No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the author.
Parting the waters. Middle Palaeolithic archaeology in the central Ionian Sea
Abstract
This paper sets out a conceptual framework based on the idea of connectivity, and the research design that informs a series of surveys and excavations in the central Ionian Sea targeting the Palaeolithic record. It highlights the importance of mapping the now submerged topography to get a better understanding of the relevant palaeogeography, and its wider implications for hominin settlement, landscape preferences and pathways of dispersal and expansion from mainland Greece into the Inner Ionian Archipelago and Lefkas. It argues that the sea and the offshore islands are not marginal or irrelevant but central to an understanding of Palaeolithic settlement and land use, especially during periods of low sea level. At these times, many islands would have become hills in an extensive coastal plain, representing ideal habitats for hunters and gatherers.
... Informed by a robust theoretical background from continental shelf prehistoric research (Bailey and Sakellariou 2012;Flemming et al. 2014;Bailey et al. 2017;2020) and by using state-of-the-art methodologies for the reconstruction of sea level changes, offshore work was initiated in 2014 in collaboration with the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research. The aim was to map the coastal and submerged landscapes of the archipelago's sea bed, between the west coasts of Akarnania and the islands of Lefkada and Ithaca (Zavitsanou et al. 2015;Zavitsanou 2016;Galanidou 2018). Seismic reflection profiles conveyed the palaeogeographic evolution of the area during Marine Isotope Stages 2, 6 and 8 (Galanidou et al. in prep.). ...
... In Greece, Middle Palaeolithic technology is regularly associated with the Neanderthals. The possibil-ity of Neanderthal presence on Atokos is closely related to the archipelago's particular geographic area, which is bordered by the larger lands that surround and protect it, possibly acting as a 'laboratory' for experimentation and familiarisation with the aquatic element and a field for exploring and developing the skills and techniques required for successfully crossings the sea (Papoulia 2017;Galanidou 2018). ...
... Judging from the absence of co-finds that may be safely attributed to a Lower Palaeolithic technocomplex, our hypothesis is that the particular assemblage of 'early-looking' tool types comprise an element of the predominant Middle Palaeolithic component that is abundant in the archipelago, perhaps an early Middle Palaeolithic one (Papoulia 2017;. If we take into account the preliminary results from the ongoing excavation of the collapsed Panthera Cave at Kythros that provided an age of about 200,000 years (Galanidou 2018), an early Middle Palaeolithic component of approximately the same age may be proposed for the limited presence of large cutting or chopping tools that were discovered on Kythros' surface during the Inner Ionian Archipelago survey (Fig. 2.3) (Papoulia 2018, 316-317). ...
... Informed by a robust theoretical background from continental shelf prehistoric research (Bailey and Sakellariou 2012;Flemming et al. 2014;Bailey et al. 2017;2020) and by using state-of-the-art methodologies for the reconstruction of sea level changes, offshore work was initiated in 2014 in collaboration with the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research. The aim was to map the coastal and submerged landscapes of the archipelago's sea bed, between the west coasts of Akarnania and the islands of Lefkada and Ithaca (Zavitsanou et al. 2015;Zavitsanou 2016;Galanidou 2018). Seismic reflection profiles conveyed the palaeogeographic evolution of the area during Marine Isotope Stages 2, 6 and 8 (Galanidou et al. in prep.). ...
... In Greece, Middle Palaeolithic technology is regularly associated with the Neanderthals. The possibil-ity of Neanderthal presence on Atokos is closely related to the archipelago's particular geographic area, which is bordered by the larger lands that surround and protect it, possibly acting as a 'laboratory' for experimentation and familiarisation with the aquatic element and a field for exploring and developing the skills and techniques required for successfully crossings the sea (Papoulia 2017;Galanidou 2018). ...
... Judging from the absence of co-finds that may be safely attributed to a Lower Palaeolithic technocomplex, our hypothesis is that the particular assemblage of 'early-looking' tool types comprise an element of the predominant Middle Palaeolithic component that is abundant in the archipelago, perhaps an early Middle Palaeolithic one (Papoulia 2017;. If we take into account the preliminary results from the ongoing excavation of the collapsed Panthera Cave at Kythros that provided an age of about 200,000 years (Galanidou 2018), an early Middle Palaeolithic component of approximately the same age may be proposed for the limited presence of large cutting or chopping tools that were discovered on Kythros' surface during the Inner Ionian Archipelago survey (Fig. 2.3) (Papoulia 2018, 316-317). ...
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.
... In this paper we report research on the lithology and raw material provenance of knapped stone artifacts recovered from prehistoric sites on Meganisi ( architecture, ecology and oceanography specialists worked together in the field under the aegis of the 'Inner Ionian Sea Archaeological Survey' to reconstruct the long-term history of the northern part of the archipelago, namely the Teleboides islands, both cultural and natural. The time frame of the cultural history was wide, from the Palaeolithic period to the 20 th century (Galanidou, 2014;2015;2018;Galanidou et al., 2018). The backbone of the research was archaeological surface survey. ...
... In this paper we report research on the lithology and raw material provenance of knapped stone artifacts recovered from prehistoric sites on Meganisi ( architecture, ecology and oceanography specialists worked together in the field under the aegis of the 'Inner Ionian Sea Archaeological Survey' to reconstruct the long-term history of the northern part of the archipelago, namely the Teleboides islands, both cultural and natural. The time frame of the cultural history was wide, from the Palaeolithic period to the 20 th century (Galanidou, 2014;2015;2018;Galanidou et al., 2018). The backbone of the research was archaeological surface survey. ...
... The islands of the archipelago are the higher parts of a Pleistocene terrestrial landscape, much of which now lies submerged beneath the sea due to the postglacial sea-level rise (Zavitsanou et al., 2015;Sakellariou and Galanidou, 2017). Investigations were framed in such a way as to reconstruct the dynamic change which the Inner Ionian area has undergone through time and the responses and interaction of human populations to the changing landscape (Galanidou, 2018). In glacial periods the majority of the islands were connected to the neighbouring landmasses. ...
