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September 2014 - present
September 2004 - June 2013
March 2004 - June 2013
Publications
Publications (194)
In this article we present the new open-air Middle Pleistocene locality Marathousa 2, which was discovered during a double intensive and targeted field survey in the lignite mines of the Megalopolis Basin (Greece). The locality is situated just below the Lignite Seam III of the Marathousa Member (Choremi Formation), and its similar stratigraphic po...
The Neolithic and Bronze Ages were highly transformative periods for the genetic history of Europe but for the Aegean—a region fundamental to Europe’s prehistory—the biological dimensions of cultural transitions have been elucidated only to a limited extent so far. We have analysed newly generated genome-wide data from 102 ancient individuals from...
The circumstances of the discovery, stratigraphy, and construction of the grave
of the Griffin Warrior were described briefly in 2016 as an introduction to
a detailed presentation of the four gold rings found inside it. Here the “life
history” of the grave is considered fully. As a sealed context, the grave of the
Griffin Warrior also provides a ke...
The Megalopolis basin (Peloponnese, Greece) is known for its Pleistocene fossiliferous deposits. The basin’s stratigraphic sequence comprises fluviolacustrine deposits containing lignite seams and spans from ca. 900 ka to ca. 150 ka, thus covering part of the Early and the entire Middle Pleistocene. Since 2012 the basin has been investigated for st...
Despite the growing number of experimental studies of fire, there is still a lack of critical information on the physical alteration of ash remains and its importance in the preservation and interpretation of combustion features in the archaeological record. This study presents an 8-year long experimental investigation of several hundreds of open f...
From the Trojan War to the sack of Rome, from the fall of Constantinople to the bombings of World War II and the recent devastation of Syrian towns, the destruction of cities and the slaughter of civilian populations are among the most dramatic events in world history. But how reliable are literary sources for these events? Did ancient authors exag...
Lithics and cut-marked mammal bones, excavated from the paleo-lake Marathousa 1 (MAR-1) sediments in the Megalopolis Basin, southern Greece, indicate traces of hominin activity occurring along a paleo-shoreline ca. 444,000 years (444 ka) ago. However, the local environment and climatic conditions promoting hominin activity in the area during the MI...
The tumulus of Palaepaphos‐Laona is a monumental earthwork. Its size makes it unique in the landscape of ancient Cyprus, where even smaller burial mounds are extremely rare. It is characterized by a composite stratigraphic sequence and a wide range of carefully arranged construction materials. To reconstruct the building process, we employed a geoa...
Report on the 2014 excavation campaign at the Lower Palaeolithic site Marathousa 1 (Megalopolis Basin, Greece).
Pinnacle Point (PP) near Mossel Bay in the Western Cape Province, South Africa, is known for a series of archaeological caves with important archaeological finds. Extensive excavations and studies in two of them (PP13B and PP5-6) have documented alternating periods of anthropogenic-dominated and geogenic-dominated sedimentation. A variety of caves...
Lakonis I (ca. 100,000-40,000 BP) is a collapsed Middle Palaeolithic cave on the coast of the Mani Peninsula of southern Greece. The site contains three distinctive components: a hearth context, upper bone breccia, and lower bone breccia. The bone breccias contain concreted deposits and large numbers of lithic and faunal materials, though the upper...
Ceramic kilns are an indispensable part of the study of ceramic technology. Studies on the construction and maintenance of ancient ceramic kilns are mostly based on field observations during excavation. Here we report on the micromorphological study of a Late Helladic updraft ceramic kiln from the archeological site of Kolonna, Aegina Island, Greec...
We present evidence of Middle Pleistocene activity in the central Aegean Basin at the chert extraction and reduction complex of Stelida (Naxos, Greece). Luminescence dating places ~9000 artifacts in a stratigraphic sequence from ~13 to 200 thousand years ago (ka ago). These artifacts include Mousterian products, which arguably provide first evidenc...
