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(right). Mesolithic geometric microliths of chert (left) and quartz (right) from schinaria 1. Photo N. Thompson Figure 16 (below). Mesolithic artifacts from schinaria 1: (a–k) geometric microliths; (l) combination tool with burins and an end scraper; (m) core; (n) denticulated scraper; (o) chopper; (p) retouched blade with an end scraper; (q) oblique spine on a truncated flake. All are quartz except for (g) and (o), which are chert.
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A survey in 2008 and 2009 on the southwestern coast of Crete in the region of Plakias documented 28 preceramic lithic sites. Sites were identified with artifacts of Mesolithic type similar to assemblages from the Greek mainland and islands, and some had evidence of Lower Palaeolithic occupation dated by geological context to at least 130,000 years...
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In 2008 a large number of stone artefacts were recovered during rescue archaeology in the vicinity of Rapsaioi village (district of Ioannina). The assemblage consists of Middle Palaeolithic artefacts and a small number of lithics from later prehistoric periods.
The paper presents the finds and relates them to recent finds by the same author from o...
Citations
... This point indicates that the inferential step-B in Figure 3-from lithic objects to stone tools has not been considered dubious. Nor has the analogous inferential step taken by Strasser et al. (2010), Runnels et al. (2014) and other authors in the case of the Crete Variant been questioned. This point means that both the Flores Variant and the Crete Variant of the Stone-Tools Inference meet the Warrantedness Condition. ...
... The stone tools recovered at sites on Crete have been assigned dates such as the following: Dates assigned to Crete stone tools have been considered 'controversial', 'problematic' and the like, as is evidenced by judgements such as the following: lack of chrono-stratigraphic control over artifacts that are then dated solely on a typological basis (Chelidonio 2001;Kopaka and Manzana 2009; Karkanas 2012: 2-3) is obviously problematic. Dating artefacts by a combination of typological criteria and pedological context (i.e., top-and sub-soil), which is in turn dated via association with large-scale geological phenomena (in the Cretan case geotectonic uplift of palaeocoastal environments (Strasser et al. 2010; in the absence of strict stratigraphic context, further complicates the situation. There is evident need for more and better radiometric data . . . ...
... Leppard (2014, 232-3) for the following elaboration: 'lack of chrono-stratigraphic control over artifacts that are then dated solely on a typological basis (Chelidonio 2001;Kopaka and Matzana [sic] 2009) is obviously problematic. Dating artefacts by a combination of typological criteria and pedological context (i.e., top-and sub-soil), which is in turn dated via association with large-scale geological phenomena (in the Cretan case geotectonic uplift of palaeocoastal environments (Strasser et al. 2010; Broodbank (2014, 268), Gaffney (2021, 302), Galanidou (2014, 260), Leppard (2015b, 829, 839, 842), Runnels (2014a, 212), Simmons (2012, 895, 896;2014, 9). An archaeological survey of the Stélida chert source on Naxos (Cycladic islands) yielded Mousterian lithic materials believed to have been associated with Neanderthals. ...
Various authors have claimed over the years that Homo erectus had language. Since there is no direct evidence about the matter, this claim represents the conclusion of a multi-step composite inference drawn from putative non-linguistic attributes of the species. Three maritime behaviours are central among these attributes: crossing open seas to get to insular islands such as Flores in the Indian ocean and Crete in the Mediterranean; building complex watercraft for the crossings; and undertaking navigation in making the crossings. Dubbing it the ‘Seafaring Inference’, the present article reconstructs and appraises the way in which Barham and Everett use the Seafaring Inference to build a case for the claim that Homo erectus had language. This composite inference starts from certain lithic objects found on Flores and ends, via six simple inferences, with the conclusion that Homo erectus had a form of language. The main finding of the article is that this composite inference is flawed in including a simple inference which is unsound and, accordingly, cannot be used to make a strong case for the claim that Homo erectus had language. There is a less well-developed variant of the Seafaring Inference which proceeds from the recovery of lithic objects on Crete. This variant is found to be multiply flawed, there being several simple unsound simple inferences among its components.