This paper examines the lithology and raw material provenance of knapped stone artifacts recovered from prehistoric sites on Meganisi in the course of the Inner Ionian Sea Archipelago survey. Research was twofold: in the field to map the geology of the island and collect raw material samples, and in the laboratory to conduct a petrological study using LM, XRD, SEM and ICP-MS techniques. The greater part of the materials used to produce stone tools consists of almost pure SiO2, bedded or nodular cherts mainly of Malm–Turonian and Eocene ages. The cherts were collected by prehistoric knappers from local sources. Patinas present on the artifacts are relatively enriched in calcite material of incomplete silica diagenesis and subsequently a product of late weathering and alteration.
... Thus, the area between the present-day island of Lefkada /western Greek mainland and the islands/islets of the Ionian archipelago formed an exposed terrestrial landscape during the glacial periods of the Late Pleistocene. The archaeological implications have been the focus of the archaeological research conducted on the islands in parallel with the underwater survey highlighting the importance of interdisciplinarity in the exploration of hominins over changing landscapes (Galanidou 2018). (2018), more recently, conducted oceanographic research in the Saronikos Gulf, using high-resolution seismic tomography (multibeam echosounders of two different frequencies) for the acquisition of 5000 km of seismic lines. ...
... Some of the key -find-spots attributed to the LP are located along the coasts of W. Greece (Preveza and Acheron valley locations), and on the Ionian islands (Corfu, Keffalonia, Lefkada). Recently, insular archaeological investigation coupled with seabed mapping in the Inner Ionian Sea archipelago produced exciting results (Galanidou 2018). The finds refer to the Middle Palaeolithic, but the whole expedition stresses how crucial the investigation of the sea and the offshore islands can be for enhancing our understanding of the Palaeolithic settlement, land use and pathways of dispersal -both terrestrial and marine. ...
This thesis explores possibilities for hominin movement and occupation over the exposed dry land landscapes of the Aegean region during the Early and Middle Pleistocene (focusing more on the Middle Pleistocene ca. 0.8- 0.2 Mya). The point of departure and inspiration is the recent palaeogeographical reconstructions from the study area. Geological evidence reveals the existence of extended terrestrial landscapes, with attractive environments, connecting western Anatolia to Europe via the Greek mainland, during the glacial lowstands of the Middle Pleistocene, and possibly during certain interglacials. These lands are now lost, lying underwater, but, in spatial terms, a completely new spectrum of possibilities opens up for hominins moving across or settling over this part of Eurasia, affecting the wider narrative regarding the early settlements out of Africa. Yet, the research potential of the submerged landscapes of the Aegean has not been fully integrated in the way(s) we study and interpret the Lower Palaeolithic evidence from this region.
The discussion about the early colonisation of Europe has been long focused on the western part of the continent due to the abundance of available evidence. The wider Aegean region was excluded, until recently, as a ‘cul de sac’ that blocked movement and dispersal towards the west, representing a gap in the European Lower Palaeolithic archive, with very little to contribute in terms of material culture or hominin fossil evidence. Advances in palaeogeography and geoarchaeology and exciting new finds urging now for a reconsideration. Could the Aegean exposed lands provide land bridges for movement and favourable niches for occupation, offering perhaps an eastern gateway to Europe during the Early and Middle Pleistocene? In order to answer these questions I drew information from archaeology and palaeoanthropology, palaeozoology and palaeoenvironments, and geology and palaeogeography. These multiple lines of evidence have been synthesised within an affordance-based GIS framework, which centres on the relationship between the hominins and their ‘affording’ world. The new methodological scheme developed here led to new hypotheses and scenarios of movement and occupation, predicting areas in the Aegean, onshore and offshore, with increased research potential for the Lower Palaeolithic, based on the level of suitability for the hominin survival, subsistence and dispersal.
The findings of my study suggest that despite the serious methodological challenges imposed by landscape dynamics, temporal limitations and extensive discontinuities in the archaeological record, a cross - and inter - disciplinary approach can help us gain valuable insights into the nature of the past landscapes and land use by hominins. In this respect, the complex topography concept and the concept of affordances constitute the backbone of my approach. The first, by setting out the background against which suitability was built, and the second, by attributing a lived and experienced element into the past landscape.
The contribution of this study is twofold: (a) offers a framing heuristic, to the newly founded discipline of the continental shelf prehistoric research, for testing further ideas on hominin movement and occupation in dynamic environments; and (b) proposes trans-Aegean corridors of opportunity for dispersal and occupation areas, complementing the current Lower Palaeolithic narrative with a potential eastern gateway to Europe.
... 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. ...
... With a single exception, that of Atokos, the islands of the Inner Ionian Sea Archipelago were connected to the mainland during low sealevel stands and easily accessible on foot. The archaeology of Atokos has significant implications for the early history of sea crossings in a semi-enclosed and protected sea where the destination was visible and close at hand (Galanidou 2018;Papoulia 2018). Further out to sea, to the south-west, the islands of Kephallinia and Ithaca have remained separated from the mainland throughout the last 300 kyr. ...
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.
... Lithic finds from Loutro (Mortensen, 2008), Gavdos (Kopaka & Matzanas, 2009), and the Plakias region provided documentation for human presence on and off the south coast of Crete, subsequently leading to the suggestion for seafaring in the Mediterranean during the Palaeolithic (Strasser, et al., 2010;Strasser, et al., 2011;Kopaka & Matzanas, 2011). Human habitation on insular settings possibly dating to the MP was later documented in more sites on Crete and other parts of the Aegean, as well as in the Ionian (Ferentinos, et al., 2012;Papoulia, 2017, Galanidou, 2018. The discussion on possible Pleistocene marine dispersals has evolved, as well as the multitude of approaches (Runnels, 2014;Phoca-Cosmetatou, et al., 2014;Howitt-Marshall & Runnels, 2016;Papoulia, 2017). ...
