Figure 2 - uploaded by Nena Galanidou
Content may be subject to copyright.
Map showing the north, northeast part of Lefkas, the Lefkas Sound, the Karyotes Fan and the Lefkas Fan (a); map showing the different properties where Palaeolithic finds originate (b).
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... the west, it has a more or less straight, steep and cliff-like coast, in the south and southeast a series of bays are formed, and in the north and northeast there is a smooth coast. The north-northeast coast is separated from the mainland by a narrow channel, the Sound of Lefkas, where an extensive shallow lagoon expanding across the channel effectively linked the island with the neighbouring shore until a 20-metre-wide artificial channel was opened to allow ships to pass through ( Figure 2a). The archaeology of Lefkas points to diachronic cultural links with Aetoloakarnania and South Epirus, underlined by an intimately connected coastal geography 8 whose evolution has been affected by long-term, gradual and short- term episodic processes. ...
Context 2
... context and geology Between 1990 and1996, excavations at the southern cemetery of ancient Lefkas, which dates to the Classical period, unveiled, in addition to the typical burial finds of the period, a large number of knapped stone artefacts with Palaeolithic affinities. Four different plots were the source of the lithic assemblage: Zavitsanou, Chalikia, Logotheti, and Vlachou, situated in the alluvial deposits of the Karyotes fan between 4 and 12 m asl (Figure 2b). The artefacts have been transported from upstream by the drainage network of the watershed. ...
Context 3
... artefacts have been transported from upstream by the drainage network of the watershed. The vast majority of finds are confined to the northern narrow part of the fan from Karyotes to Kalligoni, rather than the south of the basin where the drainage products of the largest stream, Vrachas, end up (Figure 2a). This probably indicates that the lithics were transported and spread around by the smaller streams that drained the Koulmos Hill. ...
Context 4
... Brooks et al. 1988Lekas et al. 2001;Bathrellos et al. 2010. 34 Brooks et al. 1988. of Lefkas town, the area of the Sound of Lefkas and what now lies beneath the sea in the Bay of Drepano and across the Plaghia Peninsula (Figure 2a). 37 In the northeast part of Lefkas near the coast, the Karyotes fan presents a rather elongated shape with a NNE-SSW orientation. ...
Context 5
... In the northeast part of Lefkas near the coast, the Karyotes fan presents a rather elongated shape with a NNE-SSW orientation. The fan deposits propagate in the sea to the east, where a barrier was built and finally a small shallow lagoon was formed, the Alexandrou salting-pans (Figures 2a, b). The formation of this alluvial fan depends on the uplift of an area through a normal fault or a series of parallel normal faults that will raise the rocks, material being provided through weathering and erosional processes. ...
Context 6
... Karyotes watershed is a rather elongated basin, with its principal axis orientated 60 o to the east. Vrachas, the main and by far the largest stream of the basin, is located in the south part of the basin (Figure 2b). Five smaller streams are found to the north of the basin, draining the elongated Koulmos Hill, south of Lefkas town ( Figure 2a). ...
Context 7
... the main and by far the largest stream of the basin, is located in the south part of the basin (Figure 2b). Five smaller streams are found to the north of the basin, draining the elongated Koulmos Hill, south of Lefkas town ( Figure 2a). The overall orientation of the streams is W-E, however a number of their branches follow a different, SSW-NNE course. ...
Context 8
... from three cores made on chert, all other cores from Doukato North and the only core fragment from Doukato South are made on fine-grained flint. The majority of the cores are centripetally knapped cores, while there are also several unipolar and bipolar parallel cores (Figure 20). More than half of the cores retain a larger or smaller amount of cortex ( Figure 21). ...
Context 9
... of all flakes studied preserve 75% of the cortex on their dorsal face and 3% have 100% of the cortical dorsal face. The average size of cores and blanks from the Doukato North collection is smaller compared to those recovered from Karyotes ( Figures 20, 22 cf. Figures 6, 11). ...