... Palaeolithic sites and find-spots have been identified on islands of the north Aegean (Panagopoulou et al. 2001;Efstratiou et al. 2013;Galanidou et al. 2013Galanidou et al. , 2016aSampson 2018), Crete and Gavdos in the south Aegean (Kopaka & Matzanas 2009;Strasser et al. 2010;Runnels et al. 2014aRunnels et al. , 2014b, and the Cyclades in the central Aegean (Carter et al. 2014(Carter et al. , 2019 (Figure 8.1). In the Ionian Sea, new data from excavations and diachronic survey projects (Randsborg 2002;Darlas et al. 2006;van wijngaarden et al. 2013;Galanidou 2015Galanidou , 2018Galanidou et al. 2022) were coupled with the publication of earlier finds (Galanidou et al. 2016b). ...
... The material recovered from the Plakias survey in south Crete, which was an island throughout the Pleistocene, is claimed to have Acheulean affinities and a Middle Pleistocene date (Strasser et al. 2010;Runnels 2014). As such it has been interpreted as evidence for early hominin long-distance sea crossings. ...
The strategic geographical position of the Balkan Peninsula, at the crossroads between southwest Asia and central and western Europe, make of this territory a key area for understanding the different human migrations into Europe during the Pleistocene. This long-time neglected area for the Palaeolithic research, last years has experienced a blossoming in terms of research projects and key discoveries. Only in the past decade, sites from the Balkan Peninsula have yielded, for instance, the oldest anatomically modern human occupations in Europe, the first human remains of our species in the continent, the first confirmation of interbreeding between us and Neanderthals and evidence of Palaeolithic rock art, a phenomenon traditionally restricted to South-western Europe. This volume provides a comprehensive overview of the previous data and new discoveries, addressed by an international list of contributors among the most renowned scholars developing archaeological researches in this territory. It summarises the state of the art for the Early Prehistory Archaeology of one of the most important emerging territories for the discipline.
... Palaeolithic sites and find-spots have been identified on islands of the north Aegean (Panagopoulou et al. 2001;Efstratiou et al. 2013;Galanidou et al. 2013Galanidou et al. , 2016aSampson 2018), Crete and Gavdos in the south Aegean (Kopaka & Matzanas 2009;Strasser et al. 2010;Runnels et al. 2014aRunnels et al. , 2014b, and the Cyclades in the central Aegean (Carter et al. 2014(Carter et al. , 2019 (Figure 8.1). In the Ionian Sea, new data from excavations and diachronic survey projects (Randsborg 2002;Darlas et al. 2006;van wijngaarden et al. 2013;Galanidou 2015Galanidou , 2018Galanidou et al. 2022) were coupled with the publication of earlier finds (Galanidou et al. 2016b). ...
... The material recovered from the Plakias survey in south Crete, which was an island throughout the Pleistocene, is claimed to have Acheulean affinities and a Middle Pleistocene date (Strasser et al. 2010;Runnels 2014). As such it has been interpreted as evidence for early hominin long-distance sea crossings. ...
The strategic geographical position of the Balkan Peninsula, at the crossroads between southwest Asia and central and western Europe, make of this territory a key area for understanding the different human migrations into Europe during the Pleistocene. This long-time neglected area for the Palaeolithic research, last years has experienced a blossoming in terms of research projects and key discoveries. Only in the past decade, sites from the Balkan Peninsula have yielded, for instance, the oldest anatomically modern human occupations in Europe, the first human remains of our species in the continent, the first confirmation of interbreeding between us and Neanderthals and evidence of Palaeolithic rock art, a phenomenon traditionally restricted to South-western Europe. This volume provides a comprehensive overview of the previous data and new discoveries, addressed by an international list of contributors among the most renowned scholars developing archaeological researches in this territory. It summarises the state of the art for the Early Prehistory Archaeology of one of the most important emerging territories for the discipline.
... This is the reason why following the sociopolitical trajectory described in this paper from an extrainsular perspective is deemed essential here. While debates on the nature and chronology of the Paleolithic occupation of Crete continue (Strasser et al. 2010(Strasser et al. , 2011(Strasser et al. , 2018, evidence for Mesolithic encampments in the period 9000-7000 cal BC has been recognized on the southern coast of the island (Carter et al. 2016(Carter et al. , 2018. The presence of obsidian within the assemblages testifies to the navigational skills of the early settlers, and expeditions such as these prepared the way for the colonization of the island, early in the seventh millennium BC (cf. ...