Following the discovery and excavation of the Lower Palaeolithic butchering locality Marathousa 1 (MAR-1; Megalopolis Basin, Peloponnesus, Greece), conducted by the Ephoreia of Paleoanthropology and Speleology, Greek Ministry of Culture in collaboration with the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, led to the discovery of a new open-air...
Following the discovery and excavation of the Lower Palaeolithic butchering locality Marathousa 1 (MAR-1; Megalopolis Basin, Peloponnesus, Greece), conducted by the Ephoreia of Paleoanthropology and Speleology, Greek Ministry of Culture in collaboration with the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, led to the discovery of a new open-air...
Two fossilized human crania (Apidima 1 and Apidima 2) from Apidima Cave, southern Greece, were discovered in the late 1970s but have remained enigmatic owing to their incomplete nature, taphonomic distortion and lack of archaeological context and chronology. Here we virtually reconstruct both crania, provide detailed comparative descriptions and an...
Archaeological soil and sediment micromorphology represent the most efficient way to obtain microcontextual information at archaeological sites. Because of the generally qualitative (descriptive) nature of micromorphology, one difficulty with the method is establishing vertical and lateral continuity of the observed layers or features. Through an E...
Recent excavations at the Middle Pleistocene open-air site of Marathousa 1 have unearthed in one of the two investigated areas (Area A) a partial skeleton of a single individual of Palaeoloxodon antiquus and other faunal remains in spatial and stratigraphic association with lithic artefacts. In Area B, a much higher number of lithic artefacts was c...
The technological systems and subsistence strategies of Middle Pleistocene hominins in South-East Europe are insufficiently understood due to the scarcity of well-preserved, excavated assemblages. In this paper, we present first results from the study of the lithic and bone artifacts unearthed at the Lower Palaeolithic site Marathousa 1 (MAR-1), Me...
Evidence of deformation at the microscopic level in archaeological contexts is rather rare. To address the problem of identification of deformation structures, a series of experimental floors were prepared and studied by micromorphological analysis. Ethnographic samples of constructed floors and mud bricks were also used. Constructed floors and mud...
At 37° 24′ N 22° 8′ E, the Megalopolis Basin lies in the central Peloponnese Peninsula, southwestern Greece. In the Megalopolis Basin at ~ 350 m amsl, the Paleolithic site, Marathousa 1, sits within a palustrine/lacustrine clastic package between Lignite Seams III and II, that both likely correlate with interglacial periods. At Marathousa 1, immedi...
Highly resolved, well-dated paleoclimate records from the southern South African coast are needed to contextualize the evolution of the highly diverse extratropical plant communities of the Greater Cape Floristic Region (GCFR) and to assess the environmental impacts on early human hunter-gatherers. We present new speleothem stable oxygen and carbon...
In this paper, we present the results of recent research conducted by The Diros Project, a multidisciplinary, international, collaborative project exploring the evolution of settlement in Diros Bay on the western Mani Peninsula of the southern Greek mainland. We discuss the results of our recent intensive survey in Diros Bay as well as our multi-di...
This paper examines evidence on animal diet through the study of dung and its contents in order to discuss animal-related mobility and the use of ecological resources at Neolithic Koutroulou Magoula in central Greece. Micromorphological analysis of intact sediments was employed in order to identify the presence of animal dung in archaeological depo...
Reconstructing Archaeological Sites offers an important text that puts the focus on basic theoretical and practical aspects of depositional processes in an archaeological site. It contains an in-depth discussion on the role of stratigraphy that helps determine how deposits are organised in time and space. The authors — two experts in the field — in...
The aim of this study is to investigate livestock husbandry and its relationship to the mobilization of domestic animals for slaughter at large communal feasting events, in Late Neolithic Makriyalos, northern Greece. A multi-isotope approach is built that integrates analysis of:
• δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values of human and animal bone collagen for understa...
All plant and bone collagen δ13C and δ15N values obtained in Stage 1.
(XLSX)
Supplementary materials and methods.
Details of instrument measurement and data normalization.
(DOCX)
Contextual information of bone collagen and plant samples measured in Stage 1.
(XLSX)
Cattle δ13C and δ18O values obtained in Stage 2.