Context 10
... 6, 11). Judging by the limited presence of minuscule cores (Figure 23h-i), at times preserving parts of their cortex (e.g. Figure 23h), it may be argued that the locally available raw materials were flint nodules that were smaller in comparison to the large, coarse-grained flints and cherts locally available in the Karyotes area. Min 26 24 10 28 26 15 41 35 10 24 18 14 Max 67 66 25 73 63 43 65 57 35 62 52 51 Median 43 38 14 45 42 21 The use of the Levallois technique is manifested in both cores and debitage. ...
Context 11
... by the limited presence of minuscule cores (Figure 23h-i), at times preserving parts of their cortex (e.g. Figure 23h), it may be argued that the locally available raw materials were flint nodules that were smaller in comparison to the large, coarse-grained flints and cherts locally available in the Karyotes area. Min 26 24 10 28 26 15 41 35 10 24 18 14 Max 67 66 25 73 63 43 65 57 35 62 52 51 Median 43 38 14 45 42 21 The use of the Levallois technique is manifested in both cores and debitage. ...
Context 12
... 26 24 10 28 26 15 41 35 10 24 18 14 Max 67 66 25 73 63 43 65 57 35 62 52 51 Median 43 38 14 45 42 21 The use of the Levallois technique is manifested in both cores and debitage. Typical Levallois cores are present (Figure 23g). However, the majority are flat, disc cores knapped centripetally, at times preserving part of the cortex at their lower face (Figure 23c-d) but quite often knapped bifacially ( Figure 23a). ...
Context 13
... Levallois cores are present (Figure 23g). However, the majority are flat, disc cores knapped centripetally, at times preserving part of the cortex at their lower face (Figure 23c-d) but quite often knapped bifacially ( Figure 23a). Discoidal knapping is testified by six discoid cores and five debordant flakes (e.g. Figure 24f), one of which is retouched. ...
Context 14
... Levallois cores are present (Figure 23g). However, the majority are flat, disc cores knapped centripetally, at times preserving part of the cortex at their lower face (Figure 23c-d) but quite often knapped bifacially ( Figure 23a). Discoidal knapping is testified by six discoid cores and five debordant flakes (e.g. Figure 24f), one of which is retouched. ...
Context 15
... knapping is testified by six discoid cores and five debordant flakes (e.g. Figure 24f), one of which is retouched. Technical pieces include one crested blade. ...
Context 16
... North yielded 62 retouched specimens. In the tool repertoire the scraper is by far the predominant formal tool type (n=19, 30.6%) ( Figure 25). 59 Two scrapers are bifacially worked. ...
Context 17
... Two scrapers are bifacially worked. The first exhibits scaled retouch on its dorsal face and invasive, flat retouch on its ventral face (44×34×10mm; Figure 24a). The second scraper is of almost identical dimensions and retouch (43×29×10mm; Figure 24b). ...
Context 18
... first exhibits scaled retouch on its dorsal face and invasive, flat retouch on its ventral face (44×34×10mm; Figure 24a). The second scraper is of almost identical dimensions and retouch (43×29×10mm; Figure 24b). Both scrapers could be classified as Quina 60 due to the retouch angle and morphology. ...
Context 19
... single bec was identified at Cape Doukato; it may be contrasted to the numerous perforators from Karyotes. There is also a Levallois flake used as the blank for a burin (Figure 24e), a Kombewa flake with minor signs of utilisation, three denticulates, a composite tool (endscraper and notch) and a backed bladelet in the shape of a lunate (36×15×5mm) (Figure 24d) 63 however, the relatively lighter degree of surface alteration on this particular tool may be an implication of a slightly later date, since the majority of the artefacts and all diagnostic Middle Palaeolithic tools are heavily patinated. Amongst the 'Upper Palaeolithic types', 64 three endscrapers, three burins, one piercer/bec and one composite tool-nosed endscraper and notch-are recorded. ...