In this paper, we argue that the sociopolitical trajectory of Bronze Age of Crete was characterized by the progressive but intentional manipulation of an enduring collective ethos, notably in the organization of gatherings and feasts. These key practices, meant to ensure cohesion, took place within a larger social organization of which the constituents were formed by corporate groups that we interpret as “houses.” We also argue that the nature of these houses changed over time. This process is particularly evident in the varying contexts in which these gatherings took place, with differences in terms of scale and origin of participants and variations in the balance between base-driven and imposed practices. We highlight that a landscape initially dotted with small local communities, connected through kinship bonds and shared practices at the microregional level, was progressively transformed into a homogenous, all-embracing ideological structure, which pervaded society and constituted the backbone of its hierarchical organization. Legitimized and mobilized within a religious system with clear political overtones, this process resulted into a supra-regional, global network that can rightfully be called “Minoan.”
... The Mediterranean Basin was an epicenter of ancient maritime activity, where sea-voyaging facilitated the movement of people, goods, ideas, and animals between distinct cultural communities in subregions around the basin since at least the Neolithic (Horden and Purcell, 2000;Broodbank, 2006Broodbank, , 2013Strasser et al., 2010;Paschou et al., 2014). Based on the archaeological and palaeozoological records (Vigne, 1992, 2007: 271, Fig 125, 2012Zilhao, 2001;Guilaine and Manen, 2007;Vigne, et al., 2012;Davis, 2015), as well as genetic studies (Pereira et al., 2005(Pereira et al., , 2006, the premodern (before 1500 CE) dispersion of livestock has also been shown to have had a maritime component. ...
The majority of research to date on the translocation of livestock in the premodern (before 1500 CE) Mediterranean
Basin has focused on expansive movements out from geographic origins of domestication or from
colonizer-to-colonized territories. Fewer zooarchaeological studies have investigated the lateral trajectories of
distinct varieties of domesticated animals around the post-Neolithic eastern Mediterranean, partially due to the
difficulty in detecting intra-species variation osteologically. The research conducted in the present study sought
to improve understanding of the human-mediated mobility of domestic sheep (Ovis aries) from Iron Age settlements
in the southern Levant. Variability in body size and a greater variety of morphotypes were expected from
coastal flocks in southern Phoenicia in comparison to inland herds, possibly due to the dynamic influence of
maritime trade. Biometric data analysis of zooarchaeological materials using log size index and astragalar
dimension index methods revealed evidence for the possible optimization of coastal sheep for wool production
and a potential introduction event in the Persian period. The Aegean region could be a source for this introduction;
however, further research is needed to specify the geographic origin of this phenomenon.
... The industries reflect a strategy characterized generally by large flakes made from bifacially reduced, minimally prepared cores, and rarely by the usage of a hard hammer for the knapping of thick blades. Following the bifaces, the second most common group consists of scrapers (Strasser et al., 2010;Strasser et al., 2011). On the other hand, there was no data regarding the use of bipolar knapping. ...
After the discovery of Homo erectus remains (circa 1.2 Ma) in Denizli, through examination of their surviving material culture, many sites containing lithics which could be attributed to Homo erectus have been located. It have revealed quartz assemblages in the parts of Denizli connected to the Menderes and Gediz Massif. The assemblages detected in Buldan and Güney associate with Mode 1 and Mode 2 techno-complexes. As the first systematic bipolar knapping study in the Paleolithic of Turkey, techno-typological analyses supported by experimental analyses will be a guide for future studies. As a result of these analyses, bipolar knapping, freehand technique, and the alternate use of both could be suggested as strategies for dealing with environmental raw material limitations or as a technical behavioral choice. In this context, the lithic assemblages in question, with their specific characteristics, shed new light on the dispersal of the early hominins out of Africa.