... Although still received with caution by part of the archaeological community, it is interesting to examine the way in which the discussion on possible Pleistocene marine dispersals has evolved, as well as the multitude of approaches (Runnels, Early Palaeolithic on the Greek islands?, 2014; Phoca-Cosmetatou, Rabett, Galanidou, Broodbank, Runnels, & Leppard, 2014;Howitt-Marshall & Runnels, 2016;Papoulia, 2017) It was the lithic finds from Loutro (Mortensen, 2008), Gavdos (Kopaka & Matzanas, 2009), and the Plakias region (Strasser et al. 2010) that provided documentation for human presence on and off the south coast of Crete, subsequently leading to the suggestion for seafaring in the Mediterranean during the Palaeolithic (Strasser, et al., 2010;Strasser, et al., 2011;Kopaka & Matzanas, 2011). Human habitation on insular settings possibly dating to the Middle Palaeolithic was later documented in more sites on Crete (Runnels, McCoy, Bauslaugh, & Murray, 2014) and other parts of the Aegean-Alonissos, Ayios Petros, Ai Stratis, Milos, Naxos, as well as in the Ionian (Ferentinos, Gkioni, Geraga, & Papatheodorou, 2012;Galanidou, 2018). The main problem behind the controversial theories of Pleistocene sea-crossings in the Aegean lies on poor knowledge of prehistoric coastline geography-although important research on this topic has been published for some regions (Sakellariou & Galanidou, 2016), and the insecure chronological context of the scarce Palaeolithic finds from most, if not all, islands. ...
ABSTRACT
A growing corpus of finds dated to the Palaeolithic from islands in the Aegean has changed the archaeological community’s perspective on the earliest occupation of oceanic islands and the capacity of pre-sapiens hominins to make successful sea crossings. Some scholars have chosen to relate these marine dispersals with ancestral species such as Homo erectus or Homo heidelbergensis. This data has been compared with evidence of Pleistocene seafaring from the Pacific Ocean, as well as proposed sea-crossings of the Atlantic Ocean. Although the correlation of local finds with global perspectives of the past can and has been fruitful in many cases, the marine-route hominin dispersals theory in the Mediterranean has not thus far been well documented based more on inference rather than direct evidence. The majority of scholars deem the existing evidence, mainly from the Aegean, insufficient to support systematic sea faring activities on the Mediterranean or a sustained hominin presence on the Greek islands. The suggestion that a non-modern species, such Homo erectus, had inhabited islands in the Aegean or the Pacific during the Lower Palaeolithic is difficult to prove on the existing corpus of evidence, however it may equally be difficult to disprove. The debate has led both sides to extreme views, ultimately offering little to the better understanding of human mobility and modern behaviour during the Pleistocene. An alternative approach to the idea of early seaward dispersals will be discussed, interpreting local data based on the concept of glocalisation.
... Since 2015 I have headed excavations in the Panthera Cave on Kythros, a small, barren island in the central Ionian Sea. Our work on Kythros is yielding a rich and diverse Middle Palaeolithic record (Galanidou, 2018) and is tied to our long-term research in the Inner Ionian Archipelago and on Lefkas (Galanidou, 2015;. This research has a strong regional perspective and covers the coast, the islands and the seabed. ...
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.
Seascapes, both as specific ecosystems and as cultural manifestations formed through human action, are important in shaping economic and social relations and entail a range of experiences and meanings for human societies. Several studies in recent decades have underlined the importance of island environments and seascapes. The factors that shape the dynamic relationship with the sea and form its cultural expression, as well as the resources and activities related to it and the way they are perceived and change over time are important parameters in approaching seascapes. The investigation of the coastal environment of Corfu through a diachronic perspective using a variety of sources, such as archaeological remains, ethnographic evidence and archival material, was developed in the framework of the Fish&CHIPS project. The project aimed to link the historical and archaeological research of the coastal environment as a special ecosystem and part of the cultural heritage, at the regional level, with the current fishing communities of Corfu and Taranto in Apulia. It also aimed to highlight the interconnection of human societies, from ancient times to the present, with the sea and its resources, focusing on fishing and maritime traditions, and at a second level to contribute to the creation of sustainable development prospects for the local fishing communities through the diversification of their economic activities. The present paper focuses on key aspects of the marine and coastal environment of Corfu and the way it was transformed over time. The starting point is the strategic location of Corfu in the seascape of the Ionian and Adriatic Seas and the coastal ecosystems that form part of the island’s landscape (coastal and inland villages related to the sea, wetlands and lagoons, estuaries, salt flats). They are considered primarily in economic terms, examining resources and practices of exploitation of these environments in different periods and, also, influences on patterns of habitation and landscape use. The Community Map of Southern Corfu was developed on the basis of research into these environments in both spatial and temporal aspects and in cooperation with the present-day local communities (Figure 1). The aim was to increase the value of the coastal and marine environments as part of the cultural heritage of the region and create a network of walking cultural routes that link these specific environments and their communities and form the core of the ‘Petritis and South Corfu Ecomuseum’. The ecomuseum approach moves beyond the closed walls of conventional museums and its basic principles can be summarised as follows: a) the importance of the wider geographical region and its perception by the local communities through the experiences and traditions that shape the collective memory and identity of an area, b) the promotion and on-site preservation of elements of the material and intangible heritage resources of the place, c) the active participation of the local community and d) a direction towards sustainability and regeneration, with a parallel connection with primary production (crafts, arts and crafts, ecotourism facilities, cultural tourism).
This Element looks critically at migration scenarios proposed for the end of the Bronze Age in the eastern Mediterranean. After presenting some historical background to the development of migration studies, including types and definitions of migration as well as some of its possible material correlates, I consider how we go about studying human mobility and issues regarding 'ethnicity'. There follows a detailed and critical examination of the history of research related to migration and ethnicity in the southern Levant at the end of the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1200 BC), considering both migrationist and anti-migrationist views. I then present and critique recent studies on climatic and related issues, as well as the current state of evidence from palaeogenetics and strontium isotope analyses. The conclusion attempts to look anew at this enigmatic period of transformation and social change, of mobility and connectivity, alongside the hybridised practices of social actors.
