are rock shelters which have been used as dens by carnivorous fauna over thousands of years, which not only disturb archaeological deposits but add difficulty to recognizing archaeological sites. Low population density combined with these other factors make Junius Bird's discovery of Cueva Fell in 1936 truly remarkable in and of itself. Junius Bird Junius Bouton Bird (1907–1982), born in Rye, New York ,

2600-646: The area actually preceded the extinction of both the native horse ( Hippidion saldiasi ) and the ground sloth Mylodon . This same evidence suggested that ancient horse was hunted and eaten. However humans weren't the sole predators in the area. Bone remains of the horse, llama and ground sloth all display puncture marks, most likely made by the Patagonia panther . The Early Holocene taxa change—the extinction of mostly herbivorous animals in South America—was initially attributed to human over-hunting, as were

2665-406: The area surrounding Cueva Fell was dominated by high winds, year-round freezing temperatures, and annual precipitation under 300 mm. This heathland environment was replaced by a treeless, xeric , herbaceous steppe environment through 11,000 years BP, as the freezing temperatures and winds began to abate. This is the climate and terrain that most closely predated the first human inhabitants in

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2730-524: The area. The earliest human occupation dates suggested by the finds in Layer V—c. 11,000 to 10,000 years BP correspond to a period of stadial cooling. In what has been described as a possible South American equivalent to the Younger Dryas , the Patagonian region experienced a period of low temperatures and high precipitation as well as advancing glaciers. This was followed in 10,000 to 9,000 years BP by

2795-400: The cave and sealed it off. This layer is 15 to 20 in (38 to 51 cm) thick. A refuse soft clay soil varying in thickness from 3 to 9 in (7.6 to 22.9 cm) composes the oldest occupation level at the site. The site dates from 11,000 +-170 years BP to 10,080 +-160 years BP according to conventional radiocarbon dating. Bird named the periods from earliest to latest, thus Period I

2860-533: The chart as circular rubbing stones, were also found. Bird notes in a 1970 journal article that "stone artefacts shaped by pecking and grinding are so generally absent among Paleo-Indian finds that exceptions are noteworthy". There were two stones found in Cueva Fell; both of them were clearly associated with animal remains. Both were made from lava. The larger stone has a diameter of about 12.3 cm (4.8 in) and weighs about 1.12 kg (2.5 lb) while

2925-510: The earliest evidence for the domestic dog in the Americas. However subsequent analyses suggest the skull and teeth remains to have been from two wild species: Pseudalopex griseus (South American gray fox) and Canis avus (a small fox or wolf-life canine, particular to South America in the late Pleistocene period). Other faunal bone remains include hawks and falcons . The first excavation of Fell's cave in 1936 yielded 511 artefacts. These included hafted implements , knives , scrapers , bolas ,

2990-682: The earliest, again in the Near East . A butchered brown bear patella found in Alice and Gwendoline Cave in County Clare and dated to 10,860 to 10,641 BC indicates the first known human activity in Ireland . The topography and geography of Asia were subject to frequent changes such as the creation of land bridges when sea levels dropped which helped with the expansion and migration of human populations . The first human habitation in

3055-473: The early Holocene, guanaco appear to have survived as a result of their less specialized plant diet, adapting to the change in vegetation that accompanied the warming Holocene. Guanaco population sizes initially dipped along with other grazing species, but eventually recovered. Analysis of canine remains found in all five human occupation levels of the cave initially suggested they were those of domestic dog (Canis familiaris) . This would have been remarkable as

3120-455: The early occupation at Fell's Cave. The common tendency to compare South American and North American prehistory is increasingly becoming outmoded, most notably in regards to early technological adaptations. It has been long believed that the early fluted points of South America represented a diffusion of the fluted North American Clovis points. South American fluted points include the fishtail point represented at Cueva Fell and many other regions,

3185-426: The environment of southern Patagonia continued to change. The archaeology of Fell's Cave provides evidence for the regular occurrence of summer droughts in the area—droughts that, combined with increasing summer storm activity, may have led to wildfires. The decrease in water availability combined with the evident (through pollen analysis ) dramatic change in grazing flora species, are proposed as contributing factors to

3250-453: The evident faunal extinction. The period of 9,000 to 6,000 years BP saw less remarkable shifts in climate, with a general trend away from xeric taxa and, it is then presumed, an increase in precipitation. There is insufficient radiocarbon control at the site to determine local climate conditions post-6,000 years BP, however regional ecology suggests a slight shift towards more aridity. Today Cueva Fell joins most of southern Argentina in what

3315-789: The faunal assemblage is dominated by guanaco. Present in this layer are bone awls, stone scrapers, and triangular stone points with rounded bases. Also, bolas of notably smaller size than the subsequent later period, period IV. It has been suggested that these small stone bolas may have been used in procurement of birds. Guanaco and fox bone fragments dominate the faunal assemblage. This layers consists mainly of bone points and awls , and stone scrapers. Junius Bird notes in Travels and Archaeology in South Chile that this layer contained significantly more sediment in relation to artifact distribution. The oldest cultural occupation at this site belongs to