For full access: https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/EDDRHINZPHTXUTQSNKJM/full?target=10.1080/01977261.2022.2095491
... Targeted surveys of particular types of landscapes are also noteworthy. One trend is to focus on ecological zones that would have appealed to early humans and that meet conditions sufficient for the exposure of Pleistocene and early Holocene surfaces, and thereby Paleolithic and Mesolithic assemblages (Runnels 1988(Runnels , 2009Runnels et al. 2004;Strasser et al. 2010;Thompson et al. 2018). Increased attention has also been paid to maritime environments, especially as interconnected "small worlds," following Broodbank (2000). ...
... In deeper prehistory, Pleistocene landscape change is particularly significant for Mediterranean archaeology, owing to the vast amount of coastline, climatic instability, and geographic fragmentation. In the Aegean, for example, recent surveys have revealed new evidence of Pleistocene occupation in the islands (e.g., Carter et al. 2019;Strasser et al. 2010). These discoveries must be contextualized by acknowledgment that the length of sea crossings to reach these islands would have been either severely reduced or nonexistent for much of the Pleistocene (Cherry and Leppard 2018;Lykousis 2009). ...
... While we cannot control preservation bias and diagnosticity, there is certainly more work to be done in recovering and interpreting information about underrepresented periods, mostly prehistoric. For example, various surveys in Greece, Albania, Egypt, and Spain have shown that targeted approaches to Pleistocene landscapes have been highly effective at recovering material evidence from this broadest period of human history (Burke et al. 2021;Olszewski et al. 2005;Runnels 1988;Runnels et al. 2004;Strasser 2010;Thompson et al. 2018). At the same time, both intensive fieldwalking and site-based surveys may miss this evidence, based on their tendency to target plow zones and other landscapes of interest to primarily agricultural societies. ...
In this paper, we describe the development and state of archaeological surface survey in the Mediterranean. We focus especially on surface survey as a means of documenting long-term settlement patterns at various scales, as an approach to the archaeology of regions, and as a pathway to the interpretation of past landscapes. Over the last decades, the literature on Mediterranean survey has increasingly emphasized a distinct set of practices, viewed both favorably and critically by regional archaeologists in the Mediterranean and elsewhere. We show that Mediterranean survey in fact comprises several discrete regional traditions. In general, these traditions have much to offer to wider dialogs in world archaeology, particularly concerning sampling and research design, the interpretation of surface assemblages, and the integration of complex, multidisciplinary datasets. More specifically, survey investigations of Mediterranean landscapes provide comparative data and potential research strategies of relevance to many issues of global significance, including human ecology, demography, urban–rural dynamics, and various types of polity formation, colonialism, and imperialism.
... Since then, and especially during the past twenty years, the archaeological data have been enriched considerably, thanks to the identification of new Mesolithic sites and their subsequent systematic excavations [8,[11][12][13][14]. Surface surveys aiming specifically at the identification of Mesolithic sites have also been conducted in Epirus, the Argolid, Northern Sporades, on Meganisi near Leukas and at Plakias in southern Crete [8,15]. More recently, Mesolithic deposits have been also found in the Negros Cave at the island of Astypalaia [16]. ...
... Indeed, Mesolithic sites in Greece have yielded finds such as seashells, fishbones, and bone fishhooks. These attest to maritime activities and reflect a certain level of familiarity with the sea and the exploitation of marine resources [8,15,17]. Theopetra Cave, however, is located in inland Thessaly and far from the sea, canceling the older model about localizing the Mesolithic only by the sea. The presence of tools made of Melian obsidian in archaeological sites in the Greek mainland, such as the Cave at Franchthi in the Argolid (as early as the Upper Palaeolithic era, some 13,000 years ago) and on island sites, such as Maroulas on Kythnos, reveals the intensification of sea crossings during this period. ...
Skeletal evidence dating back to the Mesolithic period is scarce and should be studied under a multidisciplinary perspective. The primary objective of the study was to carefully assess the skeleton of a young woman from this era, named “Avgi,” to compile its bioarchaeological profile, analyze its paleopathology and dental pathology, and deploy a 3D reconstruction and modeling method in order to reveal her face. Both demographic and pathological information were drawn from macroscopically observing the bones, long bone X-rays, skull CT and X-rays, 3D modeling and printing of the skull, and panoramic dental X-rays. The Manchester method was used for the 3D facial reconstruction. On analysis, we determined that Avgi was a female adolescent, aged around 17–19 years at death, and likely suffering from iron deficiency anemia and Class III dental malocclusion. Notably, Harris lines and a hair-on-end pattern were identified in the long bones and skull radiographs, respectively. Various less significant skeletal lesions reflected potential minor pathologies. Our findings suggest that multidisciplinary collaborative approaches should be followed in the modern study of lesser-known past eras. Multiple scientific perspectives, as well as social structures, geographical aspects, settlements, population movements, and social networks should all be taken into account when assessing lifestyle characteristics and paleopathological signs in skeletal remains.
