Ostracod-based palaeotemperature reconstructions for MIS 11 human occupation at Beeches Pit, West Stow, Suffolk, UK

The Mutual Ostracod Temperature Range (MOTR) method is applied to ostracod assemblages from the well-documented Middle Pleistocene (MIS 11) human occupation site of Beeches Pit, West Stow, Suffolk, England. The results provide palaeotemperature reconstructions which are compared against other proxy data from molluscs and ostracod indicator species. Ostracod assemblages from the lower part of the sequence (Beds 3 and 4) suggest a temperate climate with mean monthly temperatures (January and July) not dissimilar to those of today, while those of the overlying Bed 7 indicate a climatic shift to a more continental climate with winter temperatures at least 4 °C colder than today. These results corroborate previous suggestions that the evidence of human occupation at Beeches Pit occurs not only in the interglacial (MIS 11c) but also in a succeeding cold phase (possibly MIS 11b) and provide the first quantitative palaeotemperature reconstructions for this site and interval.