This paper considers the role of seafaring as an important aspect of everyday life in the communities of prehistoric Cyprus. The maritime capabilities developed by early seafarers enabled them to explore new lands and seas, tap new marine resources and make use of accessible coastal sites. Over the long term, the core activities of seafaring revolved around the exploitation of marine and coastal resources, the mobility of people and the transport and exchange of goods. On Cyprus, although we lack direct material evidence (e.g. shipwrecks, ship representations) before about 2000 BC, there is no question that beginning at least by the eleventh millennium Cal BC (Late Epipalaeolithic), early seafarers sailed between the nearby mainland and Cyprus, in all likelihood several times per year. In the long stretch of time—some 4000 years—between the Late Aceramic Neolithic and the onset of the Late Chalcolithic (ca. 6800–2700 Cal BC), most archaeologists passively accept the notion that the inhabitants of Cyprus turned their backs to the sea. In contrast, this study entertains the likelihood that Cyprus was never truly isolated from the sea, and considers maritime-related materials and practices during each era from the eleventh to the early second millennium Cal BC. In concluding, I present a broader picture of everything from rural anchorages to those invisible maritime behaviours that may help us better to understand seafaring as an everyday practice on Cyprus.
The chapters in this section cover a very large area and two major marine basins, reflecting the somewhat scattered distribution of underwater finds and the patchy record of underwater research. Nevertheless, there are concentrations of finds with a detail and quality of evidence to match the best that has been found around the coastlines of north-west Europe. The evidence also includes types of sites and preservation of material items that have no equivalent elsewhere, including submerged village settlements with timber-built platforms and dwelling structures, and settlements with remains of stone-built dwellings, burials, street plans, water wells and other features. Most of these sites are Neolithic or Bronze Age in date, but there are also earlier finds extending back as far as the Middle Palaeolithic. The types of sites represented also include underwater caves containing deposits with palaeontological and archaeological remains. Sea-level change presents a complex story in this region, especially around the coastlines of southern Italy and the Aegean and the Black Sea, and intensive research has focussed on this issue, with implications for the changing palaeogeography of coastlines and islands and the possibility of sea crossings and maritime connections. This introductory overview brings together results from the chapters in this section under four main themes: underwater caves, sea crossings, mapping of submerged landscapes and predictive modelling of underwater site locations and underwater settlements. New and active research is under way in some regions, including the extension of mapping and site survey to more deeply submerged areas of the continental shelf. These results suggest very considerable potential for new discoveries and the need to extend underwater research to other coastal states that have so far made little or no contribution to the prehistoric archaeology of submerged landscapes.
This chapter is publicly available and downloadable at https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-37367-2_15
In this paper, we present the research questions that guided archaeological investigations in the north cluster of islands and islets of the Inner Ionian Sea between 2010 and 2012. We describe our eld methods and the preliminary results of the study of portable nds recovered during the intensive survey. Through a collaboration between researchers coming from different archaeological sub- elds, we are able to follow the history of the hominin and human presence in the region from the early prehistoric to modern times and examine the relationship between the islands of the archipelago with both the rest of the Ionian islands and the mainland of western Greece. With the sole exception of the Middle Palaeolithic period, when the settlement pattern has close af nities to that of Akarnania, Epirus and Lefkas, the Inner Ionian Archipelago emerges as a destination of specialized uses and an area of different carrying capacity from those recorded archaeologically in the larger landmasses around it.
This paper examines the lithology and raw material provenance of knapped stone artifacts recovered from prehistoric sites on Meganisi in the course of the Inner Ionian Sea Archipelago survey. Research was twofold: in the field to map the geology of the island and collect raw material samples, and in the laboratory to conduct a petrological study using LM, XRD, SEM and ICP-MS techniques. The greater part of the materials used to produce stone tools consists of almost pure SiO2, bedded or nodular cherts mainly of Malm–Turonian and Eocene ages. The cherts were collected by prehistoric knappers from local sources. Patinas present on the artifacts are relatively enriched in calcite material of incomplete silica diagenesis and subsequently a product of late weathering and alteration.
Homo naledi is a previously-unknown species of extinct hominin discovered within the Dinaledi Chamber of the Rising Star cave system, Cradle of Humankind, South Africa. This species is characterized by body mass and stature similar to small-bodied human populations but a small endocranial volume similar to australopiths. Cranial morphology of H. naledi is unique, but most similar to early Homo species including Homo erectus, Homo habilis or Homo rudolfensis. While primitive, the dentition is generally small and simple in occlusal morphology. H. naledi has humanlike manipulatory adaptations of the hand and wrist. It also exhibits a humanlike foot and lower limb. These humanlike aspects are contrasted in the postcrania with a more primitive or australopith-like trunk, shoulder, pelvis and proximal femur. Representing at least 15 individuals with most skeletal elements repeated multiple times, this is the largest assemblage of a single species of hominins yet discovered in Africa.
Earliest modern humans out of Africa
Recent paleoanthropological studies have suggested that modern humans migrated from Africa as early as the beginning of the Late Pleistocene, 120,000 years ago. Hershkovitz et al. now suggest that early modern humans were already present outside of Africa more than 55,000 years earlier (see the Perspective by Stringer and Galway-Witham). During excavations of sediments at Mount Carmel, Israel, they found a fossil of a mouth part, a left hemimaxilla, with almost complete dentition.
The sediments contain a series of well-defined hearths and a rich stone-based industry, as well as abundant animal remains. Analysis of the human remains, and dating of the site and the fossil itself, indicate a likely age of at least 177,000 years for the fossil—making it the oldest member of the Homo sapiens clade found outside Africa.
Science , this issue p. 456 ; see also p. 389
Ancient DNA is revealing new insights into the genetic relationship between Pleistocene hominins and modern humans. Nuclear DNA indicated Neanderthals as a sister group of Denisovans after diverging from modern humans. However, the closer affinity of the Neanderthal mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to modern humans than Denisovans has recently been suggested as the result of gene flow from an African source into Neanderthals before 100,000 years ago. Here we report the complete mtDNA of an archaic femur from the Hohlenstein–Stadel (HST) cave in southwestern Germany. HST carries the deepest divergent mtDNA lineage that splits from other Neanderthals ∼270,000 years ago, providing a lower boundary for the time of the putative mtDNA introgression event. We demonstrate that a complete Neanderthal mtDNA replacement is feasible over this time interval even with minimal hominin introgression. The highly divergent HST branch is indicative of greater mtDNA diversity during the Middle Pleistocene than in later periods.
