The caves of the Yorkshire Dales provide deeply stratified and relatively undisturbed sedimentary sequences and exceptional conditions for the survival of both archaeological and palaeoenvironmental material such as animal bone. The post-glacial landscape was first visited by hunter-gatherers, probably on a seasonal basis, and the caves and rock shelters would have provided a ready made refuge, although the caves were also occupied by other large predators including bears and wolves.
A horse bone, with human tool marks, excavated from Victoria Cave has produced an AMS date of 12,300 BP, providing evidence of the most northerly dated record of human presence in Britain during the Windermere Interstadial. Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) analysis is a method of obtaining radiocarbon age estimates from small samples of organic materials.
Map: YDRP Hominid caves – Caves with evidence of human use