Context 20
... single bec was identified at Cape Doukato; it may be contrasted to the numerous perforators from Karyotes. There is also a Levallois flake used as the blank for a burin (Figure 24e), a Kombewa flake with minor signs of utilisation, three denticulates, a composite tool (endscraper and notch) and a backed bladelet in the shape of a lunate (36×15×5mm) (Figure 24d) 63 however, the relatively lighter degree of surface alteration on this particular tool may be an implication of a slightly later date, since the majority of the artefacts and all diagnostic Middle Palaeolithic tools are heavily patinated. Amongst the 'Upper Palaeolithic types', 64 three endscrapers, three burins, one piercer/bec and one composite tool-nosed endscraper and notch-are recorded. ...
Context 21
... has yielded a large amount of cores that make up over a third of the collection (n=12, 35.3%) (Figure 26). There are three unipolar parallel cores, two of which preserve 25% of their cortex while the third and smaller one (33×35×22mm) was made on a flint pebble of very small dimensions and preserves 50% of its rolled cortex (Figure 27a). ...
Context 22
... has yielded a large amount of cores that make up over a third of the collection (n=12, 35.3%) (Figure 26). There are three unipolar parallel cores, two of which preserve 25% of their cortex while the third and smaller one (33×35×22mm) was made on a flint pebble of very small dimensions and preserves 50% of its rolled cortex (Figure 27a). The largest core of the sample (113×72×51mm) is a bipolar parallel core, of a sub-prismatic shape, made on chert or silicified limestone of a light pink/beige colour (Figure 27b). ...
Context 23
... are three unipolar parallel cores, two of which preserve 25% of their cortex while the third and smaller one (33×35×22mm) was made on a flint pebble of very small dimensions and preserves 50% of its rolled cortex (Figure 27a). The largest core of the sample (113×72×51mm) is a bipolar parallel core, of a sub-prismatic shape, made on chert or silicified limestone of a light pink/beige colour (Figure 27b). One of the cores may be classified as Levallois (Figure 27c). ...
Context 24
... largest core of the sample (113×72×51mm) is a bipolar parallel core, of a sub-prismatic shape, made on chert or silicified limestone of a light pink/beige colour (Figure 27b). One of the cores may be classified as Levallois (Figure 27c). 65 The majority of the cores are globular, were exploited in a random manner and produced flakes of different sizes. ...
Context 25
... flakes have mainly flat platforms; there is also a punctiform and a retouched one, while the platform of the Levallois flake is broken. The largest tool (64×50×11mm) is a composite tool-scraper and notch-which is also made on a pink/beige chert blank with a dihedral platform (Figure 27d). The five retouched specimens include a denticulate and three endscrapers, two of them produced by means of nibbling retouch. ...
Context 26
... findspots in the wider area of Tsoukalades yielded 58 artefacts. Of these, 21 specimens may be attributed to the Middle Palaeolithic ( Figure 29). Apart from a flake made on chert (Figure 30c), the rest of the sample is made on fine-grained flint and the majority exhibits severe surface alteration. ...
Similar publications
Se expone un estado de la cuestión sobre el Paleolítico Inferior en Navarra con los datos disponibles hasta 1993. En la segunda parte se aporta un estudio preliminar de los nuevos hallazgos en la Cuenca de Pamplona, que pueden ser incluidos dentro del Achelense.
Citations
... The prehistory of the archipelago begins during the Middle Pleistocene and runs through the Holocene spanning the Mesolithic, the Late Neolithic, Final Neolithic/Early Bronze Age to Middle and Late Bronze Age. Unequivocal evidence suggests that Middle Palaeolithic tool using hom-inins were present in most parts exploring, exploiting the abundant marine and terrestrial resources and inhabiting the karstic landscapes and wetlands of the Inner Ionian very much alike how they lived on Lefkada (Galanidou 2016;Galanidou et al. 2016a). A small number of artefacts with Middle Palaeolithic affinities recovered from Atokos suggest that the sea corridors separating the island from the now sub-merged landscapes, that would have formed the westernmost coasts of Akarnania, were not insurmountable barriers for the Middle Palaeolithic groups of the region. ...