Fossil evidence points to an African origin of Homo sapiens from a group called either H. heidelbergensis or H. rhodesiensis. However, the exact place and time of emergence of H. sapiens remain obscure because the fossil record is scarce and the chronological age of many key specimens remains uncertain. In particular, it is unclear whether the present day 'modern' morphology rapidly emerged approximately 200 thousand years ago (ka) among earlier representatives of H. sapiens1 or evolved gradually over the last 400 thousand years2. Here we report newly discovered human fossils from Jebel Irhoud, Morocco, and interpret the affinities of the hominins from this site with other archaic and recent human groups. We identified a mosaic of features including facial, mandibular and dental morphology that aligns the Jebel Irhoud material with early or recent anatomically modern humans and more primitive neurocranial and endocranial morphology. In combination with an age of 315 ± 34 thousand years (as determined by thermoluminescence dating)3, this evidence makes Jebel Irhoud the oldest and richest African Middle Stone Age hominin site that documents early stages of the H. sapiens clade in which key features of modern morphology were established. Furthermore, it shows that the evolutionary processes behind the emergence of H. sapiens involved the whole African continent.
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.
Sea level indicators on Kyra Panagia and the small islands of Pelerissa and Aghios Petros show two events. A subsidence of the order of 30-50cm has occurred during the last thousand years, and this subsidence is limited to the western part of Kyra Panagia and its associated islands. Submerged terraces and small cliffs around Aghios Petros relate to sea level still stands deeper than 9m, and earlier than 7000 BP. There is some evidence for tectonic subsidence of 1.5m between 5000 BP and 1000 BP. -from Author
Meganisi and its satellite islands lie in the Inner Ionian Sea Archipelago, a relatively short distance from Aetoloakarnania and Lefkas (Fig. 14.1). The abundance of top-quality flint and the presence of small wetlands and karstic cavities were the first points that attracted our attention to this corner of western Greece. But there was something more. In the Pleistocene, the short distance between these islands and the neighboring Lefkas and Aetoloakarnanian coast, combined with the shallow seabed in this area, meant that changes in sea level during glacial and interglacial periods would have caused the islands to become alternately connected to and isolated from the larger landmasses. Thus, over time, new living conditions and environments were constantly created for the Paleolithic communities of southeast Europe, which responded to these in their turn. The islands of the archipelago form fragments, the higher tips, of the original Pleistocene landscape, a large part of which now lies submerged under the sea. It was only after the first millennia of the Holocene that the coastline assumed its present form and offered to the communities of late prehistoric and historical times a new set of insular attractions (Fig. 14.2). Marine and fresh water resources have been bountiful, and it is no coincidence that the coastline of our research area is today protected by Natura 2000. From a diachronic perspective, then, Meganisi and its neighbors posed a methodological challenge for the realization of a hybrid island archaeology – alternating as it was between mainland and islands, passing points, and landing places – on a small and viable spatial scale.
Rodafnidia is an Acheulian site on Lesbos Island, in the north-east Aegean Sea. This chapter presents the model that guided Paleolithic investigations on the island, the history of research, and the results of the 2012 expedition of systematic work in the field, which consisted of surface survey and excavation. The typology and technology of lithic artifacts from the surface and the uppermost Unit 1, as well as the first cluster of luminescence dates, firmly place the early component of the site in the Middle Pleistocene. The Acheulian industry derives from fluvio-lacustrine deposits at a locale with abundant fresh-water and lithic resources. Situated in the north-east Mediterranean Basin, an area where research on early hominin prehistory is intensifying, Rodafnidia holds the potential to contribute to Eurasian Lower Paleolithic archaeology and fill the gap in our understanding of early hominin presence and activity where Asia meets Europe.
A discovery in southern China of human teeth dated to more than 80,000 years old indicates that Homo sapiens was present in the region considerably earlier than had previously been suspected. See Letter p.696
A geophysical survey in the Inner Ionian Sea was conducted in June 2014 from the Hellenic Center for Marine Research (HCMR) aiming at the reconstruction of the palaeogeographical evolution of the study area during low sea level stands. Geophysical recordings of palaeo-sea level indicators, including prograding prodelta clinoforms and submerged marine terraces, provide enough data to reconstruct the location and traces of palaeo-shore lines during the Late Pleistocene low sea level stages.
It has been argued recently that artifacts from islands in the Mediterranean and Island Southeast Asia are representative of deliberate maritime colonization by archaic hominins. This runs contrary to the more usual understanding of seas and oceans as barriers to rather than enablers of dispersal in Homo. This paper advances the debate beyond an impasse between maximalist and minimalist interpretations of these data by suggesting that passive ‘sweepstake’ dispersal events may be implicated in the distribution of Homo. Very unlikely in the short term but increasingly likely over evolutionary time, it is argued that the small body of data which has been taken to be indicative of early seagoing could in fact represent the archaeological signature of passive long distance-dispersal by archaic hominins. This allows these data to be built into the standard model of hominin dispersal without abandoning the concept of oceans as, in general, representative of barriers to this process.
In this paper we review the main, long- and short-term geological and geotectonic processes
that have controlled the development of Pleistocene landscapes in the Aegean region above
and below the fluctuating sea level. We discuss the potential for further research on reconstruction
of submerged landscapes of the continental shelf and beyond with the aim of addressing questions
concerning Palaeolithic settlement. The geological, tectonic, morphological and hydrogeological
background provides information for the assessment of the natural resources available to hominins.
Along with the palaeogeographical evolution of the shallow coastal and shelf areas, they are examined
in parallel with the terrestrial archaeological record in order to open windows to future work in
a region that has remained marginal to human origins research. On the basis of the multi-variable
tectonic evolution and geomorphological configuration of the coastal and shelf areas, we propose to
divide the Aegean region into nine geographical units, each with its own geotectonic and morphological
history and traits. These units can be further grouped to provide larger neighbouring and
culturally meaningful regions, suitable for archaeological analysis, or subdivided to provide
smaller target areas in which to work.