... Unfortunately, the rest of the Lower Palaeolithic record in Greece comprises just a few sites, which, unlike Marathousa 1, have yielded lithic material only; in the absence of associated faunal or palaeobotanical remains, the opportunities to develop a contextual framework for behavioural inferences are limited. Yet, in the area of Plakias (ID1837), southern Crete, the sheer presence of Acheulian-type, bifacially flaked large cutting tools (Strasser et al. 2010;2011;Runnels 2014) sufficed to stir up discussion about the behavioural repertoire of early humans (see, for example, Broodbank et al. 2014;Simmons 2014). Until a few years ago, consensus had it that the crossing of open waters required certain bio-cultural abilities related to cognitive faculties and technological skills -properties that only anatomically modern humans were considered to hold (for a discussion of this from an evolutionary perspective, see Leppard 2015). ...
In contrast to a relatively long history of Palaeolithic investigations in western Europe, research on the Palaeolithic period in Greece has lagged behind considerably. This article reviews the last decade of Palaeolithic research in Greece, with the aim of highlighting key aspects of recent developments in the field. Newly discovered Lower Palaeolithic sites, such as Marathousa 1 in Megalopolis, have offered rare, high-resolution windows into hunter-gatherer adaptations during the earliest-known peopling of the Greek peninsula. Palaeolithic sites in insular settings, exemplified by the latest discoveries in Crete and Naxos, have stirred up intriguing discussions about early seafaring but, most importantly, provide support to a revised view of the role of the Aegean in early human dispersals. Zooarchaeological, palaeoenvironmental and dating analyses of Middle and Upper Palaeolithic materials from new and older assemblages have provided valuable insights that help contextualize the information distilled from lithic industries. In sum, recent excavations, surveys and assessments of new and older collections have together contributed to the compilation of an important corpus of novel and significant data. Palaeolithic Greece is no longer a terra incognita , and it carries the potential to become a key player in understanding early human societies in southern Europe.
... Beyond Cultural Heritage management applications, predictive modeling has already been successfully exploited in spatial planning of archaeological research [24,25]. Predictive models have resulted in particularly useful insights especially in areas where there is an extreme paucity of data that could be used as a baseline for expanding archaeological work or in cases where extensive areas needed to be covered with traditional surveys [26][27][28]. In such instances, predictive models can assist in the determination of which regions are more likely to produce archaeological localities and which regions are less likely to do so. ...
... Despite all this, however, Cyprus has remained at the periphery of early island colonisation discussions mainly due to an ongoing assumption of its marginality due to open water gaps functioning as barriers to pre-Holocene maritime crossings (see discussion in [29]). Global interest in early seafaring and maritime colonisation in recent years [1,2,30] has led to significant advances in the thematic and there is tentative evidence that Homo sapiens as well as pre-sapiens species were capable of maritime crossings and successfully colonised insular environments in various parts of the world (see [27,31,32] for some eastern Mediterranean examples). ...
Predictive models have become an integral part of archaeological research, particularly in the discovery of new archaeological sites. In this paper, we apply predictive modeling to map high potential Pleistocene archaeological locales on the island of Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean. The model delineates landscape characteristics that denote areas with high potential to unearth Pleistocene archaeology while at the same time highlighting localities that should be excluded. The predictive model was employed in surface surveys to systematically access high probability locales on Cyprus. A number of newly identified localities suggests that the true density of mobile hunter-gatherer sites on Cyprus is seriously underestimated in current narratives. By adding new data to this modest corpus of early insular sites, we are able to contribute to debates regarding island colonisation and the role of coastal environments in human dispersals to new territories.