... The prehistory of the archipelago begins during the Middle Pleistocene and runs through the Holocene spanning the Mesolithic, the Late Neolithic, Final Neolithic/Early Bronze Age to Middle and Late Bronze Age. Unequivocal evidence suggests that Middle Palaeolithic tool using hom-inins were present in most parts exploring, exploiting the abundant marine and terrestrial resources and inhabiting the karstic landscapes and wetlands of the Inner Ionian very much alike how they lived on Lefkada (Galanidou 2016;Galanidou et al. 2016a). A small number of artefacts with Middle Palaeolithic affinities recovered from Atokos suggest that the sea corridors separating the island from the now sub-merged landscapes, that would have formed the westernmost coasts of Akarnania, were not insurmountable barriers for the Middle Palaeolithic groups of the region. ...
The Inner Ionian Archipelago, delimited by the coasts of Akarnania to the east and Lefkada, Kefalonia and Ithaca to the west, is characterised by coastal lowlands, extended and intricate shorelines, complex inland topography, little arable land, seasonal and perennial wetlands and a karstic landscape featuring caves, rockshelters, dolines, and basins some of which are partly or totally submerged. Since 2010, the Teleboides, the northern cluster of islands, were at the focus of an intensive surface survey organised by the University of Crete in collaboration with the Ephorates of Αitoloakarnania and Lefkada, and Kefalonia and Ithaca. The survey project coupled with targeted small-scale excavation was designed to investigate the history of occupation and the cultural intercon-nections with settlements on the opposite mainland and the larger islands of the Ionian Sea. Between 2010 and 2012, through archaeological surface reconnaissance, our team covered an area of a little less than 7 km 2 on Meganisi, Thileia, Kythros, Tsokari, Petalou, Nisopoula, Phormikoula, Madouri, Atokos and Arkoudi. During the survey 30 sites dating from the Palaeolithic to the 19th century, with a hiatus between Late Antiquity and the 18th century, were discovered and mapped, and 20,000 portable artefacts were recovered. The finds bridge the gap between the archaeological record of the Ionian Sea and that of mainland Greece. In this paper we present the research objectives, the methodology of what we have termed a hybrid island archaeology approach, and the main results of the project based on the portable finds that span the Middle Palaeolithic to the Bronze Age.
... The first project 'Exploring the Submerged Caves and Prehistoric Landscapes of the Inner Ionian Sea Archipelago' is focussed on the coastal and inundated landscape of the semienclosed marine area between the western coast of Central Greece (Akarnania), and the islands of Lefkas, Kephallinia and Ithaca. The point of departure is the record of Middle Palaeolithic sites on Lefkas and the islands and islets of the Inner Ionian Sea (Galanidou 2015(Galanidou , 2018Galanidou et al. 2016bGalanidou et al. , 2018Papoulia 2017Papoulia , 2018. The area was frequented by Neanderthal groups and the palaeogeography of settlement, and the nature of the interconnections between the present-day islands would have been especially sensitive to sea-level change. ...
The submerged archaeology of Greece extends from the Palaeolithic to the early Byzantine period. It offers valuable information on some of the critical themes of Eurasian prehistory: hominin dispersals, settlement patterns, strategies of survival, population movements and sea voyaging, communication and trade, high-energy destructive events and climate change. This overview focuses on the prehistoric record. It includes partly or fully submerged palaeontological sites as well as archaeological sites. All these are testimonies to the more extensive coastal mosaic of biotopes that were available to prehistoric people prior to c. 4000 cal BP in the Holocene and during the cold and arid periods of the Pleistocene. They show coastal and maritime lifeways in dynamically changing landscapes connecting Asia and Europe. They are now located on the Greek continental shelf due to eustatic and isostatic change as well as the heavy imprint of tectonic activity.
... 38.Gosden-Head 1994. Gamble 1999. Για το θέμα αυτό, βλ. και Forsén -Galanidou 2016. 40. Για το θέμα αυτό, βλ. και Ligkovanlis 2013. Ligkovanlis 2017. 41. Βλ. π.χ. Gunnar -Quevedo 2007. 42. Για το θέμα αυτό, βλ. και Λιγκοβανλής 2014. Ligkovanlis 2017. ...