Human evolutionary scholars have long supposed that the earliest stone tools were made by the genus Homo and that this technological development was directly linked to climate change and the spread of savannah grasslands. New fieldwork in West Turkana, Kenya, has identified evidence of much earlier hominin technological behaviour. We report the discovery of Lomekwi 3, a 3.3-million-year-old archaeological site where in situ stone artefacts occur in spatiotemporal association with Pliocene hominin fossils in a wooded palaeoenvironment. The Lomekwi 3 knappers, with a developing understanding of stone’s fracture properties, combined core reduction with battering activities. Given the implications of the Lomekwi 3 assemblage for models aiming to converge environmental change, hominin evolution and technological origins, we propose for it the name ‘Lomekwian’, which predates the Oldowan by 700,000 years and marks a new beginning to the known archaeological record.
This paper discusses the Greek Mesolithic record in the light of refinements to the international calibration
curve and recent archaeological research. Central to the discussion are the time frame used for this period of
Greek prehistory, and the diagnostic potential, or visibility, of Mesolithic stone tools. Rather than offering a
comprehensive account of Mesolithic sites across Greece, this study focuses on a few known cave sites in the
northwest, in order to bring out some less pronounced aspects of their material record. Close and comparative
examination of their radiocarbon dates, and traits of continuity and change in the lithic industries,
highlights a regional pattern. At some sites, occupation extended into the Holocene, but there is little or no
contrast to the preceding, late Upper Palaeolithic technological traditions. A working hypothesis to account
for the geographic, temporal and cultural diversity of early Holocene sites and finds in Greece is thus spelled
out. It is proposed that the Greek Mesolithic record is the manifestation of a mosaic of human groups, of
different origins and cultural traditions, subsisting on a variety of resources and living in different regions,
at different times and seasons of the early Holocene.
Seventy archaeological sites were visited on the coasts of the Peloponnese and south-west Turkey in 1976-69. Relative sea level changes were detected at each site by interpreting the function of remains and foundations and attempting to relate these to the original sea levels at the site when it was occupied. The age of sites varied from 2000 B.C. to medieval and modern structures of the past 100 years. The relative displacement of sites varied from relative uplift of 3.0m to submergence of 5.0m.
It has been suggested that the islands of the Mediterranean were first settled during the Pleistocene. Attention
has in particular been paid to recent claims that the occupation of Crete by hominins dates to the Middle
Pleistocene. This paper examines what—if Lower Palaeolithic pre-modern hominins did indeed colonize the
Mediterranean islands—environmental and evolutionary impacts this would have had, what forms these
impacts would have taken, and what traces these forms would leave. Such impacts are modeled using information
derived from island biogeography, historical ecology, and evolutionary biology. Probable outcomes of
colonization scenarios—including turnover in insular faunas, ecological cascade events, and morphological
changes in isolated populations of Homo—are compared to the palaeontological and palaeoenvironmental
record for the Mediterranean islands. The absence of any obvious correlation casts doubt on large-scale and
sustained colonization of the more remote Mediterranean islands during the Lower Palaeolithic, although
this does not preclude the possibility of chance and short-lived colonizations by pre-modern hominins.
This position paper describes a new research field, Continental Shelf Prehistoric
Research. The objectives of the position paper are to assess the present level of
commitment to this research and to cultural heritage management in general,
evaluate the results so far, consider the benefits, and plan ahead to justify
further investment and collaboration at the European level. Both challenges and
opportunities for future progress are identified and recommendations for future
research are proposed which span technology, socio-economic benefits, research
objectives, institutional infrastructure, training, and possible sources of funding.
This discussion paper, by a Working Group of INTIMATE (Integration of ice-core, marine and terrestrial records) and the Subcommision on Quaternary Stratigraphy (SQS) of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), considers the prospects for a formal subdivision of the Holocene Series/Epoch. Although previous attempts to subdivide the Holocene have proved inconclusive, recent developments in Quaternary stratigraphy, notably the definition of the Pleistocene–Holocene boundary and the emergence of formal subdivisions of the Pleistocene Series/Epoch, mean that it may be timely to revisit this matter. The Quaternary literature reveals a widespread but variable informal usage of a tripartite division of the Holocene (‘early’, ‘middle’ or ‘mid’, and ‘late’), and we argue that this de facto subdivision should now be formalized to ensure consistency in stratigraphic terminology. We propose an Early–Middle Holocene Boundary at 8200 a BP and a Middle–Late Holocene Boundary at 4200 a BP, each of which is linked to a Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP). Should the proposal find a broad measure of support from the Quaternary community, a submission will be made to the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS), via the SQS and the ICS, for formal ratification of this subdivision of the Holocene Series/Epoch. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The African and Eurasian plates are converging at 2.6 cm/a and the Turkey plate is moving west at about 3.0 cm/a. The Aegean is thus a zone of two-dimensional convergence. The boundaries of plates and sub-plates in this area cannot be defined at all simply. Observations of relative changes of sea level were made at 202 ancient harbour sites, some dating back to 2000 B.C., in Greece, Turkey, and Cyprus, and 175 independent estimates of sea level change were made. Measurements of uplifted and submerged recent marine solution notches in Antikythera, Crete, Karpathos, Rhodes, and Cyprus, showed that the islands of the Hellenic Arc are subject to intermittent seismic movements with a periodicity ranging from 157 to 714 a. The archaeological data and the notch data are combined to show that blocks with typical horizontal dimensions of 100 × 50 km at sea level are tilting intermittently as rigid units. The rates of tilt vary from 3.6 to 10.6' '/ka. Stable blocks were identified in south Turkey east of Antalya, north Cyprus, and southwest Turkey from Kusadasi to Marmaris. The active areas are: the Peloponnese, where the peninsulae of Argolis and Messenia are subsiding; the central Peloponnese is probably doming or folding, while a slightly uplifted ridge extends east of south through Kythera and Antikythera; a graben structure separates Antikythera from Crete; west Crete is tilting northeast at a rate of 10.6' '/ka; eastern Crete is tilting northwards at 10.3' '/ka; Karpathos has subsided about 1.0 m maintaining horizontality; Rhodes is folding about a plunging anticlinal axis trending approximately east-west; in Turkey the Izmir-Cesme peninsula is subsiding, as is the coast from Fethiye to Cape Gelidonya; the south coast of Cyprus is subsiding irregularly. These data are used to construct a model of the subduction zone beneath the Hellenic Arc. It is concluded that there is no single planar or slightly curved subducted slab, since the zone bends through 90 degrees south of Crete and again near the Anaximander Mountains. The quasi-linear sections of the subduction zone are interrupted by short tear faults and abrupt changes of strike at intervals of 50-100 km along their length. The resulting narrow fingers of slab tend to break, and are not subducted to great depth. Combination of this model with geophysical data allows construction of a new system of probable plate boundaries. It is suggested that there is no Aegean plate. The north Aegean is an extension of the Turkish plate, while the south Aegean is a region of crustal extension produced by gradual break-up of the southern margin of the Greek-Apulian plate. It is concluded that the Hellenic Arc is not an island arc in the normal sense, but represents a late phase in the destruction of a true island arc and back-arc sea by incipient continent-continent collision.
