Abstract The fossil record of skeletons of small organisms, typically 1–3000 μm in size, extends into the deep Precambrian. Some of the earliest putative microfossils are prokaryotic organisms from the Archaean, while the earliest putative eukaryote microfossils are known from the Palaeo-proterozoic. Eukaryotic microfossils include unicellular forms such as foraminifera and radiolarians, and animals such as ostracods and conodonts. While widely applied to biostratigraphical and palaeoenvironmental investigations in geological contexts, microfossils have an increasing importance in archaeological and forensic studies. Their small size, skeletal robustness, remarkable range of morphologies, wide distribution and huge numbers in small samples have proved decisive in the provenance of archaeological and forensic evidence. Further, they provide environmental context for the increasing influence of humans on the landscape from Palaeolithic to Classical cultures.

Abstract This paper focuses on the submerged landscapes of the southern North Sea, an area often referred to as Doggerland, which was inundated as a result of relative sea-level rise at the start of the Holocene. The timing, pattern and process of environmental changes and the implications for prehistoric (Mesolithic) human communities living in this area have long been a subject of debate and discussion. Recent developments in marine geophysics have permitted the mapping of the pre-submergence landscape, leading to the identification of landforms including river channels and other contexts suitable for the preservation of palaeoecological records. The paper describes multi-proxy (pollen, foraminifera, plant macrofossil and insect) palaeoenvironmental analyses of a vibrocore sequence recovered from a palaeochannel feature c. 80 km off the coast of eastern England. The palaeochannel preserves sediments of Late Pleistocene and Holocene age (MIS2/1); the record suggests that channel incision, probably during the early Holocene, was followed by a phase of peat formation ( c. 9–10 cal ka BP) indicating paludification and the subsequent reactivation of the channel ( c. 9–6 cal ka BP), initially under freshwater and increasingly brackish/saline conditions, and a final transition to full marine conditions (6–5 cal ka BP). The pollen, macrofossil and beetle records indicate the presence of pre-submergence deciduous woodland, but detailed interpretation of the data is hindered by taphonomic complications. The paper concludes with a discussion of the problems and potentials of using palaeoenvironmental data to reconstruct complex patterns of environmental change across Doggerland in four dimensions, and considers specific questions concerning the implications of such processes for Mesolithic human communities.

Abstract During much of the Triassic, Britain was largely an emergent landmass with little marine deposition. The main phase of marine deposition only occurred at the end of the Triassic, within the Rhaetian Mercia Mudstone Group, Blue Anchor Formation and the succeeding Penarth Group. A brief marine incursion, probably from the north, also occurred in the middle Triassic. Few ostracod assemblages are known from this period. The main Triassic outcrop and key sites in the British Isles are illustrated in Figure 1 . Globally, Triassic ostracod assemblages are generally of low diversity following the end-Permian extinction and the British record is no exception. It is the late Triassic eustatic sea-level rise that opens new biotopes on the transgressed landmasses and mixes marginal marine faunas with new pioneer species.

Abstract Earliest Jurassic assemblages are generally of low diversity, often monospecific, but throughout the Lower Jurassic we see diversity increasing steadily with the establishment of what would become typical Mesozoic, marine ostracod assemblages with radiations in all cytheroidean families, particularly the Cytheruridae. The most notable evolutionary event within this period is the global extinction of the Metacopina in the earliest Toarcian that appears to be broadly coincident with a major perturbation in the global carbon cycle at this time. Although this period is characterized by fluctuating sea levels most Lower Jurassic ostracod assemblages occur in fully marine facies. Shallow-water, condensed sequences are not uncommon in some areas during the Toarcian, as are occasional periods of bottom-water dysaerobia. In general, the Lower Jurassic ostracod record marks the first real recovery and diversification in post-Palaeozoic assemblages following the end-Permian extinction.