Since the 1960s Thesprotia has played an important role in the exploration of the Palaeolithic Archaeology in southeast Europe. Over the last two decades excavations and surveys conducted by the 8th and 32nd Ephorates of Antiquities and the Finnish Institute at Athens has brought to light a large number of new finds and sites. The systematic and comparative study of these new data sets is discussed here. It enriches our knowledge of the Palaeolithic settlement and invites us to reconsider earlier interpretations of the forager life and adaptations in this corner of Epirus.
... With characteristic opportunistic fl air, Klavs presents the lithics in an admirably well-documented fashion, although the analysis of the distribution remains rather vague to a lithic specialist today (cf. Galanidou et al. 2016 for the Palaeolithic fi nds on neighbouring Levkas). But in compensation, there are many useful details on lithic typology, stone sources and possible dates within the Aegean and Ionian context. ...
Klavs Randsborg undertook major and influential research in many epochs and countries. The present article focuses on his contribution to the landscape and town‐scape history of Greece through his impressive and thorough researches on the Ionian island of Kephallenia.
The prehistoric record of Lefkas and the smaller neighboring islands is fairly extensive. The oldest archaeological material dates back to the Middle Palaeolithic period. The Neolithic period is also attested by archaeological finds in five caves. Even though Early (EH) and Middle Helladic (MH) periods have been known since the 1920s due to Dőrpfeld’s excavations, the archaeological data from the Late Bronze Age are scarce. A small Mycenaean tholos tomb has been excavated at Agios Nikitas, while several LH tumuli have been unearthed at the neighboring Meganissi Island.
Conversations in Human Evolution is an ongoing science communication initiative seeking to explore the breadth and interdisciplinarity of human evolution studies. This volume reports another twenty interviews (referred to as ‘conversations’ as they are informal in style) with scholars at the forefront of human evolution research, covering the broad scientific themes of Palaeolithic archaeology, palaeoanthropology and biological anthropology, earth science and palaeoclimatic change, evolutionary anthropology and primatology, and human disease co-evolution. This project features academics at various different stages in their careers and from all over the world; in this volume alone, researchers are based at institutions in eleven different countries (namely Iran, India, the United Kingdom, Greece, Australia, South Africa, the United States of America, the Netherlands, Germany, France and Israel), covering five continents.
Having arisen at the start of the COVID19 pandemic, Conversations in Human Evolution aims to encourage engagement with both human evolutionary studies and the broader socio-political issues that persist within academia, the latter of which is particularly pertinent during this time of global uncertainty. The conversations delve deeply into the study of our species’ evolutionary history through the lens of each sub-discipline, as well as detailing some of the most current advances in research, theory and methods. Overall, Conversations in Human Evolution seeks to bridge the gap between the research and researcher through contextualisation of the science with personal experience and historical reflection.
The Aegean Region has remained marginal to research into human origins despite its key position in the multiple movements of animals between Europe and Asia. A possible explanation for this is that the Palaeolithic remains are invisible because they lie beneath the sea, whilst research in the field was hitherto developed on the mainland. In this chapter we make the submerged land, the coastal zones and the islands a unified research focus to examine the main, long-term and short-term geological and geotectonic processes which have controlled the development of Pleistocene landscapes in the Aegean Region above and below the fluctuating sea-level. We integrate evidence on the geology, tectonics, morphology and hydrogeology of the shallow coastal and shelf areas in order to reconstruct the palaeogeography. Given the variable tectonic evolution and geomorphological configuration of the coastal and shelf areas, we divide the Aegean into nine geographical units. Each unit has its own geotectonic and morphological history and offers a frame of reference to assess land-routes and the natural resources available to hominins at different times of the Pleistocene. We link this palaeogeographic reconstruction to the discussion of the early occupation of Europe. This allows the NE Mediterranean to become part of the discussion about hominin dispersals into Europe through a south-eastern route and gives a more complete view of the variations in Palaeolithic settlement.