Sea-level change during the last 18,000 years is a combination of eustatic, isostatic and tectonic contributions. In an effort to minimize the tectonic contributions, our study of sea-level changes in the Aegean Sea within historical times is focused on the aseismic Attico–Cycladic geotectonic zone. On the basis of archaeological information and radiocarbon dating of coastal sedimentological formations, a sea-level curve for the Attico–Cycladic massif has been constructed for the past 5000 years and compared with existing curves. According to this curve, the rapid increase of sea level concluded prior to 5.5 ka and was followed by a slow steady rise at a rate of 0.9 mm/a up to its present stage. The latter is attributed primarily to the process of thermal expansion and secondarily to the residual melting of the glaciers and existing ice-caps. By extrapolation of the curve, the sea level at the end of the 20th century is predicted to be about 9 cm higher than the present level; this value is much lower than the prediction of the last IPCC report (49 cm). If higher SLR rates are realised in the next few decades, then the excess 40 cm of the IPCC prediction can be attributed to human-induced global climatic change.
Why did humans walk upright? Previous models based on adaptions to forest or savannah are
challenged here in favour of physical incentives presented by steep rugged terrain – the kind of
tectonically varied landscape that has produced early hominin remains. “Scrambler man”
pursued his prey up hill and down dale and in so doing became that agile, sprinting, enduring,
grasping, jumping two legged athlete that we know today.
This chapter reviews the main environmental factors which have controlled the evolution of the submerged prehistoric landscape and therefore influenced prehistoric human migration and activity, and discusses the potential for the survival of prehistoric cultural and natural remains on the sea floor of the continental shelf in the Aegean region. Under the term 'Aegean region', the authors consider the Aegean Sea including the Ionian, Libyan and Levantine side of the Hellenic Arc. They use the available paleomorphological reconstructions of the exposed landmasses during the major low sea-level periods of the Late Pleistocene to define target areas for submerged landscape surveys. The present overall wind and wave climate in the eastern Mediterranean and Aegean seas enables us to identify the coastal areas protected from or exposed to wave erosion, and to assess the potential survival of shallow submerged prehistoric remains.
A major new survey of the prehistoric hunter-gatherer societies of Europe, this book reviews the newest information and interpretations for scientific research. Palaeolithic studies are at an exciting point of transition. The explosion in ethno-archaeological studies has fundamentally challenged our models and interpretations amongst all classes of data and at all spatial scales of analysis. Furthermore the traditional concerns of dating and quaternary studies have also passed through their own revolutions and palaeolithic archaeology is the direct beneficiary. Dr Gamble presents in an imaginative but comprehensive framework our changing perspectives of Europe's oldest societies.
The chain of islands emerging from the Ionian Sea constitutes the western part of the active Hellenic Arc and is separated from the European landmass by the shaping forces of eustasy and tectonism. As part of the Ionian Margin, the islands share the same geological and climate regimes with their counterpart, the coastal zone of the west Greek mainland extending from Epirus to the Peloponnese. The Ionian setting consists of limestone geology and karst, rocks containing abundant cherts, high tectonic activity, tsunamis, and high rainfall rates. The pioneering work conducted by A. Sordinas on Corfu, Zakynthos and other islands in the 1960s, later by Cubuk on Kefalonia, and in the 1990s by A. Dousougli and C. Zachos on Lefkas, established the earliest component of Ionian prehistory and laid the foundations for further fieldwork with an explicit Palaeolithic focus. Surface surveys exploring the diachronic history of individual islands or the coastal zone of west Greece have added new points to the Palaeolithic map. Today, early Ionian prehistory is an independent research objective, going hand-in-hand with a shift of interest to early island and coastal archaeology. It is pursued through two interconnected lines of investigation: systematic fieldwork to enlarge the archaeological sample and explore the variation of hominin settlement in time and space, and re-appraisal of published material to fine-tune the archaeology, compare it, and place it in a palaeogeographic context.
Reconstructions of the late Quaternary paleogeography of Greece and the Aegean show that at 18, 000 years b.p. the northern Aegean and northern Adriatic formed large coastal plains traversed by many rivers. Broad plains also existed off the coast of Elis and the present Gulf of Korinth, and along the Anatolian coast. Many islands, such as Kerkira, Euboea, and the northern Sporadhes, were connected with the mainland, and most of the Cycladic islands were joined together in a Cycladic semi-peninsula. The post-glacial rise of sea level beginning ca. 15, 000 b.p. restored around 9, 000 b.p. the coastal geography to approximately its present configuration. The late Quaternary paleogeography and its subsequent changes have many archeological implications that are worth serious consideration. The well-watered northern coastal plains may have furnished subsistence for a plains population quite independent of the resources of the northern mountain regions, and they constituted easy access to the Greek peninsula from the ne and nw. Loss of coastal plain land during the post-glacial rise of sea level drastically changed the resource base in many areas. The island of Melos, known source of obsidian for toolmaking since at least 10, 000 b.p., may have been discovered considerably earlier when access to the island was largely over land.