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3380-463: The initial colonization of the New World. The early inhabitants of Fuego-Patagonia signify sparse populations spread out over large territories and chances of site discovery in this region are low. Compounding the low likelihood of site discovery in this region is the deeply buried contexts associated with such early occupation and the subsequent increase of various perturbation processes threatening

3445-469: The late 1930s Bird was one of the pioneers of Patagonian archaeology and contributed to the investigation of the earliest settlement of the Americas . His wife, Margaret McKelvy Bird , accompanied him on a number of expeditions and was a close co-worker throughout their life together. In 1961 he was elected as the president of the Society for American Archaeology . He studied at Columbia College and

3510-534: The late Pleistocene contains the Upper Palaeolithic stage of human development, including the early human migrations of modern humans outside of Africa, and the extinction of all archaic human species. Paleolithic Epipalaeolithic Mesolithic Neolithic The proposed beginning of the late Pleistocene is the end of the Penultimate Glacial Period (PGP) 126 ka when the Riß glaciation (Alpine)

3575-408: The movement of tectonic plates and volcanoes but glacial cycles and sea level variation have a more significant effect on the vertebrate communities during the Late Pleistocene. The Late Pleistocene was the time when most animals evolved to resemble modern-day animals and they managed to live through the Late mid-Pleistocene since there were no extinction events of megafauna until the end of

3640-569: The north but was unconnected at this time when the main islands of Hokkaido, Honshu , Kyushu and Shikoku were all separate entities. Human migrations happened during this time with people coming in from Eurasia . From about 28 ka, there were migrations across the Bering land bridge from Siberia to Alaska . The people became the Native Americans . It is believed that the original tribes subsequently moved down to Central and South America under pressure from later migrations. In

3705-431: The present. According to conventional radiocarbon dating, the layer dates to 1265 CE +-90. The division between Layer I and Layer II is relatively indistinguishable as the sediments are of similar dark earth, and also reach about 10 in (25 cm) or more in thickness. This layer dates to around 6,500 years BP. This layer dates to around 8,500 to 6,500 years BP. The earth consistency between Layers II and III marking

3770-409: The smaller stone is about 8.4 cm (3.3 in) in diameter and weighs about 0.5 kg (1.1 lb). There was also a substantial amount of scrapers found throughout all the Cueva Fell layers. The bone tools found, according to Bird, were made from sloth bone because there bone used showed no evidence of marrow cavities. In 1969 there was a second dig organized at Cueva Fell but it was focused in

3835-407: The surface is I and the oldest, lowest layer is V. The surface material of the site is composed of dirt, rocks, and hard-packed sheep manure. The surface layer ranges from 18 to 24 in (46 to 61 cm) in thickness. The youngest stratigraphic layer of Fell's Cave is a dark earth layer, reaching approximately 10 in (25 cm) in thickness. This component dates from around 700 years BP to

3900-416: The time the theory was proposed no archaeological evidence had been discovered in the Americas which pre-dated 11,050 to 10,800 years BP, or the onset of the Clovis culture . However, in the last few decades a multitude of sites were found, which at first challenged this theory and now demand a new model to explain the peopling of the Americas . Based on the current understanding of archaeological evidence, it

3965-403: The vast continent. The fishtail points of Cueva Fell thus represent crucial evidence in the distinction between tool technologies in the southern and northern continents of the Americas. Finally, Cueva Fell deserves recognition for representing possibly the earliest occupation of Fuego-Patagonia approximately 11,000 BP. This southern region of South America is symbolic of "the end of the line" for

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4030-464: Was an American archaeologist who was appointed curator of South American Archaeology at the American Museum of Natural History in 1934. His contributions to the study of ecology, climate, and pre-Columbian archaeology earned him several awards including: The Viking Fund Medal for Archaeology (1956) and The Order of "El sol de Peru" (1974). With his excavations e.g. at Fell Cave in

4095-699: Was being succeeded by the Eemian (Riß-Würm) interglacial period . The Riß-Würm ended 115 ka with the onset of the Last Glacial Period (LGP) which is known in Europe as the Würm (Alpine) or Devensian (Great Britain) or Weichselian glaciation (northern Europe); these are broadly equated with the Wisconsin glaciation (North America), though technically that began much later. The Last Glacial Maximum

4160-415: Was in the class of 1930. Bird has been cited as a possible real-life inspiration for the fictional movie character Indiana Jones . This biographical article about an American archaeologist is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Late Pleistocene The Late Pleistocene is an unofficial age in the international geologic timescale in chronostratigraphy , also known as

4225-709: Was reached during the later millennia of the Würm/Weichselian, estimated between 26 ka and 19 ka when deglaciation began in the Northern Hemisphere. The Würm/Weichselian endured until 16 ka with Northern Europe, including most of Great Britain , covered by an ice sheet. The glaciers reached the Great Lakes in North America. Sea levels fell and two land bridges were temporarily in existence that had significance for human migration : Doggerland , which connected Great Britain to mainland Europe; and

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