(XLSX)
87Sr/86Sr ratios of modern vegetation from coastal northern Pieria.
The samples were collected from seven geological zones within 15 km of the archaeological site. The measurements are used to establish the ‘local range’ of 87Sr/86Sr ratios. For descriptions of the zones and location of sampling points, see Fig 6. 2σ uncertainty of the 87Sr/86Sr ra...
Matching mandibular collagen δ13C and δ15N values and average intra-tooth enamel δ13C values of individuals analyzed in Stage 2.
Standard deviation (SD) of collagen values indicates the instrument error attached to each measurement, while the SD of average enamel values indicates intra-tooth variability.
(XLSX)
The study of plant remains in archaeological sites, along with a better understanding of the use of plants by prehistoric populations, can help us shed light on changes in survival strategies of hunter-gatherers and consequent impacts on modern human cognition, social organization, and technology. The archaeological locality of Pinnacle Point (Moss...
List of the one hundred eighty-three samples analysed from the PP5-6N sequence giving sample location and description, and the main phytolith, relative number of phytoliths per gram of sediment (/g sed) and FT-IR results, Arg, aragonite, Cal, calcite, Cl, clay (b = burned), (nb = not burned), (b? = probably burnt), Dah, dahllite, Nit, nitrate salts...
List of phytolith morphotypes identified, their taxonomic affiliation and their frequencies in samples from the PP5-6N sequence, giving the stratigraphic location and sample information.
(XLSX)
Kruskal-Wallis test of rank sums of the distribution of the phytolith assemblages grouped by plant types and plant parts among the different StratAggs at PP5-6N.
P-values in bold were detected as significant different among StratAggs.
(XLSX)
Results of the Dunn's multiple comparisons test with Bonferroni adjustments for those plant types and plant types identified as significant through the Kruskal-Wallis test.
(XLSX)
Exposures of Middle Pleistocene lacustrine sediments at the margins of an open-cast lignite mine at Marathousa near Megalopolis, western Arcadia, Greece yielded the partial remains of a Palaeoloxodon antiquus skeleton which exhibited signs of being butchered. Sedimentation occurred between ca. 400 and 480 ka. Lithic artefacts were found in close sp...
Post-infrared infrared stimulated luminescence (pIRIR) measurements are reported for multiple aliquots of potassium-rich feldspar grains from sedimentary deposits at Marathousa 1 and Choremi Mine in the Megalopolis Basin in southern Greece. Ages were obtained for 9 samples from the deposits that over- and underlie as well as include the archaeologi...
Marathousa 1 is a Lower Palaeolithic open-air site located in the Megalopolis basin, an area in Southern Greece known for its fossiliferous sediments. Mining activities in the basin uncovered a thick sequence of Middle Pleistocene lacustrine deposits representing the environment of a palaeolake. Marathousa 1 was discovered in 2013 during a targeted...
In this chapter we present the fundamental contextual idea of archaeological sites, the deposit. The deposit is the encoded relationship between sediments and the contained artefacts that provide the meaning of the archaeological record. Excavation yields a body of sediment that includes, among other things, objects that were once part of a behavio...
Natural processes may occur during the life history of a site, particularly in its open spaces. After their abandonment, sites become part of the geomorphological terrain of the area and geogenic processes contribute significantly to the preservation or destruction of archaeological patterns. The principal aim in this chapter is to provide the read...
A brief discussion of the most appropriate methods and the overall field strategies for documenting and sampling these deposits is discussed in this chapter. Guidelines are presented on sampling procedures that include what to collect, how much, where, and what kind of samples.
In order to interpret the archaeology of a site correctly, it is a prerequisite to understand how stratigraphy is built and how the strata are formed. In this chapter a thorough analysis of stratigraphy and its essential role in archaeology is presented. General theoretical principles are presented to enable the reader to practice stratigraphy with...
Human activities represent the elemental dynamics of transporting and depositing materials through actions such as trampling, digging, dumping, kneading and pugging, sweeping, brushing, discarding, and placing. Some activities produce new materials, such as burning (ashes), or produce new organization of natural sediments, such as earthen structure...