Archaeological evidence on the island of Lefkas, in large areas with terra rossa on the island of Corfu, and on heavily eroded surfaces of the adjacent islets of Dhiapl, Mathraki, and Othonoi, to the northwest of Corfu, indicates substantial human occupation at least during the Middle Palaeolithic and the terminal Upper Palaeolithic. The distribution strongly indicates major lowering of sea level, and a land bridge between the Greek mainland and the island during Wurm I and III at least. -from Author
In this innovative study Clive Gamble presents and questions two of the most famous descriptions of change in prehistory. The first is the 'human revolution', when evidence for art, music, religion and language first appears. The second is the economic and social revolution of the Neolithic period. Gamble identifies the historical agendas behind 'origins research' and presents a bold new alternative to these established frameworks, relating the study of change to the material basis of human identity. He examines, through artefact proxies, how changing identities can be understood using embodied material metaphors and in two major case-studies charts the prehistory of innovations, asking, did agriculture really change the social world? This is an important and challenging book that will be essential reading for every student and scholar of prehistory
In this worldwide survey, Clive Gamble explores the evolution of the human imagination, without which we would not have become a global species. He sets out to determine the cognitive and social basis for our imaginative capacity and traces the evidence back into deep human history. He argues that it was the imaginative ability to "go beyond" and to create societies where people lived apart yet stayed in touch that made us such effective world settlers. To make his case Gamble brings together information from a wide range of disciplines: psychology, cognitive science, archaeology, palaeoanthropology, archaeogenetics, geography, quaternary science and anthropology. He presents a novel deep history that combines the archaeological evidence for fossil hominins with the selective forces of Pleistocene climate change, engages with the archaeogeneticists' models for population dispersal and displacement, and ends with the Europeans' rediscovery of the deep history settlement of the earth.
Humans evolved in Africa and colonized Eurasia in successive adaptive radiations, establishing themselves in Europe ca. one million years ago. It is assumed that these dispersals were by land through southwest Asia, or secondarily across the Strait of Gibraltar, because early hominins lacked the cognitive faculties and technical skills needed to cross the open Mediterranean. Such crossings are thought to have occurred only at the end of the Pleistocene, after ca. 11,000 years ago. This reasoning is challenged by the presence of early Palaeolithic artifacts on the Greek islands, suggesting that hominins made sea-crossings more than 130,000 years ago, and indicating that the Mediterranean—and by implication other seas—were at times open roads rather than barriers to hominin dispersals. © The Fund for Mediterranean Archaeology/Equinox Publishing Ltd., 2014
Recent underwater archaeological investigations and marine geological surveys in Attica and the Cycladic islands provide solid archaeological markers for the estimation of the RSL fluctuation since prehistory. The area under study, the Attico-Cycladic massif with small tidal range, relative geo-tectonic stability and with ample archaeological remains that bear witness to past sea levels, provides an excellent laboratory for examining various contributions to local relative sea level changes. As a result, the study of the field data demonstrate a severe RSL change of ca. 4.00-6.00m or more around 4000 BC, ca. -3.00 -3.5m since Late Bronze Age/Mycenaean period (1550-1100 BC) and ca -2.50-2.80m (±0.30) since Classical/Hellenistic period (500-30 BC). The combined data can be used to correlate predictive sea-level curves, refine glacio-hydro-isostatic modelling approaches, and give insights for the prediction of future sea-level trends. Moreover, the results can advance the landscape reconstruction of Attica and the Cyclades in Classical antiquity and help inform current and develop-ing environmental policy and cultural management decisions on coastal and submerged archaeologi-cal sites in the Central Aegean.
Recent genetic research suggests an expansion along the tropical coastline of the Indian Ocean, between 75,000 and 60,000 years ago, of the population which included the ancestors of all of the non-African human mitochondrial DNA lineages known today. In view of the arid sections along this coastal stretch, irregularly punctuated by resource-rich estuaries, and the crossings over open sea during the last leg to Australia/ New Guinea, this expansion would necessarily have involved the features of watercraft, portage of potable water, and adaptation to estuaries. These features could well have been the cultural basis for the rapid tropical dispersal of Homo sapiens out of Africa to Australia/ New Guinea.
The subsidence rates of the Aegean margins during the Middle-Upper Pleistocene were evaluated based on new and historical seismic profiling data. High-resolution seismic profiling (AirGun, Sparker and 3.5 kHz) have shown that (at least) four major oblique prograding sequences can be traced below the Aegean marginal slopes at increasing subbottom depths. These palaeo-shelf break glacial delta sediments have been developed during successive low sea-level stands (LST prograding sequences), suggesting continuous and gradual subsidence of the Aegean margins during the last 400 ka. Subsidence rates of the Aegean margins were calculated from the vertical displacement of successive topset-to-foreset transitions (palaeo-shelf break) of the LST prograding sediment sequences.
The coastal zone of western Greece from the Ambracian Gulf to the Albanian border is the, foreland of the great Pindos range. It is a complicated, actively rising landscape of limestone mountains and closed intra-montane basins. Archaeologically, this karst landscape is distinguished by numerous Middle Palaeolithic open-air sites embedded in the red sediments of the basins. In contrast,further inland, the river valleys of the western flank of the Pindos harbor only sparse cave and rockshelter sites of Upper Palaeolithic age. A land-use strategy in the Middle Palaeolithic focused on predictable and seasonally-dependable features of karstic origin. This long-term pattern of scheduled Neanderthal residential mobility took advantage of wetlands at fixed locations which provided essential resources such as flint, animals, and plants. As the climate deteriorated in the Upper Palaeolithic the exploitation of wetlands declined and humans turned to caves and rockshelters and the pursuit of game on the upland interfluves and in river gorges.