   kents cavern is a cave system in torquay, devon, england. it is notable for its archaeological and geological features. the cave system is open to the public. and has been a geological site of special scientific interest since 1952 and a scheduled ancient monument since 1957. ==prehistory== the caverns and passages were formed in the early pleistocene periodkents cavern. a field guide to the natural history. joyce lundberg and donald mcfarlane. 2008. william pengelly cave studies trust. isbn 978-0-9559514-0-04 by water action, and have been occupied by one of at least eight separate, discontinuous native populations to have inhabited the british isles. the other key paleolithic sites in the uk are happisburgh, pakefield, boxgrove, swanscombe, pontnewydd, paviland, and gough's cave. ===kents cavern 4===  a prehistoric maxilla (upper jawbone) fragment was discovered in the cavern during a 1927 excavation by the torquay natural history society, and named kents cavern 4. the specimen is on display at the torquay museum. in 1989 the fragment was radiocarbon dated to 36,400â34,700 years bp, but a 2011 study that dated fossils from neighbouring strata produced an estimate of 44,200â41,500 years bp. the same study analysed the dental structure of the fragment and determined it to be homo sapiens rather than homo neanderthalensis, thus making it the earliest anatomically modern human fossil yet discovered in northwestern europe.{{cite journal | last1 = higham | f
Archaeological_sites_in_Devon Caves_of_Devon Geology_of_Devon Paleoanthropological_sites Scheduled_Ancient_Monuments_in_Devon Show_caves_in_the_United_Kingdom Sites_of_Special_Scientific_Interest_in_Devon Stone_Age_sites_in_England Torquay