This chapter is about what hunters and gatherers do at a site and how they leave their mark in a site or its deposits. Some of the principal depositional aspects of these sites are discussed, including caves and open‐air sites. The most important human activities related to these sites are set within the overall framework of natural geological agen...
This chapter describes how natural sedimentary processes and anthropogenic sediments can be combined to lead us to interpretations about how architectural sites form. A review of the main natural processes acting within the realm of these types of sites is presented together with criteria for differentiating them from some anthropogenic activities...
We investigated the magnetostratigraphy of the Megalopolis basin in central Peloponnese, Greece, which encompasses a record of Pleistocene lacustrine and lignite-bearing sedimentation, where lithic tools stratigraphically associated with remnants of an almost complete skeleton of Palaeoloxodon antiquus were recently found at the Marathousa 1 site....
Alepotrypa Cave at Diros Bay, Lakonia, Greece, is a massive karstic formation of consecutive chambers ending at a lake. The cave was excavated by G. Papathanassopoulos from 1970 to 2006. In conjunction with the surrounding area, it was used as a complementary habitation area, burial site, and place for ceremonial activity during the Neolithic c 600...
Approximately 74 thousand years ago (ka) the Toba Caldera erupted in Sumatra and its impact on climate, environment, and humans has been continually debated. Here we describe the discovery of Youngest Toba Tuff (YTT) glass shards in two archaeological sites on the south coast of South Africa, a region with recurrent evidence for early human behavio...
Approximately 74 thousand years ago (ka), the Toba caldera erupted in Sumatra. Since the magnitude of this eruption was first established, its effects on climate, environment and humans have been debated. Here we describe the discovery of microscopic glass shards characteristic of the Youngest Toba Tuff-ashfall from the Toba eruption-in two archaeo...
The present study describes the sedimentology and formation processes of the archaeological site Marathousa 1, part of a Pleistocene lignite-bearing succession at the Megalopolis basin (Southern Greece). The sedimentary sequence of the site comprises about 4–5 m lacustrine and fluviolacustrine clastic deposits found between Lignite Seam II and III....
Recent excavations at the Middle Pleistocene open-air site of Marathousa 1 have unearthed in one of the two investigated areas (Area A) a partial skeleton of a single individual of Palaeoloxodon antiquus and other faunal remains in spatial and stratigraphic association with lithic artefacts. In Area B, a much higher number of lithic artefacts was c...
Pleistocene shoreline deposits comprised of calcified shallow marine (palaeobeach) and aeolian (palaeodune) facies found along mid-latitude coastlines can be useful indicators of past sea levels. Here, we describe a succession of such deposits that are presently exposed both above (subaerial) and below (submerged) mean sea level along the southern...
The Middle Pleistocene open-air site of Marathousa 1, Megalopolis Basin, Greece has been systematically excavated since 2013 by a joint team from the Ephoreia of Palaeanthropology-Speleology (Greek Ministry of Culture) and the University of Tübingen. The site is located at the edge of an active lignite quarry, in lacustrine clay, silt and sand beds...
Nucleated tell sites emerged on the Great Hungarian Plain nearly a millennium after the earliest agricultural communities established sedentary settlements at the beginning of the Neolithic period. Once established, these unprecedentedly large population centers had a dramatic impact on their local environment. In this article, we present the resul...
Guano has an exceptionally high content of nitrogen, phosphate and potassium, so it has been used widely as manure. The characteristic microscopic appearance of fresh guano is a bedded spongy or aggregated microstructure and vughy porosity. Types of guano particularly enriched in plant organic remains, like fruit-bat guano, consist of dark to black...
The technological sophistication and behavior of early hominins in South-East Europe is poorly understood due to the scarcity of well preserved, excavated assemblages. In this paper we present preliminary results from the study of the cultural material unearthed at the Lower Paleolithic site of Marathousa 1 (MAR-1), Megalopolis, Greece. The MAR-1 l...
